Vitamin C is a star player when it comes to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It’s popular in a variety of fruits and vegetables and has benefits that extend far beyond keeping the common cold at bay.
From fighting heart disease to promoting healthy skin and eyes, Vitamin C is essential and versatile. We’ve composed a list of foods, their benefits, and an assortment of recipes to implement them into your diet.
1. Peppers (190mg per cup)
This bright, colorful vegetable is rich in dietary fiber, folate, vitamin C, and plenty of other vitamins. Add them to a variety of recipes, consuming them raw or cooked.
They serve as a crunchy, flavorful replacement to high-calorie, low-nutrient snack foods, and are great companions to savory dishes and entrees. They are also rich in carotenoids, which help protect you from heart disease.
2. Guava (377mg per cup)
Guava is considered to be a super fruit. It is used in the treatment of common colds, digestive problems, high blood pressure and more.
It’s also used as a nervous relaxant, perfect for after a workout or an energy boost. Additionally, guava serves as a natural skin toner, skin hydration, and promotes healthy hair growth. Here’s a handful of ways to implement guava into your diet.
3. Papaya (188mg per 1 medium size papaya)
The once rare fruit is a tropical treat that’s readily available for most of the year. Add it to your diet for the long run, as it’s rich in not only Vitamin C, but helps fight the risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Papaya promotes a healthy complexion and hair, increased energy, and is an ally in eye health as it fights off macular degeneration. Papaya is a versatile fruit in these recipes.
4. Oranges (36mg per 1 medium size orange)
A quick and refreshing snack food, oranges can be a great boost of energy. Vitamin C foods like oranges contain phytochemicals that protect against cancer, helps prevent kidney disease, lower cholesterol, and help maintain blood pressure.
There is much more to oranges, too, when you consider what you can do with them in recipes.
5. Kale (80.4mg per cup)
Vitamin C foods like kale are low in calories, high in fiber and have zero fat. But surprisingly, kale has the one-up on its beloved cousin spinach.
Including kale in your diet provides nutrients that support healthy skin, hair and bones, as well as healthy digestion and a reduced risk of heart disease. You may turn your nose up at kale, but that may be because the right recipe hasn’t been discovered for you.
6. Kiwi (84.36 mg per 1 kiwi)
They may be tiny but never underestimate the power of the kiwifruit. It packs a powerful antioxidant punch with significant amounts of over 20 vital nutrients.
Kiwis are high in energy and keep the calorie count down, making it one of the Vitamin C foods that are excellent companions for people trying to lose weight. Kiwi can be a versatile fruit, too. Take a look at these recipes.
7. Strawberries (97.61mg per cup)
The robustly sweet, vivaciously red fruit is, without a doubt, one of the most popular fruits. It finds itself in savory and sweet recipes alike, but one of its most significant health benefits may not be so obvious.
Strawberries help promote eye health, fighting against free radicals and filling in nutrient deficiencies that are commonly linked to eye issues.
8. Grapefruit (71.8mg per cup)
Vitamin C foods like grapefruit help with weight loss, promote healthy skin and fight cancer. One of the things not often discussed is how Vitamin C foods can help prevent the risk of developing asthma.
Grapefruit is one of those fruits commonly associated with breakfast, so here are some ideas to quickly amp up your morning.
9. Pomelo (115.9mg per cup)
Also known as the Chinese grapefruit, pomelo is the largest fruit in the citrus family. It is loaded with vitamin C, Vitamin B and beta-carotene.
Pomelo is also rich in folic acid and is highly recommended for pregnant women. Pomelo also helps in a variety of ways, including boosting your immune system. You might find this pomelo salad recipe delightful.
10. Broccoli (81.17mg per cup)
Broccoli, rich in Vitamin C, K, and dietary fiber, is a fighter against cancers, especially against breast cancer.
It promotes healthy bones, prevents arthritis and ulcers, and is great for detoxification. Broccoli can be a culinary addition in almost everything, it seems.
11. Tomatoes (28.78mg per 1 medium size tomato)
Tomatoes can reduce the amount of damaged done to your body by smoking cigarettes. Tomatoes contain coumaric acid and chlorogenic acid that work to protect the body from carcinogens that are produced from cigarette smoke.
Regardless if you smoke or not, you can add tomatoes to your diet with some easy recipes.
12. Pineapple (78.87mg per cup)
Pineapple is an immensely nutritious fruit and bears significant health benefits. One of those benefits is its ability to reduce the inflammation of joints and muscles.
Pineapples also help break down complex proteins, making it an excellent supplemental food.
13. Mango (57.34 mg per 1 medium size mango)
Mangoes have an assortment of acids that help maintain the alkali reserve in the body.
It also helps prevent heat stroke and promotes a strong immune system. Here’s some inspiration for mango recipes.
14. Brussels Sprouts (633.52mg per cup)
Count the lean vegetable in the Vitamin C foods category, as it contains just 28 calories in half a cup when they’re boiled.
That amounts to just under 100mg of Vitamin C. Brussels sprouts make for a great snack or side dish.
15. Cantaloupe Melon (20.19mg per 1/8 medium size cantaloupe melon)
The path to a healthy skin can be quickly paved with small consumptions of cantaloupe melon. One cup of cantaloupe satisfies the daily recommended serving of Vitamin C.
The superfood is packed with beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A in the body and helps promote healthy skin by thinning the outer layer of dead skin cells that can clog pores and cause blemishes. If you want to do more with your cantaloupe, here’s some ideas.
Featured photo credit: i.ndtvimg.com via i.ndtvimg.com
Source: Lifestyle
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