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Article Source: The Positive Observer
Written by - Carla Cappiello Golden (www.onehealthygirl.com)
 Trekking along the food synergy path where we've seen that Vitamin C can help with the absorption of iron (See Part I) , let's see now what assists with the absorption of Vitamin C. This vitamin plays a crucial role in the body's immune system, hard and soft tissue health and performs multiple anti-oxidative functions.
Water-soluble Vitamin C is commonly known as ascorbic acid and can be found in many citrus fruits. The human body does not create it and must acquire it through diet. It is found in the watery parts of produce, so Vitamin C is easily lost in the cooking process. Minimal steaming or eating raw produce is the best way to maximize the bio-available Vitamin C in food.
Foods high in Vitamin C include the obvious citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruit, lemons and limes) but also berries, kiwi, papaya, currants, and melons. Vegetable sources include tomatoes, peppers, leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts), peas, horseradish and watercress.
Another way to help maximize the absorption of Vitamin C is to combine it with zinc containing foods. Zinc, a micro-mineral, is most readily found in flesh foods such as beef, lamb, pork, poultry and sea food. However, vegetarian sources include dairy, yeast, beans, whole grains, potatoes, peas and yogurt. Pumpkin and sesame seeds offer some of the most concentrated vegetarian food sources of zinc.
The beauty of combining fresh, preferably organic, foods is that the food synergy works multi-dimensionally. While I'm here focusing on Vitamin C and zinc, we can't overlook that these recommended foods are full of other vitamins and minerals that have their own beneficial cross-relationships. A diet high in a variety of colorful, natural, whole foods will deliver multiple synergistic benefits.
Enjoy this recipe from Diary of a Feeder:
SUN DRIED TOMATO AND ROASTED PUMPKIN SEED PESTO
Ingredients
- ½ c pumpkin seeds
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ¾ c grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 c sun dried tomatoes in oil (reserve oil. Preferably Allessia Sun Dried Tomatoes)
- 6-8 fresh basil leaves, sliced thin
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- ½ c oil from reserved from the sun dried tomato
Method
1. In a dry fry pan roast the pumpkin seeds. Toss regularly. They roast quickly so keep your eyes, nose and ears on them. For doneness they will swell a little (like tiny balloons) and you may notice small wisps of smoke from the pan; you don't want to smell burning, rather a pleasant nutty aroma. Lastly, listen for them hissing lightly and popping.
2. Put everything but the oil in a food processor and pulse to blend. Then slowly add the oil until you get a nice paste. Stop and scrape down the sides as needed. If there isn't enough reserved oil to get the pesto to a consistency that you're happy with use extra virgin olive oil (or pumpkin seed oil, the light green variety not the brown as it's bitter).
Recipe source...
Carla Golden, LMT is in private massage practice, the editor
of OneHealthyGirl.com wellness blog, founder of
WellnessDestinationsCentral.com alternative healthcare directory and is
in hot pursuit of a PhD in Holistic Health and Healing.
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