Your body needs vitamin C for the development and maintenance of blood vessels, scar tissue, and cartilage. It also helps create dopamine, ATP, tyrosine, and peptide hormone. Moreover, vitamin C acts as a powerful antioxidant and lowers cancer risk. You can enjoy all these benefits and more by including foods rich in vitamin C in your diet.

Vitamin C Rich Foods

One of the biggest benefits of increasing intake of vitamin C is that it works as an antioxidant and eliminates free radicals from your system. It is also essential for many other bodily functions. Here is a list of foods you can include in your diet to get vitamin C.

1. Citrus Fruits

Grapefruits, oranges, limes, and lemons are all citrus fruits and rich in vitamin C. Even a medium orange provides you with 70mg of vitamin C, whereas a small glass of orange juice will offer more than 93mg of this essential vitamin. You get about 70mg of vitamin C from a small glass of grapefruit juice.

2. Guava

A single serving of this exotic fruit provides you with more than 250mg of vitamin C, which is higher than your recommended daily intake of this vitamin, making it one of the best vitamin C rich foods. You also get folic acid, fiber, manganese, and potassium from guava, which is the reason why it serves as one of the best super foods to include in your diet.

3. Bell Peppers

Loaded with vitamin C and beta-carotene, bell peppers are extremely beneficial for your overall health. Including these colorful veggies in your diet is a good way to improve your cardiovascular health. Moreover, they also prevent blood clots, cataracts, and heart attack. You get about 140mg of vitamin C from one-half cup of red pepper. Yellow bell peppers offer the most amount of vitamin C.

4. Melons

Melons contain vitamin C, as well as potassium and vitamin A. You get about 67mg of vitamin C from a cup of cantaloupe. Similarly, you get about 112% of your recommended daily intake from a single serving of watermelon.

5. Dark Leafy Greens

Mustard greens, kale, chard, watercress, turnip greens, and spinach are all vitamin C rich foods to include in your diet. A single serving of dark leafy greens provide you with more than 130mg of vitamin C, which is quite close to the amount of vitamin C you should be getting daily.

6. Pineapple

A single cup of juice pineapple provides you with 79mg of vitamin C. At the same time, it provides you with bromelain, an enzyme that is supposed to improve protein digestion. Since pineapple is also a great source of fiber, it helps relieve constipation and other digestive issues. Thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties, pineapple works great to boost immunity and promote healing. So, think no more and include pineapple in your diet!

7. Kholrabi

It may not be your favorite in terms of looks, but it still provides you with some beneficial nutrients, including vitamin C. Each cup of kohlrabi provides you with 84mg of vitamin C. It is also quite beneficial for your health because it has cancer-fighting properties. You can try different ways to include it in your diet – you can use it into veggie noodles, use in slaws, or cut into smaller pieces and sauté in olive oil.

8. Mango

Each serving of mango offers about 122mg of vitamin C. Mangoes are also a rich source of an antioxidant called zeaxanthin, which helps prevent macular degeneration by filtering out harmful blue light. You also include frozen varieties in your diet to reap similar benefits.

9. Kiwifruit

It may look small, but a couple of these pint-sized fruits offer 128mg of vitamin C, making it one of the best vitamin C rich foods. Studies show that kiwifruit contains high levels of serotonin, so its regular intake will help you fall asleep quickly. It will also improve your overall sleep quality.

10. Broccoli

A cup of raw broccoli florets provides you with 81mg of vitamin C. It is also a rich source of vitamin K, which helps maintain bone health and promote proper blood clotting. You can include broccoli in your salads or have it in many other ways.

11. Papaya

A medium papaya contains about 182mg of vitamin C, which is actually much more than your recommended daily intake of this vitamin. At the same time, it is laden with potassium, vitamin A, and fiber. You can also use papaya on your face to help cure blemishes.

12. Berries

Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries provide you with a variety of nutrients. It contains loads of fiber, folate, and phytochemicals. By providing you with vitamin C, berries significantly lower your cancer risk and protect you against heart disease. You can easily add berries to your smoothies and desserts to improve their nutrient value. You can also make strawberry ice cream, strawberry shake, and of course, a strawberry smoothie. Adding blackberry to the mix will make it even more beneficial because every 100g serving of blackberries offer about 180mg of vitamin C.

13. West Indian Cherries

If you have not already included them in your diet, you should do it now because they are one of the most important vitamin C rich foods. Only a single cup serving of West Indian cherries provides you with 1650mg of vitamin C – it is actually more than 300% of your RDI of vitamin C.