Daily need of vitamin C
Daily vitamin C needs by specific age groups and gender:
Children (1-3 years): 15 mg
Children (4-8 years old): 25 mg
Adolescents (9-13 years): 45 mg
Teens (14-18 years): 65-75 mg
Women (19 years and older): 75 mg
Men (19 years and older): 90 mg
Pregnant women (19 years and older): 85 mg
Breastfeeding women (19 years and older): 120 mg
Vitamin C is essential for healthy living. It is particularly useful for immune health. Vitamin C helps prevent infection in the body. In addition, if the vitamin is deficient, the body becomes more susceptible to infection. In addition, vitamin C is known to increase iron absorption. Therefore, individuals with iron deficiency can increase iron absorption by increasing vitamin C intake.
The best sources of vitamin C
The best sources of vitamin C are fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C in foods is easily destroyed by heat. So eating some fruits and vegetables raw is an easy way to reach the recommended daily amount of vitamin C.
The best sources of vitamin C are:
Rosehip (100 grams): 426 mg
Red pepper (75 grams): 95 mg
Orange juice (177 ml): 93 mg
Kiwi (90 grams): 64 mg
Green pepper (75 grams): 60 mg
Broccoli, cooked (78 grams): 51 mg
Strawberry, fresh (70 grams): 49 mg
Brussels sprouts, cooked (80 grams): 48 mg
Tomatoes, raw (100 grams): 20 mg
Apart from these foods, most fruits and vegetables contain vitamin C.
Does excess vitamin C poison
Although vitamin C has an overall low risk of toxicity in healthy individuals, consuming too much can cause some side effects such as cramps, nausea and diarrhea. Since high vitamin C intake increases ‘non-iron absorption’ in the body, consuming too much vitamin C can cause problems for people with hemochromatosis, a condition in which the body holds too much iron.
The upper limit of the amount of vitamin C the body can tolerate is generally as follows:
Children (1-3 years): 400 mg
Children (4-8 years old): 650 mg
Adolescents (9-13 years): 1,200 mg
Teens (14-18 years): 1,800 mg
Adults (age 19 and older): 2000 mg
