Special Precautions & Warnings
Pregnancy and breast-feedingLIKELY SAFEPOSSIBLY UNSAFE
Infants and children: Vitamin C is LIKELY SAFE when taken by mouth appropriately. Vitamin C is POSSIBLY UNSAFE when taken by mouth in amounts higher than 400 mg daily for children 1 to 3 years, 650 mg daily for children 4 to 8 years, 1200 mg daily for children 9 to 13 years, and 1800 mg daily for adolescents 14 to 18 years.
Alcoholism: Alcohol intake can cause the body to excrete vitamin C in the urine. People who regularly use alcohol, especially those who have other illnesses, often have vitamin C deficiency. These people might need to be treated for a longer time than normal to restore vitamin C levels to normal.
Alzheimer’s disease: Taking vitamin C along with vitamin E and alpha-lipoic acid might worsen mental function in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Angioplasty, a heart procedure: Avoid taking supplements containing vitamin C or other antioxidant vitamins immediately before and following angioplasty without the supervision of a health care professional. These vitamins seem to interfere with proper healing.
Cancer: Cancerous cells collect high concentrations of vitamin C. Until more is known, only use high doses of vitamin C under the direction of your oncologist.
A metabolic deficiency called “glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase” deficiency: Large amounts of vitamin C can cause red blood cells to break in people with this condition. Avoid excessive amounts of vitamin C.
Best Natural Ingredients For Your Skin
Vitamin C serums can be topically applied to the skin and may provide benefits such as protection against damage caused by UV exposure, including collagen damage and wrinkling. And while its no replacement for sunscreen, a vitamin C serum routinely applied before sun exposure may help prevent premature aging of the skin. It may also help protect against pigmentation issues by interfering with melanin synthesis. Youll see many options of vitamin C serums including ones with additional ingredients, such as vitamin E or hyaluronic acid.
Adults Under 65 Years Of Age
In line with the EFSA , the average vitamin C requirement in healthy adults is considered to be the vitamin C amount that compensates for the metabolic losses of vitamin C and ensures a fasting ascorbate plasma level of 50 µmol/l.
Based on the present data from studies with non-smoking men, metabolic losses of 50 mg/day are assumed as well as an absorption rate of 80% and an urinary excretion of 25% of the vitamin C intake. Taking this into account, the calculated average requirement in men is 91 mg/day. Considering a coefficient of variation of 10% , a recommended intake of about 110 mg/day for men is derived .
Table 2
Calculation of the recommended intake of vitamin C for adults
As data on metabolic losses in women are not available, the vitamin C requirement in women is extrapolated from the requirement in men and in relation to their body weight, because body weight is considered to be an essential factor for gender-related differences in the pharmacokinetics of vitamin C. Taking into account their reference body weight, the average requirement in women is 77 mg/day. Assuming a coefficient of variation of 10% , the recommended intake for women is about 95 mg/day .
With intake levels according to the recommended intake for adults, the desirable plasma concentration of > 50 mol/l and saturation of immunocompetent cells is achieved .
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Food Sources Of Vitamin C
Food
Bell pepper, red, raw
Bell pepper, green, raw
Lemon juice
In large population studies, people who eat lots of fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C appear to have a reduced risk for various types of cancer, including cancers of the mouth, esophagus, stomach, colon, and lung. But it’s not clear that these benefits come specifically from vitamin C. The Age-Related Eye Disease Study found that a daily supplement containing 500 milligrams of vitamin C, 400 international units of vitamin E, 15 mg of beta carotene, 80 mg of zinc, and 2 mg of copper can help slow the progression of macular degeneration, an age-related eye disease that causes vision loss. But we don’t know what benefits, if any, are conferred by vitamin C in particular.
Many people take vitamin C supplements in unnecessarily high doses to prevent or treat various conditions for which its effectiveness is unproved. The vitamin C supplements have variously been touted for preventing cardiovascular disease and osteoarthritis, staving off sunburn, and improving the appearance of wrinkles. None of these purported benefits have been verified in scientific studies.
The recommended vitamin C dosage per day for healthy women is 75 mg per day . For adults, the tolerable upper intake level the highest daily intake likely to pose no risks is 2,000 mg per day.
Vitamin C Intake For Kids
Whenever you feel that tickle in your throat signaling the start of a cold, the first thing you may do is reach for your vitamin C in hopes that it may help keep you from getting sick.
While you may marvel in the powers of vitamin C for its ability to help you battle your virus, its more than an immune booster. The water-soluble nutrient is essential not only for your health, but it’s necessary for the normal growth and development of your child.
Your kids need a daily dose of vitamin C to support the formation of muscles and bones, help with the production of energy and create the neurotransmitters that aid in the communication between your childs nerves and muscles.
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Should I Take More Vitamin C When Im Sick
Many people pop vitamin C pills when they feel a cold coming on. Though vitamin C helps the immune system, it does very little for a cold.
A study from the Australian National University found that vitamin C supplements did not prevent colds at all. Supplementation, in a few cases, helped people get over the cold a little bit faster since about 8 percent of participants had one less day of sickness due to vitamin C.
If you want to play it safe and add more vitamin C when youre sick, its still best to do it through food. Add more citrus or greens. Even if the vitamin C doesnt make a difference, the healthy food will help you feel better.
How To Take It
The best way to take vitamin C supplements is 2 – 3 times per day, with meals, depending on the dosage. Some studies suggest that adults should take 250 – 500 mg twice a day for any benefit. Talk to your doctor before taking more than 1,000 mg of vitamin C on a daily basis and before giving vitamin C to a child.
Daily intake of dietary vitamin C is listed below.
Pediatric
- Men over 18 years: 90 mg
- Women over 18 years: 75 mg
- Pregnant women 14 – 18 years: 80 mg
- Pregnant women over 18 years: 85 mg
- Breastfeeding women 14 – 18 years: 115 mg
- Breastfeeding women over 18 years: 120 mg
Because smoking depletes vitamin C, people who smoke may need an additional 35 mg per day.
The dose recommended to prevent or treat many of the conditions mentioned in the Uses section is often 500 – 1,000 mg per day.
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Why Take Vitamin C
Everyone, whether children, adults, to pregnant and nursing mothers, needs to meet the daily needs of vitamin C. This is because vitamin C has many benefits for the health of the body and beauty of the skin, among others:
Increases endurance and aids the recovery process. Various complaints such as coughs and colds can be prevented by adequate vitamin C needs in the body, especially during fatigue or when going to strenuous activities. Vitamin C is also called well consumed to prevent dengue fever.
As an antioxidant that helps protect the bodys cells from damage from free radicals. Thus inhibiting the probability of premature aging, also the plan of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Vitamin C to your skin plays a part in the creation of collagen, which is a protein required to assist the wound healing process, stop wrinkles, and slow the aging process, additionally able to keep youthfulness, and lighten skin.
Vitamin C increases the absorption of iron from food and helps the immune system Function well to protect the body from Illness.
Some research results believe that vitamin C can help maintain the health of cartilage, bones, and teeth. And also maintain the health of the heart and blood vessels, to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Vitamin C is also thought to prevent bile and cataracts ailments.
Adults Above 65 Years Of Age
So far, pharmacokinetic studies with elderly people or persons with infection, inflammation or other diseases have not been conducted. There are no significant data on deriving other reference values for older adults in comparison with younger adults.
At medium vitamin C intake, no differences regarding the absorption or the metabolism of older compared with younger adults are known. Lower blood concentrations of vitamin C in elderly people may, for example, be due to insufficient intake, chronic diseases or other factors like permanent medication, but not to an effect of aging itself .
Thus, the reference values for younger adults are applied to adults above 65 years – 110 mg/day for men and 95 mg/day for women .
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What Are The Preferred Sources Of Vitamin C
There is no reason to take vitamin supplements if you eat a healthy whole food plant-based diet. Vegetables and fruits are good sources of vitamin C. You can see analytically the list with the richest foods in vitamin C here. For instance, kale, broccoli, or peppers are particularly high in vitamin C.
How Much Vitamin C Should You Take
Vitamin C is a water-soluble nutrient with many vital functions in your body.
It helps strengthen your immune system, aids collagen production and wound healing, and acts as an antioxidant to protect your cells from free radical damage .
Vitamin C is also known as L-ascorbic acid, or simply ascorbic acid.
Unlike other animals, humans cannot synthesize vitamin C on their own. Therefore, you must get enough of it from foods or supplements to maintain good health (
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Common Nutrient Deficiencies: Know The Signs
Severe vitamin C deficiency may bring about scurvy, a condition that includes symptoms ranging from fatigue to depression, joint pain, poor wound healing, and bleeding gums. Though serious, scurvy and even vitamin C deficiency are rare in developed countries. Theres one exception: Smokers have a more-than-threefold-greater risk of vitamin C deficiency, according to research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. This is likely because smoking causes greater vitamin C turnover in the body. Cigarette smoking increases free radicals in the body, which damages our cells antioxidants such as vitamin C counteract this damage but are depleted more quickly in people who smoke.
How Much Vitamin C Is Enough
Most of the studies Moyad and his colleagues examined used 500 daily milligrams of vitamin C to achieve health results. That’s much higher than the RDA of 75-90 milligrams a day for adults. So unless you can eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, you may need to take a dietary supplement of vitamin C to gain all the benefits, Moyad says. He suggests taking 500 milligrams a day, in addition to eating five servings of fruits and vegetables.
“It is just not practical for most people to consume the required servings of fruits and vegetables needed on a consistent basis, whereas taking a once-daily supplement is safe, effective, and easy to do,” Moyad says. He also notes that only 10% to 20% of adults get the recommended nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
Moyad says there is no real downside to taking a 500-milligram supplement, except that some types may irritate the stomach. That’s why he recommends taking a non-acidic, buffered form of the vitamin. “The safe upper limit for vitamin C is 2,000 milligrams a day, and there is a great track record with strong evidence that taking 500 milligrams daily is safe,” he says.
Continued
Still, American Dietetic Association spokeswoman Dee Sandquist, RD, suggests doing your best to work more fruits and vegetables into your diet before taking supplements.
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Where To Get Your Vitamin C For Fertility
Food Serving the amount of Vit C/mg Recommended Daily Intake %
- Rosehip seeds 1 cup 541mgs
- Papaya 1 medium 168.08 mg 224%
- Bell Peppers 1 cup 117.48 mg 157%
- Broccoli 1 cup 101.24 mg 135%
- Brussels Sprout 1 cup 96.72 mg 129%
- Strawberries 1 cup 84.67 mg 113%
- Pineapple 1 cup 78.87 mg 105%
- Oranges 1 medium 69.69 mg 93%
- Kiwifruit 1 medium 63.96 mg 85%
- Cantaloupe 1 cup 58.72 mg 78%
- Cauliflower 1 cup 54.93 mg 73%
Other good food sources of Vitamin C are kale, cabbage, bok choy, grapefruit, parsley, and turnip, beet, mustard, and collard greens.
While whole food sources will always be best, supplementation may be helpful if you struggle with digestive issues and vitamin and mineral absorption. Work with your holistic health provider to find the best dose for your diet and lifestyle.
Side Effects Of Vitamin C Supplementation
Many studies have shown no significant adverse health effects to humans, from vitamin C supplementation. People who may experience some discomfort, are those who have:
- a history of kidney stone formation,
- iron overload,
- taken other drugs, as well.
Side effects may be diarrhea, gastrointestinal disturbances due to the osmotic effect of unabsorbed vitamin C, or mild nausea.
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How Much Vitamin C Per Day
In 30 seconds
Vitamin C is a micronutrient with a big role to play in your bodys health. Its essential for your immune system, organ and tissue functioning, and wound healing.
The recommended daily vitamin C dosage depends on a number of factors. It ranges from 15-75mg for children, 75mg for adult women, 90mg for adult men, and 85-120mg for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. You can easily achieve this by including plenty of fruit and veg in your diet.
You can also take a vitamin C supplement for an extra health boost, but it is recommended that you never exceed 1,000mg per day.
A healthy diet isnt complete without a good dose of vitamin C. This essential nutrient is a chemical that the human body cant synthesise on its own, so we need to eat plenty of vitamin C rich foods and potentially take a supplement to make sure that our C-levels are up to scratch.
In this article, we set out the key facts about vitamin C: What does it do in the body, how do we get enough of it each day, and is there such a thing as too much vitamin C?
Which Foods Are Best For Vitamin C
Most fruits and vegetables contain some vitamin C however, certain varieties are particularly valuable sources of the nutrient. These are:
Vegetables: Peppers, tomatoes, potatoes , and green vegetables such as broccoli and brussels sprouts.
Fruit: Oranges and orange juice, other citrus fruits, strawberries, and blackcurrants.
Its important to be aware that processing and/or cooking can reduce or destroy the vitamin C in a food. Boiling vegetables is especially harmful. So try light cooking and eating some of your fruit and veg raw for optimum vitamin C levels.
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How Much Vitamin C Should I Take For My Immune System
As one of the 13 essential vitamins and minerals, and one that is key to your immune system, its important to get your daily dose of vitamin C.
Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant, helping to protect your cells from free radicals. It also helps your body absorb iron and works to keep your immune system functioning properly.
Your body does not synthesize vitamin C, so you need to get it from outside sources. For the average adult, that means between 75 and 90 milligrams daily, while many people want more to support their overall health. So, where can you get vitamin C?
You can fill much of your daily requirement by eating a healthy diet heavy in fruits and vegetables.
A cup of orange juice, for example, has about 100mgs of vitamin C. A half cup of green peppers has about 60mgs. Let that green pepper ripen to a red pepper and the vitamin C level jumps to 95mgs.
But lets face it, in the chaos of everyday life, many people fall short of eating as many fruits and vegetables as they should. Some load up on vitamin C each day in the form of lozenges, gummies, drinks and supplements to fill any gaps. The thinking is: if some is good, more is better especially when it comes to their immune system.
More is not always better
But vitamin C doesnt quite work that way. Your body cant store vitamin C. Once it reaches its absorption limit, any more added to your system is simply flushed out along with all the other things your body doesnt need.
How much vitamin C is too much?
Current Nhs Guidelines Rely On A Wwii Study From When Food Was In Short Supply
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The recommended dose of vitamin C should be doubled, according to a recent study.
Scientists behind the claim have described the methods behind the 1944 study that continues to inform current day levels as shocking.
At present, the NHS and World Health Organisation recommend a daily intake of the vitamin of 40mg and 45mg respectively.
However, academics behind a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition have said that the research conducted by The Sorby Research Institute was to assess the nutrition levels of Britons during World War II when food was in short supply.
At this time, the aim was to avoid scurvy, rather than maximising health, they claim.
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