Never has it become more crucial than during this particular period to pay attention to prevention from seasonal ailments.

Have you ever happened to sneeze(strictly covered by your mask) or blow your nose in public and suddenly have all eyes on you inquiringly and worriedly? I do… and go explain to everyone that I suffer from a severe chronic allergy and therefore look perpetually cold…!

Temperatures are dropping dramatically, and it’s a cinch to make the mistake of making the wrong choice between “sweater VS sweater” and then end up catching a nasty cold or worse, the flu…

So if, like me, you want to prevent a simple cold from making you look like something to avoid, we need to help our bodies defend themselves with the right tools.

And that’s where SHE comes in-the lady of the immune system; VITAMIN C!

Let’s learn more about Vitamin C and its effect on immune defense

Now you will say, Vitamin C, equals orange juice-and no!

It is a common thought that orange is the food that contains the most; but in nature there are foods that contain much more Vitamin C for the same weight.

Let me give you an example: for 100gr of oranges or lemons, the intake of Vitamin C is 50mg,

but for 100gr of peppers the Vitamin C intake even rises to 200mg!!!

You didn’t know that, did you?

Below is a handy table with the top ten foods rich in Vitamin C (ratio per 100gr):

1. Currants – 200mg
2. Yellow and red peppers – 166mg
3. Green peppers – 127mg
4. Turnip broccoli – 110mg
5. Arugula – 110mg
6. Kiwi – 85mg
7. Brussels sprouts – 81mg
8. Strawberries and clementines – 54mg
9. Spinach – 54mg
10. Oranges and lemons – 50mg

All these data are to be considered analyzing of raw product, since, in case you do not know, Vitamin C is as well elusive, tending to diminish or vanish if not taken properly.

The percentage contained in foods changes in relation to several factors such as:

• high temperatures
• prolonged exposure to light and air
• immersion in inordinate amounts of water
• excessive breaking up of the food

Well, at this point you have all the tools to properly help your body implement immune defenses.

Now I’m not saying to juice your peppers in the morning… but by reading this article you have learned to identify foods to supplement your diet to have a nice supply of our dear friend VITAMIN C!

See you in the next article!

By Aunt Franca