Vitamin C

 

 

 

Why is vitamin C essential for our health and
which foods contain the most of it?

 

 

 

Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is a powerful water-soluble antioxidant. It is found in fresh fruit and vegetables and plays an important role as a coenzyme – a small molecule that aids enzymatic chemical reactions. It has several crucial functions: it helps protect cells and keeps them healthy, acts as an antioxidant, plays a role in collagen production, maintains healthy skin, bones, cartilage, and blood vessels, and aids in wound healing. Vitamin C deficiency can occur alongside general malnutrition, causing fatigue, depression, and connective tissue disorders. A severe vitamin C deficiency manifests as scurvy, which in its early stage is marked by bleeding gums. Most of the sailors of Vasco da Gama, Magellan, and many other medieval ocean-going captains died from this disease.  

 

When thinking of dietary sources of vitamin C, lemons, oranges, and sauerkraut are usually the first that come to mind – foods that kept Captain James Cook's crew healthy. However, many more foods are rich in it that we should include in our diet. 

Foods rich in vitamin C:

- citrus fruits (orange🍊, lemon🍋, grapefruit, mandarin)
- kiwi🥝, strawberries🍓, rosehip, blackcurrant, cherries🍒
- berries (cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)
- broccoli🥦, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale
- green and red peppers, tomatoes🍅, potatoes🥔, spinach, cabbage, turnips
- sauerkraut