What is the best way to get vitamin C?
In the previous posts, the importance of daily vitamin C was presented. So the next question is – what is the best way to get vitamin C every day?
Vitamin C tablets would be the easiest way to get your daily needs met, but not the best way. Having some vitamin C tablets on hand is helpful to “fill in the gaps” when the quality of your diet is decreased. When you shop for vitamin C look at the nutrition label on the bottle to identify the source of the vitamin C. If the label list includes acerola cherries, rose hips, or some other plant source with high vitamin C content then you have a quality vitamin C tablet. These tablets include additional parts from the plant that give you a bonus of nutrients. These additional parts are called bioflavonoids or phytonutrients. So when you purchase a vitamin C tablet that advertises bioflavonoids, you are purchasing a higher quality vitamin C. Vitamin C remains one of the least expensive vitamins on the market.
Your food choices will provide the best way to get vitamin C. So a quick quiz – name the plant food that has the highest vitamin C content per serving at your local grocery store. Let’s see how close you came – these sources are ranked by the quantity of vitamin C provided per gram of sugar. In other words, the more vitamin C you can get with the least amount of sugar content is best. With that idea in mind, here is
The Top 10 food sources of Vitamin C in your local grocery store
Per g sugar Per half cup % Daily Recommendation Vit. C
1. Yellow Bell Pepper, raw 29 mg 183.5 mg 215%
2. Red Bell Pepper, cooked 25 mg 171.0 mg 200%
3. Broccoli, raw 18 mg 93.2 mg 110%
4. Kiwifruit, raw 6 mg 92.7 mg 109%
5. Lemons, raw 6 mg 53.0 mg 63%
6. Oranges, raw 5 mg 53.2 mg 63%
7. Strawberries, frozen, whole 5 mg 41.2 mg 48%
8. Tomatoes, sun dried 4 mg 101.8 mg 119%
9. Pineapple, raw 4 mg 47.8 mg 56%
10. Grapefruit, raw 3 mg 31.2 mg 36%
The best way to meet your Vitamin C needs is to be mindful to add these foods to your daily meal plan. Plan a half cup of one source for breakfast, and a half cup of another source for lunch, and a third source for the evening. A little consumed with each meal will be more effectively absorbed than consuming a large quantity all at once.
Meet your body's daily need for Vitamin C through your regular intake of these quality foods and your immune system will be strong, your skin will be healthy, and your energy will be improved. This evidence of health points to a wonderful truth of engineering and design.
Next week we will discuss "Vitamin C, evidence of God's Design."