The antioxidant vitamin C is essential to many biological functions, including collagen synthesis, skin and tissue repair, maintaining teeth and bones and combating various ailments. Healthy adult males should get at least 90 mg of vitamin C daily, and healthy adult females should get at least 75 mg a day. Many fruits and vegetables provide vitamin C. Flaxseed is a seed that provides fiber, healthy fatty acids and other nutrients that may help remedy constipation, balance blood cholesterol levels and prevent heart disease and certain cancers. You can combine flaxseed and vitamin C at every meal -- even for snacks.
Step 1
Grind flaxseed in a coffee or seed grinder for better digestion and improved absorption of its nutrients. Ground flaxseed is also more versatile, allowing more opportunities for combining it with foods that contain vitamin C.
Step 2
Mix whole or ground flaxseed into batters and doughs for muffins, scones, cookies, bread and other baked goods. Add dried fruit as a complementary source of vitamin C. This combination goes well in pancake and waffle batters, too. Note, however, that the drying process sometimes reduces the vitamin C content of fruit.
Step 3
Sprinkle ground flaxseed over oatmeal and cold breakfast cereals. Add sliced banana or fresh berries for their vitamin C content. If you don't want to add fruit to your cereal, have a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice with breakfast instead.
Step 4
Add ground flaxseeds to low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese for a healthy snack. Combine it with vitamin C by mixing in your favorite fruit.
Step 5
Include leafy dark greens, tomatoes, bell pepper and broccoli -- all of which are good sources of vitamin C -- in your salad. Add berries, melon, kiwi or other fruit, too, if you like. Finish the salad by tossing in whole flaxseeds or sprinkling in ground flaxseed.
Step 6
Stir 1 tsp. of ground flaxseed into mayonnaise or mustard. Spread it on a sandwich and add a few slices of tomato for vitamin C.
Step 7
Dust your vegetable side dishes, including spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and potatoes, with ground flaxseed.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid); Steven D. Ehrlich, NMD; June 2009
- Linus Pauling Institute; Vitamin C; Jane Higdon, Ph.D., and Victoria J. Drake, Ph.D.; November 2009
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Flaxseed; Steven D. Ehrlich, NMD; October 2008
- MayoClinic.com; Does Ground Flaxseed Have More Health Benefits than Whole Flaxseed?; Katherine Zeratsky; January 2010
- Go Ask Alice!: Do Dried Blueberries Have the Same Health Benefits as Fresh Blueberries?
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