The Power of Vitamin C
By: Leah Wilson
Vitamin C can be beneficial to the body in many ways. It may be able to help reduce chronic disease, may lower risk of heart disease, and may boost immunity. Here is a little more information about how exactly vitamin C works to benefit your body in these ways:
- Reducing chronic disease: vitamin C can help increase antioxidant levels, which helps your body fight inflammation.
- Lower risk of heart disease: There are many factors that can increase risk of heart disease. Vitamin C has been shown in some studies to help reduce risk factors such as high blood pressure and high LDL levels.
- Boosting immunity: Vitamin C helps encourage the production of white blood cells, which help protect the body against infection.
Vitamin C is an essential vitamin, meaning that the body cannot produce it and must obtain it through food sources. The recommended daily intake for women is 75mg and for men is 90mg. Sometimes it is hard to keep track of the amount of a certain vitamin being consumed per day, but vitamin C deficiencies are pretty rare and there are many foods that contain vitamin C. I try to make meals that I know I can change up easily that way I have variety and don’t think of consuming my daily RDI(recommended daily intake) of vitamins as a chore.
Many fruits and vegetables have vitamin C such as bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, oranges, cantaloupe, berries, and papaya. There are several different ways to incorporate these foods into your day so that you don’t get bored. For breakfast, I always like to make a smoothie. Here is everything I add into my smoothie:
- Frozen berries (raspberries, blackberries, & blueberries)
- Frozen papaya
- Spinach
- Almond milk
- Agave (artificial sweetener can be used also)
- Maca Powder (optional)
- Collagen Powder (optional)
Smoothies are great because you can tailor them to what you like best and they are very versatile. I occasionally will add frozen banana as well, which makes the smoothie even more creamy. Side note: papaya is not only filled with vitamin C, but it is also beneficial for your digestive system. Papayas contain an enzyme called papain that aids in digestion.
A staple meal that I love to make for dinner is a turkey and vegetable bowl. It contains:
- Lean ground turkey
- Bell peppers (any color of your choice)
- Zucchini
- Rice
You can add the seasonings you like best, but I usually add enchilada sauce and some garlic and onion powder. You can also add cheese on top if you would like. Both zucchini and bell peppers contain vitamin C, so this is a great dinner option. You can add other vegetables that you like as well.
I hope you enjoyed this blog! Remember that you should not rely on vitamin C solely for treatment, but it can still be beneficial to incorporate in your diet!
REFERENCES
Megan Ware, R. D. N. (2017, December 21). Papaya fruit: Health benefits, uses, and risks. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/275517#benefits
Raman, R. (2020, February 18). 7 Impressive Benefits of Vitamin C Supplements. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-c-benefits
