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Vitamin C is an all-round antioxidant and also essential to help build healthy bones, cartilage and teeth, to heal wounds, and a whole lot more.

A deficiency of vitamin C results in scurvy, a nasty disease that probably killed more than 2 million sailors on long voyages until it was discovered that a little lemon juice (or home-grown cress!) could prevent this completely. Vitamin C helps your immune system to protect you from viruses and bacteria. It’s also a natural laxative. If your child is deficient in vitamin C, you might notice she’s tired, may be prone to infections, any wounds are slow to heal, and her gums bleed easily.

Vitamin C is found in fruit (especially citrus fruits) and vegetables (especially leafy green ones). Don’t be fooled by artificial vitamin C (ascorbic acid) added to soft drinks: many contain negligible amounts, and these drinks may also contain sodium benzoate—a common preservative that reacts with vitamin C to produce the toxic chemical benzene. (See Chapter 6 for more details on how this brain poison has been found in many soft drinks at up to 8 times the maximum that’s legally permitted in drinking water.) The message is: get vitamin C from fresh fruits and vegetables—as many different types as possible!