How To Add More Vitamin C To Your Diet

As the flu season creeps up on us it is important that you maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle and diet. Vitamin C is known for its health benefits, particularly in fighting the common cold and flu. When you think vitamin C, you inevitably think oranges. But what if we told you that this fruit is just kinda meh in the C department compared to some other produce picks?

It’s true. While oranges clock in at a very respectable 70 mg of vitamin C per medium fruit, every single one of these fruits and veggies (you can add them to these smoothies) contains more per serving—so hit your quota however you see fit!

Strawberries
These ruby-hued berries pack 85 mg of vitamin C per cup, along with a hefty dose of manganese, which can help keep blood sugar stable. Just be sure to buy an organic variety as conventional strawberries are ranked as as the #1 most pesticide-loaded produce item.

Pineapple
Fresh, tropical, juicy pineapple contains 79 mg of vitamin C per cup. And unlike most other fruits, it also contains significant amounts of the enzyme bromelain, which may help aid protein digestion. Bring on the piña coladas!

Mango
Sweet, succulent mangoes contain 122 mg of vitamin C per fruit. They’re also a potent source of zeaxanthan, an antioxidant that helps keep your eyes healthy by filtering out harmful blue light rays that contribute to macular degeneration. Not sure peeling is worth the effort? Don’t sweat it—the frozen variety is just as healthy and makes an awesome addition to smoothies.

Kiwifruit
Just two of these pint-sized superfruits pack 128 mg of vitamin C. Research also shows that kiwis help you fall asleep more quickly and improve sleep quality, likely due to their high levels of serotonin, a hormone that plays a role ininitiating sleep onset.

Papaya
Like its tropical cousins mango and pineapple, papaya is a heavy hitter in the vitamin C department—packing 95 mg per small fruit. It also contains the enzymes papain and chymopapain, which reduce inflammation.

Capsicums
All bell peppers—green, yellow, red, and orange—contain more vitamin C than an orange, ranging from 95 mg in a green to a whopping 341 mg in a yellow. They’re also super low-cal, containing just 45 calories per cup, making them theperfect snack to quell a case of the munchies.

Broccoli
A cup of chopped, raw broccoli florets has about 81 mg of vitamin C, along with more vitamin K—important for bone health and proper blood clotting—than you need in an entire day.

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