If we asked you to name us some foods with more vitamin C than oranges, you wouldn’t be the only one scratching your head. Ever since our first sickday, we’ve been led to believe that only a fruit so bold that it was named solely for its colour could save us from the clenches of the common cold.
Looking back on history, we have good reason for synonymising oranges with vitamin C. They’re cheap, resilient, tasty and sweet, and just one eight-ounce glass of OJ provides over 100% of one’s daily requirement of vitamin C–the skin-cleaning, wound-healing, fever-reducing, sugar-regulating, blood flow-improving compound.
So is it safe to say oranges and their juice have cornered the supermarket on vitamin C? Hardly. Here are some everyday foods that have considerably more vitamin C than oranges.
5. Brussel sprouts – 60% more vitamin C than oranges
Making friends with these leafy buds early in life certainly has its benefits. Housing a host of antioxidants and vitamins, including vitamins A, C and E, the detoxing properties in these greens have been shown to prevent various cancers.
4. Broccoli – 86% more vitamin C than oranges
Even if you still have to plug your nose to eat it (grow up already), taking down just a few stalks of this cruciferous veggie will go a long way. In addition to being a natural anti-inflammatory, broccoli is high in fiber, calcium and vitamin K.
3. Kale – 126% more vitamin C than oranges
Don’t let that Kelly Kapowski T-shirt-wearin’ hipster sway you from reaching for that stack of tough leafy greens. In addition to vitamin C, this superfood is packed with iron, antioxidants and cancer-fending vitamins A and K.
2. Guavas – 329% more vitamin C than oranges
Native to Asia, but slowly becoming a household fruit in the West, the health benefits of Guavas read longer than a Pacman Jones rap sheet. High blood pressure. Obesity. Aging skin. Bad eyesight. Cancer. Examining the laundry list of ailments these fever fighting fruits tackle, their insane vitamin C content is only the beginning.
1. Green Chili Peppers – 356% more vitamin C than oranges
Just when you thought your spice tolerance only paid off at wing-eating contests. Among all the antioxidants packed inside these little firecrackers, chili’s contain capsaicin which, in addition to reducing cholesterol levels, has anti-diabetic and anti-bacterial properties.
While OJ might be the most convenient choice to fulfill that vitamin C fix, the numbers show that foods garbed in not orange, but green, are some of Mother Nature’s best kept C-crets.
*percentages based on milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams
