How much vitamin C?

How much vitamin C does a person need?

How much vitamin C you need depends on your age, whether you are male of female and the state of your health. Government guidelines give RDA figures (that's recommended daily amount) for vitamin intake for healthy individuals and you may need more vitamin C if you are unwell, although there are no figures for this.

Which foods are high in vitamin C? Vitamin C facts What does vitamin C do?

1. How much vitamin C do I need?
We all need varying amounts of vitamin C depending on our age, sex, pregnancy and state of health. The table below gives RDA guidelines for daily vit C intake. Note there is no official RDA for children under 1.

Life Stage	Age	M (mg/day)	F (mg/day)
Children	1-3 years	15	15
Children	4-8 years	25	25
Children	9-13 years	45	45
Adolescents	14-18 years	75	65
Adults	19 years and older	90	75
Smokers	19 years and older	125	110
Pregnancy	19 years and older	-	85
Breast-feeding	19 years and older	-	120

It should be noted that if you consume your five servings of fruit and veg a day, your daily vitamin C needs will be met.
2. Which foods are high in vitamin C?
All fruit and vegetables contain vitamin C in varying levels. Everyone commonly knows oranges as a good source of the vitamin but there are many foods containing an equal or greater amount. Vitamin C levels increase in fruit as the fruit ripens with optimal levels being when the fruit is perfectly ripe. As the fruit becomes over ripe vitamin C levels can quickly drop off. To get the most vitamin C out of fruit or vegetables, they are best consumed raw as cooking reduces the amount of vitamin C.

Good sources of vitamin C include:

Strawberries:

How much vitamin c in a strawberry

Strawberries contain around 85mg of vitamin C when fully ripe and are a great source of antioxidants.

Kiwi Fruit:
75mg vitamin c in kiwifruit

Kiwi fruit are a great source of vitamin C. They contain moer vitamin C than oranges and more potassium than a banana. They are rich in many vitamins flavonoids and minerals. Kiwi fruit have around 75mg vitamin C.

Lemons:
how much vitamin c in a lemon

Lemons generally contain more vitamin C by weight than oranges when they are ripe. Around 60mg

Oranges:
Although we traditionally think of oranges as being the best fruit for vitamin C content, they contain a fairly modest 50mg when ripe

Blackcurrants:

how much vit c blackcurrant

Blackcurrants are a superfood when it comes to vitamin C levels with 200mg of vitamin C in every 100g.

Broccoli:

Broccoli contain around 45mg vitamin C per 100g and are also currently showing promise in many anti cancer studies especially in their sprout form.

Brussel sprouts:

They may not be your childrens favourite food but brussel sprouts contain 60mg of vitamin C and are a fantastic source of vitamin K. they are also good for lowering cholesterol.

Tomatoes:
vitamin c in tomato

The humble tomato may only have 20mg per 100g but we consume them in sufficiently large quantities for them to be a good source of vitamin C. Tomatoes are a great source of lycopene.

Pepper / Capsicum:

Peppers generally contain around 70mg vitamin C. Red peppers are also a good source of lycopene and antioxidants.

3. Vitamin C facts
Unlike many other animals, our bodies cannot make vitamin C. Our entire supply of vitamin C must come from our diet and we must replenish our vitamin c levels daily as we cannot store this vitamin either. On the plus side, it is highly unlikely that we'll consume too much vit C as any excess is excreted in our urine. Some consider this excreted vitamin C to be wasted, but in fact it is may be useful in the prevention of cystitis.

Vitamin C is helpful in the absorption of iron. So a glass of orange juice with the sunday roast will boost your iron intake. Some veggies like broccoli and spinach are high in both vitamin C and iron, so are doubly nutricious.

On average smokers need 35mg more vitamin C than non smokers.

4. What does vitamin C do?
The role of vitamin C in the body is widespread, from repairing skin to metabolising cholesterol:

Vitamin C is mainly needed for growth and repair of all tissues the body. Vitamin C is needed for wound healing and scar tissue formation. You need vitamin C to make collagen.
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and blocks the damage done by free radicals in the body.
Vitamin C may play a role in cholesterol levels as it is involved in the metabolism of cholesterol to bile acids. It also plays an important role in neurotransmitter creation and thus is important for brain function.

4. Vitamin C research?
With its wide ranging effects on the body, research has suggested that deficiencies in vitamin C may be implicated in stroke, cardiovascular health, cataracts, cancers, gout and immune health. However it is important to note that conflicting results have been found for research in most of these areas.

For more information on vitamin c and its levels in all kinds of fruit and veg visit: http://www.naturalhub.com/natural_food_guide_fruit_vitamin_c.htm

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