VITAMIN C: FOOD VS SUPPLEMENTS

A few years ago, a roundup of over 30 research studies concluded that taking vitamin C supplements didn't decrease the number of colds we were hit with.  However, a study from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that getting vitamin C from the foods in your diet helped a lot. In the study, women whose diets included more than 200 mg of vitamin C a day had a 49% lower chance of coming down with a cold or the flu than did the women whose diets included less than 100 mg a day. You might want to include the following in your diet during cold and flu season rather than spending your money on vitamin C supplements (unless recommended by your doctor for other reasons).

• 1/2 cup of strawberries = 49 mg
• 1/2 cup raw red pepper = 142 mg 1/2 cup cooked = 116 mg
• 1 cup cooked broccoli = 101 mg
• 1/2 cup guava = 188 mg
• 1 medium kiwi = 70 mg
• 1 medium orange = 70 mg
• These are just a few suggestions to help you increase the vitamin C in your diet.