Vitamin C: Food Sources & Daily Intake

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is water-soluble and not stored in any quantity, so you need a fresh supply most days. Humans are among the few mammals that cannot make their own — we lost the enzyme — which is why diet matters so much. It is overwhelmingly a plant nutrient: peppers, citrus, berries, kiwi and cruciferous vegetables dominate, while meat and dairy contribute almost none.

Table of Contents

1. How to Read These Tables
2. Recommended Intakes & Upper Limits
3. Bioavailability & Absorption
4. Cooking & Storage
5. Vegetarian & Vegan Sources
6. Who Needs to Pay Attention
7. Data Sources & References
8. Connections
9. Featured Videos

How to Read These Tables

• Water-soluble — little is stored. Unlike the fat-soluble vitamins, excess vitamin C is excreted in urine within hours, so a steady daily intake matters more than any single large dose.
• %DV vs RDA. The %DV column compares a serving against the FDA Daily Value of 90 mg. Your personal target (the RDA) is 90 mg for men and 75 mg for women, higher in pregnancy and for smokers — see the second table.
• Per 100 g vs per serving. Per-100 g lets you compare foods fairly; the serving size shown beside each food is what you actually eat. A single red pepper or a cup of strawberries clears a whole day’s need.

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Recommended Intakes & Upper Limits

Your personal target depends on age, sex and pregnancy. The Daily Value used for the %DV column above is a single label figure; the table below is the age-specific guidance.

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Bioavailability & Absorption

At ordinary dietary intakes the gut absorbs vitamin C very efficiently (around 70–90%), but the fraction absorbed falls as the dose climbs — the body has a ceiling and simply excretes the surplus. Two practical points: vitamin C dramatically increases the absorption of non-heme (plant) iron when eaten in the same meal, so a squeeze of citrus on beans or greens is genuinely useful; and because it is water-soluble it is not affected by dietary fat the way the fat-soluble vitamins are.

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Cooking & Storage

Vitamin C is the most fragile of the vitamins. It is degraded by heat, light, oxygen and especially water — boiling can leach away half or more because the vitamin dissolves into the cooking water. To keep the most: eat C-rich produce raw where you can, steam or microwave rather than boil, cut just before cooking, and store cut produce cold and covered. Long storage and reheating also take a steady toll.

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Vegetarian & Vegan Sources

This is the easiest vitamin for plant-based eaters. Every top source is a plant — peppers, citrus, kiwi, berries, broccoli, Brussels sprouts — while meat, fish, eggs and dairy supply almost none. Anyone eating a normal variety of fruit and vegetables comfortably exceeds the RDA, and there is no animal-source gap to plan around.

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Who Needs to Pay Attention

Groups who should pay attention: smokers (and heavy second-hand smoke exposure), who need an extra 35 mg/day; people who eat very little fresh fruit or veg; and those with malabsorption, dialysis, or heavy alcohol use. True deficiency causes scurvy — bleeding gums, easy bruising, poor wound healing, fatigue — which is now uncommon but still seen with very restricted diets. Because excess is excreted, toxicity is rare; very large supplemental doses mainly cause diarrhea and may raise kidney-stone risk in susceptible people.

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Data Sources & References

• NIH Office of Dietary Supplements — Vitamin C Fact Sheet (DV, RDA, UL)
• Linus Pauling Institute — Vitamin C Micronutrient Information Center
• PubMed — vitamin C absorption, bioavailability and requirements

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Connections

• Vitamin C (Main Page)
• Vitamin C Benefits
• Vitamin C History
• All Vitamins
• Blueberries
• Iron (C boosts absorption)
• Antioxidants
• Kale

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Featured Videos