Also known as antiscorbutic vitamin or ascorbic acid, Vitamin C is essential for development and growth. It helps to repair the tissues of any part of the body and correct the deterioration of bones and teeth. There are a variety of foods and drinks that contain this type of vitamin. We can even talk about a table or even a ranking of those who have it in greater and lesser quantity.
Added to this, vitamin C works like antioxidant, helping to prevent damage caused by free radicals. This can be found in various vitamin supplements; however, fruits and vegetables are the greatest source of this vitamin. We will talk about all of them below.
WHAT ARE THE FOODS WITH VITAMIN C?
Citrus fruits are very healthy and rich in vitamin C, but we must abandon the idea that they are the best source of this nutrient. That said, we must know which foods contain a large amount of vitamin C and are necessary in our diet.
Guava: this tropical fruit is easy to find among the exotic products of greengrocers and supermarkets. It is also marketed in the form of syrup, jam or compote, in which state it is still a good source of vitamins C. It can be consumed directly raw as in a fruit salad, included in breakfast with oatmeal or prepared smoothies and juices.
Chile and hot pepper: these small peppers contain a large amount of vitamin C. For their consumption, it is recommended not to cook them too much, since they would lose all their nutrients. In fact, they can be eaten raw or sautéed and stewed to prepare sauces.
Parsley and other aromatic herbs: the versatile and often undervalued parsley is a great source of this vitamin. Chives and basil also stand out for their content of this nutrient. With them you can dress many dishes such as salads, pasta, tortillas. It is important not to cook or char them because they lose all their properties.
Brussels sprouts: in addition to being rich in fiber and minerals such as calcium and iron, these tiny sprouts are high in vitamin C. They can be eaten in salads, sautéed or cooked in the oven.
Black currant: this acid-tasting fruit is one of the richest in vitamin C; in fact, it has 4 times more quantity than orange. With this exquisite berry, many preserves are prepared, especially jellies and jams.
Broccoli: a vegetable that many love and some others hate, but the truth is that it is considered ideal for the immune system. And if that were not enough, it is one of the best sources of vitamin C.
Kiwi: This exotic fruit should be consumed more often due to its high content of micronutrients. In addition, it contains very little sodium, so it helps control blood pressure.
Strawberry: also strawberries and strawberries are fruits that contain more vitamin C than orange and lemon.
Papaya: is another tropical fruit that should be included in any diet, since it is low in calories and rich in vitamin C. It has properties that make iron assimilation possible and provides energy. In addition, it improves digestion.
Mustard: mustard seed is also rich in ascorbic acid. When buying it, it is important to choose a good quality one that hardly has any other ingredients added.
Red pepper: either in its long or brown version, it contains a lot of ascorbic acid.
Orange: the popular fruit named as the queen of vitamin C could not be left behind. Although it does not contain as much of it as the black currant, its value is not at all negligible. Since it provides 50% of the recommended daily quota of this nutrient.
Vitamin C drinks
As we already know, this nutrient is found in many foods, and several of them can be used as juices to become a drink with vitamin C. They are excellent for eliminating toxins and taking care of our health.
Orange juice: it is delicious and can be mixed with other fruits.
Kiwi Melon Set: Not only does it contain vitamin C, it is also an excellent body cleanser.
Lemon juice and honey: It is well known to prevent colds, since it helps the immune system.
Strawberry juice with orange: as we already mentioned, orange can be mixed with other fruits and with strawberry it makes an almost perfect combination of nutrients.
Aloe juice – Known as aloe in some parts of the world, aloe contains vitamins A, CE, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12. Its juice can be made by cutting pieces of the plant and separating the jelly from the inside of the green rind. It can also be mixed with orange or tangerine.
Papaya juice with carrot: Like honey and lemon, this game is very effective for the common cold and contains a lot of vitamin C.
It is extraordinary the amount of nutrients that all the foods and drinks that we have talked about have. However, there is a food that leads the first place worldwide and that others are very difficult to obtain.
What is the food with the most vitamin C in the world?
According to the information provided by the World Food Composition Database, the kakadu It is the richest known fruit in ascorbic acid. And even though this is the queen of them all, it’s worth mentioning at camu camu. It is incredible the amount of vitamin C that these fruits have, it is also hard to believe that it is not found in many parts of the world.
Both fruits have the shape of an almond and the size of a plum, they are green and when ripe they can be seen a striking red color. The meat is edible and the taste is slightly acid and bitter.
These two fruits are used to make jams and syrup, but they also have other culinary uses such as making juices and sauces. For its part, the food industry the possibility of manufacturing juices and ice creams or sell nutraceutical components obtained from fruits. And various cosmetic industries have already launched lines with kakadu extract as one of their ingredients.
Ranking and amount of vitamin C in food
We already know that there is much more than the orange when we talk about vitamin C. Even that these two fruits are far from occupying the first place. Now let’s know the ranking table in which each food is found with its corresponding amount by weight.
Description of the food
Amount of vitamin C
1- Kakadu
5000mg per 100g
2- Camu-camu
2000mg per 100g
3- Guava
273mg per 100g
4- Chili
225mg per 100g
5- Parsley
190mg per 100g
6- Black currant
189mg per 100g
7- Red pepper
152mg per 100g
8- Brussels sprouts
112mg per 100g
9- Broccoli
110mg per 100g
10- Kiwi
100mg per 100g
11- Mustard
75mg per 100g
12-Papaya
70mg per 100g
13- Basil
62mg per 100g
14-Chives
60mg per 100g
15- Strawberry
60mg per 100g
16- Orange
50mg per 100g
citrus
Orange: source of vitamin C
Although we have left them for last, they are no less important than the rest of the foods we have mentioned. In fact, citrus fruits group together a whole set of fruits that contribute to body health. There are different types of trees of the Citrus genus, which are also prone to forming hybrids, hence the large number of fruits that we can find in this variety. But the most common are the following:
Cider: it is widely used for winemaking, although it contains little juice, it is intensely aromatic.
Lime: corresponds to the most acidic of all citrus fruits. Almost 8% of its total weight is citric acid.
Lemon: it is one of the most versatile citrus fruits that exist due to its fresh and intense aroma. It also contains up to 5% citric acid.
Tangerine: they are relatively small with an orange skin that peels easily. They have a sweet flavor and a rich and intense aroma.
Orange: correspond to almost three quarters of world citrus production. They are widely versatile due to their moderate size, juiciness, acidity and sweetness.