Enjoying the full benefits of vitamin C means consuming it daily and not just when your body is stressed with symptoms of a cold, or congested sinuses. At a time like this, it is imperative to have it at your disposal.
It is always better to get vitamin C from food, rather than supplements. However, if your diet isn’t balanced, you can aid the daily recommended amount by taking supplements.
Vitamin C plays various roles in keeping our system healthy; bone structure, iron absorption, healthy skin and immune function. In her YouTube video this week, Ayo Elizabeth Olaogun;a certified Nutritionist and fashion entrepreneur based in Australia, gives us some insights on how to eat our vitamins.
It features some foods that contain Vitamin C and their relative amounts of Vitamin C in milligrams per 100 grams of fruit / vegetable. Below are highlights of the interesting video.
- The human body does not produce vitamin C. You can only get vitamins from fruits and vegetables as well as supplements as mentioned above.
- It is very possible overdose on vitamin C. Some of the side effect of an overdose include; Nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhoea etc so be careful not to over do it
- The body eventually gets rid of amounts it doesn’t need after getting the much needed amount of vitamin C
- Taking Vitamin C is not a preventive measure for catching cold or a flu. Consuming the right amount of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis can grant your body the maximum benefits of Vitamin C.
She then went ahead to mention some of the fruits and vegetables that has a very good amount of vitamin C suitable for your consumption. See this as a free consultant recommendation!
- Guavas – It isn’t very easy to come by but it contains 220 – 230 MG per 100grams of vitaminC
- Strawberries – These are not also very easy to come by and are quiet expensive except you live in the North. It contains 60 – 65 MG per 100 grams of Vitamin C
- Paw Paw (Papaya) – This is a very good source of vitamin C a lot more than your regular citrus fruits. it contains 75 – 90 MG per 100grams of vitamin C
- Red Bell Pepper – This has more vitamin C than the yellow bell pepper and the green bell pepper (90 -120 MG per 100grams). It even has more vitamins than Orange/ orange juice (50 – 60 MG per 100grams). It is way more better to eat these peppers raw in order not to loose the vitamins in it. it contains 127 – 130 MG per 100grams of Vitamin C. So whenever you are having a bowl of salad, add some bell peppers for healthy vitamin c!
- Broccoli – This is also a good source of vitamin C even though they aren’t so easy to come by especially here in Nigeria and are quite pricy it contains 80 -90 MG per 100grams of vitamin C
- Tomatoes – These are very good sources of vitamin C, they contain 25 – 30 MG per 100grams of Vitamin C
- Mangoes, Lemon and Lime – These 3 fruits contain the same amount of vitamin C so they can be substituted. it has 30 – 35 MG per 100grams of vitamin C
Ayo also admonishes us to include exercise and physical activities to your daily routine to promote health especially now that there is a pandemic.
Are you going to eat a vitamin C today? let us know which of the recommendation you are taking!
About the Writer
Ayo Elizabeth Olaogun is the founder of Eat Right Africa and the Creative Director of popular fashion brand, Ayo Van Elmar. The trained nutritionist started the Eat Right Africa initiative “because she could no longer do nothing with her long acquired knowledge and initial professional background as a nutritionist.” Eat Right Africa aims to ignite a positive change in the mental attitude of Africans towards food and health.