The 18 Highest Vitamin C Foods to Add to Your Diet
Our Registered Dietitian dishes out the top immune-boosting fruits and veggies.
Keeping our immune system healthy is top of mind right now, and vitamin C supplements and pills have never been more abundant. But this water-soluble vitamin is naturally present in all different types of foods that you probably enjoy on a regular basis. When we eat vitamin C-rich foods as opposed to isolating it in pill form, we're also reaping the benefits of the other incredible vitamins and minerals that the whole food has to offer.
Food should always come first, and we know that vitamin C in particular functions as an antioxidant and also plays a major role in immune function (not to mention helping reduce risk of several chronic diseases). Vitamin C can even help individuals with iron deficiency anemia, as it enhances absorption of iron-rich foods. The recommended dietary allowance for healthy adults is 75mg of vitamin C daily for women and 90mg for men, so this vitamin C foods list only includes good or excellent sources of vitamin C that meet 10-20% or more of the daily value. Read on to learn which foods are best to incorporate into your diet to reap their vitamin C benefits.
Stefani (she/her) is a registered dietitian, a NASM-certified personal trainer and the director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition Lab, where she handles all nutrition-related content, testing and evaluation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nutritional sciences from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree in clinical nutrition from NYU. She is also Good Housekeeping’s on-staff fitness and exercise expert. Stefani is dedicated to providing readers with evidence-based content to encourage informed food choices and healthy living. She is an avid CrossFitter and a passionate home cook who loves spending time with her big fit Greek family.
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