Do Vegans Need Vitamin C? An Investigation into Scurvy, Pirates, and Oranges

Tonight’s mystery is a strange one. I’ve been investigating the world of veganism, a subculture defined by its meticulous attention to nutrient intake. They worry about B12, they fret about iron, they agonize over omega-3s. But there is one vitamin that seems to cause a surprising amount of low-grade anxiety, despite all evidence to the contrary. That vitamin is Vitamin C. 🍊

The question, "Do vegans need to worry about Vitamin C?" seems, on the surface, to be one of the most ridiculous questions a person could ask. It’s like asking, "Do fish need to worry about getting wet?" or "Are rocks gluten-free?" Plants are, for all intents and purposes, the only place Vitamin C actually lives. And yet, the question persists, a ghost of a deficiency past, haunting the health-food aisles.

I decided it was my duty as an investigator to get to the bottom of this. Why does this one vitamin hold such a powerful, historical grip on our imagination? I went on a deep dive into the strange and gruesome history of scurvy, the bizarre science of collagen, and the modern-day wellness myths that keep us all in a state of citrus-flavored panic. So, let's find out: do vegans need Vitamin C?

A Horrifying History Lesson: The Terror of the Seas ⛵

To understand why we care so much about Vitamin C, you first have to understand what happens when you don't have it. My investigation took me back to the Age of Sail, a time when men were made of wood, ships were also made of wood, and everyone's teeth were falling out. The number one killer of sailors on long-haul voyages was not pirates, not sea monsters, but a slow, gruesome, and utterly baffling disease called scurvy.

Scurvy was a medical mystery for centuries, a creeping horror that turned strong, healthy sailors into dying wrecks. My research into the historical accounts of this disease was, and I do not say this lightly, absolutely disgusting. 🤢

• Act I: The Lethargy. It would start with a profound sense of fatigue and a deep, aching pain in the limbs. The sailors would become listless and weak.

• Act II: The Rotting. Then, things would get weird. Their gums would become swollen, purple, and spongy. Their teeth would loosen and fall out. Old, long-healed wounds would spontaneously re-open on their bodies as if by some dark magic. Their skin would become covered in strange spots and bruises.

• Act III: The End. In the final stages, the sailors would suffer from jaundice, fever, and eventually, death from hemorrhage or heart failure. It was a slow, painful, and deeply undignified way to go.

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For centuries, no one knew what caused it. Theories ranged from "bad air" to "laziness." It wasn't until the mid-18th century that a Scottish naval surgeon named James Lind conducted what is often considered one of the first clinical trials in history. He took a group of scurvy-ridden sailors and divided them into groups, giving each group a different "cure." Some got cider, some got seawater, and one lucky group got two oranges and a lemon a day. The citrus group made a miraculous and immediate recovery. Lind had found the cure. It took the British Royal Navy another 40 years to actually make citrus a standard issue on their ships, because, as we know, large institutions are famously quick to adopt new ideas. This is why British sailors became known as "limeys."

The Science of Glue: What Does Vitamin C Actually Do?

So, why does a lack of oranges make your old wounds re-open? This was the most fascinating part of my investigation. The answer lies with a single, miraculous protein: collagen.

Collagen is, in essence, the biological glue that holds your entire body together. It is the most abundant protein in the animal kingdom. It is the rebar in your bones, the ropes in your tendons, the flexible net that makes your skin elastic. Without collagen, you would not be a person; you would be a sad, vaguely human-shaped puddle.

And what is the one, single, absolutely essential ingredient your body needs to manufacture this magical glue? You guessed it. Vitamin C. It is a crucial co-factor for the enzymes that stabilize the collagen molecule. Without Vitamin C, your body’s ability to produce new, functional collagen grinds to a complete halt.

This explains the horrific symptoms of scurvy. Your body is in a constant state of repair. When you stop making new collagen, the old structures begin to fail. Your gums, which have a high turnover rate of collagen, are the first to go. Your blood vessels, which are lined with collagen, become weak and brittle, leading to the bruising and hemorrhaging. And in a final, ghoulish twist, the scar tissue from your old wounds, which is made of collagen, is literally disassembled by your body for its raw materials. Your body starts to fall apart. It’s a slow-motion, biological deconstruction. The level of biological drama here is on par with a Finnish symphonic metal epic. It is the Nightwish of deficiency diseases. 🤘

The Great Vegan "Problem" (Spoiler: There Isn't One)

So, now that we understand the terrifying importance of this vitamin, we can return to our original question. Are vegans at risk? My investigation into the dietary sources of Vitamin C revealed a beautiful and simple truth. Animal products contain almost no Vitamin C. The only reliable sources of Vitamin C on this planet are plants. Fruits and vegetables are, in essence, Vitamin C vending machines. 🍓🥝🍊

This means that a person on a well-planned, whole-food vegan diet is not just getting "enough" Vitamin C; they are likely consuming vastly more than their omnivorous counterparts. The classic meat-and-potatoes diet is a recipe for a low-grade, sub-clinical Vitamin C deficiency. The vegan diet, by its very nature, is a scurvy-prevention powerhouse.

To illustrate this, I have compiled a table of some of the most potent plant-based sources of this vitamin. The recommended daily intake for an adult is around 75-90 milligrams (mg).

Food (100g serving)	Vitamin C Content (approx.)	Notes
Yellow Bell Pepper	184 mg	The undisputed, and surprising, king of Vitamin C. 👑
Guava	228 mg	The tropical champion.
Kale	120 mg	Of course, it's kale.
Broccoli	89 mg	A true cruciferous hero.
Kiwi	93 mg	Fuzzy, green, and full of power.
Strawberries	59 mg	A delicious way to keep your teeth in your head.
Oranges	53 mg	The classic, but surprisingly not the most potent.

Esporta in Fogli

As you can see, eating a single bell pepper, or a large orange, or a decent serving of broccoli will easily meet your entire daily need. For a vegan eating a varied diet of whole foods, deficiency is not just unlikely; it's almost a logistical impossibility.

The Real Villain: A Conspiracy of Heat 🔥

So, if it’s so easy to get, why is there any anxiety about it at all? My investigation revealed the true enemy of Vitamin C. It is not your diet; it is your cooking method.

Vitamin C is a delicate, sensitive, and deeply unstable little flower. It is water-soluble and highly susceptible to heat and oxidation. This means that when you cook your vegetables, especially when you boil them, a huge portion of the Vitamin C is destroyed or leaches out into the cooking water. That sad, green water you pour down the drain after boiling your broccoli? It’s a tragic, watery graveyard of lost vitamins. 😭

The best ways to preserve the Vitamin C content of your food are to eat it raw or to use quick, low-water cooking methods like steaming or stir-frying. So, the real threat to your collagen is not your veganism; it's your grandmother's insistence on boiling every vegetable until it is a grey, lifeless mush.

Questions from the Internet

Questions from the Internet: "Okay, but should I take a Vitamin C supplement to 'boost' my immune system?"

This is one of the most successful marketing claims of all time. My investigation into the science is clear: for the average, well-nourished person, taking a massive "megadose" of Vitamin C will not "supercharge" your immune system or prevent you from getting a cold. If you already have adequate levels, your body will simply take what it needs and excrete the rest in your urine. You are not boosting your immunity; you are creating very expensive pee. 💸

However, there is one major exception. My research confirms that for people under extreme physical stress, like marathon runners or soldiers in subarctic conditions, high-dose Vitamin C supplementation has been shown to reduce the incidence of colds. But for the rest of us, it’s largely unnecessary. The one other genuinely useful application is taking a Vitamin C supplement with your iron supplement, as it dramatically enhances absorption.

Questions from the Internet: "Can you overdose on Vitamin C?"

Since it’s water-soluble, it’s very difficult to overdose to a point of serious toxicity. Your body is great at getting rid of the excess. However, my investigation found that taking extremely high doses (over 2,000 mg per day) can cause some unpleasant digestive side effects, like diarrhea, cramps, and nausea. It’s not dangerous, but it is a great way to have a very bad day.

Internal Link Break!

The most important and useful superpower of Vitamin C in a vegan diet is its ability to act as a loyal sidekick to iron. It dramatically increases the absorption of the non-heme iron found in plants. I have investigated the entire, fascinating world of vegan iron in another deep dive right here: [Do Vegans Get Enough Iron? Or Is Popeye Lying to Us?]

The Conclusion: A Problem You Almost Certainly Don't Have

So, after this journey through the high seas of history and the microscopic world of molecules, do vegans need to worry about Vitamin C?

My final conclusion is a resounding and slightly anticlimactic no.

In a world full of genuine nutritional challenges for a plant-based eater, Vitamin C is the one you can, for the most part, cross off your list of anxieties. As long as you are eating a reasonably varied diet that includes a few servings of fruits and vegetables a day, you are almost certainly getting everything you need to keep scurvy at bay and to keep your internal glue factory running smoothly.

So, the next time someone asks you if you’re getting enough Vitamin C, you can look them dead in the eye, take a large, confident bite of a raw red pepper, and tell them not to worry. You’ve got it covered. ✅

Of course, just because you’re safe from scurvy doesn’t mean you’re out of the nutritional woods.

Sources

• The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin C: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/

• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The Nutrition Source: Vitamin C. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-c/

• The Vegan Society. Vitamin C. https://www.vegansociety.com/resources/nutrition-and-health/nutrients/vitamin-c

• Royal Museums Greenwich. Scurvy. https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/scurvy (For the history of the disease).

• Healthline. How Vitamin C Benefits Your Health. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-c-benefits

• The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. Vitamin C. (A very detailed, scientific overview of the vitamin).

• The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). James Lind and the Cure of Scurvy. (For the history of the first clinical trial).

• National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). The role of vitamin C in collagen synthesis. (For the science of its biological function).