Whole-food vitamin C: acerola, bioflavonoids and how much you need

How much vitamin C do you need?

Less than most people assume. The UK reference intake for adults is 40 mg a day, which is easily met by a normal diet with some fruit and vegetables in it. Vitamin C is water-soluble, so your body does not store much, and any surplus is passed out. Keep that in mind before buying a high-dose product: past a point the extra passes straight through, giving you a brighter stream and little more. In the allowed terms, vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system and to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.

Whole-food vitamin C versus ascorbic acid

There is a lot of hype in this category. Ascorbic acid is chemically identical to the vitamin C in an orange. It is not a lesser or synthetic imitation, and a whole-food product is not "better vitamin C". What a whole-food source does bring is the company the vitamin keeps in the fruit: bioflavonoids and other plant compounds that come along for the ride. Some people prefer that fuller package and a gentler, food-based form. That is a fair preference, stated without pretending the molecule itself is different.

Acerola and bioflavonoids

Acerola cherry contains vitamin C at unusually high levels, which is why it is a popular base for a whole-food product. Bioflavonoids are the plant compounds that occur with vitamin C in citrus and other fruits. Ours pairs vitamin C from acerola and ascorbate with citrus bioflavonoids, at 500 mg of vitamin C per serving, for people who want a generous daily amount in a food-based form.

A useful pairing: vitamin C and iron

One practical thing vitamin C does is help your body absorb the non-haem iron found in plant foods and iron supplements. If you take iron, taking it with a source of vitamin C is a simple way to get more from it, which is why our iron already includes vitamin C, and why the two come up together.