Figuring Out Food III

The ingredients listed in Simply Balanced Apricot Fruit Strips are apple puree concentrate, apple juice concentrate, apricot puree, natural flavor, citrus pectin, lemon juice concentrate, citric acid, and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Natural flavor, citrus pectin, citric acid, and ascorbic acid are additives. Citric acid and ascorbic acid are preservatives, citrus pectin improves the texture, and natural flavor adds flavor.

One fruit strip contains 17.1 mg of vitamin C. Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, has the chemical formula C₆H₈O₆. Vitamin C is used in the formation of blood vessels, cartilage, muscle and collagen, and aids in healing. It is an antioxidant, meaning it helps mitigate free radicals that can cause heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. It also aids in the absorption and storage of iron. Humans cannot produce vitamin C, so it must be consumed.

It also contains 5mg of sodium. Sodium (Na) is an element with only one stable isotope, sodium-23 (²³Na), which has 12 neutrons. Sodium helps maintain the body’s balance of fluids, transmit nerve impulses, and influences the contraction and relaxation of muscles. However, excess sodium builds up in blood, increasing blood pressure in arteries, which can be dangerous.

One fruit strip contains 9 grams of sugar, most likely coming from the apple puree concentrate, apple juice concentrate, apricot puree, and lemon juice concentrate. These are all fruits, so the sugar is likely a combination of fructose, glucose, and sucrose. The apple and apricot purees also likely account for the 1 gram of fiber per fruit strip. This is probably soluble fiber, since the fruit bar has a soft texture. There are 11 total grams of carbohydrates per fruit strip, so the remaining 1 gram is starch. Carbohydrates generally provide 4 calories per gram, but the FDA estimates soluble fiber provides 2 calories per gram and insoluble fiber provides none. Assuming the fiber in the fruit strips is soluble, one fruit strip provides 42 calories from carbohydrates.