Is It Safe to Take Vitamin C Every day?

For adults, the recommended daily amount for vitamin C is 65-90mg per day, and the upper limit is 2,000mg per day.

While small doses of vitamin C are unlikely to be harmful, megadoses of vitamin C supplements may cause side effects such as stomach pain and diarrhea.

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient required for health and normal functioning of the body. While most of us manage to obtain the recommended intake from food alone, supplementation can often be useful for additional benefits.

This article sets out to explore vitamin C, its role in the body, dosage recommendations and whether it’s safe to take every day!

What is Vitamin C?

Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) is a water-soluble essential vitamin that has many roles in the body and is linked to several health benefits.

Vitamin C is found in foods such as:

Citrus fruit
Peppers
Strawberries
Kiwi
Broccoli
Sprouts

Vitamin C is often supplemented as it’s known to reduce the symptoms of a common cold, which is why people often go on the hunt for it when they begin feeling run down.¹

So, what other roles does it play in the body and are there any additional benefits to supplementation?

What is the Role of Vitamin C?

Vitamin C has many functions in the body, including:

Helping to protect cells and keep them healthy
Maintaining healthy skin, bones, and cartilage
Helping with wound healing
Limits free radical damage

A lack of vitamin C, which is fairly rare, can lead to scurvy - which is caused by vitamin C deficiency and can result in weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs.

Vitamin C supplementation has been linked to many health benefits, such as:

Boosting antioxidant levels
Reducing the duration of a common cold
Protecting against gout attacks
Improving iron absorption
Improving blood flow

So, with these additional benefits, how much vitamin C should you take? And is it safe to take daily?

Vitamin C: Is It Safe to Take Daily?

Vitamin C has low toxicity and is not believed to cause serious adverse effects at high intakes.¹ So, it is safe to take daily, particularly if the dose is within the recommended daily allowance.

Taking large amounts of vitamin C (more than 1g) is still considered safe for most but can cause side effects such as stomach pain and diarrhea.¹

Taking less than 1,000mg of vitamin C per day is unlikely to cause any harm, and is often the case in popular multivitamins such as NutriGenesis® Multi which contains 60mg of vitamin C to support foundational nutritional support for healthy whole-body function.

Take-Home Message: Supplementing with Vitamin C

Overall, either as a standalone supplement or as part of a multivitamin, supplementing with vitamin C would help boost your overall levels and make up for what you may potentially lack in food.

It may be more beneficial to take vitamin C as part of a multivitamin, to ensure optimal absorption with all other nutrients, especially as it works well with other nutrients such as iron.

Additionally, supplementation has proven particularly useful for athletic populations when it comes to improving recovery from training, and for those who are beginning to feel run-down with a common cold.

We highly recommend Performance Lab NutriGenesis® Multi, which provides an adequate dose of vitamin C alongside many other vitamins and minerals essential for good health.