Approximate dose-response bands. Individual response varies — these are starting points, not prescriptions.
Well below target. Risk of deficiency symptoms tied to antioxidant · collagen.
Below the recommended daily target. Long-term adequacy not assured.
Daily target met. Standard nutritional support for antioxidant · collagen.
Common for specific health goals. Check the evidence for your situation before sustaining this level.
Approaching the tolerable upper limit. Monitor and consider clinical guidance.
Above the tolerable upper limit. Risk of adverse effects — back off or consult a clinician.
You're at 0% of your vitamin c target. The biggest single-serving sources to top it off:
Ascorbic acid is a water-soluble antioxidant and cofactor for hydroxylation reactions including collagen synthesis, carnitine synthesis, and the conversion of dopamine to norepinephrine. Humans lost the gulonolactone oxidase gene that lets most mammals synthesise it — we're stuck with dietary intake.
Donates two electrons to oxidised substrates, becoming dehydroascorbate; recycled by glutathione and NADH. The collagen role explains scurvy: without ascorbate, prolyl and lysyl hydroxylation fails, the collagen triple helix is unstable, and connective tissue breaks down (bleeding gums, joint pain, poor wound healing).
Severe scurvy is rare in the developed world but subclinical insufficiency is more common than appreciated — particularly in smokers, men with poor diets, and institutionalised elderly.
Generally well-tolerated; doses above ~2 g/day cause osmotic diarrhea. Long-term high-dose use modestly increases oxalate kidney stone risk in predisposed individuals.
Plain ascorbic acid is fine and inexpensive. 'Buffered' mineral ascorbates (sodium, calcium, magnesium ascorbate) are gentler on the stomach. Liposomal forms achieve modestly higher plasma peaks but at meaningful cost premium. Doses above 500 mg in a single sitting are largely excreted unchanged.
Absorbed in proximal small intestine via SVCT1 transporter (saturable). At 200 mg single dose, ~80% is absorbed; at 1 g, ~50%; at 5 g, only ~20%. Tissue saturation occurs around 400 mg/day from diet. Vitamin C from food = vitamin C from supplements at adequate doses.
Adequacy correlates with lower all-cause mortality across cohorts; supplementation in adequate adults shows no consistent benefit. The strongest signal is for whole-food fruit and vegetable intake — supplementation does not reproduce that effect.
Collagen synthesis, antioxidant, immune function.
The mechanisms and systems this nutrient feeds. Click any to drill into what runs on it.
★ = load-bearing / primary cofactor. Track these in My Journey.
Whole foods that contribute meaningfully (≥10% DV per 100 g serving). Click any food to see its full nutrient profile and what else it brings to the table.
See all foods high in Vitamin C, ranked →