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How Much Vitamin C Should You Get Every Day?

“For many years, the RDA [recommended daily allowance] for all vitamins were based on preventing deficiency, with a margin of safety,” but the miniscule amount of vitamin C needed to avoid scurvy, for example, is not necessarily the ideal intake for optimal health. What might the optimal intake of vitamin C be? To find out, let’s ask the body. But how? By seeing how much the body absorbs and excretes, which I go through in my video What Is the Optimal Vitamin C Intake?.

When we swallow 15 mg of vitamin C, the amount we’d get eating about a quarter of an orange, our body absorbs nearly 90 percent of it. If we instead take a supplement containing 1,250 mg of vitamin C, our body seems to realize that’s too much and clamps down on absorption at the intestinal lining level, and we end up absorbing less than half. By doing experiments where the level of intake is ratcheted up slowly, we can see when the body starts to say, “Okay. That’s enough.”

That magic level of intake appears to be about 200 mg a day. When we take up to 200 mg daily, our body absorbs it all. Above that level, however, the body tries to block further absorption, suggesting that our “intestinal vitamin C transport mechanisms… have evolved to fully absorb up to about 200 mg of vitamin C” a day.

In addition, vitamin C is reabsorbed in our kidneys back into our bloodstream to maintain our vitamin C blood levels around 70 or 80 micromoles per liter, which is what we reach at a vitamin C intake of about 200 mg a day. Even if we take ten times as much in vitamin C supplements, 2,000 mg a day, our body will just pee and poop out the excess to keep our blood levels in that narrow range of 70 to 80 micromoles per liter. Based on these kinds of data, one might “propose that 200 mg is the optimal daily intake of vitamin C…”

We can confirm that hypothesis using disease data. For example, at what daily intake of vitamin C is there the lowest stroke risk? Apparently, at about 200 mg a day. While dietary vitamin C intake was associated with lower stroke risk, vitamin C supplements were not, which is consistent with the overall body of evidence showing that antioxidant supplements in general don’t seem to protect against heart attacks or strokes.

Is it possible to get up to an intake of 200 mg of vitamin C a day without taking supplements? No problem. A single serving of fruits and vegetables may have about 50 mg each, so just five servings of fruits and veggies a day could get us to ideal blood levels.

Doctors can circumvent our body’s natural barriers to vitamin-C overload by dripping high levels of the vitamin directly into the bloodstream of cancer patients. Is this a good idea? See:

What other benefits or drawbacks might vitamin C have? See:

What about other common supplements? See, for example:

In health,
Michael Greger, M.D.



Michael Greger M.D., FACLM


92 responses to “How Much Vitamin C Should You Get Every Day?

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    1. YR, A few weeks ago, someone posted here a study showing that it took a lot of heat to destroy the Vitamin C content of food. I remember the posting because I was surprised at how high the temperature needed to be to destroy the Vit C. I can’t remember which topic the comment was made in, but I think it might have been Fumbles that posted it. Anyway, based on that article, mild low-temp cooking may not destroy that much.

      1. Good to know, Darwin. I wonder how they measure/calculate a thing like that, though. And then there’s the shipping and sitting on the supermarket shelf bit. How much C is lost then? I guess we should just go with the flow and assume the Universe is handling it. :-)

        I lightly steamed some organic green chard for din-din this evening. Still a bright green color and tender.

        Maybe Fumbles will remember if he was the one who posted the link.

        1. Yep, this Vit C degeneracy is a tricky thing. I also remember reading that it oxidizes quickly if the food is exposed ti air. So I guess the best bet is to store the food in a cool dark place like a refridge until eaten. I also think it is OK to freeze the food without degrading the Vit C content that much. Like you say, the Universe will take care of details for us :-)

          That green chard sounds delicious! Since it’s from the brassica family (cruciferous veggies), it has all that good sulforaphane in it!

        2. YR

          I can’t remember that particular link.

          However, vitamin C is vulnerable to all sorts of things – heat, light, air and it is also water soluble so it will leach out if exposed to water.

          So you will lose less vitamin C for any given temperature if it is steamed as opposed to boiled. Microwaving should show less loss still. By the same token, I imagine that vitamin C loss will be greater in eg finely diced vegetables than in whole plant (parts). To further complicate matters, the type of vegetable or other food also affects the loss rate.

  1. YR,

    Here’s one answer to your question: “Vitamin C is one of the more heat-sensitive nutrients. Sauté spinach or amaranth leaves in a pan for 30 minutes, and about 95 percent of the vitamin C is destroyed, whereas 10 minutes in a pressure cooker wiped out only about 90 percent. But who pressure cooks spinach for 10 minutes? And sautéing for half an hour? And even then, not much effect on beta carotene levels either way.”.

    I love my pressure cooker. But when I add spinach to my recipes, I add it after all the other cooking is done, then simply wilt it in the residual heat by stirring it in. Same approach for other greens. Other veggies are usually cooked about 1-3 min, longer if added to a soup or stew (though again, I often add them toward the end of cooking). I also cook some veggies in my microwave (such as squash, which works like a charm). So I imagine that these methods destroy relatively little vitamin C.

        1. Marilyn, I’m not that adventurous! I can see knocking down some watermelon seeds if they’re little guys. Maybe orange seeds or rinds in a smoothie or something? (I don’t “do” smoothies.) Fiber I get plenty of…..

          I never bought organic oranges before. Maybe I should check ’em out.

  2. Dr Greger, I’m so surprised you use a microwave. Years ago I was told to get it out of the house. To cook food in it, just kills everything in it so we end up eating dead food. Plus it emits radiation. Something you don’t any more of in the atmosphere.
    Thanks for letting us know how much vitamin C we need.
    Keep up your great work

    1. Microwave ovens are safe. Just type in “microwave” in the search bar above and several videos will pop up with loads of info on this topic.

    2. Beverly,

      I don’t know who told you such nonsense, but you should have asked them for the evidence supporting their claims.

      What does it mean, to “just kill everything so we end up eating dead food?” What do you think food is when you eat it? Or after you cook it, by any method? And what kind of radiation does a microwave emit, that’s so dangerous?

      Actually, microwave ovens emit microwaves, fairly low energy electromagnetic radiation (which includes radio waves, visible light, etc) which causes the water in the food to heat up and basically steam the food. The cooking is not much different from cooking food by steaming on the stove top, though it’s much more energy efficient and keeps the kitchen much cooler. Microwaves are also emitted naturally, by the earth, planes, and cars.

      “Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Other forms of electromagnetic radiation include radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, ultraviolet rays, X-rays, and gamma rays. All of these, known collectively as the electromagnetic spectrum, are fundamentally similar in that they move at 300,000 km per second, the speed of light. The only difference between them is their wavelength, which is directly related to the amount of energy the waves carry. The shorter the wavelength of the radiation, the higher the energy….


      1. All animals evolved to eat live food including us. When you eat a salad or any uncooked or even lightly steamed veggie or fruit, most of the cells are still living. When you eat a blue, rare steak, the cells are still alive and contain quite a lot of Vitamin C. In the Arctic, the Inuit still eat a lot of raw meat and blubber. All of it still alive at the cellular level. I eat mostly live food.

    3. Beverly and Erik, people have been trying to prove that microwaves are dangerous for Decades. The have been doing this research since the microwaves were commercialized. A thorough review of the literature shows that verified microwave safety concerns are limited to

      -Defective appliances
      -Cooking shelled eggs in them
      -Burns caused by overcooked food and spilled hot liquids

      Basically dangers that you would find in pressure cookers, ovens, and any other form of cooking. Microwaves are in fact a superior method of cooking when it comes to nutrient retention and energy efficiency. Dr. Greger has videos going over this topic. I encourage you to look into the issue so you can enjoy some easy cooking!

  3. Beverly, I’m interested in this also (microwaves) but I figured that since Dr. Greger is so incredibly health conscious he would have researched if microwaves are actually dangerous since he seems to employ his microwave a lot! From the research I’ve done, they are not dangerous. I think in the early days they emitted radiation but no longer. As for “killing everything” I don’t think they destroy any more nutrients than regular methods of cooking (stove, oven). However, I’d love to hear more from Dr. Greger on this. Thanks for bringing it up!

      1. Erik,

        Can you provide any evidence to support your assertion? Preferably, scientific studies published in peer reviewed journals.


    1. Lauri, microwave ovens do emit dangerous levels of radiation over long enough periods of time. Just get at least 8′ back after pushing start button or better yet; use the delay function for start up if your microwave has that. I personally observed someone who had bone cancer in the arm she used to rest on her microwave oven. When the waves of pain would hit her, I observed the expression on her face.

      1. Can you share with us any links to good scientific studies that have established a causal link between domestic microwave oven usages and bone cancer? Your comment is the first I ever recall seeing, though I admit I haven’t followed the subject recently.

      2. Erik,

        I would never stand near my microwave oven, nor would I rest my arm on one.

        But not because they emit dangerous electromagnetic radiation — because they don’t, and even the microwaves are shielded — but because they can explode. Or at least the glass door can. That happened to a co-worker of mine, so we researched them. The glass on occasion fails.

        Other exploding cooking appliances include oven doors and glass cooktops. It’s rare, and manufacturers have taken steps to prevent it.

      3. Erik,

        “The forms of radiation that are typically linked to cancer are those with high enough energies or frequencies to ionize—or remove electrons from—atoms or molecules, and thus are able to cause damage in our cells. High energy forms of radiation include X-rays, gamma rays, and some ultraviolet radiation.

        Microwaves, by contrast, are a much lower energy form of radiation. So while they can cause molecules to vibrate, like the water molecules in our leftovers, they do not change the chemical structure of the food by ionizing it or through any other means. Our bodies are full of water and so just as with food, prolonged, intense exposure to microwave radiation will cause those water molecules in our bodies to vibrate and heat up their surroundings. Thus, it is definitely not a great idea to, say, warm yourself up in the microwave if you could fit inside of one.

        However, unaltered, properly functioning microwaves do not emit microwaves unless the door is shut [I think this is a typo, and should read “open”]. And according to the American Cancer Society, the amount of radiation that is allowed to leak out of microwaves based on federal laws in the US is far below the level that could potentially cause harm. The metal mesh visible through the windows on most microwave doors further have holes that are small enough that the microwaves cannot escape but large enough that visible light can still pass through, or in other words, large enough so that you can still see inside to check on the progress of your lunch.”

        1. Ps: Correction: Microwave ovens DO NOT OPERATE with the door open; my bad. Assumptions…


          They probably meant the microwave won’t come on unless the door is shut.

    1. Back when you didn’t have your beard. I like it better
      I think the beard/mustache thing is meant to bring awareness to men’s prostate cancer… much like pink is bringing awareness to breast cancer.

      1. I dunno, Lonie. I kinda dig the Yul Brenner look myself.

        (Poor guy died of lung cancer like so many other “stars” of those days. Their ciggies served as props and they were always lighting up.)

  4. I think you have a different perspective regarding vitamin c than such doctors as

    Dr. Steve Hickey
    Dr. Thomas E. Levy
    Dr. Frederick R. Klenner

    If you c ould eventually reply to this, I think many would be grateful
    J. Daws

    1. Also 2 time Noble Peace winner Dr. Linus Pauling and Dr. Andrew Saul – the latter of which the documentary “That Vitamin Movie” was based on his research.!!

      1. Lots of misleading nonsense out there based on confounded and/or poorly conducted studies

        Andrew Saul may have a doctorate but he isn’t a medical doctor.

        If we want scientifically rigorous analyses and assessments of vitamin C and health, those aren’t the people we should be listening to. The Linus Pauling Institute is a much more reliable and credible source as are the US National Institutes of Health

        1. Article in NIH addressing role of many nutrients. Discussion of vitamin C begins on page 41.
          Possibly how much C is absorbed, and how much required is based on the age and health condition of the individual?

        2. Andrew Saul may have a doctorate but he isn’t a medical doctor.
          Not being a medical doctor simply means he has not been inDOCTORinated in medical dogma.

          Got a problem? Just Call Saul. ‘-)

          1. LOL. Nice one Lonie.

            Calling medical science and medical education/training ‘dogma’ is a neat way of justifying ignoring stuff we don’t like. Certainly, the saturated fat and cholesterol ‘sceptics’ do it all the time. When they aren’t calling it ‘demonisation’ and/or ‘vilification’ that is. It is a lot easier than trying to rebut the scientific evidence, that’s for sure.

    2. Yes, I’m very disappointed to see our Dr doing such a poor job on this research.
      And it’s not a different opinion, is disregard about the data.
      Let’s hope that he can correct this, if not I see no reason to believe what he says, it might be just poor research again….
      I’m really sad about this…

        1. I think yopu should tone down your aggressiveness. Go search for the recommended doctors work, including nobel prize winner, unless you know more than this other doctors

          1. I think you should justify your vague, unsubstantiated and insulting claim that the NF team has done a poor job of research on this topic.

            Comments such as yours normally come from people with crank beliefs about vitamin C as a magical cure for heart disease and cancer. Such beliefs aren’t supported by the scientific evidence.

            As far as I know, Greger’s statements above are entirely consistent with the scientific evidence as summarised eg by the Linus Pauling Institute and the US National Institutes of Health.


            1. Do your own research, the names have been given to you, Nobel Prize Winner included.
              Here we all love Dr Greger but his authority is not unquestionable.

  5. As healthy active seniors we take a C supplement and will continue to do so, thanks. Poorer absorption and cooking just for starters, never mind that we’d gag on all those huge amounts of fruits and vegetables. Pulled the plug on our microwave years ago and stopped using sun-screen 25 years ago. Contrarians I suppose, but we’ve never had the need for a medical prescription so we’ll keep following our instincts – and reading your articles of course.

    1. Doug,

      The video transcript states that just 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day could get us to ideal blood levels. I think that means combined: veggies, fruits, or a combination of the two. That doesn’t sound like a lot to me; that’s our minimum intake.

      In fact, if you look at Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen, he recommends 4 servings of fruit and 5 of veggies, spread across different categories. That’s 9 servings of veggies and fruit a day. We don’t usually make that, though sometimes we do, but not always in the recommended categories.

  6. The study establishing the limit the body can absorb of Vitamin C appears to have been done on a healthy person.

    My point is, what if a person is unhealthy?

    I remember reading years ago that smoking depletes ones Vitamin C and that smokers should increase their Vitamin C levels to help prevent the damage done by smoking.

    I suppose a cold or flu might also deplete Vitamin C levels.

    And, it appears taking more than required Vitamin C is not harmful if it is simply removed with no harm. If we fall for that old fallacy that excessive supplements are just expensive pee, then that means we achieve maximum levels of the supplements we need.

    And if anyone is further concerned about the “waste” of money, capture your pee and pour it around trees and other plants as fertilizer (if you live in the country, that is… if you live in an apartment, maybe not so good an idea’-)

  7. Vitamin C dosage is far from settled science, and there is abundant evidence that larger doses can be beneficial. For example, at 1 g per day, cold symptoms are reduced. “A number of clinical trials with varying doses of AA showed that it does not have significant prophylactic effect, but reduces the severity and duration of symptoms of cold during the period of infection. ”

    “In the early literature, vitamin C deficiency was associated with pneumonia. After its identification, a number of studies investigated the effects of vitamin C on diverse infections. A total of 148 animal studies indicated that vitamin C may alleviate or prevent infections caused by bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. The most extensively studied human infection is the common cold. Vitamin C administration does not decrease the average incidence of colds in the general population, yet it halved the number of colds in physically active people. Regularly administered vitamin C has shortened the duration of colds, indicating a biological effect. However, the role of vitamin C in common cold treatment is unclear. Two controlled trials found a statistically significant dose-response, for the duration of common cold symptoms, with up to 6-8 g/day of vitamin C. Thus, the negative findings of some therapeutic common cold studies might be explained by the low doses of 3-4 g/day of vitamin C. Three controlled trials found that vitamin C prevented pneumonia. Two controlled trials found a treatment benefit of vitamin C for pneumonia patients. One controlled trial reported treatment benefits for tetanus patients. The effects of vitamin C against infections should be investigated further.”

    At 10 g per day, 10% of terminal cancer patients survived, while all on conventional therapy died.
    “[Pauling and Cameron] gave 10 g (10,000 mg) of vitamin C per day to 100 terminally ill cancer patients and compared their outcome with 1,000 cancer patients who were given conventional therapy. It was observed that 10.3 % cancer patients receiving vitamin C survived while all patients on conventional therapy without vitamin C died [134]. Other studies have also confirmed these findings. Murata and Morishige showed in a study conducted on Japanese patients with uterus cancer receiving 5–30 g of vitamin C that these patients survived six times longer than those on vitamin C <4 g per day. When comparison was made between those supplemented with or without vitamin C, survival rate was 15 % higher in those supplemented with vitamin C [136]. The overwhelming evidence supports that a high intake of vitamin C is linked with a low risk for cancer of oesophagus, oral cavity, stomach, pancreas, cervix, rectum and breast [137, 138] and also non-hormonal cancers [139]."

    That latter point is bolstered by the theory that vitamin C that is NOT absorbed, but traverses the intestines, could reduce carcinogens in the gut and protect against colorectal cancer.
    "Addition of a variety of antioxidants (e.g., ascorbic acid, reduced glutathione, alpha-tocopherol analog), 5-aminosalicylic acid, or L-NAME resulted in 80%-85% inhibition of neutrophil-mediated nitrosamine formation. Taken together, these data suggest that inflammatory neutrophils may represent an important metabolic source of endogenous carcinogens during times of active intestinal inflammation."

    Again, I'm not saying this is settled science, but ascorbic acid is inexpensive and low toxicity. I'll continue to take my chances on 1 g a day and 3-5 g more at the first sign of cold symptoms.

    Most of the quotes and much much more in this review:

    1. Thanks, Rob, for your thoughtful response. I, too, follow Linus Pauling’s advice from his findings, and take five grams (with a sprinkle of baking soda) at the first hint of a cold or other sickness. I then take the same amount hourly until I reach first signs of bowel intolerance. I also take five grams if I eat something I am allergic to (wheat or dairy products) and in case of a back muscle spasm. Two years ago, I had a terrible flu. At first symptoms, I added 25 grams to my 750 ml. drinking water bottle and sipped it as I laid in bed. As I emptied it, I refilled my water bottle with the same quantity of vitamin C. My fever broke after 48 hours and, thereafter, my body began its recovery from the muscle aches, etc. For me, the quick breaking of my flu fever and improvement in my symptoms was a clear, powerful demonstration of the effectiveness of high dose vitamin C when taken at first signs of a cold or flu.

  8. It’s my understanding that vitamin C only stays in your body for about 6 hours. Therefore, it should be taken at least 2 times a day, or take time release.

      Yeah, I suck on an Elderbery gummie w/Vitamin C and zinc at night before going to bed, plus a B-12 Complex with C in the morning. At times I supplement with a C tab ~ noon.

      Big believer in Vitamin C, among many other supplements.

        1. YR, I didn’t find mine listed (Doctor’s Best – 60 Natural Fruit Pectin Gummies)

          You may want to check the “other ingredients” list to see if there is anything in them that you may want to avoid.

          Thanks for the link… looks like it has a lot of information about Elderberries. I’ll read it tonight.

          1. Should have mentioned that I also take Vitamin D gummies and Lutein and Zeaxanthin gummies.

            Gummies and sublinguals are my new best ways of taking supplements, if I can find the supplement in those carriers.

    Rob, it has been my understanding that animals make their own Vitamin C. IITB, then are you suggesting that increased doses may help protect them during a diseased state?

    1. Lonie, that article is available full text for free
      “A benefit of vitamin C against infections was found in all animal groups. Although rats and mice synthesize vitamin C in their bodies, half or more of the studies with these species found significant benefits of additional vitamin C. This implies that rats and mice do not necessarily synthesize sufficient amounts of vitamin C to reach optimal levels that prevent or curtail infections. In addition to mammals, vitamin C protected against infections in several studies with birds and fishes. ”

      Also, it’s not just plasma vitamin C that’s important:
      “The vitamin C level in plasma of people in good health becomes saturated at about 70 µmol/L when the intake is about 0.2 g/day [11].

  10. My sister goes to a doctor in Manhattan, NY to get 20,000 units of vit C intravenously every month, it costs $150.00 I think she is wasting her money. Any opinions?

    1. What does she do the rest of the month Vit. C – wise? Depending on how much time and $ it costs to get to the office, that does sound like a hefty chunk of change. Have you gone on-line to see if the doc has been reviewed by patients? Is this treatment to last for the rest of her life?


      “However, there are some disadvantages. The course of therapy is long and intense, two to three times per week (2 hours each) and for the duration of about a year. It can cost over $20,000 for a year-long course of treatment if it is not covered by an insurance.”

      1. That was an interesting link, it seems there might be beneficial effects after all from high dose Vit C. She is a cancer survivor and that is why she is doing Vit C. I guess she will be doing it for the rest of her life, I will email the article to my brother in law, maybe he will feel better about paying for it!

        1. This is s lie started by doctors who should know their chemistry better. Ascorbate is an anti-oxidant and that is why it quenches all inflammation in the body whether caused by virus, toxins, snakebite or chemicals. All inflammation without exception (quoting Dr Thomas Levy here – see Primal Panacea.)
          Just because it can work with iron in cancer cells and highly toxic peroxide can then kill the cancer cells, that doesn’t mean that ascorbate acts as an oxidant. It never does.

            W. G., In the above sentence the part that caught my eye was about snakebite. If it is within your purview, could you elaborate on this… especially in re neurotoxic snakebites vs hemotoxic ones?

            Specifically, would Vitamin C have any protective effect on a person that has been snakebit, while on the way to the doctor?

            (I have seen a dog that was snakebit on the neck and the flesh just melted away over time but the do survived and was good as new after the flesh healed over.)

    2. If she sick it’s worth it. Some say that you can have as much in liposomal form but I’m not sure. Please research about megadosing on vit C, there is plenty of proof of it’s validity

  11. I am amazed at how many of you are taking supplements for nutritional elements you can get from eating real food. It seems the November 7th blog on food synergy was wasted on you people. It’s like you all think of yourselves as lab rats in an experiment that no one is paying attention to.

    Here you are following a guy who devotes all of his energy to trying to convince people to eat real food and the choir is all nodding by rote and still popping pills according to the latest study. Hilarious!

    The human race existed for 300,000 year without supplements. They were healthier than us, much stronger than any man alive today, had far more stamina, good teeth, good eye sight, good hearing, great sense of smell, did not snore, fart or catch colds. There was no heart burn, ear infections, plugged sinuses, tonsillitis, acne or sleep apnea. We know this because all of these things I’ve listed were what was then normal. We know that because if it wasn’t the human race would have become extinct early on.

    Then in the last 50 years along came supplements that mostly don’t work unless you’ve had extensive blood work to find out if you actually need what you think you need. Even so, the blood work was interpreted by a doctor who typically was a nutritional moron. So whatever he or she said was only going to be correct by accident.

    In the last 50 years with supplements, the physiological form of human being has been transformed from mostly unhealthy to almost completely unhealthy to the point where life expectancy has already started trending to shorter lives for the first time in history.

    The solution is to go back to real food – organic food. That demand will improve soil health and the nutritional values of the food we eat. Taking supplements is counterproductive in the long run.

    You lot are like children racing around in a playground trying to catch bubbles.

      1. Perhaps an excerpt from his work-in-progress SHIT book. :-)

        I’m amazed at his ability to go back in linear time. Otherwise, how could he possibly know:


    1. No, it is within the last 50 plus years of GMO’s, toxic chemicals,in our food, soil, and environments, and the diminished amount of nutrients in our soil and food that are the problems. More chemicals take more nutrients to act as co-factors to the enzymatic pathways that metabolize and help get rid of them.


  13. Back in the 1950s my mother gave us Vit. C supplements and when our playmates came down with polio, we were spared. Then when my child developed rheumatic fever at 12 months of age, the doctor told us all he could recommend was penicillin for life and aspirin for the pain. I could not accept that and so began studying on my own. I had always given my children C supplements, but this child was not affected by the oral C. Eventually I came across Dr. Kenner’s work with injections of ascorbic acid for polio cases.

    My child, now almost 3, cried all the time, had poor appetite, could not sleep or walk, and now had a heart murmur. Praying that I wouldn’t be asked for an Rx, I went to the local druggist and asked for “injectable ascorbic acid”. I gave my little one 5000 mg IM and, after he got over crying (its an acid), he went right to sleep. When he woke up, he was hungry! And happy!! It lasted for 3 days, then another shot lasted 5 days, until we were up to once a month.

    Eventually I found doctors that would give it IV, but they always laughed at me, saying it would all be in the toilet in 20 minutes, etc. But so were the symptoms! By the time he was 18 years old, he had no evidence of rheumatic fever.

    Dr. Rosenvold was very interested, helped me learn to give the shots IV myself, and wrote about the case in a medical journal (this would have been in the early ’70s). Evidently, there is a lot more to vitamin C supplements than is evidenced here. I have killed many virus infections, even a tooth infection by giving 2000 mg every 2 or 3 hours. When my daughter developed symptoms of appendicitis, she got a shot and all symptoms disappeared. Same for a kidney infection.

    1. Spot on, Kathleen! See my post below where I state:

      “I suggest everyone, including Dr. Greger, go to the following website and read the following books before they conclude that vitamin C does not help Cancer patients or that 200 mg a day is the maximum amount of vitamin C we can absorb.

      “Ascorbate: The Science of Vitamin C”, by Steve Hickey, Ph.D.

      “Vitamin C: The Real Story, the Remarkable and Controversial Healing Factor”, by Steve Hickey, Ph.D and Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D.

      “Curing the Incurable: Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins” , by Thomas E. Levy, M.D. J.D.”

      Vitamin C is great, and those who believe we can or should only take no more than 200 mg a day are sadly mistaken.


    Chattergirl, your scolding tone suggests you are emotionally invested in WFPB eating. And if we were monolithic, your comment could be construed as spot on.

    However, we are not all the same and for that reason some of us have determined there are other ways of achieving optimal nutrition, i.e., by adding supplements (which in my case includes herbs and spices… you know, altered foods. ‘-)

      1. The term “you people” sounds very John N., the SHIT writer. He often uses it.

        Different name, same message.
        Very sleuthy of you. ‘-)

    1. Yes Lonie and YR! LOL She (aka John in disguise) even used the same sentence about being rats in a lab experiment no one is paying attention to.

  16. It is definitely better to take more than RDA’s 90 mg/day (adult men) given antioxidant benefits of V-C. Some even recommend 500 mg/day. Per Dr.G presentation, the true plateau starts at 500 level. The point is that eating more than 200 mg/day of V-C is not going to hurt, especially if we spread doses throughout the day. Besides UL is 2000 mg/day.
    Just 100 g of green pepper and 100 g of papaya give us 140 mg of V-C.
    Citric acid can come to the rescue if we are short on V-C in meals.
    Since V-C increases bioavailability of other nutrients, it is actually beneficial to have V-C in (almost) each meal.

    1. The upper limit is whatever it takes to stop the illness or disease as long as it doesn’t trigger diarrhea. See doctor and start healing.
      This is a great test of your health. Start taking 500 mg per hour and keep going until your stomach rumbles. If it only takes 2000 mg you are in good health. But if it takes 5000 or 10000 mg something is wrong with your health. Some underlying illness.





  18. This website and the information presented is based on peer-reviewed scientific studies. This is the best information available and appreciated by those of us that are objective. If you have unbiased, well founded, peer-reviewed published research based on well recognized hard clinical endpoints that refutes what Dr. G has presented, we’d all like to see it, but websites and books do not qualify.

    1. The Scientific Evidence is referenced in the books. referred to. Thomas E. Levy is one of the premier experts on the Science of Vitamin C. Also get “Primal Panacea” by Dr. Levy as well. Dr. Greger does not always get it right, and as for the NIH, trusting them to do the science when it comes to anything having to do with nutrition…Well lets just say most of the time one’s trust is misplaced.

  19. Dr Gregor Wow! You blew this one big time. You missed the last 30 years of research on “vitamin” C. You always said doctors don’t receive nutrition training. The oral route is the “backup” route for ascorbate. Almost all mammals make it in the liver. It takes 4 genes to make the hormones that change glucose into ascorbate and Man has all the genes except one is corrupted and won’t work. Ergo ascorbate is not a vitamin but a nutrient. A goat makes 12,000 mg per day and if sick, can bump this up to 100,000 mg. Can’t believe you dropped the ball on this.

    Very interesting information.

    Leads me to extrapolate/wonder if goat milk doesn’t contain more of this than other milks.

    1. What if you’re highly allergic to Vitamin C and citric acid?
      Sharon, I’ve read that astaxanthin works x amount (can’t remember the number) times better than vitamin C, so I would consider taking a daily astaxanthin.

      I actually do this and take Vitamin C as well, so I have experience with the astaxanthin.

      And while I do not think it is something you can “feel” any benefit from, I trust the science that says I am getting a benefit.

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