National Vitamin C Day – Did you get it all this morning?

It’s National Vitamin C day!

There are so many reasons Vitamin C deserves its own day. Load up on strawberries, cherries, papaya, kiwi fruit, broccoli, bell peppers, guava, tomatoes, citrus and many more bright and colourful foods for your daily dose of vitamin C.

Health Benefits

Some of the most interesting facts about Vitamin C relate to its nearly universal benefits for overall good health. In addition to its body maintenance properties, Vitamin C has a wide range of additional health benefits, including:

• Lowering risks for certain cancers
• Improving cholesterol
• Increasing white blood cell counts
• Controlling allergies and autoimmune responses
• Improving regulation of blood glucose levels
• Protects against cognitive impairment
• Lowering the risk of developing cataracts

Interesting vitamin C facts:

• English sailors were called limeys. It was originally used as a derogatory word for sailors in the Royal Navy, because of the Royal Navy’s practice since the beginning of the 19th century of adding lemon juice or lime juice to the sailors’ daily ration of watered-down rum (known as grog), in order to prevent scurvy.
• High dose Vitamin C has been proven as an effective treatment for snakebites in pets.
• Vitamin C and coffee can be used to develop black and white photo film.
• Nobel prize winner, Linus Pauling, popularised the concept of mega-doses of vitamin C. He studied the effects of vitamin C on cancer and common colds. His conclusions have been refuted in later studies by the Mayo Clinic and many others.
• Many people think oranges are the food highest in vitamin C, but there are others with higher levels including red bell peppers, papaya, broccoli, and kale.

Check out the video below for more information about this vital vitamin.