Vitamin C Sources. Know Them And Stay Healthy.

Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is a water soluble vitamin. Water soluble vitamins like vitamins C and B don’t require fatty, greasy meals to be better absorbed like fat soluble vitamins A and D.

Vitamin C Facts.

Ascorbic acid deficiency or vitamin C deficiency is pretty rare now days, and mostly seen in malnourished adults. It can be seen in Crohn’s disease patients since we have malabsorbtion problems. The phenomenon of malabsorption or semi permeable gut is also called Leaky Gut Syndrome and is associated with many vitamin deficiencies. In really extreme cases, ascorbic acid deficiency can lead to scurvy that is characterized by gum bleeding, anemia, weakness, and bruising, bleeding and loose teeth.

Vitamin C Food Sources:

• Rose hips and rose hip tea are great vitamin C sources.
• Sweet peppers are full of great vitamins.
• Black currants and freshly squeezed blackcurrant juice are great vitamin C food sources.
• Oranges and orange juice are great vitamin C sources minus the sugar of course.
• Freshly squeezed organic orange juice will most likely have more natural vitamin C.
• Citrus fruits are great vitamin C sources.
• Cranberries and cranberry juice are great vitamin C sources.
• Sea buckthorn berries are hard to find but are great vitamin C sources.
• Apples and freshly squeezed organic apple juice are wonderful vitamin C sources.
• Tomatoes and freshly squeezed tomato juice have many great vitamins and are great vitamin C sources.
• Pomegranates and pomegranate juice are great vitamin C sources.
• Grapes, freshly squeezed grape juice are great vitamin C sources.

Vitamin C Dose.

Ideal vitamin C dose might be much higher than the regular daily recommended dose. Regular vitamin C dose recommended is 60mg daily. But for short term use vitamin C is taken up to 2 grams or even 2.5 grams daily (that’s 2000mg to 2500mg daily). These high doses are certainly not to be taken as maintenance vitamin C dose. High doses are certainly not recommended for patients with renal (kidney) problems and stone problems.

The dose that’s recommended in Functional medicine (I am a pharmacist and also a Functional Medicine Practitioner) for stable patients under stress is at least 1 gram daily (1000mg daily). And we are all under stress. Stress could be dietary, environmental, job related, family related and temperature related. Do you know anyone that’s not under stress? I don’t. I take vitamin C. And when I have some kind of tough flu or respiratory infection I even go get my vitamin C intravenously.

Vitamin C is not stored in the body. It’s a water soluble vitamin and the excess amounts of vitamin C are excreted mostly with urine. So overdose of vitamin C is not a big concern. It's still very important not to exceed the safe upper limit of 2,000 milligrams (some health experts say that you could go up to 3,000mg) a day for short term use to avoid diarrhea and stomach upset.

And now there are some studies that recommend not overdosing with vitamin C that’s used for prolonged period of time. They suggest that taking more than 1 gram (1000 mg) daily for prolonged period of time could lead to sexual dysfunction, hormonal imbalance, electrolyte imbalance, kidney dysfunction and kidney stone formation.

The best time to take vitamin C is after a meal unless specified differently. This could possibly prevent gastric irritation or upset stomach.

It is best to eat vitamin-C rich vegetables and fruits raw, or you can cook them with minimal water. This way you don't lose some of the water-soluble vitamins. Vitamin C is easily absorbed both in food and in capsules, tablets, powder or liquid forms. But buffered vitamin C in powder has really great absorption. Vitamin C can improve the absorption of iron when they are taken together.

If you are looking for great quality buffered vitamin C powder, click Buffered Vitamin C and type in “buffered vitamin C” in the search box.

Vitamin C Antioxidant.

Vitamin C antioxidant goldmine. The benefits of vitamin C are numerous. They include heart, bone and skin benefits. Vitamin C is great for immune system and adrenal function and so much more.

Vitamin C Food Sources – What is the best way to get more vitamin C in your diet?

Vitamin C is found in many fruits and vegetables. One very important vitamin C fact is that most people don’t enough of it from their diet. Smokers loose more vitamin C and need to take more to replenish it.

Vitamin C Sources – Best Ways To Get Vitamin C From Your Diet

• Lemons
• Green Peppers 1/2 cup, 60mg of vitamin C
• Red Peppers 1/2 cup, 95mg of vitamin C
• Broccoli
• Sweet Potatoes And White Potatoes
• Strawberries
• Papaya
• Mango
• Raspberries
• Blueberries
• Pineapples
• Winter Squash
• Broccoli cooked 1 cup: 74mg of vitamin
• Cabbage
• Tomato juice, 1 cup: 45mg of vitamin C
• Kiwi, 1 medium: 70mg of vitamin C
• Red Cabbage 1/2 cup: 40mg of vitamin C
• Orange Juice 1 cup: 97mg of vitamin C
• Cantaloupe 1 cup (8 ounces): 59mg of vitamin C
• Watermelon
• Green Peppers And Red Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Cauliflower
• Dark Leafy Greens
• Cantaloupe
• Brussels Sprouts

Many recent studies suggest that organic fruits and vegetables have more vitamin C than non-organic, pesticide treated fruits and vegetables.

Try these time saving ways to get more vitamin C rich foods into your diet:

• Froze fruit slices and use them as a desert.
• Cut up veggies and fruits enough for two days and use for lunch or snack.
• Use dark green lettuce or cucumbers as the sandwich wrap instead of bread.
• Use raw veggies with grilled eggplants or hummus as a dip.
• Can use frozen blueberries or raspberries in the yogurt smoothie.
• Try freshly squeezed vegetable juices half hour before lunch meal.

You really need to consume at least about 500 milligrams of vitamin C in your diet.

If you can’t get enough from your diet go to your next step and consider getting a great quality vitamin C supplement from a very reputable company. Click HERE and type in "vitamin C" to choose your best vitamin C in powder or vegetarian capsules.

I hope you find your favorite vitamin C sources here. Stay well.


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