Are You Getting Enough Vitamin C?

Vitamin C deficiency, or scurvy, is very rare in the Barbados, but strict diets may increase your risk.

You could call vitamin C one of the most popular nutrients at the moment. After all, the vitamin supports immune function, as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) notes. Immunity is top of mind now, as we deal with the after effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But, vitamin C has also made headlines as singer James Blunt confessed that going on the carnivore diet (a plan that involves primarily eating meat and drinking water) when he was studying as a university student caused him to develop scurvy. Scurvy is a disease caused by a severe vitamin C deficiency, notes the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Scurvy is rare in most countries today. Centuries ago, it was once common among sailors who ate little or no vitamin C on their long voyages, according to the NIH. In the mid-1700s, it was determined that eating citrus cured scurvy. Scientists didn’t know it at the time, but vitamin C was the antidote.

Currently, the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin C is 90 milligrams (mg) for men ages 19 and over and 75 mg for women ages 19 and over. (If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, your requirement is 85 mg or 120 mg per day, respectively. If you smoke, you need an additional 35 mg on top of your personal RDA.) Scurvy doesn’t just happen because you skimped on fruits and vegetables for a couple of days. Only when you eat below 10 mg of C per day for a month will you be at risk for deficiency and thus scurvy, points out the NIH.

Thing is, it’s overwhelmingly easy to get the amount of C you need because it is present in all fruits and vegetables. “Vitamin C is fairly ubiquitous in the diet,” says Stella Volpe, PhD, RDN, professor and department head, human nutrition, foods, and exercise at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. Even if someone isn’t packing in the produce onto their plates, simply drinking orange juice or eating a baked white potato will help you reach your quota.

“The RDA is pretty low and typically not hard to hit. One or two vegetables will get you there,” says New York City–based sports dietitian Lauren Antonucci, RDN. For reference, one cup of strawberries contains 88 mg of vitamin C, a single kiwi contains 56 mg of vitamin C, and a cup of raw green peppers has 121 mg of vitamin C, per the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). These are all excellent sources of vitamin C. “Consuming a wide variety of fruits and vegetables will not only provide a lot of vitamin C and prevent scurvy, but also delivers a bunch of additional benefits,” she says.

Signs of Vitamin C Deficiency or Scurvy

Vitamin C supplements may help shorten the duration of the common cold, per research outlined in an article published in April 2017 in Nutrients. Nonetheless, the vitamin’s role in preventing or treating COVID-19 remains unclear, according to the NIH.

Otherwise, vitamin C is known to play a role in collagen formation and wound healing, aids in absorption of iron, and is a powerful antioxidant, says Volpe. If you are running low in vitamin C, you may experience the following symptoms, according to Merck Manual:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Irritability 
• Weight loss
• Muscle and joint aches

Scurvy takes a while to develop. If you have had a vitamin C deficiency for a few months, you may also experience the following signs and symptoms of scurvy:

• Bleeding and bruising
• Changes in gums, such as swelling, bleeding, and developing a purple color
• Loose teeth
• Dry, brittle hair
• Rough and scaly skin
• Anemia
• Poor wound healing

Are You Screened for Vitamin C Deficiency?

Vitamin C levels “are not part of any normal blood panel,” says Antonucci. Blood testing can be ordered if your healthcare provider or registered dietitian suspects that you might not be fully absorbing vitamin C or that your levels are low for another reason. In addition, following certain diets, exercising heavily, being perimenopausal or menopausal, or being under a lot of stress may mean you need more vitamin C than the RDA, and your provider may be interested in checking your levels, she says. Cancer and kidney disease and alcohol abuse can also deplete vitamin C in your body, says the Mayo Clinic.

A diagnosis of scurvy is frequently based on a physical exam with your doctor.

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