How much vitamin c to take

The Institute of Medicine IOM has developed a set of reference values for specific nutrient intake levels, including for vitamin C. One set of guidelines is known as the Recommended Dietary Allowance RDA and considers average daily nutrient intake from both foods and supplements. Here are the RDAs for vitamin C 11 :. The DV was developed for food and supplement labels. It helps you determine the percentage of nutrients in a single serving of food, compared with the daily requirements.

Currently, the recommended DV for vitamin C for adults and children aged 4 and above is 60 mg regardless of gender. However, in January , this will increase to 90 mg 8. The RDA for Vitamin C ranges from 15—75 mg for children, 75 mg for adult women, 90 mg for adult men, and 85— mg for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Vitamin C is essential for overall health and wellness, and the nutrient may particularly benefit certain conditions. In fact, vitamin C supplements may help prevent infection, while a deficiency of the vitamin appears to make you more susceptible to infection 13 , 14 , Thus, individuals with iron deficiency might benefit from increasing their vitamin C intake 17 , Regularly getting 1—2 grams of vitamin C per day may reduce the duration of common cold symptoms and boost your immune system.

It might also help prevent iron deficiency anemia. Typically, the best sources of vitamin C are fruits and vegetables. The table below displays the vitamin C content and contribution to the recommended Daily Value DV for some of the best food sources of the nutrient 8.

Excellent sources of vitamin C include red and green bell peppers, oranges, orange juice, kiwi, broccoli, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, grapefruit, grapefruit juice, tomato, tomato juice, and cantaloupe. By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Health Topics. Health Tools.

Reviewed: March 1, Medically Reviewed. Depending on age, different caps for intake exist. Shopping for a vitamin C supplement? Here are five best-selling options on Amazon. Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking. Dietary Guidelines for Americans —, Eighth Edition. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Journal of Biological Regulators and Homeostatic Agents. April-June Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

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Recent Blog Articles. Health news headlines can be deceiving. Why is topical vitamin C important for skin health? Preventing preeclampsia may be as simple as taking an aspirin. Caring for an aging parent? Tips for enjoying holiday meals. However, scientists aren't sure whether vitamin C itself, either from food or supplements, helps protect people from cardiovascular disease. It is also not clear whether vitamin C helps prevent cardiovascular disease from getting worse in people who already have it.

AMD and cataracts are two of the leading causes of vision loss in older people. Researchers do not believe that vitamin C and other antioxidants affect the risk of getting AMD.

However, research suggests that vitamin C combined with other nutrients might help slow AMD progression. In a large study among older people with AMD who were at high risk of developing advanced AMD, those who took a daily dietary supplement with mg vitamin C, 80 mg zinc, IU vitamin E, 15 mg beta-carotene, and 2 mg copper for about 6 years had a lower chance of developing advanced AMD.

They also had less vision loss than those who did not take the dietary supplement. People who have or are developing the disease might want to talk with their doctor about taking dietary supplements. The relationship between vitamin C and cataract formation is unclear.

Some studies show that people who get more vitamin C from foods have a lower risk of getting cataracts. But further research is needed to clarify this association and to determine whether vitamin C supplements affect the risk of getting cataracts. Although vitamin C has long been a popular remedy for the common cold, research shows that for most people, vitamin C supplements do not reduce the risk of getting the common cold.

However, people who take vitamin C supplements regularly might have slightly shorter colds or somewhat milder symptoms when they do have a cold. Using vitamin C supplements after cold symptoms start does not appear to be helpful. Taking too much vitamin C can cause diarrhea, nausea, and stomach cramps. In people with a condition called hemochromatosis, which causes the body to store too much iron, high doses of vitamin C could worsen iron overload and damage body tissues. The daily upper limits for vitamin C include intakes from all sources—food, beverages, and supplements—and are listed below:.

Vitamin C dietary supplements can interact or interfere with medicines that you take. Here are several examples:.

Tell your doctor, pharmacist, and other healthcare providers about any dietary supplements and medicines you take. They can tell you if those dietary supplements might interact or interfere with your prescription or over-the-counter medicines or if the medicines might interfere with how your body absorbs, uses, or breaks down nutrients.

Foods contain vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and other components that benefit health.