Many people picture a cold glass of orange juice or fighting seasonal colds when they think about vitamin C. While it’s true these are both good examples, there’s so much more to this vitamin—and thankfully, it’s one of the easiest to consume in your diet and also supplement with.

Below you’ll find the biggest vitamin C benefits, as well as how much is best and the greatest sources of vitamin C.

5 Vitamin C Benefits for Health and Beauty

Vitamin C, which is also known as ascorbic acid, is crucial for many functions in the body, including tissue development, bone maintenance, and supporting the immune system. Plus, vitamin C is water-soluble, meaning it’s not stored in the body and is not usually a concern for overdose (more on that below).

Here are some of the biggest reasons you need vitamin C and how it can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

1. Tissue and Collagen Formation

Your body needs vitamin C to repair, grow, and develop its tissues. It’s also necessary for forming collagen and maintaining your bones, cartilage, and even teeth.

You may have heard of scurvy, which is a severe vitamin C deficiency that can cause bleeding, ulcers on the gums, loose teeth, swelling, and more. This is how important vitamin C is for holding your whole body together!

2. Skin Health and Anti Wrinkles

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that out of 4,025 women between the ages of 40 and 74, those who consumed more vitamin C were less likely to have dry skin and wrinkles and more likely to have a better overall skin-aging appearance [1].

There’s a reason vitamin C is so common in skin care products like body and hand lotions, face creams, toners, and anti-aging serums; it’s super supportive for healthy skin!

3. Vitamin C and Iron: Better Absorption

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) helps enhance absorption of iron [2]. Iron is needed for your body to make red blood cells that transport oxygen to important areas.

Lack of iron can lead to iron deficiency anemia, which is unfortunately quite common and includes symptoms like fatigue, weakness, brittle nails, shortness of breath, weird cravings, and more.

Consuming more vitamin C, especially during the same meal as iron-containing foods, can help boost iron absorption so your body takes in more of the amount it needs.

4. Combats Cold Symptoms

Vitamin C has long been recommended for fighting cold symptoms when temperatures start to drop.

While recent research has shown vitamin C can’t act as a full-on cure for the common cold, it does support a healthier, stronger system and may be able to help prevent more severe problems like lung infection or pneumonia.

5. Helps Fight for the Body

Vitamin C is an antioxidant, which means it can help protect the body from free radical damage, pollutants, and toxins. We want to reduce free radical build up because it can contribute to disease and cancer development.

Vitamin C may also help people with stress-compromised immune systems [3]. When the body is stressed, vitamin C is one of the most vitamins to be depleted because it’s so sensitive. It’s important to replenish stores that could be lost due to environment.

In addition, simply eating more whole foods containing vitamin C benefits will also increase your intake fiber, other vitamins, and minerals. These are all crucial substances to keep you healthy and fight disease.

What Should Be a Vitamin C Daily Dose?

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for adults for vitamin C is 75-90 milligrams per day. However, some studies on vitamin C used as much as 500 milligrams per day to produce beneficial health results.

Either way, you’ll need to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables each day to achieve a healthy intake of vitamin C. If you struggle to eat enough of these foods per day, a vitamin C supplement may be beneficial to reap all the vitamin C benefits.

Can You Have Too Much Vitamin C?

The safe upper limit for vitamin C is 2,000 milligrams, so it’s very hard to get too much vitamin C. (Although, going over that may cause an upset stomach.)

Since it’s not stored in your body and extra is simply excreted, there’s little worry about vitamin C overdose like there is with some other nutrients. This is also why it’s so important to get your daily dose of vitamin C, however. It’s not stored and therefore must be continually consumed in diet or supplement form.

It’s also important to know that vitamin C is fragile, so try to eat raw fruits and vegetables often. When you do cook them, try not to use too much water or other liquid, as the vitamins can be lost in the cooking water.

Vitamin C Food Sources

Here are some common foods containing vitamin C and their amounts:

• Strawberries, 1 cup sliced: 98 mg
• Red bell pepper, ½ cup: 95 mg
• Orange juice, 1 cup: 97mg
• Green bell pepper, ½ cup: 60 mg
• Cantaloupe, 1 cup: 59 mg
• Broccoli, 1 cup cooked: 74 mg
• Kiwi, 1 medium size: 70 mg
• Red cabbage, ½ cup: 40 mg
• Tomato juice, 1 cup: 45 mg

Overall, you usually can’t go wrong with more vitamin C benefits in your diet. Focus on plenty of whole fruits and vegetables, both cooked and raw, try to relieve stress in your life, and consider a vitamin C supplement if you want some additional coverage.

Disclaimer: Statements made have not been evaluated by the FDA. Products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.