Imagine some classic food pairings: wine and cheese, fruit and nuts, steak and potatoes … iron and vitamin C? For a variety of people, including vegans and endurance athletes, getting enough iron can be a challenge. Even minor levels of iron deficiency can lead to impaired endurance, as well as fatigue, loss of concentration and decreased immune function. While animal-based sources of iron (red meat, poultry, egg yolks and shellfish) tend to be better absorbed than plant-based sources (dark leafy greens, beans, lentils, tofu, some grains and even spices), there are other factors that can improve or inhibit iron absorption.
Tag: vitamin c
To help increase your immunity this cold and flu season, give yourself an extra boost of vitamin C (no supplements required!). This antioxidant is found in a wide range of foods from potatoes to bell peppers. Check out these 5 delicious, vitamin-C rich recipes.
The recommended daily amount of vitamin C is 60 milligrams. Each of the recipes below contains at least 20% (or 12 milligrams) of your daily recommended dose.
Vitamin C has many other roles besides helping stave off the common cold. It also helps form collagen, a building block of connective tissue that gives strength to skin, hair, and nails. Vitamin C also helps increase the body’s absorption of iron.
Beef Pops With Pineapple and Parsley Sauce (above)
These bite-sized skewers get most of their vitamin C from the pineapple chunks. Surprisingly, the rest of the vitamin C (over 15% of your daily dose) is from the chopped parsley.
Recommended daily amount of vitamin C: 53%
You may know that the more you cook a food, the more you destroy its nutrients, but is that true for tomatoes? Not exactly. In fact, some nutrients increase when you cook tomatoes, while others drop off. So what’s a tomato-lover to do?
Which has more vitamin C: a cup of broccoli or an orange? Get the answer and learn more about the benefits of this vitamin.
This winter, protect yourself from those cold or flu bugs going around. Eat more of these fresh foods to build up your immunity.