12 Foods with More Vitamin C than Oranges and Some Surprising Health Benefits

You most likely have heard how vitamin C is one of the major go-to sources for fighting illness, particularly the common cold. It can be found infused in many food items, cough drops and even beauty products.

Technically known as L-ascorbic acid, when you think of vitamin C you may immediately picture oranges. Yet, there are many foods that contain more vitamin C than the this citrus staple which is often boiled down and re-fortified as highly acidic orange juice.

Learn of the 12 foods with more vitamin C than oranges and some surprising health benefits that go beyond a simple cold fix.

Organic Strawberries – A Good Weight Loss Snack

While oranges contain about 70 mg of vitamin C, strawberries contain about 85 mg per cup. Even though the recommended daily allowance is 60-90 mg, many believe that higher doses can be more advantageous to your health.

Science magazine reports that the Nobel Prize–winning chemist, Linus Pauling, who was ostracized from the medical community for “championing the idea that vitamin C could combat a host of illnesses, including cancer” may have been correct after all.

Lewis Cantley at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City continued research done by Jihye Yun, former graduate student at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore (now postdoc at Weill Cornell) showing in a 2015 study that,

“…large doses of vitamin C did indeed kill cultured colon cancer cells…Then they gave daily high dose injections—equivalent to a person eating 300 oranges—to mice engineered to develop KRAS-driven colon tumors. The mice developed fewer and smaller colon tumors compared with control mice.”

Strawberries can also help stabilize blood sugar which means they are a great snack for weight management. Note: The Environmental Working Group cited strawberries as the #1 pesticide loaded fruits so be sure and consume organic choices.

Mango – Enhance Your Vision

This tropical fruit is worth its weight in vitamin C containing a whopping 122 mg per fruit. One a day surpasses the RDA and may even help enhance your vision. Mango contains good amounts of the antioxidant zeaxanthin which helps filter harmful blue light rays which have been linked to the development of macular degeneration. NaturalHealth365 reports that, “a six-year study at the National Eye Institute in Maryland concluded that lutein and zeaxanthin can protect against both blindness and reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration.”

Kiwi – Possible Sleep Fix

Another tropical wonder is the kiwi fruit which hold 128 mg of vitamin C in every two consumed (you can’t just eat one!). Covered in furry brown skin, once a kiwi is opened a sweet, juicy green, small seeded pulp emerges. The best way to eat these egg shaped orbs is by slicing off a small section of the top and then gently digging a spoon along the inner skin until it pops out and you can easily consume it.

Kiwi has also been shown to contain antioxidants and even serotonin contributors which may help with sleep.

Researchers from the School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan, published a study on the benefits of kiwi for sleep in the Asian Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition stating that,

“Numerous studies have revealed that kiwifruit contains many medicinally useful compounds, among which antioxidants and serotonin may be beneficial in the treatment of the sleep disorders…Kiwifruit consumption may improve sleep onset, duration, and efficiency in adults with self-reported sleep disturbances. Further investigation of the sleep-promoting properties of kiwifruit may be warranted.”

Bell Peppers – Helps Heart, Arthritis, and Cancer

The three colors of bell peppers are red, yellow and green with each holding unique attributes that include 95 mg of vitamin C in the green up to an impressive 341 mg in the yellow. At just 45 calories per cup, bell peppers offer a robust snack that may enhance not only your vitamin C intake but contribute to increased heart health, reduced arthritis symptoms and assist in combating possible cancer cells.

The UK’s Daily Mail reports that,

“Pigments such as beta-carotene and lycopene can cut cholesterol levels by 5.9 per cent with ‘bad’ cholesterol levels falling by 12.9 per cent, according to research in the British Journal Of Nutrition.”

“The University of Manchester researchers discovered that Vitamin C – along with antioxidants beta-cryptoxanthin and beta-carotene, and found in red peppers – play a key role in protecting against arthritis.”

“As rich sources of beta-carotene and lycopene, red peppers could help stave off cancer, say researchers at the University of London. In an analysis of 21 studies, men who ate a diet rich in lycopene had an 11 to 19 per cent reduced risk of prostate cancer.”

Other high sources of vitamin C include:

• Brussel sprouts
• Broccoli
• Papaya
• Pineapple
• Tomato
• Grapefruit
• Cantaloupe
• Kohlrabi (an odd, purple vegetable from the cabbage family)

All it takes is some vigilant choices when it comes to your health. These 12 foods with more vitamin C than oranges and some surprising health benefits show how simple it is to go beyond processed choices to easily enhance your quality of life.