We have all heard of Vitamin C and its ability to fight off the common cold, but did you know that Vitamin C also plays a role in maintaining the health of collagen and connective tissues as well as acting as an antioxidant? Like most vitamins, Vitamin C is not made in your body on its own so you have to include plenty of food sources that contain Vitamin C in order to achieve these awesome heal the benefits. Read on to learn more about the health benefits and natural food sources of this powerful nutrient!

This week’s Nutrients by the Alphabet: Vitamin C

That’s right, in this new series – Nutrients by the Alphabet – you will learn all about important nutrients (vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants), their health benefits, and easy and delicious ways to get more of the good stuff with a fun recipe to try each week (courtesy of my awesome student-intern from Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate High School – Shelby Persechino)!

So, what are the health benefits of Vitamin C?

Vitamin C promotes healthy skin and collagen formation by forming an important protein used to make skin, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels. It helps to heal your wounds and also decreases the amount and duration of skin redness following cosmetic skin procedures like wrinkle or scar removal. As an antioxidants, Vitamin C improves mineral absorption and reduces inflammation and the development of disease. Free radicals can build up in the body caused by harmful molecules and Vitamin C fights against these free radicals. Vitamin C also fights off colds and flu by strengthening your immune system. In fact, Vitamin C has been shown to improve stressed immune systems as well as help cancer treatment. The cool thing is that Vitamin C has been shown to target only the cells that are in need of these nutriments, unlike other drugs that can harm normal cells as well. Studies have shown that people who have high concentrations of vitamin C in their blood have a lower risk of stroke. Vitamin C improves physical performance by improving your oxygen intake during exercises and reduces your blood pressure. With all these health benefits, it’s easy to see that everyone can benefit from getting enough Vitamin C in daily!

So, how much Vitamin C do you need and where can you find it?

The RDA of Vitamin C for men age 19 and older is 90mg per day while women age 19 and older is 75mg per day. You can find Vitamin C in guava, black currant, red pepper, kiwi, green peppers, orange, strawberries, papaya, broccoli, kale, parsley, pineapple, Brussels sprouts, grapefruit, peas, cauliflower, and mango.

Looking for a healthy tasty recipe to increase your Vitamin C intake? Try this Roasted Halibut with Grapefruit Fennel Salsa from Food Network.