[Article] 10 Ways To Get Your Vitamin C Need Met Daily With Food

Ten Different Ways To Get All The Vitamin C You Need In One Day

The Myth

Ascorbic acid is the same as vitamin C, right?

Wrong.

Ascorbic acid is like the "wrapper" (similar to the cell wall) that the full live vitamin C complex comes in. Vitamin C is destroyed by heat because it contains an enzyme. Ascorbic acid has been entirely mis-named, as the word 'ascorbic' itself means anti-scurvy. However, studies have shown that ascorbic acid alone does nothing to help or prevent scurvy. Only fresh vitamin C does that.

Oranges are the best source of vitamin C, right?

Wrong again.

Per calorie, kiwi and bell peppers have way, way more vitamin C than oranges.

It's true that oranges have a lot of vitamin C in comparison to bananas and apples.

However, oranges have been made the poster-child for vitamin C by the folks selling pasteurized orange juice. Cooking destroys all viable vitamin C, so pasteurized orange juice doesn't contain vitamin C anyway.

What is the optimal way to get enough vitamin C in your diet?

Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables contain high vitamin C levels, but certainly not all. The following is a list of ten different ways to get 75 mg of vitamin C (which is said to be the minimum amount needed daily).

The percentage on the far right is the amount you're getting in relation to your daily need. The center number is the actual amount of vitamin C.

1 kiwi and ¼ cup pineapple	83.7 mg	112%
¼ of a medium red bell pepper and ¾ cup pineapple	97.1 mg	130%
½ of a medium red bell pepper	76 mg	101%
1 cup of kale	80.4 mg	107%
2 cups cabbage and 1 cup watercress	70.8 mg	106%
1½ cups parsnips, 1 cup radish slices, 1 cup basil leaves, 1 cup cilantro leaves and ½ cup chopped cauliflower	85.5 mg	114%
½ cup chopped cauliflower and 1 cup chopped broccoli	170 mg	143%
1 cup shredded bok choy, 1 cup garden cress and 1 lemon	84.6 mg	113%
½ grapefruit, 1 leaf chard and ½ cup mango	82.8 mg	110%
1 grapefruit	76.8 mg	102%

If you want to ensure you're getting enough of all of the nutrients the man is currently able to track in your diet on a raw vegan plan, then check out my nutritionally complete meal plans.

Thanks for reading! Merry eating.

~ Raederle Phoenix