What’s in ‘C’son? by Dr. Olivia Froehlich

Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables Highest in Vitamin C

Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is an extremely important vitamin. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant, it is required for proper collagen synthesis, blood vessel formation, iron absorption, and for an effective natural immune response.

EVERY season has a reason for you to eat or take proper amounts of vitamin C, not just in the fall and winter where strong natural immunity is needed for colds, flus, and viruses, oh my. In the spring, you want to combat seasonal allergies and lingering viruses with a continued strong immune system. In the summer, we need to combat damaging free radicals (caused by spending more time in the sun and at the jersey shore enjoying libations) with strong antioxidants.

So let’s review foods highest in vitamin C during their peak harvest seasons so that you can be sure to get THE best sources of vitamin C during THEIR best seasons–or what we refer to as “the four ‘C’sons”.

In this article, we list fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C per season, along with their milligrams (mg) of vitamin C per 100 grams (g) of the fruit or vegetable. We’ve also compiled this information into table for easy referencing as you choose what foods to grow or purchase for your dietary sources of vitamin C. It is available as a downloadable and print friendly PDF file as well!

Spring (March, April, May)

Acerola cherries, 1,000-4,500 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Broccoli, 89 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Snow peas, 60 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Navel oranges, 53 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Summer (June, July, August)

Black currants, 160-285 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Chili peppers, 193 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Bell peppers, 128 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Lychees, 71.5 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Papaya, 61 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Strawberries, 59 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Cantaloupes, 36 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Tomato, 23 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Autumn (September, October, November)

Rose hips, 1,150-2,500 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Guavas, 228 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Kale, 120 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Broccoli, 89 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Mustard greens, 70 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

American persimmons, 66 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Brussel sprouts, 62 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Cauliflower, 45 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Cabbage, 36.6 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Tomato, 23 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Winter (December, January, February)

Kale, 120 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Kiwis, 93 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Broccoli, 89 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Mustard greens, 70 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

American persimmons, 66 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Brussel sprouts, 62 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Lemons, 53 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Navel oranges, 53 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

Cabbage, 36.6 mg of vitamin C per 100 g

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