Foods high in Vitamin C
Water-soluble antioxidant + cofactor in collagen synthesis. Lost easily in cooking water and air exposure.
About Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a water-soluble antioxidant and a required cofactor in collagen synthesis, making it essential for healthy skin, blood vessels, gums, and wound healing. It also boosts non-heme iron absorption and supports immune function.
Citrus is the famous source, but kiwi, blackcurrants, peppers, strawberries, broccoli, and brassicas all carry as much or more per 100 g. Vitamin C is destroyed by heat and light, so raw and lightly-cooked foods preserve more.
UK adult RI: 80 mg/day, easy to meet with a single piece of fruit or serving of vegetables. The body can't store much; excess is excreted in urine. Severe deficiency causes scurvy, now rare but historically devastating among sailors.
Foods high in vitamin c, kakadu plum, cherries, acerola juice, and more
Ranked by how much you get per calorie, so foods are not rewarded for simply being dry or concentrated. Values from USDA FoodData Central, McCance & Widdowson's CoFID, ANSES Ciqual, and other public nutrition databases. Amounts in milligrams.
Per calorie is the default here because it answers what to eat: ranked purely by amount, a list of the richest foods fills up with dried and concentrated things nobody eats a plateful of. Switch to per 100 grams above if concentration is what you are after.
- Kakadu plum 10,307.53mg per 100 grams
- Cherries, West Indian, flesh only 7,166.67mg per 100 grams
- Acerola juice, raw 6,956.52mg per 100 grams
- Acerola, (west indian cherry), raw 5,242.5mg per 100 grams
- Lime, native, fruit 1,059.74mg per 100 grams
- Gourd, kantola, raw 1,053.57mg per 100 grams
- Capsicum, raw 886.02mg per 100 grams
- Guava, flesh only, raw 884.62mg per 100 grams
- Guava, raw, weighed with skin and pips 875mg per 100 grams
- Capsicum, red, raw 873.18mg per 100 grams
- Peppers, capsicum, chilli, red, raw 865.38mg per 100 grams
- Capsicum, baked, roasted, fried, stir-fried, grilled or BBQ'd, no added fat 755.34mg per 100 grams
Common questions about Vitamin C
- How much vitamin C do I need?
- UK adult RI: 80 mg/day, easy to meet with a single piece of fruit or serving of vegetables.
- What foods are highest in vitamin C?
- Citrus is famous, but kiwi, blackcurrants, peppers, strawberries, broccoli, and brassicas carry as much or more per 100 g.
- Does vitamin C prevent colds?
- Studies show small reductions in cold duration but not in incidence for most people. Regular intake from food is more useful than mega-dose supplements after symptoms start.
- Can vitamin C help iron absorption?
- Yes, vitamin C eaten with non-heme iron (from plants and fortified foods) can roughly double absorption.