A generous bowl covers our entire vitamin C needs per day.
Winter is the ideal season to put soup back at the center of our meals. More than just a comfort food, it’s a true source of hydration and essential nutrients. Warm and easy to digest, it warms the body without exhausting it, thus promoting constant and lasting energy throughout the day. By integrating a variety of vegetables, soups are fundamental to supporting immunity, often put to the test by cold and viruses.
While all soups are good, some excel in their contribution of vitamin C, an essential micronutrient for immunity, iron absorption and the fight against oxidative stress. Naturopath Audrey Vergès has highlighted a particularly effective combination of ingredients. A generous bowl (around 300 ml) could easily contain the equivalent of 110 mg of vitamin C, the recommended daily intake for an adult. As a reminder, vitamin C is essential to prevent fatigue and stay in shape throughout the cold season.
To get the most out of these ingredients, here is the recipe recommended by our expert: “a soup with potato, broccoli florets, garlic, onion, coconut cream and a little of our friend ginger“. The potato adds texture to the soup. Broccoli is the vitamin C superstar. Garlic and onion are rich in sulfur compounds and have natural antiseptic and antibacterial properties. Ginger adds a tangy touch that warms and stimulates digestion and coconut cream adds indulgent creaminess and is a source of healthy fats, which help with the absorption of vitamins.
Attention, “vitamin C is very fragile and deteriorates at high temperatures“, warns our expert. This is why it is advisable to add the broccoli at the end of cooking and cook them only very briefly, just enough to soften them before blending the soup. Ideally, prepare the soup then reheat the necessary portion, avoiding repeated reheating.
Few people know it, but vitamin C plays an essential role well beyond immunity: it increases the absorption of non-heme iron (iron present in plants such as lentils, spinach or beans). Consuming this ultra-vitamin soup just before or during a meal rich in legumes or whole grains is therefore the best way to combat anemia and fatigue, by maximizing the amount of iron that your body can use. A perfect duo for energy.
