Because your body doesn't store extra vitamin C, you must meet your daily requirements for this vitamin in foods or supplements. Keeping up your daily intake of this antioxidant nutrient may help prevent cancer, heart disease, stroke and cataracts. You can meet or exceed your requirements for vitamin C by eating a wide variety of vegetables and fruits every day.
Daily Requirements
The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin C is 75 mg for women over 18 and 90 mg for men over 18. Pregnant women over 18 should have 85 mg each day, and breast-feeding women should have 120 mg daily. Cigarette smokers require higher doses of vitamin C than healthy nonsmokers -- as much as 35 mg of extra vitamin C each day. Because your body's ability to utilize vitamin C may decline with age, the Linus Pauling Institute advises that adults over age 65 get as much as 400 mg of vitamin C daily. Consult your healthcare provider to determine a dose of vitamin C that meets the requirements for your age and health condition. To avoid diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms, you should not take more than the tolerable upper intake level of 2,000 mg daily.
Health Benefits
Vitamin C helps your body fight infections and participates in the formation of the protein collagen, a structural component of connective tissue and a vital part of wound healing. Your body uses vitamin C to help absorb iron from plant-based foods, such as dried beans and spinach. As an antioxidant compound, vitamin C protects your cells against the damage that can lead to cancer, cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions. Vitamin C also contributes to the regeneration of other antioxidants, such as vitamin E, in your body. The Linus Pauling Institute, which has promoted the use of high doses of vitamin C to prevent chronic disease, notes that healthy adults over 19 may need up to 400 mg daily to receive the full preventive benefits of vitamin C.
Dietary Sources
You can consume over 200 mg of vitamin C daily by eating five servings of fruits and vegetables, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements. Because this water-soluble vitamin breaks down easily when exposed to heat, you should eat fruits and vegetables raw or lightly steamed whenever possible to preserve their vitamin C content. Bell peppers, oranges and grapefruit, tomatoes, broccoli, strawberries, cantaloupe and potatoes offer vitamin C. Vary your fruit and vegetable choices to ensure that you're meeting your daily requirements.
Deficiency
A lack of vitamin C may cause easy bruising, painful or swollen gums, low energy levels and weakness. Getting less than 10 mg of vitamin C each day may lead to scurvy, a vitamin deficiency syndrome that's become rare in developed countries. People who are at risk for vitamin C inadequacy, or low levels of vitamin C, are those with a gastrointestinal disorder that inhibits vitamin absorption, those who are heavy alcohol drinkers, and those who eat a limited variety of foods. Although not as severe as a vitamin C deficiency, an inadequacy of this vitamin may deprive you of its preventive benefits.
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