We all know that we need to eat a well-balanced diet including many fruits and vegetables. But sometimes we forget and need to be reminded why. After all, fast food hamburgers and tacos sure do taste good.

One of the reasons for eating fresh, unprocessed food is the natural vitamins that we are getting. Take vitamin C for instance. This vitamin is a powerhouse of health that can help prevent diseases, improve your skin, and help you lose weight.

Vitamin C occurs naturally in foods like:

• Parsley
• Broccoli
• Bell pepper
• Strawberries
• Oranges
• Lemon juice
• Papaya
• Cauliflower
• Kale
• Mustard greens
• Brussels sprouts
• Grapefruit

All of these foods are high in vitamin C and are delicious. Next time your hungry and searching for a snack, try one of these fruits. You’ll find over time that by eating one of these instead of chips or candy, you’ll be naturally losing weight.

Benefits

What’s so great about vitamin C? Vitamin C is an antioxidant. Antioxidants protect your body from free radicals and prevent aging. Free radicals contribute to plaque building up in your arteries which leads to heart attack and stroke. Vitamin C can prevent this from happening and protect you from heart disease.

Vitamin C is great for your skin. Your skin can benefit from vitamin C both topically and orally. By eating plenty of fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamin C, you will be nourishing all of your body’s cells from within and make them healthier.

You can apply vitamin C cream to your skin for many benefits. Used topically, it is absorbed into the skin and can’t be sweated or washed off. But be careful buying topical vitamin C. It is unstable and can’t be stored for long periods of time because the vitamin C oxidizes. Be wary of any cream that says it has high amounts of vitamin C in it. It may have when it was first produced, but more than likely doesn’t after a short period of time.

Using vitamin C on your skin will stimulate collagen and elastin production. This prevents wrinkles and helps your skin regain its elasticity. Check into making your own vitamin C cream to avoid high priced creams that probably won’t work. Even though it is hard to keep the vitamin C from oxidizing, applying vitamin C cream to your skin will help it more then taking it orally because your body will flush out the excess.

Other benefits of vitamin C include:

• Scientific research has proven that vitamin C helps people with inflammatory conditions such as asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

• Asthma sufferers have long known that a high intake of vitamin C helps their lungs function better.

• Prevents debilitating diseases.

• Increase the body’s immunity.

Dosage Amounts

How much vitamin C your body needs depends on who you choose to listen to. The RDA recommends the following:

• Women – 75 mg
• Men – 90 mg
• Women (cigarette smokers) – 110 mg
• Men (cigarette smokers) – 125 mg

It is believed that full saturation of vitamin C occurs at 200-500 mg. Natural Health Food Specialists recommend 500 mg of vitamin C per day to achieve the benefits listed above.

The most important factor to remember when taking vitamin C is to listen to your body. Vitamin C is water-soluble. This means that it is not stored in your body and must be consumed every day because what your body doesn’t need – it flushes out. So unlike fat-soluble vitamins, it isn’t stored in your body and it can’t poison you if you take too much.

Start out with small doses of vitamin C and gradually increase the amounts. You will know you have taken too much vitamin C if you have diarrhea or nausea. If this happens, just go back to your last smaller dosage.

The best way to get the benefits of vitamin C is with fresh fruits and vegetables. Eat plenty of the fruits and vegetables listed above on a daily basis in their natural state. You can make juices but be sure to store them in the refrigerator for no longer than two or three days.

If you would like the benefits of vitamin C but eat a diet high in fast food and processed foods, begin by gradually adding in these foods. Keep a fruit basket on your kitchen counter and train yourself to choose a fruit the next time you are looking for a snack and plan meals that include plenty of vegetables. Before you know it, you will feel and look better.