Top 10 Foods Highest in Vitamin C

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Dr. Patricia Shelton
Evidence Based. References sourced from PubMed.
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Top 10 Foods Highest in Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient required for the maintenance of many body tissues, including skin, blood vessels, bones, and cartilage. Vitamin C is also essential for wound healing. (1,2)

Vitamin C helps protect cells against oxidative stress, which in turn provides protection against certain diseases, including cancer. (1,3)

Vitamin C, like zinc and vitamin A, also helps support your immune system. (4,5,6)

High vitamin C foods include guavas, bell peppers, kiwifruit, strawberries, oranges, papayas, broccoli, tomatoes, kale, and snow peas. The current daily value (DV) for vitamin C is 90mg. (7)

Below is a list of high vitamin C foods ranked by a common serving size. Use the nutrient ranking of over 200 foods high in vitamin C to see the foods highest in vitamin C by nutrient density (per gram), or see rankings of fruits high in vitamin C, and vegetables high in vitamin C.

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A printable list of the top 10 foods highest in vitamin C.

Vitamin C Foods by Nutrient Density (Vitamin C per Gram)

FoodServingVitamin C
1. Acerola Cherry 100 grams 1864% DV
(1678mg)
2. Dried Herbs (Coriander) 100 grams 630% DV
(567mg)
3. Rose Hips 100 grams 473% DV
(426mg)
4. Guavas 100 grams 254% DV
(228mg)
5. Sweet Yellow Peppers 100 grams 204% DV
(184mg)
6. Black Currants 100 grams 201% DV
(181mg)
7. Thyme 100 grams 178% DV
(160mg)
8. Red Chilies 100 grams 160% DV
(144mg)
9. Scotch Kale 100 grams 144% DV
(130mg)
10. Kiwifruit 100 grams 103% DV
(93mg)

Other Vitamin C Rich Foods

FoodServingVitamin C
1. Litchis (Lychees) per cup 151% DV
(136mg)
2. Green Chillies 1 pepper 121% DV
(109mg)
3. Kohlrabi 1 cup 93% DV
(84mg)
4. Parsley per cup 89% DV
(80mg)
5. Orange Juice per 8oz cup 80% DV
(72mg)
6. Bitter Melon per cup 45% DV
(41mg)
7. Starfruit (Carambola) per cup 41% DV
(37mg)
8. Garden Cress 1 cup 38% DV
(35mg)
9. Jalapeno Peppers 1 pepper 18% DV
(17mg)
10. Saffron 1 tbsp 2% DV
(2mg)

Vitamin C Requirements By Age and Gender

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for Vitamin C ranges from 15mg to 120mg per day. The daily value for vitamin C is 90mg per day. (7)

Life StageRDA
Infants*
0-6 months old40mg
7-12 months old50mg
Children
1-3 years old15mg
4-8 years old25mg
Males
9-13 years old45mg
14-18 years old75mg
19-50 years old90mg
50+ years old90mg
Females
9-13 years old45mg
14-18 years old65mg
19-50 years old75mg
50+ years old75mg
Pregnancy
14-18 years old80mg
18+ years old85mg
Lactation
14-18 years old115mg
18+ years old120mg
*The amounts for children less than 12 months old is the adequate intake (AI) not RDA.
Source: Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C.

About the Data

Data for the curated food lists comes from the USDA Food Data Central Repository.

You can check our data against the USDA by clicking the (Source) link at the bottom of each food listing.

Note: When checking data please be sure the serving sizes are the same. In the rare case you find any difference, please contact us and we will fix it right away.

About Nutrient Targets

Setting targets can provide a guide to healthy eating.

Some of the most popular targets include:
  • Daily Value (%DV) - The daily value (%DV) is a general guideline for consumption that will prevent deficiency of a particular nutrient in most people. The %DV refers to the percentage of an amount that\'s found in a single serving of a food. It also accounts for absorption factors. It is set by the U.S. FDA.
  • Recommended Dietary Allowance (%RDA) - The RDA sets an average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97.5%) healthy individuals. It\'s more specific than the daily value, and varies by age and gender. The RDA is set by the US National Institutes of Health.
  • Reference Dietary Intake (%RDI) -The reference dietary intake is similar to the recommended daily allowance, but is specific to age and gender. The RDI for amino acids is set by the U.N. World Health Organization.
  • Adequate Intake (%AI) - This value is primarily used in reference to omega-3 and omega-6 fats. The Adequate Intake is set by the U.S. Institute of Medicine. Because there is less evidence to determine the ideal targets for consumption of these nutrients, the specific amount is considered to be less reliable. Using the term Adequate Intake, rather than one of the other terms, helps to emphasize that the ideal intake of that particular nutrient has not yet been scientifically determined.

See the Guide to Recommended Daily Intakes for more information.

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Use the ranking tool links below to select foods and create your own food list to share or print.


View more nutrients with the nutrient ranking tool, or see ratios with the nutrient ratio tool.

Data Sources and References

  1. Lane DJ, Chikhani S, Richardson V, Richardson DR. Mitochondria, Energy and Cancer: The Relationship with Ascorbic Acid Biochim Biophys Acta. 2013 Jun;1833(6):1527-41. doi: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2013.02.010. Epub 2013 Feb 26. 23481043
  2. Sinclair PR, Gorman N, Shedlofsky SI, Honsinger CP, Sinclair JF, Karagas MR, Anderson KE. Role of Vitamin C in Skin Diseases J Lab Clin Med. 1997 Aug;130(2):197-201. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2143(97)90096-2. 9280147
  3. Wu SJ, Ng LT, Lin CC. L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) induces the apoptosis of B16 murine melanoma cells via a caspase-8-independent pathway Eur J Pharmacol. 2005 Aug 22;518(2-3):96-106. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2005.06.021. 16054126
  4. Ströhle A, Wolters M, Hahn A. Vitamin C and Immune Function Inflamm Allergy Drug Targets. 2011 Feb;10(1):54-63. doi: 10.2174/187152811794352105. 21184650
  5. Yamamoto M. The role of vitamin A and related retinoids in immune function World Rev Nutr Diet. 1991;64:58-84. doi: 10.1159/000418570. 2028624
  6. Prasad AS. Zinc in human health: effect of zinc on immune cells Exp Gerontol. 2008 May;43(5):370-7. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2007.10.013. Epub 2007 Nov 1. 18054190
  7. U.S.FDA - Daily Value on the New Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels
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