Oranges are a delicious fruit which are quite popular for their high vitamin C content. However, you should know that there are lots of other very potent sources of vitamin C other than oranges and other usual suspects such as apples.
If you don’t really have an easy access to oranges where you live, or simply would like some variety, here are some foods you never knew actually have more Vitamin C than oranges:
1. Brussels sprouts
This wonderful vegetable is a member of the Gemmifera group of cabbages, grown for its edible buds. They are typically 2.5-4 cm in diameter, and look like small cabbages. You can derive about 70 milligrams of vitamin C from an average orange, but you can get about 74 milligrams of vitamin C from one cup of raw Brussels sprout. Brussels sprouts loose some of their vitamin C when cooked.
2. Kale
This vegetable is often referred to as leaf cabbage. It refers to certain vegetable cultivars of the plant species brassica oleracae. A kale plant has green or purple leaves, and the central leaves do not form a head. Two cups of raw kale has about 80 milligrams of Vitamin C.
3. Broccoli
This vegetable is also in the cabbage family, and it has a large flowering head which is eaten as vegetable. The word broccoli comes from the Italian plural of broccolo, which means “the flowering crest of a cabbage”, and is the diminutive form of brocco, meaning “small nail” or “sprout”.
Broccoli is often boiled or steamed, but can be eaten raw. You can try one cup of broccoli to get in 81 milligrams of Vitamin C.
4. Kiwi
Kiwi fruit or Chinese gooseberry is the name given to the edible berries of several species of woody vines in the genus Actindia. The most common cultivar group of kiwifruit is oval, about the size of a large hem`s egg. Just one large kiwi has 84 milligrams of Vitamin C.
5. Strawberries
The garden strawberry is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus fragaria. It is cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The fruit is widely appreciated for its characteristic aroma, bright red color, juicy texture and sweetness. There is 84 milligrams of vitamin C in a cup of whole strawberries.
6. Red and yellow bell peppers
Also known as sweet pepper, bell peppers are a cultivar group of the species capscium annuum. Plant cultivators produce fruits in different colors including yellow, red, orange, green, brown, vanilla and purple. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties.
Just one large red bell pepper has a stunning 209 milligrams of vitamin C. Better still, a large yellow bell pepper contains 340 milligrams of vitamin C.
Image courtesy of: hesca.org, healthydiningfinder.com.
