Eat a daily dose of vitamin C
I didn’t put oranges in the graphic because oranges, with 82 mg per orange, do not have the highest vitamin C content. I would guess that we associate Vitamin C with oranges because orange growers hired effective advertising agencies.
The thing is, vitamin C from fruit and veg is highly effective in reducing the incidence of stroke, as well as lung cancer and death from breast cancer. For instance, in a large study it was found that those eating vegetables 6-7 days a week were 67% less likely to have a stroke than people who ate vegetables 2 days or less a week.
A study of 870 men found that those who consumed more than 83 mg of vitamin C a day had 64% less lung cancer than the men who consumed less than 63 mg a day.
This is not to say that you shouldn’t supplement with vitamin C, especially if you aren’t eating much fruit and veg. Vitamin C supplements are effective. For example, a 2014 review of studies involving women with breast cancer found that those who supplemented with vitamin C had a lower breast cancer mortality rate: Vitamin C and survival among women with breast cancer: A Meta-analysis.
But, did you know that you can easily grow broccoli, strawberries, kale and lots of other fruit and veg? The upside to growing things for yourself is that when you come home from work you can grab a quick, healthy snack that will protect and serve your health for years to come.
Even more important than the convenience of growing your own strawberries is the fact your home grown strawberries will be much healthier for you than strawberries in grocery stores which are loaded with pesticide.
You can easily eat a daily dose of vitamin C, enough to lower your risk of stroke by 67%, or lung cancer by 64%, or death from breast cancer. Plus, vitamin C is a natural antibiotic… Read more.
Below is a list of foods containing vitamin C. Do any of the foods surprise you? I was astonished that oranges have so much less vitamin C than bell peppers, broccoli and brussel sprouts. I would not have guessed. Papayas have a lot of vitamin C, too, but they aren’t quite as handy (at least in terms of garden growing) as bell peppers, broccoli and brussel sprouts.
Fruit and Vegetable Vitamin C Content
| Fruits | Vitamin C content in mg. |
| Apples, 1 | 7.87 |
| Apricots, 1 | 3.50 |
| Banana, 1 | 10.74 |
| Blueberries, 1 cup | 18.86 |
| Cantaloupe, balls/cubes 1 cup | 67.52 |
| Cranberries, half cup | 6.41 |
| Grapefruit, 1 half | 44.00 |
| Grapes, 1 cup | 3.68 |
| Kiwi fruit, 1 | 57.00 |
| Lemon juice, fresh, quarter cup | 28.06 |
| Oranges, 1 | 70.00 |
| Papaya, 1 | 187.87 |
| Pear, 1 | 6.64 |
| Pineapple, 1 cup | 23.87 |
| Plum, 1 | 6.27 |
| Raspberries, 1 cup | 30.76 |
| Strawberries, 1 cup | 81.65 |
| Watermelon, balls/cubes, 1 cup | 14.59 |
| Vegetables | vitamin C content in mg |
| Asparagus, boiled, 1 cup | 31.50 |
| Avocado, sliced, 1 cup | 11.53 |
| Basil, dried, ground, 2 tsp | 1.84 |
| Beans, green, cooked, 1 cup | 12.13 |
| Beets, Boiled, 1 cup | 6.12 |
| Bell peppers, red, raw, 1 cup | 174.80 |
| Broccoli, steamed, 1 cup | 123.40 |
| Brussel sprouts, boiled, 1 cup | 96.72 |
| Cabbage, boiled, 1 cup | 30.15 |
| Carrots, raw, 1 cup | 11.35 |
| Cauliflower, boiled, 1 cup | 54.93 |
| Cayenne pepper, dry, 2 tsp | 2.72 |
| Celery, raw, 1 cup | 8.40 |
| Chili pepper, dried, 2 tsp | 3.84 |
| Cloves, dried, ground, 2 tsp | 3.56 |
| Collard greens, boiled, 1 cup | 34.58 |
| Corn, yellow, 1 cup | 10.16 |
| Cucumbers, slices, with peel, 1 cup | 5.51 |
| Fennel, raw, sliced, 1 cup | 10.44 |
| Garlic, 1 ounce | 8.85 |
| Kale, boiled, 1 cup | 53.30 |
| Leeks, boiled, half cup | 2.18 |
| Mushrooms, Shitake, 8 oz | 5.98 |
| Mustard greens, boiled, 1 cup | 35.42 |
| Onion greens, chopped, 1 cup | 18.80 |
| Onions, raw, 1 cup | 10.24 |
| Oregano, dried, ground, 2 tsp | 1.52 |
| Parsley, fresh, 2 tbs | 9.97 |
| Peas, green, boiled, 1 cup | 22.72 |
| Potato, baked, with skin, 1 cup | 15.74 |
| Romaine lettuce, 2 cups | 26.88 |
| Spinach, boiled, 1 cup | 17.64 |
| Squash, summer, cooked, 1 cup | 9.90 |
| Squash, winter, baked, 1 cup | 19.68 |
| Sweet potato, baked, 1 | 17.06 |
| Swiss chard, boiled, 1 cup | 31.50 |
| Tomatoes, ripe, 1 cup | 34.38 |
| Turnip greens, cooked, 1 cup | 39.46 |
| Yam (Dioscorea, cooked, 1 cup | 16.46 |