VITAMINS — ^arUNSELL 255 



min E in abundance are milk, meat, eggs, whole seeds, including both 

 cereal grains and legumes, and lettuce. It is also present in many 

 vegetable oils including, in addition to the two already mentioned, 

 corn oil, rice oil, and Eed Palm oil. 



Losses of vitamin E. — ^Vitamin E is soluble in fat and occurs asso- 

 ciated with oils. It is stable toward heat but is inactivated when 

 oils containing it become rancid — presumably because of oxidation. 



VITAMIN Be OR PYRIDOXINE 



Properties. — Vitamin Ba is a white crystalline substance and is 

 soluble in water. It is stable toward heat even in alkaline solution, 

 but is destroyed by long exposure to light. 



Food sources. — Vitamin Be is found in seeds; in some vegetable 

 fats and oils such as linseed oil, peanut oil, rice oil, soybean oil, 

 cottonseed oil, corn oil, and wheat-germ oil; and in butterfat, beef 

 fat, meats, and fish. Most vegetables and fruits are poor sources. 



THINGS TO REMEMBER 



The array of information relating to the vitamins is extensive and 

 complex. Unless one is making almost constant use of it, it is next 

 to impossible to keep even the essential details in mind, and very few 

 people wish to be hampered by the need of a pocket handbook in 

 order to remember their vitamins. In the selection and preparation 

 of foods for a diet adequate in vitamin content a few rules or sum- 

 mary statements are usually sufficient. Those given below are sug- 

 gested as helpful and others may be formulated if need requires. 



1. Use a variety of all types of foods giAdng especial attention to the use 

 of milk, eggs, green leafy vegetables, fres/i fruits and vegetables, lean meats, 

 and whole-grain cereals and breads. 



2. To avoid loss of vitamin value in cooking: 



Cook foods as quickly as possible. 



Use small amounts of water and use any that is left. Special utensils 

 are not necessary for so-called waterless cookery. 



Steaming is an excellent way to cook many vegetables and some other 

 foods. 



Do not peel vegetables or fruits and cut them up and then let them stand 

 before cooking. Cooking them whole and with the outer covering on helps 

 preserve vitamin content. 



Never add soda to vegetables during cooking. It serves no useful pur- 

 pose and makes for destruction of vitamins. Cook green vegetables in an 

 open kettle and they will stay green. 



Serve foods as soon as possible after they are cooked. 



Do not fry foods if they can be cooked in some other way. Frying 

 and roasting are very destructive of vitamins. 



3. Give very careful attention to sources of vitamin Bi in the diet. It is 

 more difficult to obtain an adequate amount of this vitamin than any of the 

 others. It is probably the one in which American diets are most deficient. 



