Can You Overdose on Vitamin C? Everything You Need to Know

Can I Overdose on Vitamin C? Technically, Yes

Vitamin C is well known for its many health benefits. But sometimes it can be overdone. It’s important to be mindful of how much your body needs and whether your supplement routine is meeting those requirements – or whether your routine is causing you to exceed them.

Tolerable upper intake level of Vitamin C

The tolerable upper intake level of vitamin C is 2,000 mg. What that means is that this is the amount of vitamin C you can take without risks for potential side effects. Once you exceed the upper limit, though, you can start to encounter some problems as the risk for potential side effects increases.

If you’re only getting vitamin C through your diet and not through supplements, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever exceed the tolerable upper intake level. If you overdo it with the supplements, though, you might experience some side effects. Some of these include temporary digestive symptoms including indigestion and nausea. You should always keep your doctor apprised of any supplements you’re taking, and you should certainly let your doctor know if you’re experiencing any of these side effects.

How much vitamin C should I take daily?

The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of vitamin C is 75 mg to 90 mg daily. But, as always, you should check with your doctor to determine the right amount for you and your particular needs.

What is vitamin C?

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin and powerful antioxidant. Most commonly you might think of vitamin C when you think of citrus fruits like oranges, but you can find vitamin C in a large number of foods you consume daily. Think peppers, strawberries, tomatoes, acerola cherries, and even broccoli. Vitamin C helps play a critical role in immune health. Making sure you're getting enough vitamin C — either from your diet or by supplementing — can help support healthy immune function.

What are the health benefits of vitamin C?

Vitamin C is in an essential micronutrient, meaning humans cannot make it in their bodies. Vitamin C is most commonly known for its ability to support the immune system and its immune health benefits have long been studied by researchers and scientists. Most of the research on vitamin C points to positive benefits on the immune system. One meta-analysis reviewed 60-plus studies on the effect of vitamin C and concluded that vitamin C can help support healthy immune function.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is considered a potent antioxidant involved in sequestering free radicals to minimize the damage they cause to our bodies due to oxidative stress. Vitamin C is also well known as a “helper vitamin” for non-heme iron. Research has shown that taking vitamin C can help our bodies better absorb non-heme iron, the iron found in plant-based foods, from food or supplements.

What are some good sources of Vitamin C?

There are two ways to get vitamin C: through diet or through supplementation. Let’s take a look at each option.

Foods high in vitamin C

When it comes to getting enough nutrients, there’s really no substitute for eating a healthy diet. To make sure you’re getting enough vitamin C, you may want to consider adding the following foods to your diet:

• Fruits and vegetables:
  • Acerola cherries
  • Broccoli
  • Bell peppers
  • Kiwis
  • Oranges
  • Lemon (without peel)
  • Orange juice

Vitamin C supplements

If you’re not getting enough vitamin C through your diet, adding vitamin C supplements to your routine might be a solution. Before adding any new supplements to your routine, though, you should talk to your doctor.

To make sure you’re getting the most out of your supplement, you’ll want to be sure you get a high quality vitamin C supplement. That means you should be looking for a supplement that resembles vitamin C in its food-based form and is designed for easier absorption with flavonoids. Care/of’s vitamin C supplement fits this bill exactly: Our vitamin c is made from acerola cherries and contains bioflavonoids. Just as importantly, Care/of’s vitamin C is third-party tested, certified C.L.E.A.N., and contains no unnecessarily fillers.

The bottom line

There’s no doubt about it: Vitamin C is good for you. If you’re getting your vitamin C intake mainly through food, you probably don’t have to worry about getting too much of it. If you’re taking vitamin C supplements, though, you’ll want to avoid going above the tolerable upper limit (2,000 mg). Consuming vitamin C beyond the tolerable upper limit can increase the risk for some potentially pesky side effects, including temporary gastrointestinal upset. Before adding any new supplement to your routine, you should talk to a medical professional.