Oranges Are NOT the Best Source of Vitamin C

There's definitely no shortage of Vitamin C foods in this world. When you think of Vitamin C foods the first thing that pops in your heads is probably oranges or orange juice.

But what if I were to tell you that there are a number of foods that have more Vitamin C than oranges? I know, I know... sounds blasphemous, right?

But there are many foods high in Vitamin C other than oranges and I will tell you which ones they are. I'll also go over a few common citrus foods with Vitamin C. And I'll even go over the foods you think are high in Vitamin C but are not.

The King has arrived...

Before I go into the Vitamin C foods, I want to share with you the one food source that has the highest amount of Vitamin C. And that food is called acerola.

One cup of this exotic berry (about the size of a cherry) has over 1600mg of Vitamin C. Unfortunately it's very tart in flavor so you'll see this in the powder form or in the juice form.

Bossa Nova has an acerola juice product and it has an interesting taste to it (they also have an acai juice as well). It has a peachy taste with a nice punch of sour to it. The peachy-ness is probably from the peach & dragonfruit they add to tame the tartness of the fruit.

The acerola juice has around 1,000mg of Vitamin C in just 8oz!

The other big players...

Now that we got out of the way, let's go over some other foods high in Vitamin C. First we'll go over the non-citrus foods high in Vitamin C, then the citrus fruits, and lastly the ones you think should be loaded with Vitamin C but aren't.

Other than acerola, the best Vitamin C foods are red, yellow & green bell peppers, broccoli and kiwi. This is based on the size of the fruit relative to the amount of Vitamin C it contains.

First up are the non-citrus foods:

Food Amount Vitamin C (in mg)

Pepper (yellow bell) 1 medium-sized 341 mg

Pepper (red bell) 1/2 cup 95 mg

Pepper (green bell) 1/2 cup 45 mg

Papaya 1 papaya 188 mg

Broccoli 1/2 cup 58 mg

Brussels Sprouts 1/2 cup 48 mg

Strawberries 1 cup 98 mg

Kiwi 1 medium 71 mg

I was surprised to find that the bell peppers are loaded with Vitamin C.

Now let's go over some of the citrus fruits high in Vitamin C.

Food Amount Vitamin C in mg

Orange juice (fresh) 8oz 124mg

Pummelo 1 cup (pieces) 116mg

Grapefruit juice (white or pink) 8oz 94 mg

Orange (navel) 1 medium-sized 80 mg

Grapefruit (pink) 1/2 medium-sized 47mg

Lemon 1 medium 31mg

Lime 1 medium 20mg
Now for the ones that'll surprise you:It's interesting that of the citrus fruits, the ones with the highest amounts of Vitamin C are in the juice version (except lime juice or lemon juice). I was quite surprised to see that the citrus fruits faired so low compared to other Vitamin C food sources.

Food Amount Vitamin C in mg

Tangerine 1 medium-sized 26mg

Apple 1 medium-sized 8mg

Pear 1 medium-sized 7mg

Carrots 1 medium-sized 7mg

Peach 1 medium-sized 6mg

Cherries 10 cherries 5mg
Eating 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day will easily get you at least 200mg of Vitamin C. Problem is most people are too busy to do this and want something quick & easy.Now you know the best Vitamin C foods to add to your diet.

Detective's Determination: I definitely recommend eating whole foods but if this isn't possible to do then the alternatives are having natural healthy juices and/or a multi-vitamin. Just make sure the juices deliver at least 100mg of Vitamin C in a one bottle serving and watch out for the amount of sugar in each serving.

A better option is a good multi-vitamin or Vitamin C supplement with at least 200mg of Vitamin C per serving.

Uncovering the Myth and Truth about Antioxidants, Health and Nutrition.

Get your vitamin C here Herbal Store