One of the essential nutrients for obtaining healthy beauty is "vitamin". Even among those who have little knowledge about health and beauty, vitamin C may have an image of "somehow, it seems to be good for the body."
This time, we will explain the functions of vitamin C, the foods that can be incorporated efficiently, and the guideline for intake.

Why you should take vitamin C for health and beauty

Vitamins can be broadly divided into two types: fat-soluble vitamins and water-soluble vitamins, each of which can be further classified into 13 types. Vitamin C is classified as a "water-soluble vitamin", which is easily soluble in water and difficult to dissolve in fats and oils.

【reference】
Safety and effectiveness information on “health foods” (National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition)
https://hfnet.nibiohn.go.jp/vitamin/detail178/

●Function of vitamin C

Vitamin C, also known as "L-ascorbic acid," is an essential nutrient that supports collagen and L-cartinine, which are important for maintaining the health of the body. Collagen is a type of protein and is also the main component of the dermis, which maintains the firmness and elasticity of the skin.

Additionally, "water-soluble vitamins" such as vitamin C are excreted after being consumed in various parts of the body. Even if you take a lot of it, it won't accumulate in your body, and it won't be as effective. It is important to follow the daily intake and continuously incorporate it into your daily life.

【reference】
“Information dissemination promotion project related to “integrated medicine”” (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare)
https://www.ejim.ncgg.go.jp/pro/overseas/c03/16.html
“Japanese Dietary Intake Standards 2020 Edition: Water-Soluble Vitamins” (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare)
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/10904750/000586563.pdf

●Benefits of taking vitamin C

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient for your body's health. Since health is related to various conditions, it is recommended to take vitamin C from a beauty perspective. Since vitamin C cannot be produced within the body, please consciously take in it from inside and outside your body through meals, supplements, and cosmetics containing vitamin C. When choosing a product, take into account the amount of food and absorption rate when taking vitamin C from the inside, and the high permeability and presence of a vitamin C derivative when taking vitamin C from the outside. We recommend that you choose.

What foods are high in vitamin C?

If you want to take vitamin C continuously without difficulty, it is important to choose ingredients with a particularly high content among familiar "vegetables" and "fruits". Also, if the intake of vegetables itself is insufficient, it will be easier to take in vitamin C firmly in the long term by supplementing the insufficient amount with supplements.

In addition, the absorption rate of vitamin C varies depending on the amount and method of intake. If you want to take vitamin C more efficiently, why not pay attention to the absorption rate?


What vegetables have a lot of vitamin C?

If you want to take vitamin C efficiently, we recommend that you basically eat it “raw”. Vitamin C is water soluble, so it will dissolve when exposed to water or boiled. Therefore, as a cooking method other than raw, we recommend "steaming" and "frying" that do not use water. Also, consider soups that make it easy to take in dissolved vitamin C. Below is a guideline for the amount of vitamin C that typical vegetables originally have.

【reference】
"Food Composition Database" (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)
https://fooddb.mext.go.jp/index.pl

What fruits have a lot of vitamin C?

If you want to take in vitamin C efficiently, we recommend “fruits”, which tend to contain more vitamin C than vegetables. Fruits are easy to eat raw, and you can also get vitamin C from dried fruits. However, the unit price tends to be higher than vegetables, so if you prepare fruits for each meal, you need to pay attention to food expenses to some extent.

【reference】
"Food Composition Database" (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)
https://fooddb.mext.go.jp/index.pl

Suggested intake of vitamin C

ビタミンCの1日の摂取量の2つの目安を以下で紹介します。自身の環境などに照らし合わせて確認してみましょう。


●推奨されている一般的な摂取量

厚生労働省では、一般的な成人（15歳以上）の場合はビタミンCを1日に100mg摂取することが推奨されています。また、ビタミンCを過剰摂取しても吸収されずに尿によって排出されるため、健康な人であれば健康障害が生じる可能性は低いとしています。さらにビタミンCは、サプリメントと食事のどちらでも「利用率に差異はない」とされているので、サプリメントでの摂取も効果があると考えられます。

●アンケート実施による医師が推奨する1日の摂取量

ビタミンCの摂取量についてはさまざまな意見があります。例えば、2018年に医師100人に対して行ったアンケート調査では、過半数がビタミンCの1日の摂取量について「2,000mg以上」と回答しています。

厚生労働省が推奨する摂取量は健康の保持・増進が期待できる範囲のビタミンCの摂取量なので、美容やその他の健康維持を十分に対策したい場合は、さらに量が必要であると考える医師が多いことが伺えます。また、同調査では必要な摂取量を1,000mg以下と回答している一般消費者が多かったことも明らかになっています。

【参考】
医師と消費者のビタミンCの摂取量に関するアンケート
https://en.lypo-c.jp/magazine/archives/4447

How much vitamin C should I take per day?

I explained the relationship and content of vitamin C and beauty. There are various opinions about the amount of vitamin C to be taken, but for the minimum maintenance of health, the minimum amount recommended by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is "100 mg" or more, and if you want to put more effort into your health, aim for 2,000 mg. How about assembling your daily meals? In that case, we recommend that you consider the effective use of supplements as a method of ingesting more.

FAQ

Q. How much vitamin C is in one lemon?
A. The amount of vitamin C in one lemon is about 20mg per 120g lemon. About 100mg including the skin. The recommended daily intake for adults is 100 mg according to the Dietary Reference Intakes, which is equivalent to 5 lemons.

Q.Which fruit has the most vitamin C?
A.It is said to be a fruit in the South American Amazon called "camu camu", and it contains about 2800 mg of vitamin C per 100 g. The fruit is export regulated and imported into Japan as juice or powder.

Q. Which drink contains a lot of vitamin C?
A. Aojiru (approximately 75-94mg per 100g), gyokuro (approximately 19mg per 100g), and sencha (approximately 6mg per 100g) are the most popular types of tea. Juices include acerola juice (approximately 120mg per 100g), grapefruit juice (approximately 53mg per 100g), and orange juice (approximately 42mg per 100g).

Article supervision

Director of Elm Clinic Azabu-in
Mr. Ayuori Yokoyama
Elm Clinic Azabuin

After graduating from Hiroshima University School of Medicine, he worked at JCHO Tokyo Shinjuku Medical Center, etc., and is currently the director of Elm Clinic Azabu-in.

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