Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) - everyone’s favorite water-soluble vitamin. Even if you don't know any other vitamin, we can almost guarantee that everyone reading this has heard about Vitamin C.
Even from a young age, if you had any kind of cold, your mom probably hounded you to “drink your OJ.” And rightfully so! We know that Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant and helps immune function, but its powers go far beyond that. (1)
Vitamin C is also needed for the biosynthesis of collagen and L-carnitine, is used in protein metabolism, and can help to regenerate other antioxidants, like Vitamin E. (1) In brief, collagen is imperative in the formation of connective tissue and wound healing. L-carnitine is a key player in fatty acid oxidation (fat burning). Proteins are the building blocks of life, and Vitamin E is a powerful fat-soluble vitamin that you can learn about in a previous blog post we did. What does this mean? Vitamin C is one impressive micronutrient!
But the key here is that humans, unlike other animals, cannot synthesize vitamin C inside our body. Which means we need to get it from outside sources. (2) Thus, for men aged 19+, the RDA is 90 mg. And the RDA for women aged 19+ who are not pregnant or lactating is 75 mg. It's also worth mentioning that the RDA is 35 mg higher for people who smoke. This is because smoking increases oxidative stress in the body. (1)
So how can you meet and surpass this RDA? Well, fruits and vegetables are going to be your best bet. However, if you can’t stand those citrus and green things, the literature demonstrates that supplements containing ascorbic acid have equivalent bioavailability to natural sources of ascorbic acid. (3)
Fortunately for you, we have provided the 100% RDA value in both our Pinnacle Men's and Women's Multis at 90 mg and 75 mg respectively. So even if you miss your glass of OJ one morning, you don't need to worry :)
1. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-