What is vitamin C?

Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin, It is required for collagen production, bones and teeth health, Immune system, adrenal function and others.

Additionally, if you are deficient in vitamin C you can face problems such as fatigue, joint pain, bleeding gums, poor immune function and more.

Human’s cannot make their own vitamin C hence, it must be consumed through food. An adult man must consume 90mg of vitamin C per day and for adult women it is 75mg.

Vitamin C is not very hard to get from food, here is the list of 9 foods which are the richest source of vitamin C.

1.Kakadu plum

Kakadu plum is an Australian fruit which was traditionally used to treat headaches, colds, flu etc.

It has the highest known concentration of vitamin C. Just 100 grams of this fruit contains up to 7000mg of vitamin C. Far more than what you actually need in a day.

They have a very sour taste and are fibrous that’s why they are not eaten directly but used in the form of fermented products such as jams, sauces and pickles.

2.Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is a Germen dish which is made by fermenting cabbage. The cabbage is mixed with salt water and spices and kept for 2-4 weeks in a closed mason jar until it turns into pickle.

100 grams of cabbage contains 40mg of vitamin C but when it is fermented into sauerkraut the vitamin C content in it increases many folds. 100 grams of sauerkraut contains over 700mg of vitamin C!

Sauerkraut has many other benefits such as providing probiotics for the gut, increasing digestion, increasing texture and flavor of the food, providing vitamin K2.

3.Indian gooseberries

Also known as amla is a light green color fruit which is grown in India and has many health benefits.

Just one fruit contains up to 700mg of vitamin C in it. Amla is also known to be good for eyes, heart and has anti cancer properties.

4.Orange juice

Oranges in it self are rich in vitamin C but freshly squeezed orange juice provides much more vitamin C per serving and has other health benefits.

Just 100g of fresh orange juice contains 83mg of vitamin C in it. On top of that orange juice provides other health benefits such as reducing inflammation in the body, anti cancer, fighting oxidative stress etc.

Not to mention that we are not talking about conventional orange juice which comes in tertrapacks in supermarkets but freshly squeezed juice from fresh oranges.

5.Kiwi

Kiwi is abundant in vitamin C. 100 grams of kiwi contains 92mg of vitamin C which is more than what an adult women needs in one day.

Kiwi has other health benefits such as boosting immunity and providing antioxidants to the body which helps decrease oxidative stress.

6.Bell peppers

All the bell peppers especially the red ones are very rich in vitamin C.

100g of red bell pepper contains 127mg of vitamin C.

Vitamin C is destroyed by cooking and bell peppers are almost always eaten cooked. So, do not rely only on them for vitamin C.

A better way to eat bell peppers raw is to ferment them. This will not only increase their vitamin C content but also increase their nutritive value a lot more.

7.Lacto fermented vegetables and fruits

Lacto fermentation is a process which is used by humans since a very long time to preserve perishable foods. Lacto fermentation is a process in which fruits and vegetables are preserved with salt and sugar for 3-4 weeks. This increases the enzyme content, shelf life, flavor and texture of the food.

Fermentation does not only preserve the food but also increases the nutritive value of the fruits and vegetables especially the vitamin C content.

fermented fruits and vegetables will always have far greater content of vitamin C and including them in your diet is a very good way to get enough vitamin C.