Dieting Tips to Enjoy Maximum Vitamin C Benefits
You’ve probably heard of the far-reaching Vitamin C benefits and would like to reap the fruits too. Well, that’s fine because it shows you prioritize your health. But one good turn deserves another! It’s also equally important to understand how to incorporate it into your diet!


Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is an essential water-soluble vitamin. It offers multiple health benefits to the body.
Since it is an essential vitamin, it cannot be synthesized by the human body and is only acquired through diet. Ascorbic acid is also water-soluble, meaning it cannot be stored in the body like fat-soluble vitamins.
The body absorbs only the necessary amount of vitamin C at any instant. Any surplus is excreted through urine.
A healthy dose of vitamin C is, therefore, necessary for good health. But what is the recommended daily intake of the vitamin, and how much fruit should one consume to achieve it?
Below is a complete guide about ascorbic acid, tips to include it in your food plan, and more.
Vitamin C Benefits: How Much Should You Consume Per Day?
Your age and sex determine how much Vitamin C you need to consume per day. The average daily vitamin C needs vary as follows:
Toddlers should consume at least 15mg of ascorbic acid per day,
Kids nearing teenhood should take 45mg of vitamin C,
Grown teens require 65-75mg.
Grownup males need around 90mg,
Adult women should consume up to 75mg.
Pregnant and nursing moms require 80-85mg of vitamin C daily.
With that in mind, families must plan their ascorbic acid needs based on the ages & sexes of their members to enjoy real vitamin c benefits.
Tips to Include Vitamin C in Your Diet
Below are a few things you can do to ensure you meet your daily recommended intake of vitamin C.
Spot food rich in ascorbic acid
Most people only think of citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and grapefruits when you mention vitamin C. While these are the richest sources of vitamin C, they are not the only ones.
Vegetables and bell peppers are also rich in vitamin C. Vegetables like Broccoli, spinach, brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower, turnips, and tomatoes are also good sources of vitamin C.
Berries and tropical fruits like mango, papaya, and pineapples also have high vitamin C content (8). Butternut and potatoes also contain around 20mg of vitamin C per 100g serving.
Once you identify vitamin C-rich foods fitting them into your meal plan is easy.
Buy fresh fruits and veggies
Vitamin C’s content in fruits and vegetables starts to decrease right after the product is harvested gradually. While freezing helps to preserve most nutrients, it does not preserve water-soluble nutrients like vitamin C.
Blanching vegetables before freezing them is an important process, but it contributes to up to 50% of vitamin C loss.
To enjoy the maximum vitamin C benefits from your food, go for fresh produce instead of processed foods.
You can do this by shopping for natural sources of vitamin c such as in-season fruits and vegetables. You can also opt to blend your juice and make smoothies over store-bought juices.
Spread the intake across meals
As previously stated, Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin; hence it cannot be stored in the body. ramming your recommended daily intake into one meal may not be the best move.
For instance, vitamin C helps in the absorption of non-heme iron. If you take all your vitamin C in the morning, you may miss out on iron absorption during dinner.
Luckily, there are vitamin C-rich foods for all meals. You can start your day with freshly blended juice and an egg or frittata with bell peppers.
You can also snack on fruit and eat a side of vegetables rich in vitamin C for lunch and dinner.
As you plan your vitamin C intake, bear in mind your recommended daily intake. There is no harm in exceeding it since the excess vitamin C is excreted in the urine.
Consider mild cooking techniques
Raw fruits and vegetables have higher vitamin C content than cooked ones. However, not all fruits and vegetables can be eaten raw.
If you have to cook vitamin C-rich vegetables, opt for mild cooking methods like steaming, stir-frying, and microwaving.
Vitamin C Benefits: What are its Functions in the Body
To feel the need to incorporate vitamin C into your daily meal plan, you must understand its functions. Vitamin C plays a vital role in various physiological processes keeping the body healthy and strong.
Here are some of the benefits of vitamin C to the body.
Boosts immunity
Vitamin C’s involvement in certain physiological functions helps protect the body from infections and diseases. While generating new cells, it forms an epithelial barrier around the cell that bars pathogens from entering the cell.
Its anti-oxidation properties also help maintain healthy skin, teeth, and bones.
Increases iron intake
Vitamin C improves the intake of plant-based or non-heme iron. It does so by reversing the effects of iron absorption inhibitors.
The quantity of non-heme iron absorbed into the body is directly proportional to the amount of vitamin C present in your diet. Iron helps tackle lethargy and prevent anemia.
Growth and tissue repair
Vitamin C is an essential compound in the synthesis of collagen. Collagen is a protein found in human skin and connective tissues like bones, tendons, and cartilage.
Since vitamin C is a cofactor or helper in skeletal tissue formation, it is essential for growth. It also helps to regenerate tissue in case of injury to the bone and skin.
Serves as an anti-oxidant
Anti-oxidation is one of the most important Vitamin C benefits. It protects body cells from free radicals by bonding with the ionized radicals inhibiting their activity.
As antioxidants, the phytochemicals present in ascorbic acid protects body cells from oxidative damage. Oxidative damage occurs when free radicals within the body bind themselves to body cells and inhibit the cells’ functions.
If oxidative stress goes unchecked, it can lead to premature aging, cardiovascular diseases, and some types of cancer.
Hesperidin, a type of flavonoid found in oranges, has also been linked to improved biomarkers of cardiovascular health. Oranges, therefore, help protect your heart from cardiovascular diseases like high blood pressure and cardiac arrest.
Does Eating an Orange per Day Serve Your Vitamin C Needs?
Oranges are one of the richest sources of Vitamin C. But how many oranges should one take in a day?
The recommended daily dietary intake of vitamin C varies according to age and gender.
Experts recommend that a healthy adult male should take 90mg of vitamin C per day. The recommended daily dietary intake of vitamin C for a healthy adult female is 75mg.
The recommended vitamin C daily dietary intake for children also varies by age. Toddlers require 15mg, pre-teens 45mg, female teenagers 65mg, and male teenagers 75mg.
Pregnant women, on the other hand, require 80-85mg of vitamin C daily.
As noted above, an orange contains approximately 58.30mg of vitamin C. An orange or an orange and a half for breakfast should meet the daily recommended vitamin C intake.
To enjoy maximum vitamin C benefits, start your day by eating an orange for breakfast, then snack on another one mid-morning. Alternatively, you can eat an orange in the morning then eat other vitamin C sources like vegetables during the day.
Orange juice for breakfast is also a good source of vitamin C. If your juice is store-bought, the vitamin content will vary, so check the box.
Note that the level of vitamin C in oranges starts to decrease gradually from the moment the fruit is harvested. Fresh oranges and freshly-squeezed orange juice are, therefore, better vitamin C sources.
When to eat oranges
There are many theories floating about when to eat oranges and other fruits. Some suggest before meals, while others suggest after meals.
But all of them agree that you should not take oranges alongside your meals.
A Final Word on Vitamin C Benefits & Incorporating it into Meals
Vitamin C is a crucial vitamin for the overall functioning of the body. A deficiency in vitamin C puts you at risk of catastrophic vitamin C.
Fortunately, vitamin C is one of the most available nutrients. Vitamin C-rich foods are readily available all year round and are not that pricy.
Hopefully, you will benefit from this comprehensive vitamin C guide and better your health status through food and dieting.