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Vitamin C

Immunity and more.

What is it?

L-ascorbic acid, or Vitamin C, is a water-soluble vitamin that can be found naturally in some foods, is added to others, and is a component often available in dietary supplements. It is considered essential because it cannot be synthesized within the body.


What other names is it known by?

As with most vitamins, different derivatives are available that make them more bioavailable, or better for use as additives in foods and beverages. Other forms of vitamin C in foods, beverages, supplements, and skincare product labels include:

  • sodium ascorbate

  • calcium ascorbate

  • potassium ascorbate

  • fatty acid esters of ascorbic acid

  • ascorbyl palmitate

  • and ascorbyl stearate.


What does it do?

It functions in:

  • stimulating collagen synthesis

  • protecting cells

  • stimulating the immune system

  • acting as a powerful antioxidant

  • aiding in wound healing

  • and maintaining healthy skin.


Collagen’s role in the body and the skin is to give support, structure, and strength. Vitamin C is a critical skin nutrient because it’s required for the synthesis of collagen. It also helps with antioxidant protection against damaging UV rays. It may also play a role in treating melasma, or age spots. Decreased levels of Vitamin C have been associated with inflammatory conditions associated with the skin.

 

Vitamin C also has powerful anti-inflammatory effects within the gut and may help to support and harmonize the healthy population of microbes in the gut. It also helps to support the absorption of iron.


Where is it found?

Foods and Dietary supplements. Some skin care products may also include vitamin C, however the research on the skin’s ability to absorb vitamin C, and therefore benefit from it, is not conclusive.

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How much is needed?

In the US, the RDA is as follows:

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*AI

**People who smoke should get 35 mg/day more vitamin C than nonsmokers

 

How to get it in my daily diet?

Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables throughout your day and practice low fat cooking techniques when cooking vegetables, such as boiling or roasting. Consider adding the below to your breakfast, lunch, and dinner to support getting an adequate amount of vitamin C in your diet.

 

Breakfast: when in season, ½ cup strawberries = 49 mg

Lunch: 1 medium orange = 70 mg

Dinner: ½ cup roasted broccoli = 51 mg

Vitamin C content for the day = 100 mg*


*This is above the RDA for most individuals. It's important to note that intestinal absorption of vitamin C goes down as more of it is consumed. When consuming anywhere from 30-180 mg about 70-90% is absorbed. Therefore, more is not always better or necessary.


References

DSM Nutritional Products. (2020). Vitamins Basics. Retrieved from https://www.dsm.com/content/dam/dsm/human-nutrition/pdfs/vitamin-basics.pdf

 

Otten, A. T., Bourgonje, A. R., Peters, V., Alizadeh, B. Z., Dijkstra, G., Harmsen, H. J. M. (2021). Vitamin C Supplementation in Healthy Individuals Leads to Shifts of Bacterial Populations in the Gut – A Pilot Study. Antioxidants, 10, 1278. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10081278

 

Pullar, J. M., Carr, A. C., Vissers, M. CM. (2017). The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health. Nutrients, 9, 866. doi:10.3390/nu9080866

 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. (2021). Vitamin C: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Retrieved from https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/

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