When you think of vitamin C, you immediately think of lemons, but the multi-talent that is important for our body and our health is also found in many other foods. These are the top vitamin C foods!
At the latest when the first cold comes on, we diligently stock up on vitamin C capsules and powders. But why actually?
There are so many vitamin C foods, which are super healthy and which our body can utilize much better.
We tell you which foods contain a particularly high amount of vitamin C and how you can meet your daily needs most easily.
Table of contents
Especially in the colder season, grandma used to make us a hot lemon with honey to strengthen the immune system.
Today, at an advanced age, we alone are responsible for the necessary vitamin C supply, because vitamin C protects you from colds, for example. It supports the connective tissue and the formation of bones and teeth.
Which Vitamin C food The lemon by a multiple in the Vita C content surpass and how much you need daily, I'll tell you all that today.
But you can also read here what vitamin C does for your body and why you should definitely take enough of it.
When dietary supplements make sense
Especially in autumn and winter, when our immune system is struggling, you should make sure to take enough vitamins. You can catch a cold or flu more quickly than you would like.
Simple vitamin C foods are often not enough. Especially because the vitamin is rapidly degraded.
The longer fruits and vegetables are stored, the lower their vitamin content. For example, a bell bell pepper can lose up to 2/3 of its vitamin C from the time it is stored until it is eaten. During cooking, ascorbic acid is completely destroyed. So there is not much left for our body.
I therefore always take additional vitamin C during the critical time, in the fall and over the winter. But I pay attention to high-quality vitamins that also taste really good. Because there is nothing more disgusting than the effervescent tablets from the drugstore that only contain artificial vitamins.
But let's start with foods that are particularly high in ascorbic acid. These are the top ten vitamin C foods.
Top Ten Vitamin C Food
Vitamin C = lemon. Right? That's true, but there are many more vitamin C rich foods. Even at least 8 that contain much more than lemons.
Here we tell you our best vitamin C foods. Data per 100 grams.
1. rose hips are rich in vitamin C
Just like the "hot lemon", we also know rose hips from our childhood. Unfortunately, the memories of the itchy powder from the rose hips are not as positive as those of grandma's hot drink.
Rosehips contain many vitamins (A, B1 and B2), antioxidants and minerals. The incredibly high vitamin C content catapults them to the top of the top ten vitamin C food list: 1250 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams!
2. sea buckthorn berries are food rich in vitamin C
450 milligrams, almost ten times that of the lemon, is contained in the sea buckthorn berry. It is not edible raw because it tastes very sour. The berries are often processed into juice, liqueur or jam. Besides vitamin C, they also provide a lot of vitamin B and potassium.
3. currants contain many vitamins
They not only taste delicious, but also bring some important nutrients for our body. 189 milligrams of vitamin C, vitamin E, iron and fiber contain currants. They are one of the fruits with the highest vitamin C content.
Currants come in black, red and white/yellow/pink.
Simply mix currants into the DIY crunchy muesli, use them as edible decoration for waffles and pancakes or scramble them delicious porridge.
4. paprika is full of vitamin C
Whether red, yellow or green - peppers are always healthy.
One variety in particular: red, raw bell bell pepper contains 140 milligrams of vitamin C. It is low in calories and also provides us with a large amount of magnesium and zinc.
Chunks of bell bell pepper end up in my salad almost every day. For this, I cut two peppers into cubes and simply stir them in. This not only looks beautiful, it also tastes much better! Look at our Salad dressing recipes over and get inspired!
5. broccoli is a vitamin C food
Broccoli is grown in the summer months even in Germany: A vitamin C food from our own region. With 115 milligrams, it is far ahead when it comes to vitamin C.
Scientists have found that broccoli can help with bladder cancer through the ingredient sulforaphane.
Look at the Buddha Bowl tutorial over. Here we pack steamed broccoli in the bowl with many other delicious vegetables.
6. Brussels sprouts contain a lot of vitamin C
Opinions are often divided on taste, but the nutrients speak for themselves. In addition to 112 milligrams of vitamin C, Brussels sprouts also contain a lot of vitamin A and minerals such as iron, calcium and magnesium.
I can not say more about this, because I am absolutely not a Brussels sprouts fan. :)
7. kiwis are vitamin C bombs
They are small but fine vitamin C food. In addition to 90 milligrams of vitamin C, kiwis also provide omega-3 fatty acids, iron and vitamin B. There are also antioxidants in the peel. Caffeic acid, which is also found in kiwis, works together with vitamin C to protect against stomach cancer.
If kiwis are too sour for you, you can also use Snack kiwi berries. These are the small relatives of the large kiwi. One berry is about the size of a large blueberry.
8. kohlrabi is rich in vitamins
You can process kohlrabi very versatile. It contains 60 milligrams of vitamin C, a lot of iron and magnesium. The leaves of the kohlrabi sometimes contain more vitamins than the actual tuber.
I regularly cut kohlrabi into the salad. Depending on my mood, sometimes in cubes and sometimes in very small pieces. I also snack on kohlrabi in between meals. It tastes pleasantly mild and is a good source of vitamins when you get really hungry at the office.
There is kohlrabi in these two recipes
9. lemons are vitamin C suppliers
The best-known vitamin C food is further down in our ranking. Lemons bring us 50 milligrams of vitamin C. Like many citrus fruits, it also contains a lot of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. From the peel you can get very pleasant smelling essential oils.
Squeeze lemons regularly into drinking water. The vitamin C rich food brings a little flavor to the drink. And supposedly drinking lemon water even helps you lose weight.
10. spinach provides a lot of Vit C
Fresh spinach contains about 50 milligrams of vitamin C, as well as folic acid, beta-carotene and calcium. It therefore provides our body with many important nutrients.
I buy baby spinach every now and then, which I then lift under the salad. Brings super much variety in the salad bowl and tastes wonderful. You can also mix the leaves into the smoothie! Or quite fresh unters sweet potato curry lift.
All these vitamin C foods you can buy at the market or supermarket. But there are also a few exotic ones that would like to be mentioned.
Exotic Vitamin C Food
The true ascorbic acid bombs, by the way, are not available from domestic distributors. And if they were, their vitamin C content would be dwindling due to transportation and storage.
But if you are on vacation and want to fill your vitamin stores, you should reach for these foods. Data in 100 grams:
- The acerola cherry 1700 milligrams
- The fruits of the Camu Camu Shrub 2000 milligram
- The Australian bush plum 3000 milligrams. It consists of 3 percent pure vitamin C.
How to properly utilize vitamin C foods
Vitamin C is unfortunately very sensitive to heat, light and oxygen. If you leave foods with a lot of vitamin C for too long, it can be harmful to the vitamin.
So you should always use vitamin C rich foods promptly. When preparing foods, be careful not to cook them too hot or with too much water. It is best to simply steam vitamin C foods with a little water.
Most vitamins lie in and directly under the peel of food. So peel only if you really have to.
The typical hot water with fresh lemon tastes delicious, but you will hardly find any vitamin C in it.
What is vitamin C actually?
Vitamin C is also scientifically called ascorbic acid. The name translated from Latin means approximately "without scurvy". Seamen often died of scurvy, especially between the 16th and 17th centuries. It was not until the beginning of the 18th century that researchers found out that seafarers could be protected from scurvy with the help of vitamin C. So you can explain the name quite simply.
Unfortunately, our body cannot produce vitamin C itself, but it is found in almost all animal and plant products. Especially fresh vegetables and fruits are vitamin C bombs.
Since vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, we cannot store it in our body. Excess vitamin C is excreted when going to the toilet. So a daily intake through vitamin C food is necessary an overdose does not exist.
The effect of vitamin C
Hardly any other vitamin has as many different functions as vitamin C. Because it is water-soluble, it can very easily give off electrons in a chemical reaction in our body. As a result, vitamin C alters other substances. This is known as a strong reducing agent. This type of reaction is what makes all the different types of effect possible in the first place.
Collagen structure
Collagen is more often heard in connection with care and beauty. This is no wonder, because it is a component of connective tissue and our skin, but also of teeth, blood vessels and bones.
Vitamin C is necessary to be able to produce collagen in our body at all. Vitamin C manufactures procollagen - a precursor of collagen - with ice-white building blocks (lysine and poline).
Procollagen is then processed in the body into different types of collagen. Thus, it ultimately supports the build-up of many different tissue structures.
Vitamin C is used in beauty products mainly against wrinkles and cellulite.
Protection from free radicals
Ascorbic acid protects against oxidative stress. That probably doesn't tell you much at first. :)
Oxidative stress occurs in your body when too many free radicals (highly reactive, very aggressive oxygen compounds) are present in the organism and cannot be neutralized. It is quite normal that these compounds are formed by metabolic processes. The body needs them in small quantities, for example for the immune defense.
Smoking, UV rays and polluted air stimulate the formation of free radicals. Excess can cause cancer, Alzheimer's disease or accelerate the aging process. Vitamin C can react with the free radicals and protect your body.
Carnitine production
Our body needs carnitine for metabolism. It transports fatty acids, without which we cannot gain energy. In order for our body to produce carnitine, we need amino acids and, above all, vitamin C.
A deficiency can therefore lead to fatigue and listlessness. In sports, carnitine is often taken as a performance-enhancing supplement or as a fat burner for support.
In addition: Vitamin C facilitates the absorption of iron. This is especially important for vegans, as iron deficiency can quickly develop in this diet.
What is the daily vitamin C requirement?
The German Nutrition Society (DGE) recommends 95 milligrams daily for an adult woman and 110 milligrams for men. In pregnancy and during breastfeeding and for smokers, the value is even higher.
If you smoke 4 cigarettes a day, your body will consume 60 milligrams of vitamin C. So, as a smoker, you need to take an additional 60 milligrams on top of the 95 milligrams.
The body also consumes a lot of vitamin C during exercise. We simply sweat it out during exercise. If you are very athletic, you should therefore include a lot of vitamin C foods in your diet.
There is a wide range of vitamin C foods. Both fruits and many vegetables are real vitamin C bombs.
You can cover your daily dose with just two oranges, one bell bell pepper or 100 grams of broccoli.
Vitamin C in food supplements
You have the possibility to take vitamin C via dietary supplements. But is a preparation worthwhile at all? Ascorbic acid tablets can shorten a cold, but they will not prevent it.
If you take such tablets over a long period of time, you may increase the risk of kidney stones or have digestive problems. Therefore, you should be especially careful if you have already had metabolic diseases.
Supplements with vitamin C have been shown to have little to no effect. So rather reach for food with a lot of vitamin C than expensive tablets. In the long term, you should not take more than two grams of vitamin C per day!
The advantage of vitamin C rich foods is that you also get other important vitamins and nutrients. Basically, your diet should be very varied. Sounds complicated? It is not! You must just eat colorful, so all the colors of the rainbow put on your plate every day!
Symptoms of vitamin C deficiency
High vitamin C deficiency is called scurvy, as already explained. In our time, however, it hardly ever happens.
Symptoms of severe deficiency are...
- Gum bleeding/tooth loss,
- high fever,
- Muscle atrophy,
- Wound healing disorders,
- Joint inflammation,
- Heart failure.
A slight deficiency is manifested by fatigue, increased susceptibility to infections and lack of strength. Smokers and older people in particular often suffer from a slight vitamin C deficiency.
Your family doctor can check your blood levels for vitamin C content. Treatment is very simple and a deficiency can be corrected within a few weeks.
Our conclusion
Vitamin C foods should definitely not be missed out! You need it to stay healthy, fit and in shape. Fortunately, it's not hard at all to meet your daily needs. There is a wide selection of vitamin C rich foods (rich foods- keywords). Forget about supplement tablets, you can get enough vitamins from fresh foods.
Treat yourself to a delicious rosehip tea instead of grandma's old hot lemon and do something good for your vitamin C household.
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