What’s Vitamin C? And Why Do You Need It Daily?

Vitamin C is more than just that singer that came out with the Graduation (Friends Forever) song. Remember it?

The OG Vitamin C, aka L-ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin. Since water-soluble vitamins are generally not stored in your body, you need to make sure that you get them regularly from your diet and/or a dietary supplement. 

But how do you do that? And why? 

We’ll show you some Vitamin C sources, tips on getting more in your diet, and why you want to!

Vitamin C Sources (And How To Get More)

Good ole Vitamin C can be found in some of your favorite (and maybe not-so-favorite) foods.

Veggies:

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Kale
• Red, Green, or Yellow Pepper
• Sweet and White Potatoes
• Tomatoes and Tomato Juice

Example: If you were to eat one green chili pepper you could get around 109 mg of Vitamin C.

Fruits:

• Cantaloupe
• Kiwi
• Orange (and Orange Juice)
• Papaya
• Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, and Cranberries
• Watermelon

Example: If you were to eat one small orange you could get around 51.1 mg of Vitamin C.

So, if you’re good at getting your fruits and veggies in, you might be a Vitamin C pro already. 

If not, here are some ideas to increase your Vitamin C intake.

Want to know a few tips to get more Vitamin C in?

• Find a good Vitamin C supplement. Whether it’s something you can drink or something you can take in a multivitamin, it will ensure that you get some in!
• When possible, eat your fruits and vegetables raw to preserve the vital nutrients.
• Start your day with Vitamin C. Fruit smoothies, grapefruits, and orange juice all sound yummy and convenient.

The recommended tolerable upper limit of Vitamin C is 2,000 mg per day. It’s rare and very unlikely to overdose on Vitamin C but some individuals might experience some digestive discomfort if they get more than 2,000 mg per day.

Now that we’ve gone over how to get more Vitamin C in your life, let’s talk about why you would want to!

Benefits of Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid)

Who doesn’t love a healthy immune system? Being sick is the worst. But being a mom that is sick is even worsER ← definitely not a word but it was needed for emphasis-reasons ;). 

If you knew you could boost your immune system AND your child’s immune system by making sure you both take your Vitamin C daily, wouldn’t you do it?

Vitamin C is involved with a couple of different parts of your immune system. 

1. Acts as an antioxidant. The role of an antioxidant is to protect your cells against free radicals. 
2. It also helps with skin, bone, and cartilage health. Vitamin C helps strengthen your skin’s barriers. This is important since our epidermis contains defensive Langerhans cells that alert the body’s immune system to viruses and other issues. 

Sounds mutually beneficial!

Vitamin C also aids in the absorption of iron. This is especially important for women, who are more likely to be deficient in iron. So, eating foods rich in Vitamin C alongside iron-rich foods can help improve iron absorption.

Vitamin C is essential for growth and repair of tissue all over the body and since our bodies can’t make it on its own, we need to make sure to get it in our daily diet.

Vitamin C U Later

You should get to know Vitamin C (and all of the water-soluble vitamins) that your body needs and find ways to get them into your daily diet.

Since water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water and are absorbed in the tissues for immediate use, the body isn’t storing any for future use (any excess is eliminated in urine). 

Want to boost your immune system while helping your body grow, develop, and repair all body tissues? 

Then get some more Vitamin C in your life!!