Vitamin C, which is also known as ascorbic acid, cannot be made within the body. It is a water soluble vitamin that cannot be stored within your body. This means to keep your levels sufficient and to help maintain overall health, it needs to be consumed on a daily basis.
It falls under the category of an essential nutrient. This is because it is an essential vitamin your body needs to maintain normal physiological function, but the body cannot produce it. Health, growth, and disease prevention are all dependent on essential nutrients, such as vitamin C.
Vitamin c rich foods
While you may think of oranges when it comes to Vitamin C, this nutrient can be found in lots of different fruits and vegetables. Check out the list below for some foods that are high in Vitamin C and think about how you could add these to your diet!

Foods that contain Vitamin C:
- Citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and grapefruit
- Berries like strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries
- Broccoli,
- Brussels sprouts
- Kale
- Tomatoes
- Potatoes
Vitamin C supplements
You can consume the recommended dietary amount of vitamin c through foods, such as those mentioned above. However, people also look to vitamin C supplements to boost their intake or if they are lacking enough naturally through their diet.
Not sure where to start? We try to make it easy for you, providing our vitamin C and rutin supplements with the optimal dosage of Vitamin C. It is combined with the rutin, to support absorption of vitamin c into your body.
Vitamin C intake
So how much Vitamin C do we need?
The recommended daily amount of vitamin C for adults is:
– For men: 90 mg
– For women: 75 mg
– For pregnant women: 120 mg
Smokers need about 35 mg more vitamin C than nonsmokers. People who are under stress, have an infection, or are recovering from surgery may also need more vitamin C.
Daily Vitamin C requirements can also be affected by other factors such as:
– Alcohol consumption
– Certain medications
– Exposure to air pollution
– Exposure to secondhand smoke
Vitamin C supplements are not a substitute for a varied and balanced diet. Vitamin c supplementation is in addition to food sources of vitamin c. It is recommended to have your vitamin c status checked through a blood test.
If you think you may need to take a Vitamin C supplement, talk to your doctor or registered dietitian first. Vitamin C supplements can interact with other medications you are taking and too much Vitamin C can be harmful.
Ascorbic acid
Ascorbic Acid and Vitamin C are the same thing. In turn, ascorbic acid is made up of many minerals salts, such as sodium ascorbate.
Why do I need Vitamin C?
Vitamin C has many benefits for the human body. It helps to:
– Boost the immune system
– Help the body absorb iron
– Promote wound healing
– Prevent scurvy
– Produce collagen
Vitamin C and immunity

Vitamin C is commonly associated with immunity, and for good reason. Studies of Vitamin C supplements have shown they reduce the cold symptoms and severity. Further research has shown it to reduce the duration of the cold too.
Why is Vitamin C linked with immunity? Vitamin C is integral to many parts of the immune system, specifically in the functioning of immune cells. A vitamin C deficiency can weaken the immune system and increase the chances of infection.
Vitamin C and skin health
Vitamin C is also linked to healthy skin. This is because of the role that vitamin C plays in skin health and collagen synthesis. Vitamin C is necessary for the body to produce collagen. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, found in the bones, muscles, skin, and tendons. Often you will see skin care products with vitamin c content as a result.
Wound healing is also affected by whether you have enough vitamin c in your body. Research suggests that supplemental vitamin c can improve wound healing drastically, due to its role in collagen production.

Antioxidant properties
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidant is a term we often hear, but what does it mean? When the body detects free radicals, an antioxidant donates an electron and neutralises the free radical, reducing its ability to damage the body.
Consuming more vitamin C, studies show, can increase your antioxidant levels significantly. As a result, it supports your body to fight oxidative stress from free radicals and supports immune function.
How much vitamin C is too much?
The NHS states that taking too much vitamin c, more than 1000mg per day, can lead to:
- stomach pain
- diarrhoea
- flatulance
Health professionals suggest the tolerable upper intake levels of vitamin C is 2000mg a day. However, taking that much vitamin c thorugh supplementation can be excessive. It is too much intake of vitamin c for your body to absorb. As a result, parts of the vitamin c dose is excreted from your body because it is unable to be absorbed.
Vitamin c deficiency
Health conditions that are risk factors for vitamin c deficience include alcoholism, smokers and eating disorders.
Signs of vitamin c include:
- fatigue and weakness
- nosebleeds
- low mood and irritability
- pain in muscles and joints
- easy bruising
- swollen or bleeding gums