Vitamin C deficiency is a very serious condition that can lead to symptoms such as anemia, bloody gums, weak immune system, gingivitis and more. While most people may get their vitamin C from oranges, people with a vitamin C deficiency should consider adding other excellent sources of the vitamin to their diet. Below is a list of six foods that actually contain much more vitamin C than oranges.
1. Red Bell Peppers
Most people associate vitamin C with citrus. While it is true that many fruits are an excellent source of vitamin C, you may be surprised that certain other vegetables usually not classified as fruit can be an even better source of the nutrient. Peppers are an excellent choice. These vegetables are technically a kind of fruit and sometimes a great source of vitamins and minerals. One good choice for a vitamin C rich pepper is the red bell pepper. The average red bell paper contains 190 milligrams of vitamin C. That’s a whopping three times more than the average sized orange.
2. Chili Peppers
Vitamin C is most closely associated with sour and sweet tasting foods. However, if you like things spicy, you certainly have an excellent alternative available to you. A half a cup of diced chili peppers contains 107.8 milligrams of vitamin C. That’s well more than twice as much as an orange.
There are plenty of great and spicy chili pepper recipes to choose from that can certainly make your meals more adventurous. Better yet, this isn’t the only added health benefit of chili peppers. They also contain a substance known as capsaicin. This is what makes the peppers hot, and it is also known for its ability to relieve muscle and joint pain.
3. Green Bell Peppers
Like its red cousin, green bell peppers are an excellent source of vitamin C. A chopped up cup of green bell pepper has 120 milligrams of vitamin C. That’s more than twice the daily allotment of vitamin C that the average person needs according to nutritionists. While red bell peppers have even more, green bell peppers don’t share the rather sweet taste of the red variety. If you want a milder tasting pepper to add to your dishes, green bell peppers are what you should go for.
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4. Broccoli
It may be a food that doesn’t have a stellar reputation with children. Still, there’s a reason why, “Eat your broccoli,” is a common refrain. This vegetable contains a great amount of fiber, vitamins and nutrients. This is certainly the case for vitamin C. A single serving of these little tree shaped veggies will provide you with 132 milligrams of vitamin C, far more than the average person needs in a day. Even better yet, broccoli is one of the least fattening vegetables to add your diet. A single serving only contains 30 calories.
5. Papaya
If you’re looking for more fruit to add to your diet, one exotic choice you should certainly consider is papaya. This fruit has a sweet yet unique taste, and the black seeds are quite spicy. This fruit is a mainstay of Latin and Central American cooking, and there are many delicious recipes to choose from.
One of the biggest benefits of eating papaya is the 88.3 milligrams of vitamin C in a single serving. The fruit is also an excellent source of vitamin A, contacting 28 percent of a person’s daily allotment of that nutrient. It’s also known to be able to improve the health of the skin and bones thanks to the calcium, iron, and magnesium contained in the fruit.
6. Kale
While it’s unlikely that kale was a mainstay of the dishes your grandma used to cook, it is another healthy ingredient you should consider adding into your diet due to its wonderful abundance of vitamin C. One serving of kale contains 80.4 milligrams. This leafy green is also an excellent source of iron, vitamin B-6, magnesium, calcium and vitamin A. It has many great health benefits such as an innate ability to improve a person’s immune system to fight off infection.
All these foods can certainly help you add a lot of vitamin C into your diet and stave off the symptoms of vitamin C deficiency. However, this is only a start. There are plenty of other foods with more vitamin C than oranges such as strawberries, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, pineapple, kiwi, and mango.
