Raise your hands if when you cough or sneeze now-a-days and everyone around you quips in unison ‘Take your vitamin C’. That seemed to happen so often that the incredibly inquisitive and research oriented part of me started reading up and absorbing as much as I possibly could about Vitamin C and all its pros and cons. And this is where I am at, full disclosure I am no expert and these are just simple things that we have adopted as a family to up our immunity. Whether or not it helps in the fight against Covid-19 is not my field of expertise and something only time will tell.
Vitamin C is an essential vitamin, meaning your body can’t produce it. Yet, it has many roles and has been linked to impressive health benefits. It’s water-soluble and found in many fruits and vegetables, including oranges, strawberries, kiwi fruit, bell peppers, broccoli and spinach. All of which are abundantly available around us and honestly not that heavy on the pocket. And if we had to pick one as a family that all three of us enjoy very very much it has to be ORANGES! Yes we have our fair share of spinach and broccoli too but oranges have our heart.
A recent study published in Seminars in Preventive and Alternative Medicine that looked at over 100 studies over 10 years revealed a growing list of possible benefits of vitamin C.
“Vitamin C has received a great deal of attention, and with good reason. Higher blood levels of vitamin C may be the ideal nutrition marker for overall health,” says study researcher Mark Moyad, MD, MPH, of the University of Michigan. “The more we study vitamin C, the better our understanding of how diverse it is in protecting our health, from cardiovascular, cancer, stroke, eye health and immunity to living longer. “But,” Moyad notes, “the ideal dosage may be higher than the recommended dietary allowance.” That is a topic of discussion for some other day I guess. Let’s talk about oranges in general.
One medium-sized orange has:
- 60 calories
- No fat or sodium
- 3 grams of fiber
- 12 grams of sugar
- 1 gram of protein
- 14 micrograms of vitamin A
- 70 milligrams of vitamin C
- 6% of your daily recommended amount of calcium
- 237 milligrams of potassium
- 15.4 grams of carbohydrates
The vitamin C in oranges helps your body in lots of ways:
- Protects your cells from damage
- Helps your body make collagen, a protein that heals wounds and gives you smoother skin
- Makes it easier to absorb iron to fight anemia
- Boosts your immune system, your body’s defense against germs
So all in all Vitamin C is a total YAY for us! We would love to know what you think!
- I personally love them just as they are whole gorgeous and juicy.
- Rio loves to have them in the fresh juice form, also it gives us an activity for the day, the washing-cutting-juicing of oranges keeps us busy for a better part of an hour and I am not complaining
- They are an incredible addition to salads as well, gives them such a summery feel. Our personal favorites are The Citrus Walnut Salad and the Orange-Fig-Gorgonzola Salad
- This next one is a winner, one of the best Orange Chicken recipes I have ever tried.
- And if you have a sweet tooth then try this Orange Drizzle Cake, I promise you are in for a treat.
So all in all it is a win-win the way I see it, irrespective of your reasons for consuming it, Vitamic C is a serious YAY in my book. I mean just look at the list above, what’s not to love.
* While the information on this website has been verified to the best of our abilities, we cannot guarantee that there are no mistakes or errors . All information posted is merely for educational and informational purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Should you decide to act upon any information on this website, you do so at your own risk.
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