Vitamin C plays an important role in keeping your body healthy. But due to dietary habits, many people have difficulty getting enough vitamin C, especially those who have lost weight through dieting or are on a keto/low-carb diet.
What Is Vitamin C and Why Do We Need It?
Vitamin C is also known as L-ascorbic acid. Like the B vitamins, it is water-soluble, which means it dissolves in the bloodstream. Vitamin C cannot be stored in the liver or fat cells like the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. It is found in the highest concentrations in white blood cells, eyes, skin, adrenal glands, and brain.
Many animals, including dogs and cats, can make Vitamin C on their own, but humans and other primates cannot because our bodies lack the enzymes necessary to convert glucose into Vitamin C. Therefore, we must obtain this nutrient from our diet.
Effects of It
Although there is not sufficient scientific research to prove that vitamin C can help prevent colds, its role in boosting immunity is well documented. In addition to this, it has many other benefits, including:
- Provides powerful antioxidant protection for the body
- Helps wound healing
- Keeps arteries and veins healthy
- Helps synthesize collagen: collagen is the main protein in skin, bones, cartilage, and ligaments
- Helps produce neurotransmitters: These are chemicals that carry messages within the brain and nervous system
- Helps the body absorb iron from food: deficiency of the mineral iron can lead to anemia, poor growth, and other health problems
It also maintains the integrity of the cells lining the skin and intestines, a barrier that effectively resists bacteria, viruses, and pollutants. As a powerful antioxidant, it helps fight free radicals in the body and reduces inflammation. Vitamin C deficiency can lead to decreased immunity and increase the chances of various infections.
What are the Symptoms of Vitamin C Deficiency?
The optimal range of vitamin C levels in the blood is 0.6-2 mg/d (11-114umol/L). Severe vitamin C deficiency can lead to scurvy, a disease characterized by ruptured connective tissue leading to bleeding gums, loose teeth, swollen joints, severe bruising, and other symptoms.
General symptoms of vitamin C deficiency in the body include:
- Dry hair
- Scaly, rough skin
- Difficulty in wound healing
- Easy bruising or minor bleeding of the skin
- Frequent illnesses or infections
How Much Do You Take a Day?
In general, the intake for adults varies depending on the country, region, and dietary structure, and men should take more than women. The recommended daily intake of vitamin C is 100-200 mg. This can be obtained entirely through the daily diet, so there is no need for additional supplementation for healthy people.
Other studies have shown that for people who are immunocompromised or have a long-lasting cold, taking 2,000 mg of vitamin C supplements daily can improve symptoms. In addition to this, experts recommend that people who smoke should take additional it. Pregnant and lactating women also need more of it than regular people.
Can Keto and Low-Carb Diets Cause Vitamin C Insufficiency?
Those of you who are on a low-carb, keto diet to lose weight may be more concerned about this issue. This is because some of the best food sources of vitamin C are too high in carbohydrates, such as oranges, mangoes, guavas, and pineapples. To lose weight, you have to give up these foods that are high in fructose and carbohydrates.
Dr. Vihjalmur Stefansson, an Icelandic-American explorer, and anthropologist spent some time with the Inuit while exploring the Arctic in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
After returning home to New York, he continued to adhere to an all-meat diet (zero-carb diet) for another year and proved to people that this diet was healthy.
His diet included a large number of animal organs, such as animal hearts, livers, kidneys, and brains. In addition, we can get this essential nutrient from other plant-based foods.
Top 10 Best Food Sources of Vitamin C for the Keto Diet
The following 10 foods are rich in vitamin C and low in carbohydrates, so you don’t have to worry at all about causing blood sugar fluctuations and weight gain.
1、Bell Peppers
Bell peppers contain more vitamin C than any other food, including citrus fruits. Depending on the color, one serving can provide 100-300% of the daily requirement. Per 100 grams of bell peppers, yellow bell peppers contain 184 mg of VitaminC, red bell peppers contain 128 mg, and green bell peppers contain 80 mg.
2、Kale
Cruciferous vegetable kale, in addition to being rich in vitamin C, but also can prevent breast cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, and prostate cancer.
Nutrition per 100 g (3.5 oz):
- Calories: 50 kcal
- VitaminC: 120 mg
- Carbohydrates: 8.8g
- Net carbohydrate: 5g.
- Fiber: 3.8g
- Protein: 4.3 g
- Fat: 0.9 g
How to eat kale?
You can eat it directly with tomatoes, avocados, cucumbers, etc. tossed with salad dressing, or with avocado, olive oil, blueberries, ham hocks, etc. to make a nutritious, tasty, filling, and weight-loss fruit and vegetable juice.
3、Broccoli
Broccoli is also a cruciferous vegetable, which has a very high nutritional value and is rich in vitamin C. Per 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of nutrients:
- Calories: 20 kcal
- VitaminC: 65 mg
- Carbohydrates: 7.2 grams
- Net carbohydrate: 3.9g
- Fiber: 3.3 g
- Protein: 2.4 g
- Fat: 0.4 g
Broccoli is a great side dish for beef, chicken, pork chops, and fish. However, to maximize the retention of vitamin C, it is best cooked by steaming or roasting.
4、Sweet peas
Despite the word “sweet” in its name, it is very low in carbohydrates. Nutrients per 100 g (3.5 oz):
- Calories: 41 kcal
- VitaminC: 64 mg.
- Carbohydrates: 7 grams
- Net carbohydrate: 4.6g
- Fiber: 2.4g
- Protein: 2.4 g.
- Fat: 0g
Sweet peas can be sauteed with other vegetables and meats.
5、Bressels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts are another cruciferous vegetable. Nutrition per 100 g (3.5 oz):
- Calories: 36 kcal
- VitaminC: 62 mg
- Carbohydrates: 7.1g
- Net carbohydrate: 4.5g
- Fiber: 2.6 g
- Protein: 2.6 g
- Fat: 0.5 g
Brussels sprouts can be tossed with olive oil, butter, ghee, and salt and baked in the oven.
6、Strawberries
Berry fruits contain much lower sugar than most other fruits, so they can be consumed properly in keto and low-carb diets. Strawberries are rich in vitamin C and fairly low in carbohydrates. Nutritional content per 100 g (3.5 oz):
- Calories: 32 kcal
- VitaminC: 59 mg
- Carbohydrates: 7.7g
- Net carbohydrate: 5.7g
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Protein: 0.3g.
- Fat: 0.7g
7、Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi, also known as kale head or kohlrabi, is a white, light green, or purple vegetable whose edible part is usually the stem. Nutrition Facts per 100 g (3.5 oz):
- Calories: 29 kcal
- VitaminC: 54 mg
- Carbohydrates: 6.7 grams
- Net carbohydrates: 5.6 grams
- Fiber: 1.1 g
- Protein: 1.8 g
- Fat: 0.1g
Kohlrabi can be eaten in many ways, raw, stir-fried with other vegetables, or in soups.
8、Cauliflower
Cauliflower, also known as cauliflower, is rich in vitamin C. As with other cruciferous vegetables, it helps reduce the risk of cancer. Nutrients per 100 g (3.5 oz):
- Calories: 23 kcal
- VitaminC: 44 mg
- Carbohydrates: 4.1 grams
- Net carbohydrate: 1.8g
- Fiber: 2.3 g.
- Protein: 1.8 g.
- Fat: 0.5 g.
9、Red cabbage
Red cabbage is also known as red kale or purple cabbage. Contains a variety of vitamins and minerals, especially rich in vitamin C. Nutrients per 100 g (3.5 oz):
- Calories: 29 kcal
- VitaminC: 34 mg
- Carbohydrates: 7 grams
- Net carbohydrate: 4.4g
- Fiber: 2.6g
- Protein: 1.5g.
- Fat: 0.1 g
Red kale can be eaten raw in salads or cooked.
10、Chicken liver
Along with fish roe, beef kidney and pancreas, and traditional Inuit foods, chicken liver is the best source of vitamin C in animal foods. It is also an excellent source of protein. The nutritional content of cooked chicken liver per 100 g (3.5 oz):
- Calories: 167 kcal
- VitaminC: 30 mg
- Carbohydrates: 1 gram
- Net carbohydrate: 1 g.
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 25g
- Fat: 6.5g
Sautéing chicken livers in olive oil or butter enhances their unique flavor.
Conclusion
Vitamin C is an antioxidant that plays a key role in maintaining normal immune function, healthy skin, blood vessels, and bones, and can be helpful in the prevention and treatment of certain cancers. A strict keto diet may lead to vitamin C deficiency in the body. And the 10 best food sources mentioned above can meet your body’s needs very well.
