19 Vitamin C Foods For Daily Consumption

 

1. Guava

   Guava is a subtropical fruit that is highly rich^[1] in vitamin C. It is an absolute recommendation for people seeking to gain vitamin C.

   That’s not the only thing because it is also rich in vitamin A, potassium, copper, manganese, and folic acid. It can be added to your diet.

   This study^[2] concludes that it will effortlessly help you to gain many nutrients while also giving you fewer calories and benefiting multiple health problems in your body.

2. Blackcurrant

   Blackcurrants are extremely rich in vitamin C. Besides providing vitamin C, they also help in inflammation and protect against^[3] urinary tract infections.

   This fruit is also an excellent source of potassium and antioxidants.

3. Capsicum

   All capsicums are excellent^[4] for vitamin C intake, but red capsicum is the supreme quality. It has a hefty amount of vitamin C.

   These capsicums are nothing but ripened versions of green capsicums which are far sweeter. Do mind that cooked capsicums slightly lose their vitamin amount.

   But all in all, capsicums are pepper that you can consume for vitamin C. Besides vitamin C, capsicums are an excellent vitamin B6 and potassium source.

   Having said that, you might want to note that it is also one of the best iron-rich foods.

4. Broccoli

   When it comes to boosting the immune system, broccolis are what comes to your mind quite often. This green vegetable is well-known^[5] for its role in the prevention and treatment of cancer.

   Moreover, it provides far more nutrients than any of the vegetables out there. However, Beta-carotene, Carotenoids B, vitamins, calcium, zinc, and fiber are available more than vitamin C itself.

   The best way to consume is to boil it before you eat it. Steamed broccoli can also be good for your health.

5. Strawberry

   Strawberry, a well-known fruit for shakes and sweets, is highly rich in fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants. Fresh strawberries provide the best content of all the nutrients^[6] it carries.

6. Kiwi

   Kiwi is probably one of the most nutritious fruit items with a high quantity of vitamin C. Potassium, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants.

   Ripe kiwi fruit is the best to be consumed^[7] for maximum output. Eliminating them tends to decrease the levels of vitamin C in them.

7. Papaya

   Papaya is another sweet and nutritious fruit that can give you vitamin C. Papaya is quite famous for helping reduce the risk^[8] of colon and cervical cancer.

   It is highly rich in vitamin C, A, folate, flavonoids, and carotenoids. It can be a good source of nutrition^[9] for your body. It also contains enzymes and papain that can further help you in digestion.

   Apart from this, there are several other papaya benefits.

8. Brussel Sprouts

   With phytochemicals, Brussels sprouts can quickly help you in the treatment of cancer, reduce the risk of cancer, and protect you against oxidative damage caused to DNA, as per this study^[10]. 

   Being rich in vitamin C helps you give strength. Besides these nutrients^[11], it is also an excellent source of folate and iron. Boil Brussels sprouts to provide the maximum nutritional value.

9. Orange

   Orange is the best source^[12] of vitamin C from all citrus fruits. This fruit can also help you prevent cold and flu while boosting your immune system.

   Besides that, it can lower your blood cholesterol level and boost your blood circulation. The vitamin C content is relatively high in oranges.

   It is recommended to eat the fruit instead of drinking its juice since the fruit has higher nutritional content than the juice.

10. Cauliflower

    Cauliflower, like broccoli, also has a high content of vitamin C. Besides this, cauliflower has many anticancer phytochemicals, vitamin B, and vitamin K, which can give you many helpful benefits^[13].

    It is best to consume this food item after boiling but remember that a long cooking time will reduce the nutritional content of cauliflower.

11. Kakadu plums

    It is an Australian native food item with100 times more vitamin C than oranges. It is known as the richest^[14] vitamin C fruit in the world.

    This fruit’s nutritional content will reap many benefits^[15]. Besides vitamin C, it is also rich in potassium, vitamin E, and antioxidant lutein.

12. Acerola cherries

    Acerola cherries are another great source of vitamin C that can give you strength and taste. Acerola cherries also come with many other nutrients besides Vitamin C.

    Polyphenols, Antioxidants, and micronutrients are some other elements that also have anti-inflammatory properties^[16].

13. Chilli Peppers

    Besides giving you a hot mouth, one green chili also fills your body with quite an amount of vitamin C.

    Another property hot chilies come with is that consumption of these chilies can reduce^[17] mortality. This single food item is a potential food product yet to be explored more.

14. Cantaloupe

    Cantaloupes are a sweet way to increase your vitamin C intake. This fruit is highly recommended to adults.

    As it also provides vitamin A further adding to the nutritional value^[18].

15. Parsley

    Parsley is a significant source of vitamin C which can provide you with much nutritional health by adding vitamin K and antioxidants that it gives to you.

    This study^[19] suggests parsley can help you in the treatment of cancer due to its high vitamin C content.

    Besides that, the Parsley also might protect you from prostate^[20] cancer. With all its nutritional benefits, parsley has become a must-food item to consume.

16. Mustard spinach

    Mustard spinach is a very good source^[21] of vitamin C. A single cup of it can give you a high amount of vitamin C.

    Notably, raw mustard spinach tends to provide you with more vitamin C content than boiled or cooked mustard spinach.

    Besides vitamin C, mustard spinach provides you with vitamin A, potassium, calcium, manganese, folate, and fiber.

17. Kale

    This cruciferous vegetable is highly famous for the nutritional value that it provides much like all the other cruciferous vegetables.

    It is also highly recommended^[22] for many diets where it tends to provide you with many nutrients and fiber that help you stay full for longer periods.

    Besides vitamin C it also contains vitamin K, Carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin.

    It is interesting to know that cooking this vegetable can reduce the vitamin C content whereas boiling or frying Kale can increase the nutritional content it contains.

18. Lemons

    Lemons have been widely used to cure scurvy. Now, what studies have shown that lemons contain a very high content of vitamin C in it?

    Its juice too provides^[23] vitamin C and many antioxidants. The lemon juice also reduces blood pressure and reduces the effect of bread on blood sugar.

    Interestingly, applying lemon juice to the exposed areas of food prevents them from the process of Browning. Hence, lemons become a very good source if you are looking to increase your vitamin C intake.

19. Lychees

    A few amounts of lychees can provide a genuine content of vitamin C to your body, feeling the vitamin C needs effectively.

    Lychees have been found to contain a high amount of many nutritional elements.

    Gallic acid, rutin, epicatechin, chlorogenic acid, luteolin, caffeic acid, quercetin, kaempferol, and apigenin are awesome nutrients^[24] of this fruit.

    Besides vitamin C helps you to improve your immune system and stay healthy. Combatting tumors^[25] is also possible through lychee consumption.
    
    Rambutan fruit which is related to this tropical fruit lychee might be also a better source of vitamin C.

Vitamin C is one of the most important nutrients that our body needs to stay healthy and fit. As we have discussed, it is hard for our body to create vitamin C in our body.

Since it is not water-soluble, we do need food items to fulfil our vitamin C content requirements which can be fulfilled from the food mentioned above.

All of these food items are rich in vitamin C which can give you many health benefits besides just vitamin C. Do mind that some of these food items are supposed to be eaten raw to gain the maximum benefit of vitamin C.

It is also recommended to consult your doctor before consuming a few of these food elements so that they might not affect your health conditions.

References/Sources

Working4Health prefers using primary and verified references. We have strict sourcing guidelines and our primary references include peer-reviewed research, academic, and medical institution studies.

1. Guavas, common, raw FDC Published:4/1/2019 Available from: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/173044/nutrients
2. Poonam G. Daswani, Manasi S. Gholkar, and Tannaz J. Birdi Psidium guajava: A Single Plant for Multiple Health Problems of Rural Indian Population Pharmacogn Rev. 2017 Jul-Dec; 11(22): 167–174.doi: 10.4103/phrev.phrev_17_17
3. Urszula Trych, Magdalena Buniowska, Sylwia Skąpska, et al. The Bioaccessibility of Antioxidants in Black Currant Puree after High Hydrostatic Pressure Treatment Molecules. 2020 Aug; 25(15): 3544.Published online 2020 Aug 3. doi: 10.3390/molecules25153544
4. Michael B. Kantar, Justin E. Anderson, Sarah A. Lucht, et al. Vitamin Variation in Capsicum Spp. Provides Opportunities to Improve Nutritional Value of Human Diets PLoS One. 2016; 11(8): e0161464.Published online 2016 Aug 17. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161464
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8. Saurabh Pandey, Carina Walpole, Paul N. Shaw, et al. Bio-Guided Fractionation of Papaya Leaf Juice for Delineating the Components Responsible for the Selective Anti-proliferative Effects on Prostate Cancer Cells Front Pharmacol. 2018; 9: 1319. Published online 2018 Nov 16. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2018.01319
9. Papayas, raw FDC Published:4/1/2019 Available from: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169926/nutrients
10. Christine Hoelzl, Hansruedi Glatt, Walter Meinl, et al. Consumption of Brussels sprouts protects peripheral human lymphocytes against 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) and oxidative DNA-damage: results of a controlled human intervention trial Mol Nutr Food Res. 2008 Mar;52(3):330-41. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.200700406. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18293303/
11. Brussels Sprouts Available from: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/brussels-sprouts/
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13. Natalia Drabińska, Maja Jeż, and Mariana Nogueira Variation in the Accumulation of Phytochemicals and Their Bioactive Properties among the Aerial Parts of Cauliflower
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14. Daniel Cozzolino, Anh Dao Thi Phan, Michael E Netzel, et al. The use of vibrational spectroscopy to predict vitamin C in Kakadu plum powders (Terminalia ferdinandiana Exell, Combretaceae) J Sci Food Agric. 2021 Jun;101(8):3208-3213. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.10950. Epub 2020 Dec 2. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33215708/
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17. Mustafa Chopan and Benjamin Littenberg The Association of Hot Red Chili Pepper Consumption and Mortality: A Large Population-Based Cohort Study PLoS One. 2017; 12(1): e0169876.Published online 2017 Jan 9. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169876
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23. Chikako Shimizu, Yoshihisa Wakita, Takashi Inoue, et al. Effects of lifelong intake of lemon polyphenols on aging and intestinal microbiome in the senescence-accelerated mouse prone 1 (SAMP1) Sci Rep. 2019; 9: 3671.Published online 2019 Mar 6. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-40253-x
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25. Sonia Emanuele, Marianna Lauricella, Giuseppe Calvaruso, et. al. Litchi chinensis as a Functional Food and a Source of Antitumor Compounds: An Overview and a Description of Biochemical Pathways. Nutrients. 2017 Sep; 9(9): 992. Published online 2017 Sep 8. doi: 10.3390/nu9090992