We all know that feeling… you get home on a cold Tuesday night, you’ve just put your kids to bed, you’re thinking about tomorrow’s working day and all of a sudden – sneeze! Immediately you rush to the medicine cupboard and throw down the nearest medicine in sight. But what if we didn’t need to do that?
We’ve all heard the saying, prevention is better than cure and this couldn’t be closer to the truth when talking about your immune system.
Vitamin C, we all know about it but what is it? And are we actually getting the required quantities?
Unlike some vitamins, Vitamin C is an essential vitamin and the body is not able to produce it nor can it store it. Therefore, we must consume it in our diet in order to get in our daily intake. Vitamin C supports our immune system and helps our body use the iron we get from food. Vitamin C is also vital for cell protection, maintaining healthy skin, blood vessels, bones, and cartilage as well as supporting with wound recovery. Vitamin C also promotes the production of white blood cells, which can help fight infections and protect damage from free radicals.
The suggested amount for adults per day is 40mg, 50mg for pregnant women and 25-35mg for children.
When most people think of Vitamin C, they think of oranges which are indeed a great source of Vitamin C. But, there are so many other sources of Vitamin C that you can also incorporate into your diet every day. Here are a few examples:
½ cup red peppers - 95 milligrams
1 cup papaya - 90 milligrams
1 cup strawberries - 85 milligrams
1 medium kiwi - 70 milligrams
1 medium orange - 70 milligrams
½ cup broccoli - 50 milligrams
1 cup cauliflower - 40 milligrams
1 lemon - 30 milligrams
1 medium tomato - 20 milligrams
As we always say, strive to get a balanced diet with each food group incorporated into your meal. We always favour getting your vitamins into your diet through the food you eat, rather than supplementation. The daily recommended intake of 40mg of Vitamin C can be easily consumed at any time of the year through a balanced and varied diet, with fruit and vegetables being the best sources.
Here’s an example of what you can eat every day to reach your daily recommended intake of Vitamin C.
Monday: ½ cup red peppers with homous
Tuesday: ½ cup of strawberries in your smoothie
Wednesday: 1 ½ lemons in water throughout the day
Thursday: ½ cup steamed broccoli on the side of dinner
Friday: Cauliflower crust pizza using a minimum of 1 cup of cauliflower
Saturday: 1 medium kiwi on the side of breakfast
Sunday: 1 cup of papaya with some Greek yogurt or vegan yogurt as a snack
We hope this helps you get stronger, fitter and healthier from the inside and hopefully now you won’t dread the winter so much!