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How do I Choose the Best Vitamin C Drink?
With growing concern over vitamin drinks that could potentially be nothing more than sugar water, it helps to read labels carefully. When choosing a vitamin C drink, you should consider sugar content and whether your drink includes other ingredients you may not want. If you're concerned about content, natural vitamin C may be your best choice, rather than a synthetic vitamin C juice.
Vitamin C drinks may come in various forms. Some are in powdered form, which is made is a type of instant vitamin C drink. Basically, the powder is made to be mixed with water. Very convenient for those on the go, powders generally store well. You can place a packet in your lunch tote and use it at any time.
Many people prefer a fresh vitamin C drink or juice from a bottle or can. Again, read the labels to ensure you aren't getting artificial sweeteners and other additives. Some canned vitamin C drinks may be concentrated, so check for that as well. Concentrated vitamin C drinks and juices may lose some of the nutritional benefits in the concentration process.
Freshness is essential, as this will influence the potency of a vitamin drink. Be certain the freshness date is current, otherwise you may be compromising the vitamin content. Packaging may be another crucial factor. Choose a vitamin c drink that is packaged airtight, preferably in a bottle rather than a carton.
Also consider the amount of vitamin C the product claims to provide, some of which may be fortified. Do you want your drink to provide only vitamin C, or would you prefer other nutrients as well? These may be other options for you to consider.
If you are choosing a vitamin C drink solely for nutritional purposes, you generally will have several options. If you prefer a fruit-based product, orange juice is an option. If, however, you'd rather drink a vegetable juice, some contain a decent quantity of vitamin C, and many are all natural.
You can control the ingredients and nutritional value of your vitamin c drink if you make your own. You'll need a few basic ingredients and supplies, including a kitchen blender. Most fruits and vegetables have a good supply of natural vitamin C and other nutrients.
You can blend together any of your favorite fruits or vegetables, add a cup of yogurt and you'll have a delicious smoothie that is healthy, natural, and fresh. The fruit or vegetable blend will be naturally sweet, but you can add a little sugar or sugar substitute. For an added boost of vitamin C, health food stores carry vitamin packets that can be added to your drink.
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AS FEATURED ON:
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![Checking the label helps determine how much vitamin C is in a serving of orange juice.]()
By: designsstockChecking the label helps determine how much vitamin C is in a serving of orange juice. -
![A powdered vitamin C drink mix can be added to water.]()
By: Orlando BelliniA powdered vitamin C drink mix can be added to water. -
![Large doses of vitamin C may cause headache and fatigue.]()
By: lithianLarge doses of vitamin C may cause headache and fatigue.
Discussion Comments
I can't tell you how many times I have thought I had found the perfect healthy vitamin C drink for my kids only to learn that the drink was loaded with sugar or some other type of unhealthy additive. You really have to read the labels and the ingredients section to see what you are and are not getting with these drinks.
Basically, I get the healthiest juices I can find on the shelves, and I use these to supplement drinks like water and milk. And I agree with @Animandel that fruits are a great way to get the vitamins and nutrients we need in our diets.
The best way to get the vitamin C you need is to eat fresh fruit. I agree with @Feryll that juice drinks generally have way too much sugar added to make them a good healthy choice. My family really likes oranges and other citrus fruit, so getting them to reach their needed doses of vitamin C is not difficult, and I don't have to depend on any vitamin C drinks.
Eating healthy is important to me. Some years back, I read an article that was about how sodas affect the body. The main bad part of sodas is the sugar and other sweeteners, but all of the acid is not great for the body either. Anyway, after reading this article, I stopped drinking sodas.
In place of soda I started drinking juice. I already drank a good bit of orange juice anyway. Then I added all other types of juice to my diet in place of the sodas. This was a great source of vitamin C and I thought I was all but cutting out any additional sugar.
Unfortunately, I later learned that all the juice was actually raising my sugar levels because there is such a large amount of sugar added to the average bottle or carton of juice.
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