How much Vitamin C should I take daily?

Research on the daily intake of vitamin C has led to various recommendations, with a focus on both preventing deficiency diseases like scurvy and optimizing overall health.

The U.S. Food and Nutrition Board has set the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for vitamin C at 45 mg/day to prevent scurvy, but suggests that optimal health may require a higher intake, proposing a range of 250-4000 mg/day for adults.
Studies indicate that the RDA for vitamin C should be increased to 90-100 mg/day for young women and 200 mg/day for nonsmoking adult males to achieve better health outcomes and antioxidant effects.
It is recommended that the current RDA of 60 mg/day be increased to 200 mg/day based on evidence from pharmacokinetics studies, with safe doses being less than 1000 mg/day.
Some researchers argue that the RDA should be based on the prevention of chronic diseases and suggest an optimum intake of 200 mg/day for adults, while also acknowledging that higher intakes may not provide additional benefits.
The German, Austrian, and Swiss nutrition societies recommend a daily intake of 110 mg for men and 95 mg for women, with higher amounts for pregnant and lactating women, and adjusted values for children and adolescents based on body weight.
An additional intake of 10 mg of vitamin C per day is suggested for every 10 kg increase in body weight to maintain comparable plasma vitamin C levels to those of a person weighing 60 kg.

In conclusion, while the minimum RDA for vitamin C is set to prevent scurvy, evidence suggests that higher intakes ranging from 90-200 mg/day may be beneficial for optimal health and chronic disease prevention. For individuals with higher body weight, an additional intake proportional to their weight is recommended to achieve similar health benefits.

How much Vitamin C should I take daily?

Summary

Sources and full results

Are recommended daily allowances for vitamin C adequate?

The current recommended daily allowance of 45 mg of vitamin C for adults is inadequate for optimal health, and a range of 250 to 4000 mg is recommended for optimal health.

A new recommended dietary allowance of vitamin C for healthy young women

The recommended daily allowance of vitamin C for healthy young women should be increased to 90 mg, as it does not alter endogenous lipid peroxidation.

Evidence for a recommended dietary allowance for vitamin C from pharmacokinetics: a comment and analysis.

The current recommended dietary allowance for vitamin C is 60 mg daily for nonsmoking adult males, and increasing it to 200 mg daily may lead to a 2-to 3-fold increase in mean intakes.

Vitamin C pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers: evidence for a recommended dietary allowance.

The current recommended daily allowance for vitamin C should be increased to 200 mg from fruits and vegetables, with safe doses below 1000 mg and no evident value above 400 mg.

Criteria and recommendations for vitamin C intake.

A daily intake of 100 mg-200 mg of vitamin C is recommended for optimal health, two to three times higher than the current Recommended Dietary Allowance.

Authors' Perspective: What is the Optimum Intake of Vitamin C in Humans?

200 mg per day is the optimal dietary intake of vitamin C for most adults, maximizing potential health benefits with the least risk of inadequacy or adverse effects.

Toward a new recommended dietary allowance for vitamin C based on antioxidant and health effects in humans.

A new recommended dietary allowance for vitamin C should be 120 mg/d for optimal reduction of chronic disease risk in nonsmoking men and women, based on antioxidant and health effects in humans.

Recommended dietary intakes (RDI) of vitamin C in humans.

Maintaining a suitable vitamin C intake of 900 mg for an adult male is sufficient, with no known health advantages at higher levels.

New Reference Values for Vitamin C Intake

The revised reference values for vitamin C intake recommend 110 mg/day for men, 95 mg/day for adult women, 105 mg/day for pregnant and lactating women, 105 mg/day for boys and girls aged 1-15, 105 and 90 mg/day for male and female adolescents, and 20 mg/day for infant

Estimation of Vitamin C Intake Requirements Based on Body Weight: Implications for Obesity

People with higher body weights need to consume 10 mg vitamin C/day for every 10 kg increase in body weight to maintain similar vitamin C status to a lower weight individual.

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