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Vitamin C is typically the first nutrient we think of when it comes to fighting or preventing a cold. While it does support our immune system and can help with colds, there is so much more to vitamin C! 

First, it is the primary, water-soluble antioxidant in our body, and it’s constantly disarming free radicals and helping us prevent cell damage, thus being key in cancer prevention.

Other interesting functions in our body include the production of collagen, hormones, and chemical messengers. One of the reasons why eating fruits and vegetables improves our mood is vitamin C content, and depression has been linked to vitamin C deficiency.

Vitamin C also helps our digestion by increasing our Bifidobacterium population, a probiotic that helps us fight infections, digest fiber, and absorb nutrients better. And it helps our heart by helping increase our HDL cholesterol which in turn helps eliminate cholesterol from our body.

Plus, vitamin C is that nutrient that’s always happy to give other nutrients a hand. It helps us absorb non-heme iron and calcium better, and it helps repair vitamin E when it becomes oxidized after battling free radicals.

The best part is that vitamin C is present, in good amounts, in many delicious fresh fruits and vegetables. So, if you’re eating a balanced whole-foods, plant-based diet, you’re likely getting all you need.

Scroll down to learn more about all these fascinating facts, to see some surprising top sources of this nutrient, and to try our personalized calculator to help you identify vitamin C targets for you and your family.

Top Whole-Food, Plant-Based Sources

Hover over each food below to see how much vitamin C you can get with one serving. Click on each food’s picture to visit its interactive page with a personalized calculator of all the nutrition you can get from one serving, more information about how it supports our body, tips to choose and prepare it, interesting facts, and more!

Brussel Sprouts

Brussel Sprouts

1 cup cooked = 108% DV

Link
Sweet Potato

Sweet Potato

1 c cooked = 54% DV

Link
Broccoli

Broccoli

1 c cooked = 112% DV

Link
Red Bell Pepper

Red Bell Pepper

1 c cooked = 189% DV

Link
Oranges

Oranges

1 orange = 92% DV

Link
Kiwifruit

Kiwifruit

1 fruit = 62% DV

Link
Pineapple

Pineapple

1 cup = 88% DV

Link
Strawberries

Strawberries

1 cup = 93% DV

Link

Vitamin C Personalized Calculator

See how much vitamin C you and your family members need, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.

Terminology:

  • Daily Value (DV): The recommended amount of nutrients to consume each day for individuals who are 4 years old or older.
  • Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA): The recommended amount of nutrients to consume each day according to the individual’s age, gender, and whether a woman is pregnant or breastfeeding.
  • Upper Intake Level (UL): The highest amount of nutrient intake that will not pose adverse health effects on most individuals.

Important Things to Know

Hover over each of the interesting facts below to flip the tiles and learn more details.

Check out the interesting facts below! Tap on the red triangles to flip the tiles and learn more details.

Dietary sources may be better than supplements against colds.

Taking vitamin C supplements of 1,000 mg or more regularly does not help prevent colds but can shorten the duration of colds by 10%, according to various studies. Unfortunately, doing this can result in kidney stones in men (see next fact). And taking supplements only while sick does not seem to have an effect on the cold at all. 

Interestingly, eating 4 gold kiwi fruits a day can reduce the chance of children catching colds by 50%, and may also reduce the severity and duration of colds in elderly people. This is attributed to the high content of vitamin C in kiwis. Learn more.

Kiwifruit may cause allergic reactions, so make sure this fruit is safe for you and your loved ones.

Vitamin C reduces wrinkles while improving firmness and skin tone.

Applying 3 drops of a 10% L-ascorbic acid solution for 3 months on the face showed improvement in fine wrinkles, tactile roughness, coarse wrinkles, skin firmness, skin tone, and overall features.

We can make this solution at home, according to Dr. Greger’s video. The formula:

– 3 g L-ascorbic acid (about 1/2 tsp)

– 30 g of water (about 1 fl oz)

Apply 4-5 drops to your face, neck, and upper chest daily. Be sure to avoid the eyes.

Vitamin C can restore pH balance and end bacterial vaginosis.

Vitamin C vaginal tablets of 250 mg help increase vaginal acidity and lower our pH, which results in a friendlier environment for our good bacteria.

A study showed that using these tablets six consecutive days after menstruation for six months, reduced the risk of recurrence. Another study showed that vitamin C vaginal tablets were as effective as antibiotics to treat bacterial vaginosis.

Always talk to your doctor for any health concerns.

Vitamin C and vitamin E join forces to fight free radicals in our body.

When a vitamin E molecule neutralizes a free radical by giving it one of its electrons, it becomes oxidized and can no longer work as an antioxidant. That’s when vitamin C comes in, repairing the oxidized vitamin E by accepting its unpaired electron. This allows vitamin E to continue with its mission to eliminate free radicals from our body.

Vitamin C helps us absorb more calcium in our intestines.

Vitamin C enhances intestinal calcium absorption, which is why orange juice is often fortified with calcium. In fact, a study found that a higher vitamin C intake was associated with a lower risk of osteoporosis in adults over 50 with low physical activity levels.

Vitamin C boosts our iron absorption from phytate-rich foods!

Vitamin C enhances intestinal non-heme iron absorption, counteracting the phytates limitations. The vitamin C in one orange (almost 100% DV) can increase non-heme iron absorption by a three-fold!

So, make sure you include foods that are very rich in vitamin C with non-heme iron foods like beans and other legumes. Eat them at the same time for maximum effect.

Vitamin C helps reduce lead absorption.

As much as we try to keep our children and ourselves safe from lead pollution, sometimes it’s hard to identify potential sources. While this may not fully protect us from lead poisoning, vitamin C, iron and calcium help reduce lead absorption.

High-dose supplements may lead to kidney stones in men.

Studies have shown that when men take vitamin C supplements of over 1000 mg/day their risk of developing kidney stones increases by 41% while an intake of 250-499 mg/day increases the risk by 11-14%.

Vitamin C is turned into oxalates in our body, and when the level of oxalates is too high, they can lead to kidney stones. However, women do not seem to be affected the same way. 

Also, this only seems to happen when taking supplements. A study showed that dietary intake of over 700 mg/day of vitamin C was not associated with an increased risk of kidney stones in men or women.

Smokers and secondhand smokers have lower levels of vitamin C.

Smokers have lower levels of vitamin C due, in part, to the increased oxidative stress in their bodies. For this reason, the recommendation for smokers is to ingest 35 mg more than their RDA. Secondhand smokers also need more vitamin C, though the amount has not been established yet.

Dietary sources may be better than supplements against colds.

Taking vitamin C supplements of 1,000 mg or more regularly does not help prevent colds but can shorten the duration of colds by 10%, according to various studies. Unfortunately, doing this can result in kidney stones in men (see next fact). And taking supplements only while sick does not seem to have an effect on the cold at all. 

Interestingly, eating 4 gold kiwi fruits a day can reduce the chance of children catching colds by 50%, and may also reduce the severity and duration of colds in elderly people. This is attributed to the high content of vitamin C in kiwis. Learn more.

Kiwifruit may cause allergic reactions, so make sure this fruit is safe for you and your loved ones.

Vitamin C reduces wrinkles while improving firmness and skin tone.

Applying 3 drops of a 10% L-ascorbic acid solution for 3 months on the face showed improvement in fine wrinkles, tactile roughness, coarse wrinkles, skin firmness, skin tone, and overall features.

We can make this solution at home, according to Dr. Greger’s video. The formula:

– 3 g L-ascorbic acid (about 1/2 tsp)

– 30 g of water (about 1 fl oz)

Apply 4-5 drops to your face, neck, and upper chest daily. Be sure to avoid the eyes.

Vitamin C can restore pH balance and end bacterial vaginosis.

Vitamin C vaginal tablets of 250 mg help increase vaginal acidity and lower our pH, which results in a friendlier environment for our good bacteria.

A study showed that using these tablets six consecutive days after menstruation for six months, reduced the risk of recurrence. Another study showed that vitamin C vaginal tablets were as effective as antibiotics to treat bacterial vaginosis.

Always talk to your doctor for any health concerns.

Vitamin C and vitamin E join forces to fight free radicals in our body.

When a vitamin E molecule neutralizes a free radical by giving it one of its electrons, it becomes oxidized and can no longer work as an antioxidant. That’s when vitamin C comes in, repairing the oxidized vitamin E by accepting its unpaired electron. This allows vitamin E to continue with its mission to eliminate free radicals from our body.

Vitamin C helps us absorb more calcium in our intestines.

Vitamin C enhances intestinal calcium absorption, which is why orange juice is often fortified with calcium. In fact, a study found that a higher vitamin C intake was associated with a lower risk of osteoporosis in adults over 50 with low physical activity levels.

Vitamin C boosts our iron absorption from phytate-rich foods!

Vitamin C enhances intestinal non-heme iron absorption, counteracting the phytates limitations. The vitamin C in one orange (almost 100% DV) can increase non-heme iron absorption by a three-fold!

So, make sure you include foods that are very rich in vitamin C with non-heme iron foods like beans and other legumes. Eat them at the same time for maximum effect.

Vitamin C helps reduce lead absorption.

As much as we try to keep our children and ourselves safe from lead pollution, sometimes it’s hard to identify potential sources. While this may not fully protect us from lead poisoning, vitamin C, iron and calcium help reduce lead absorption.

High-dose supplements may lead to kidney stones in men.

Studies have shown that when men take vitamin C supplements of over 1000 mg/day their risk of developing kidney stones increases by 41% while an intake of 250-499 mg/day increases the risk by 11-14%.

Vitamin C is turned into oxalates in our body, and when the level of oxalates is too high, they can lead to kidney stones. However, women do not seem to be affected the same way. 

Also, this only seems to happen when taking supplements. A study showed that dietary intake of over 700 mg/day of vitamin C was not associated with an increased risk of kidney stones in men or women.

Smokers and secondhand smokers have lower levels of vitamin C.

Smokers have lower levels of vitamin C due, in part, to the increased oxidative stress in their bodies. For this reason, the recommendation for smokers is to ingest 35 mg more than their RDA. Secondhand smokers also need more vitamin C, though the amount has not been established yet.

Comparison of vitamin C Sources

You may be wondering if you need to take vitamin C supplements or if you can get vitamin C through animal-based foods. Please see our chart below for a quick and simple comparison between your three choices.

Best source!
Plant-Based
It is very easy to get all the vitamin C we need by following a balanced whole foods, plant-based diet.
Vitamin C is lost when cooking vegetables, but steaming or even microwaving lessens the loss.
Supplements
Healthy people eating plenty of fruits and vegetables do not need supplementation.
Taking supplements of 1,000 mg a day regularly only reduces the duration of colds by 10% and taking supplements just after the cold starts does not affect the duration at all.
Excessive supplementation may lead to kidney stones in men.
Animal-based
Animal-based foods are not a good source of vitamin C.
People following a low-carb diet that relies heavily on meat are at risk of developing a vitamin C deficiency.

References