How to Incorporate Vitamin C into your Diet as the Days Get Darker
Many of us wish summer could be a year-round season but for many of us, there will inevitably be winter days and months. Depending on what part of the country or world you live in, winter can be harsh on the brain and body. A great way to care for your body so it is prepared for the shorter, darker days is to make sure you have all the vitamins you need for a well-functioning body.
If you have a well-rounded diet, you probably get most of your vitamins from the foods you eat and/or daily vitamins you take. During the winter, there is one vitamin that’s very important for your diet and that’s Vitamin C. Since it is not a naturally occurring supplement nor is it stored in your body, it constantly needs to be replenished especially during the season with fewer sunny days. Whether Vitamin C is in your diet or not, there are ways to incorporate it into the foods you eat or through supplements.
What is Vitamin C?
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient involved in the repair of tissue and enzymatic production of neurotransmitters. Vitamin C helps to boost your immune system by supporting the function of certain enzymes in your body.
Many people get stuck with a cold during the winter months which is why it is important to have sufficient vitamin C in your body to make it strong enough to fight sickness away. Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant that helps with collagen production, which is a key component of connective tissue and is essential for healing wounds on your body.
There are a couple of easy ways to bump up your vitamin C intake and incorporate it into your diet. The easiest way is to buy Vitamin C supplements. If you take a daily multivitamin, depending on the brand, there is not always sufficient Vitamin C in them. While there is a small amount of vitamin C in those, it wouldn’t hurt to take Vitamin C on its own to give you that extra boost. You can find them in a chewable form as well which makes it super easy for those that don’t like to swallow pills. Before you overload on Vitamin C, you need to understand how many mgs are in each Vitamin C tablet you take, because too much of anything is never good. A healthy daily amount is between 65-90 milligrams per day.
Another easy way to add Vitamin C to your diet is by adding certain Vitamin C-heavy foods to your diet. You can even drink vitamin C! These foods are high in Vitamin C and can be incorporated into any breakfast, lunch or dinner or as a snack:
Carrots
Vitamin C in carrots contains the highest content per serving compared to any other food
Oranges
Have about 128% vitamin C in one orange!
Broccoli
Boost immunity and is high in fiber, great to curb overeating as well
Papaya
It will boost your immunity because it’s packed with vitamin C and you even get Vitamin A with this one, oh, and antioxidants!
Guava
This superfruit has 280% Vitamin C, like wow! It also prevents diabetes.
Vegetable juice and Orange juice
These fruit juices will provide you with 100% of your recommended daily amounts of Vitamin C in one 8oz glass!
There are many vitamin C alternatives and many ways to make sure your body gets sufficient Vitamin C during the winter months. When it’s cold outside, juices and vegetables are not the first things that come to your mind so try incorporating Vitamin C forward veggies like some broccoli and carrots to your next warm, stir fry dinner. If you don’t like taking vitamins, order our juices, and your body will thank you for it.