Fruits và vegetables are the best vitamin C food sources. Eating a variety of these healthy foods will help people meet their daily requirements.
Bạn đang xem: Top 10 foods highest in vitamin c
Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, plays many important roles in the body. In particular, it is key lớn the immune system, helping prevent infections & fight disease.
The toàn thân does not store vitamin C, so people need lớn source this nutrient from their diet every day. It dissolves in water, và any excess leaves the toàn thân in urine.
This article examines the foods richest in vitamin C and how to include them in the diet. It also discusses the vitamin’s function and health benefits.
Alton Thompson (Alton’s Images)/Getty Images
| Food | Serving size | Mg per serving | Percent of 90 mg DV |
| Guava, raw | 1 cup, raw | 377 | 419% |
| Sweet red pepper, raw | 1 cup, raw | 190 | 211% |
| Tomato juice | 1 cup, canned | 170 | 188.9% |
| Orange juice | 1 cup | 124 | 137.8% |
| Sweet green pepper | 1 cup, raw | 120 | 133% |
| Hot green chili pepper, raw | 1 pepper, raw | 109 | 121% |
| Oranges | 1 large fruit | 97.5 | 108.8% |
| Strawberries | 1 cup, sliced | 97.6 | 108% |
| Papaya | 1 small fruit | 95.6 | 106.2% |
| Pink grapefruit juice | 1 cup | 93.9 | 104.3% |
| Broccoli | 1 cup, raw | 81.2 | 90.2% |
| Pineapple chunks | 1 cup, raw | 78.9 | 87.7% |
| Potato | 1 large vegetable | 72.7 | 80.8% |
| Brussels sprouts | 1 cup, raw | 74.8 | 79.8% |
| Kiwifruit | 1 fruit | 64 | 71.1% |
| Mango | 1 cup, raw | 60.1 | 66.7% |
| Cantaloupe | 1 cup | 57.3 | 63.7% |
| Cauliflower | 1 cup, raw | 51.6 | 57.3% |
| Lemon | 1 fruit | 44.5 | 49.4% |
| White grapefruit | ½ medium fruit | 39 | 43.3% |
Does cooking affect vi-ta-min C?
Cooking may reduce the amount of vi-ta-min C in fruits & vegetables. The National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) notes that steaming or microwaving these foods may retain the most of the vitamin.
People should eat various raw fruits & vegetables every day to lớn obtain the most vitamin C.
For more in-depth resources about vitamins, minerals, and supplements, visit our dedicated hub.
Was this helpful?
Why is vi-ta-min C important?
Vitamin C is an antioxidant. It protects the body’s cells from damage caused by free radicals. Không tính tiền radicals can cause changes in cells and DNA that can lead khổng lồ illnesses, including cancer.
Without vitamin C, the body toàn thân cannot make collagen, a protein that is necessary for building and maintaining:
healthy bonesjointsskindigestive tract tissuesVitamin C is an important part of the immune system, which defends against viruses, bacteria, và other pathogens. Studies show that low levels of vitamin C lead khổng lồ problems with the immune system & other illnesses.
Risks of low vi-ta-min C intake
A low intake of vi-ta-min C will reduce the body’s ability lớn make collagen. This can negatively affect different body tissues.
A vitamin C deficiency is known as scurvy. This can lower a person’s immune function và increase their risk of infection. Scurvy is relatively rare in the United States but is more prevalent in malnourished populations. Levels of scurvy are associated with socioeconomic disparity.
A vitamin C deficiency may cause:
joint painbleeding gumsproblems with wound healingtooth lossVitamin C and mental health
Vitamin C deficiency may affect a person’s mental health as well as their physical health.
A 2020 reviews found link between low vitamin C levels & depression & cognitive impairment.
Scurvy can also cause fatigue, which can negatively impact a person’s unique of life. However, researchers found that people may experience mental health complications in a smaller vitamins c deficit than that necessary for scurvy diagnosis.
How much vi-ta-min C should I get?
Different people require different intakes of vi-ta-min C.
According to the ODS, the recommended dietary allowance of vi-ta-min C for adults is:
90 milligrams (mg) for males75 mg for females85 mg when pregnant120 mg when breastfeedingan additional 35 mg for people who smokeChildren typically require less than this. People who smoke or have conditions that affect vitamin absorption in the intestines are at risk of having a lower intake & may require a higher amount.
Find out more about the exact daily levels of vi-ta-min C a person needs.
Health benefits of vitamin C intake
The following sections discuss some of the most important benefits of vitamin C.
Boosting heart health
Some evidence suggests that vitamin C may help lower the risk of heart disease or its complications.
One study indicates that people who consume more vitamin C have a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Further studies are necessary lớn fully explore these statements.
However, eating more fruits and vegetables can help boost general heart health by providing a range of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.
Strengthening the immune system
Vitamin C has an immune-boosting effect that can help the toàn thân fight off illnesses, such as the common cold.
One study found that vitamin C helped prevent pneumonia and supported tetanus treatment.
Lowering the risk of some cancers
Vitamin C is an antioxidant, so it can prevent damage caused by không lấy phí radicals. This may help prevent diseases such as cancer.
Investigations into whether vitamin C effectively prevents cancer have yielded mixed findings. However, the results of a few studies have been positive:
Is a glass of OJ or vi-ta-min C tablets your go-to when the sniffles come? Loading up on this vi-ta-min was a practice spurred by Linus Pauling in the 1970s, a double Nobel laureate và self-proclaimed champion of vitamin C who promoted daily megadoses (the amount in 12 khổng lồ 24 oranges) as a way to prevent colds & some chronic diseases.
Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin. This means that it dissolves in water và is delivered lớn the body’s tissues but is not well stored, so it must be taken daily through food or supplements. Even before its discovery in 1932, nutrition experts recognized that something in citrus fruits could prevent scurvy, a disease that killed as many as two million sailors between 1500 và 1800. <1>
Vitamin C plays a role in controlling infections và healing wounds, và is a powerful antioxidant that can neutralize harmful không lấy phí radicals. It is needed lớn make collagen, a fibrous protein in connective tissue that is weaved throughout various systems in the body: nervous, immune, bone, cartilage, blood, & others. The vitamin helps make several hormones và chemical messengers used in the brain & nerves. <2>
While megadosing on this vitamin is not uncommon, how much is an optimum amount needed khổng lồ keep you healthy, & could taking too much be counterproductive?
Recommended Amounts
RDA: The Recommended Dietary Allowance for adults 19 years & older is 90 mg daily for men & 75 mg for women. For pregnancy và lactation, the amount increases lớn 85 mg và 120 mg daily, respectively. Smoking can deplete vi-ta-min C levels in the body, so an additional 35 mg beyond the RDA is suggested for smokers.UL: The Tolerable Upper Intake màn chơi is the maximum daily intake unlikely to cause harmful effects on health. The UL for vitamin C is 2000 mg daily; taking beyond this amount may promote gastrointestinal distress và diarrhea. Only in specific scenarios, such as under medical supervision or in controlled clinical trials, amounts higher than the UL are sometimes used. <2>
The intestines have a limited ability lớn absorb vi-ta-min C. Studies have shown that absorption of vi-ta-min C decreases lớn less than một nửa when taking amounts greater than 1000 mg. In generally healthy adults, megadoses of vi-ta-min C are not toxic because once the body’s tissues become saturated with vitamin C, absorption decreases and any excess amount will be excreted in urine. However, adverse effects are possible with intakes greater than 3000 mg daily, including reports of diarrhea, increased formation of kidney stones in those with existing kidney disease or history of stones, increased levels of uric acid (a risk factor for gout), và increased iron absorption & overload in individuals with hemochromatosis, a hereditary condition causing excessive iron in the blood. <2>
Absorption does not differ if obtaining the vi-ta-min from food or supplements. Vi-ta-min C is sometimes given as an injection into a vein (intravenous) so higher amounts can directly enter the bloodstream. This is usually only seen in medically monitored settings, such as lớn improve the quality of life in those with advanced stage cancers or in controlled clinical studies. Though clinical trials have not shown high-dose intravenous vitamin C to produce negative side effects, it should be administered only with close monitoring and avoided in those with kidney disease và hereditary conditions lượt thích hemochromatosis and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency.
Vitamin C is involved with numerous metabolic reactions in the body, and obtaining the RDA or slightly higher may be protective against certain disease states. However, a health benefit of taking larger amounts has not been found in people who are generally healthy & well-nourished. Cell studies have shown that at very high concentrations, vitamin C can switch roles và act as a tissue-damaging pro-oxidant instead of an antioxidant. <2,3> Its effects in humans at very high doses well beyond the RDA are unclear, & can lead lớn increased risk of kidney stones & digestive upset.
Vitamin C and Health
There is interest in the antioxidant role of vitamin C, as research has found the vitamin to neutralize free radical molecules, which in excess can damage cells. Vi-ta-min C is also involved in the body’s immune system by stimulating the activity of trắng blood cells. Does this translate to protection from certain diseases?
Chronic diseases
Although some epidemiological studies that follow large groups of people over time have found a protective effect of higher intakes of vitamin C (from food or supplements) from cardiovascular disease & certain cancers, other studies have not. Randomized controlled trials have not found a benefit of vitamin C supplements on the prevalence of cardiovascular disease or cancer. The inconsistency of the data overall prevents the establishment of a specific vi-ta-min C recommendation above the RDA for these conditions. <2>
Age-related vision diseases
Vitamin C has also been theorized to protect from eye diseases lượt thích cataracts và macular degeneration. Human studies using vitamin C supplements have not shown a consistent benefit, though there appears to be a strong association between a high daily intake of fruit và vegetables and decreased risk of cataracts. <4>
The common cold
Despite being a popular fix, vitamin C’s cold-fighting potential hasn’t panned out. Reviews of several studies show that megadoses (greater than 500 mg daily) of supplemental vitamin C have no significant effect on the common cold, but may provide a moderate benefit in decreasing the duration and severity of colds in some groups of people. <2> Small trials suggest that the amount of vi-ta-min C in a typical multivitamin taken at the start of a cold might ease symptoms, but for the average person, there is no evidence that megadoses make a difference, or that they prevent colds. <5>
Gout
The Physicians’ Health Study II, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of more than 14,000 male physicians, found a modestly reduced risk of new gout cases in men who took vitamin C supplements of 500 mg daily for up khổng lồ 10 years. <6> Other short-term trials have found that vi-ta-min C may lower blood levels of uric acid, a substance that can lead khổng lồ gout if there is too much in the body.
Food Sources
Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of this vitamin.
Citrus (oranges, kiwi, lemon, grapefruit)Bell peppersStrawberries
Tomatoes
White potatoes
Signs of Deficiency
Vitamin C deficiency is rare in developed countries but may occur with a limited diet that provides less than 10 mg daily for one month or longer. In developed countries, situations at greatest risk for deficiency include eating a diet restricted in fruits & vegetables, smoking or long-term exposure lớn secondhand smoke, & drug & alcohol abuse. The following are the most common signs of a deficiency.
Scurvy, the hallmark disease of severe vi-ta-min C deficiency, displays symptoms resulting from loss of collagen that weakens connective tissues:Skin spots caused by bleeding và bruising from broken blood vesselsSwelling or bleeding of gums, và eventual loss of teeth
Hair loss
Delayed healing of skin wounds
Fatigue, malaise
Did You Know?
Vitamin C can be destroyed by heat và light. High-heat cooking temperatures or prolonged cook times can break down the vitamin. Because it is water-soluble, the vi-ta-min can also seep into cooking liquid & be lost if the liquids are not eaten. Quick heating methods or using as little water as possible when cooking, such as stir-frying or blanching, can preserve the vitamin. Foods at peak ripeness eaten raw contain the most vitamin C.Vitamin C serums and skin creams are popular because normal skin typically contains high concentrations of vitamin C, which stimulates collagen production & protects against damage from UV sunlight. However, research suggests that topical vitamin C may have limited benefits, as very little can penetrate the skin’s surface and will not produce additional benefit if a person obtains adequate vitamin C through food or supplements. <7>Related
Vitamins và Minerals
References
Carpenter KJ. The history of scurvy and vitamin C. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.Poljšak B, Ionescu JG. Pro-oxidant vs. Antioxidant effects of vitamin C. Handbook of vitamin C Research: Daily Requirements, Dietary Sources và Adverse Effects (pp.153-183). January 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Last reviewed March 2023
Terms of Use
The contents of this website are for educational purposes & are not intended to lớn offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The Nutrition Source does not recommend or endorse any products.
Healthy Oils
Use healthy oils (like olive and canola oil) for cooking, on salad, and at the table. Limit butter. Avoid trans fat.
HEALTHYOILSWater
Drink water, tea, or coffee (with little or no sugar). Limit milk/dairy (1-2 servings/day) and juice (1 small glass/day). Avoid sugary drinks.
WATERVegetables
The more veggies — and the greater the variety — the better. Potatoes & French fries don’t count.
VEGETABLESFruits
Eat plenty of fruits of all colors
FRUITSHealthy Protein
Choose fish, poultry, beans, & nuts; limit red meat và cheese; avoid bacon, cold cuts, và other processed meats.
HEALTHYPROTEINWhole Grains
Eat a variety of whole grains (like whole-wheat bread, whole-grain pasta, & brown rice). Limit refined grains (like trắng rice và white bread).
WHOLEGRAINSStay Active
Incorporate physical activity into your daily routine.
Xem thêm: Các dạng câu hỏi trắc nghiệm địa lý lớp 12, 1000 câu trắc nghiệm địa lí 12 có đáp án hay nhất
Support The Nutrition Source
Thank you for supporting our mission of translating food and nutrition knowledge into daily practice!Make a gift
A monthly update filled with nutrition news and tips from cetanapsb.edu.vn experts—all designed to help you eat healthier. Sign up here.