The next vitamin in the limelight is Vitamin C.
🔍 What is the function of Vitamin C?
Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin. This means that it dissolves in water and is delivered to the body’s tissues but is not well stored, so it must be taken daily through food. Vitamin C has several important functions, these include:
❤️ Helping to protect cells and keep them healthy
👃 Maintaining healthy skin, blood vessels, bones and cartilage
🦠 Helping the body’s natural defence against illness and infection (the immune system) work properly
🏥 Helping with wound healing
💪 Aiding the absorption of iron
🥣 Where does it come from?
You can get Vitamin C in a variety of foods, but some of its richest sources include:
🥝🍓 Fruits such as berries, lychee, papaya, kiwi and citrus fruits
🌶️ 🥦 Vegetables (such as cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and sweet pepper
🐄🐖 Usually, meat and fish don’t have much Vitamin C, but kidney and liver are two good animal sources of this vitamin.
☘️🚛 While Vitamin C is particularly high in fruits and vegetables, the amount of this vitamin in plant foods varies depending on factors such as the plant’s growing conditions, type of soil, the season of harvesting, transport and shelf time prior to use.
🥄 How much do you need?
The amount of vitamin C adults aged 19 to 64 need is:
♂️♀️ 40mg a day for men and women
🥄 You should be able to get all the vitamin C you need from your diet.
🍊 Fun Fact 🍊
Although everyone always says that oranges contain a lot of vitamin C, they are by no means the number one supply! Oranges contain 50mg for every 100g, while other foods like blackcurrants (177mg), raw red peppers (139 mg), kiwi (92.7mg) and strawberries (58.8mg) contain much more!
Let us know how this helped you today.
