You’ve heard it so many times: Eat Vitamin C-containing fruits! Vitamin C is good for your health. And it’s true. But how do you know what fruit is the highest in Vitamin C?

I wanted to know the answer myself, so I did a research. I figured it would be of use to many, who ask themselves the same question while standing by the fruits section in the grocery store.

And you know what I found? The single fruit that is small enough that you can eat in one sitting without feeling full, and that has the highest Vitamin C content is… yellow kiwifruit. One medium kiwifruit contains more than two times the RDA recommendations!

Well, I need to point out that the current RDA recommendations for Vitamin C (60mg a day) are, mildly said, outdated. And this is not a surprise for anybody. This dose is considered enough just to prevent a person from getting scurvy.

A well-documented study, conducted on healthy men in hospital settings revealed that a daily dose of 200mg is the minimum, required to maintain the tissues fully saturated with Vitamin C.

I personally consider anything below 1,000mg of Vitamin C a day as low (supplemental and food combined), and anything below 500mg as too low.

Some of you might argue that higher Vitamin C intakes are associated with kidney stone formation. An exceptionally large study makes things clear as to whether we should worry about that or not.

The study was conducted on 85,557 women over a period of 14 years. The reason was to find the relation between the intake of Vitamin B6 and C, and the risks of symptomatic kidney stones formation. What they found is definitely interesting.

It became clear that large doses of Vitamin B6 may decrease the risk of kidney stones but, cite “routine restriction of Vitamin C to prevent stone formation appears unwarranted”.

In my opinion, and I am sure you will agree with me, the study was large enough so that the old argument of high Vitamin C intake and kidney stones is put to rest.

Any way, to be safe let’s say an average person should consume at least 200mg a day. As you can see from the table below, it’s enough to eat two kiwifruits to get that amount in your body.

You can achieve the same by eating three oranges as well. Of course you do that in the course of a day. Nobody said you have to eat them all at once.

That’s all good but keep in mind this. Choose fruits that are not completely ripe. The more a fruit ripens the less the Vitamin C in it. That holds true for most of the fruit.

But if you are like me and believe that a person should ingest at least 1,000mg of Vitamin C a day then you will have to eat quite a few kiwifruits or oranges or any other of the fruits in the table below.

Here is where a good Vitamin C supplement comes in use. Of course a Vitamin C supplement should be just that – a supplement.

You should always strive to provide as much as you can Vitamin C from natural sources. The rest of it, up till whatever amount you consider to be enough for good health and in the same time safe, you should provide from a supplemental Vitamin C.

In the end take this advice from me. Memorize the table below. It is always good to know what fruit is the highest in Vitamin C. That is especially important when you are at the grocery store.

Remember, Vitamin C means health and longer life. There are numerous studies that prove this claim and none to say Vitamin C is bad for you! So, go for it whenever and wherever you can.

Don't miss!

Next Level - Bodybuilding and Fitness Nutrition Planning

Reference:

Intake of vitamins B6 and C and the risk of kidney stones in women; Curhan, G. C., Willett, W. C., Speizer, F. E., Stampfer, M. J. J Am Soc Nephrol 10:4:840-845, Apr 1999

Two hundred milligrams of vitamin C may be an appropriate daily amount for healthy men; Dr. M. Levine; National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Back to "Fitness Nutrition Articles" page