Best Sources of Vitamin C for Pregnancy

Vit­a­min C, also known as ascor­bic acid, is a nutri­ent you should con­sume every day if you are preg­nant because your body can­not store it. A good rule of thumb is to aim for at least 3 serv­ings of vit­a­min C each day. If you are a fan of fruit this shouldn’t be a prob­lem. Mind­ful Mum pro­vides a list of Vit­a­min C food below and high­lights why its such a great nutri­ent for you and your grow­ing baby.

Why do I need vit­a­min C?
How much vit­a­min C do I need?
Do I need to take a sup­ple­ment?
What are the best food sources of vit­a­min C?

Down­load List of Vit­a­min C Sources (169).

Why do I need vit­a­min C?

Vit­a­min C helps you and your baby to:

• repair tis­sue
• heal bones and wounds
• main­tain health skin
• fight infec­tion
• helps your body absorb iron

On top of the above ben­e­fits, Vit­a­min C helps your baby grow by:

• build­ing strong bones and teeth
• act­ing as an agent to hold new cells together
• sup­port­ing var­i­ous meta­bolic processes

How much Vit­a­min C do I need?

Accord­ing to the UK Food Stan­dards agency an adult only needs 40 mg of vit­a­min C a day. You can increase this t0 50 mg of vit­a­min C daily dur­ing preg­nancy and 70 mg dur­ing breast feeding. Try to include a vit­a­min C-rich food with every meal to get the most iron out of the other foods you eat.

Do I need to take a supplement?

It’s best to get your daily require­ment of vit­a­min C through your food. You prob­a­bly don’t need sup­ple­ments and you should avoid tak­ing too much vit­a­min C to avoid wind and diarrhea.

What are the best food sources of vit­a­min C?

If you can, its best to get vit­a­min C from fresh sources such as the fruit and veg­eta­bles listed in the table below. Many mums to be and mums feed­ing their tod­dlers pre­fer to buy organic. To avoid pes­ti­cides see what to buy organic and what you don’t need to buy organic. Aim for three serv­ings of fruit, veg­eta­bles or fruit juice from the list below each day.

Down­load List of Vit­a­min C Sources (169).
Go to top of best sources of vit­a­min C for pregnancy.

Sources:

Vit­a­min C sup­ple­men­ta­tion in Preg­nancy, NHS Library, http://www.library.nhs.uk/womenshealth/

UK Food Stan­dards Agency , Risk Assess­ment of Vit­a­min C Food Stan­dards Agency (FSA)and Com­mit­tee on Med­ical Aspects of Food and Nutri­tion Pol­icy (COMA) http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/evm_c.pdf

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