Vitamin C General Information

Vitamin C …

…is also known as ascorbic acid because it is the remedy for scurvy (a-scorbic acid = anti-scurvy acid). Scurvy is the vitamin C deficiency disease dreaded by seafarers in the 15th through 18th centuries.

…is produced by plants and most animals. In fact, guinea pigs, some fish and bird species, and primates including humans are the only living things to have lost the ability to make vitamin C in the course of evolution. This is why we must get vitamin C in our diet.

…is made in very large amounts by other mammals. Extrapolated to humans, this means we would be making 2-4 g of vitamin C a day at rest, and up to 15 g under conditions of stress (including disease).
The German Nutrition Society, however, recommends a daily dietary intake of only 100 mg.

…shows different concentrations in different organs of the human body, with higher concentrations reflecting greater requirements. The greatest concentrations are found in the brain, immune cells, lenses of the eyes, liver and adrenal glands.

…is soluble in water. This is why the human body cannot store vitamin C. Instead, vitamin C must be regularly ingested in the diet. Excess vitamin C is immediately excreted. The risk of overdosage is therefore much lower than with fat-soluble vitamins.

…can, for therapeutic reasons, be injected directly into blood vessels. This may be necessary in conditions in which greater vitamin C concentrations need to be administered than can be absorbed from the gut.

…is extremely susceptible to destruction by heat, light, oxygen and chemicals. The highest vitamin C concentrations are typically found in or just beneath the skin of fruit. This is why fruit and veg subjected to prolonged storage and/or processing (peeling, cutting, mashing) are usually relatively low in vitamin C.

…is found in particularly high concentrations in fruit and veg, and in smaller amounts in meat.