There's A 50/50 Chance You're Not Getting Enough Of This Vitamin + What To Do About It

You enjoy the occasional orange and you're definitely not a 16th-century sailor lacking access to produce, so why should you be concerned about your vitamin C levels?

It turns out a whopping 42% of U.S. adults2 are insufficient in vitamin C (per blood test results), while 118 million American adults are failing to consume adequate amounts of vitamin C daily from their diet alone—that's nearly half of the population3! Even though long, treacherous trips across the sea devoid of citrus fruits are far behind us, it seems we're still not getting enough vitamin C in 2022.

In fact, even mindbodygreen's co-founder and co-CEO, Colleen Wachob, has struggled to reach sufficient vitamin C levels. "As a healthy eater, I was shocked last year to find out from my doctor that I had hypovitaminosis C, aka vitamin C deficiency. It's more common than you might think," she shares.

According to Alexander Michels, Ph.D., clinical research coordinator at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, it can be difficult to recognize when your body isn't getting enough of this essential vitamin.

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that is extremely important in a number of physiological functions.

Most notably, perhaps, is its ability to scavenge free radicals and maintain oxidative stress balance (a vital process that protects your cells on a daily basis).* 

In addition to its antioxidant activity, vitamin C aids in collagen production4 (which promotes both joint and skin health, to name a few, since collagen is ubiquitous in the human body), supports cognitive function5, helps protect eyes from UV-induced oxidative stress6, and more.* 

Michels notes that low vitamin C intake can affect the proper function of the immune system7 and even have consequences for cardiovascular health8.*

When we say vitamin C is an "essential" vitamin, we're not just saying it's important. There's an actual definition: As mbg's VP of scientific affairs Ashley Jordan Ferira, Ph.D., RDN, explains, "The term 'essential' here means we must consume vitamin C exogenously (i.e., from diet and supplements) daily because we do not have the physiological ability to produce it endogenously."

She goes on to share, "While this sounds like a super basic fact—that you need vitamin C every day—in practice, many people treat daily nutrient intake and nutritional sufficiency like something that just magically happens. In reality, it takes thought and effort."

According to the National Academies9, the daily recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin C is 90 milligrams for men and 75 milligrams for women. Certain individuals—such as women who are pregnant (85 milligrams) and lactating (120 milligrams) women—require additional vitamin C each day. These are baseline daily minimums for vitamin C sufficiency.

To put these baseline quantities into perspective, according to the USDA's nutrient analyses, a whole orange contains 68 milligrams of vitamin C10, a whole kiwi contains 64 milligrams11, and a whole grapefruit contains 78.6 milligrams12. 

As for higher vitamin C needs, smokers are estimated to require an additional 35 milligrams of vitamin C daily. Ferira explains, "That's because, unfortunately, smoking reduces vitamin C levels in your blood and white blood cells. Another reason to strongly consider smoking cessation."

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, which means your kidneys regulate the amount of vitamin C in your blood through a process called renal absorption, and what isn't needed gets excreted through your urine. 

As far as vitamin C toxicity goes, the concern here is extremely minor (and absurdly difficult to reach through diet alone). Technically speaking, the National Academies defines the tolerable upper intake level (aka UL) as 2,000 milligrams per day9. Casually speaking, that's a crazy amount of citrus fruit (we're talking more than 100 limes a day).

With the right food choices (and some vitamin-C-savvy nutritional awareness), it is possible to meet the daily baseline needs for vitamin C from fruits and vegetables alone. That said, half of American adults are failing to do so each day.

If you're looking for a guaranteed, more concentrated way to consume the vitamin C you need each day, consider a highly absorbable daily vitamin C supplement—such as mindbodygreen's vitamin C potency+.* 

As Ferira points out, "The bulk of vitamin C research for targeted doses supporting immune response13 and other health functions is at 500 milligrams, 1,000 milligrams, and up. Indeed, 1 gram of vitamin C isn't just a round number. It has direct relevance for our daily health that's rooted in clinical research."*

Even though we're well into the 21st century, vitamin C insufficiency and dietary deficits are affecting nearly half of the population and deserve our utmost attention.