Use of lemon drops in Khichdi

Vitamin C is crucial for the children’s health and development. During the exclusive breast-feeding period, the child’s vitamin C requirement is met by the breast milk of the mother. Subsequently the mother’s milk alone cannot provide the vitamin C requirement of the child during the breast-feeding period up to 2 years. It is here that food rich in vitamin C needs to be given in the complementary feeding. After the breast-feeding period of 2 years, the child becomes solely dependent on the food sources to meet the vitamin C requirement of the body.
In the creches we have children from 7 to 36 months who are given morning snacks, afternoon lunch and evening snacks. It is a great opportunity to ensure vitamin C in the diet so that some portion of the requirement can be met.

Benefits of vitamin C in children

It helps in aiding the healthy growth and development of the child’s bones and teeth. This is particularly relevant for young children who experience rapid periods of growth.
It supports the absorption of dietary iron, another nutrient that is important for supporting the child’s general health and development.
It helps in supporting healthy immune system function and maintaining immune system health.
It plays a critical role in maintaining both the child’s nervous system health and healthy nervous system function.
It is an antioxidant. (It reduces the free radicals in the body and helps in preventing them from damaging the healthy body cells of the child).
It supports the skin health of the child.
Deficiency of vitamin C leads to scurvy (Bleeding gum in Children).

Important sources of vitamin C

Vitamin C is widely available in the foods of plant and animal origin. Fruit, vegetables and organ meat e.g. liver are good sources of vitamin C.
Most seeds do not contain vitamin C but start to synthesize it upon sprouting. The sprouts of locally available green grams(moong) are very rich sources of vitamin C.
Fruits, especially citrus fruits, are a good daily source of vitamin C as they are generally eaten raw and are thus not subjected to cooking that can destroy the vitamin. (Guava and local berries are very rich sources of vitamin C.
Green vegetables are also a useful source, although they contain highly variable amounts, much of which can be lost in preparation and cooking.
Tubers, such as potatoes, are not a rich source, but since large quantities are often eaten, they can be a major contributor to meeting the requirements.
The locally available fresh vegetables and green leaves such as tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, pointed gourd (Parwal), drumstick leaves (Sahjan), coriander (Dhaniya) are good sources of vitamin C. Fruits like amla, guava, orange and mangoes are good sources of vitamin C.

Enriching vitamin C in the meal of children in creches: Introducing 10 drops of lemon per child in the hot cooked meal per day.

The creche is an opportunity to provide a daily source of vitamin C to children so that some portion of the daily requirement is met.
At the creche there should be locally available fresh green vegetables which should be served in the hot cooked meals for children.
To ensure that vitamin C is available from fresh natural sources from raw fruits and vegetables, lemon seems to be ideal and readily available throughout the year. In this regard 10 drops of lemon can be added every day per child in the afternoon meal served to the children by the creche caregiver.
Lemon drops should not be added to the hot meal as vitamin C is sensitive to heat and loses its efficacy. It is to be added when the meal is at room temperature.

Retaining the efficacy of Vitamin C- proper storing and cooking of food items.

Storing green vegetables and loss of vitamin C: Green vegetables stored at room temperature lose practically all their vitamin C after only a few days. So fresh green vegetables should be procured regularly in a creche and should not be stored.
Storing lemon at room temperature: At room temperature lemon should be stored in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight in the creche.
Retaining maximum amount of vitamin C during meal preparation:The best food preparation and cooking methods to be followed by the creche caregiver for preserving vitamin C include:

Using fresh food.
Using a small amount of water to prepare food.
Vegetables should not be washed with large amounts of water after chopping and should not be left to stand in water.
Not cutting vegetables into small pieces before cooking.
Covering the cooking pot to reduce time or using a pressure cooker where available.
Cooking at high temperature for a short period.