We all know Vitamin C is a bit of a health oracle. Feel a cold creeping in? Have some Vitamin C. Having trouble absorbing iron? Have some Vitamin C.
It’s also full of antioxidants and works to aid your immune system, brain function, and generally supports healing in the skin and body.
But Vitamin C is also an essential for your skin’s health. Particularly, Vitamin C creates healthier, vibrant, and glowing skin.
You can start using a Vitamin C serum or cream to create these benefits but a Vitamin C-rich diet will offer your body, mind and skin some wonderful benefits.
We’ve put together everything you need to know about Vitamin C’s benefits and have listed six Vitamin C rich foods you can start including in your diet for healthier skin.
What does Vitamin C do for my skin?
It’s Full of UV Exposure-Protecting Antioxidants
Vitamin C is packed full with lovely antioxidants — which your skin loves.These actually work to protect your skin from sun damage and the free radicals that come with UV exposure.
This also means hyperpigmentation and brown spots are minimised, eliminated or at least faded from your skin.
The antioxidants and their sun damage-fighting properties totally even out your skin tone while brightening your skin.
It Encourages Collagen Production
Vitamin C seriously supports the production of collagen. Collagen is the secret ingredient for youthful and plump looking skin.
Brightens skin for a glowy complexion
This vitamin’s antioxidants and hydrating properties offer you seriously bright, glowing skin. When it comes to Vitamin C, “You are what you eat,” has never been more true.
How much Vitamin C do I need to improve the health of my skin?
The recommended daily intake for Vitamin C is somewhere between 65mg and 90mg of dietary intake.
Being deficient in Vitamin C is fairly rare because it’s so easy to get. So, it’s not necessarily a multivitamin you need to run out, buy, and measure each morning.
By making a conscious effort to incorporate Vitamin C rich foods into your diet, you’ll start to notice these improvements.
The other option for these Vitamin C benefits is to incorporate a Vitamin C serum or product into your skincare routine.
We put together an article on how Vitamin C, particularly topical products, will benefit your skin. It’s packed full of advice and recommendations for getting that Vit C glow.
6 Vitamin C rich foods
You probably get it by now, Vitamin C is the bee’s knees when it comes to achieving a youthful, bright, and glowing complexion.
So, how do you incorporate more Vitamin C rich foods into your diet and what are they?
Oranges, duh.
When you think Vit C, you think of the orange. Incorporate more of the vitamin into your diet by eating oranges, drinking orange juice, or squeezing some fresh oranges into your morning smoothie.
Other citrus fruits like lemons, limes and mandarins are similarly packed full of Vitamin C.
Loads of fruits
Loads of different fruits provide plenty of Vitamin C. So, if oranges and citrus fruits aren’t your thing, don’t fret.
Below is a list of seriously potent Vit C sources. Eat these as snacks throughout the day, pack them into an acai bowl, or pop them into a smoothie.
- Grapefruit
- Papayas
- Strawberries
- Kiwi Fruit
- Mangoes
- Rockmelon
Capsicum — Red & Green
If you’re not a big fruit person, you’ll be relieved to know that Vitamin C is packed into loads of vegetables you can incorporate into your day as well.
Both red and green capsicums are just one example.
Tomato
Tomato is an amazing way to pack more of a Vit C punch into your diet.
Start the day with a tomato juice or incorporate fresh tomato into a salad or a sandwich. You can also pop tomato puree or passata into your dinner to nab some more — however, Vitamin C’s potency is reduced in cooked tomato.
Kale
One cup of chopped, raw kale offers you 80 mg of vitamin C — that’s almost (89%) of your recommended daily intake.
Pop it in a salad, green juice it up, or include it in a smoothie.
Brussels sprouts
100 grams of raw brussels sprouts will give you 85mg of Vit C — almost your entire recommended daily intake.
Plus, when you cook these — by boiling them and adding a dash of salt, it only comes down to 62mg of Vit C per 100 grams. That’s pretty impressive!
Here are some of the other best foods for healthy skin
Vitamin C isn’t the only vitamin or nutrient you can introduce into your diet to improve your skin. Here are a few of the different nutrients and vitamins you can pop into your diet for healthy, glowing skin.
Antioxidants
Antioxidant rich foods will protect your skin and decrease risk of sun damage and environmental damage. Basically, antioxidants are really neat for preventing sun damage and ageing.
Antioxidant rich foods:
- Onions and leeks
- Seeds, grains and nuts
- Red wine
- Tea
Vitamin E & Vitamin A
Vitamin E and Vitamin A are both antioxidants and provide more of those anti-ageing, UV protection properties.
VItamin E rich foods:
- Nuts
- Vegetable oils (Wheatgerm oil especially)
- Spinach
- Broccoli
VItamin A rich foods:
- Beef liver, lamb liver & liver sausage
- Cheese, milk & eggs
- Yoghurt
There are very few Vitamin A rich vegan or vegetarian foods. If you’re meat and dairy-free, we recommend eating carotenoid rich foods as the body can turn these into Vitamin A.
Carotenoid rich foods:
- Sweet potato & butternut pumpkin
- Kale
- Apricots
Omega-3
Omega-3’s fatty acids offer serious anti-ageing and UV protection properties too.
Omega-3 rich foods:
- Fish (Mackerel, salmon, herring, sardines, anchovies)
- Oysters
- Chia seeds
- Walnuts
- Flax seeds
- Soybeans