World Cancer Research Fund nutritionist Becky Day has drawn up a guide to tell consumers how much vitamin C is contained in different fruit and vegetables.
Vitamin C is known to be good for the immune system, and can also help to protect against heart disease and cancer. But while many people know oranges are a great source of vitamin C, there is less awareness about the other fruit and vegetables that contain it, and how much should be eaten to get the recommended daily amount of 60mg.
Day said: “A healthy diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables should provide all the vitamin C that our bodies need every day.
“And oranges are not the only fruit when it comes to getting the vitamin C you need.
“For example, strawberries and kiwifruit are a great source, as are vegetables such as broccoli and peppers.
“It is important that people can visualise how much their recommended daily intake looks like, so hopefully they will be able to use this guide as a valuable tool.”
Fruits high in Vitamin C:
• Oranges (one medium fruit) contain 70mg of vitamin C each.
• Strawberries (24 medium-sized fruits) contain 89mg of vitamin C.
• Kiwifruit (one medium fruit) contains 75mg of vitamin C.
• Mangoes (one large fruit with 355g of flesh) contain 98mg of vitamin C.
• Papaya (one medium fruit) contains 188mg of vitamin C.
• Melon (a quarter of a medium fruit) contains 60mg of vitamin C.
Vegetables high in Vitamin C:
• Broccoli (one medium stalk, boiled, without salt) contains 117mg of vitamin C.
• Pepper (one medium raw green pepper) contains 96mg of vitamin C.
• Spinach (140g eaten raw) contains 96mg of vitamin C.
• Kale (140g, boiled, without salt) contains 53mg of vitamin C.
