Ask the Dietitian: Vitamin C

A healthy, balanced vegetarian diet provides us with a whole host of vitamins and minerals, but how much do you know about their roles in the body? In this article I will be taking a closer look at vitamin C, its role in our bodies and where to find it in the diet.

What is vitamin C?

Vitamin C also goes by the name of L-ascorbic acid and it is a water-soluble vitamin. It is vital in our bodies but we cannot make it ourselves, which means we need to consume it in the diet. It is found naturally in foods, but you might also spot it added to food. Interestingly, this is often because it acts as a good preservative in foods, helping them to last longer.

What does it do?

In our bodies vitamin C has a wide range of functions, including maintaining healthy skin, bones, and cartilage, protecting our body’s cells, keeping them healthy and aiding wound healing.

Where can I find it?

Luckily, vitamin C is found in lots of foods, particularly fruit and vegetables. Good sources include citrus fruits, strawberries, red peppers, broccoli, blackcurrants and tomatoes. If you have any fruit and vegetables in your diet you are likely to meet the nutritional requirement for adults of 40mg a day.

Should I take a supplement?

Vitamin C is a vitamin that has received a lot of press, promoting supplementation to help with everything from the common cold and COVID-19 to cancer. Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence to show that additional supplementation at levels above the requirement of 40mg adds any benefit, and where possible it is still best to get your vitamin C from whole fruit and vegetables.

Some groups of people may have a very limited diet and may not eat any fruits and vegetables. Although vitamin C deficiency is very rare, it is not completely unheard of, so in these groups a supplement containing vitamin C may be beneficial. This will help to reduce the risk of scurvy, which is a condition linked to severe vitamin C deficiency. Remember: even if you only eat small amounts of fruit and vegetables you are likely to get enough vitamin C and the risk of deficiency is rare.

Sometimes, even people following a balanced diet might still wish to take supplements. If this is the case, it is important to avoid ones with over 1000mg a day. Taking levels higher than this can cause stomach pain, diarrhoea and flatulence.