Broccoli is one of the richest foods in vitamin C. Actually, a serving provides more vitamin C than the recommended daily intake! It has more vitamin C than orange!
How much vitamin C do we need a day?
According to the National Institutes of Health, we need about 75-90 mg of vitamin C per day.[1]
We can easily get this dosage from food. Most healthy people won’t benefit from taking high dosages from dietary supplements.
Broccoli is a great dietary source of vitamin C
Actually, broccoli is one of the richest foods in vitamin C. Broccoli has about 91 mg of vitamin C per 100g.[2]
A cup of chopped broccoli has about 82 mg of vitamin C. This dose is 91% of the Daily Value (DV).
Moreover, a small floret provides 9 mg of vitamin C, or 10% of the DV.
Broccoli leaves are high in vitamin C as well. They have slightly more vitamin C than broccoli florets. Broccoli leaves have 93.2 mg of vitamin C per 100g. Not only are broccoli leaves edible, they’re also very nutritious!
How to cook broccoli to preserve vitamin C?
Vitamin C is very vulnerable to heat. A high percentage of vitamin C is lost during cooking. Boiled broccoli has only 65 mg of vitamin C per 100g. Almost 30% of its vitamin C content is lost during boiling.
In order to preserve more vitamin C, it’s better to steam broccoli and other vegetables rich in vitamin C, such as cauliflower, kale, or spinach. As vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, less vitamin C leaches into the water during steaming.
Furthermore, you can sprinkle lemon juice on the cooked broccoli in order to get more vitamin C. Lemon juice is also an excellent dietary source of vitamin C.
Broccoli has more vitamin C than orange!
In fact, broccoli has more vitamin C than orange! Orange has about 59 mg of vitamin C per 100g. Hence, broccoli has 54% more vitamin C than orange!
However, consuming orange or drinking orange juice is the easiest way to boost our daily intake of vitamin C. Just a glass of freshly squeezed juice contains about 76 mg of vitamin C, or 85% of the DV. All citrus fruits are high in vitamin C.
