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Vitamin C Requirement Calculator

Work out vitamin c requirement instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Vitamin C Requirement Calculator

Applies the vitamin C reference intakes of 90 mg for men and 75 mg for women, plus the additional 35 mg advised for smokers.

Formula

Vitamin C reference intakes

90 mg/day for men and 75 mg/day for women, with an extra 35 mg for smokers; the upper limit is 2,000 mg

Worked example

With the default values below, Vitamin C Requirement Calculator returns Vitamin C requirement of 90. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Sexone of Male, Female
Male
Smoking statusone of Smoker, Non-smoker
Non-smoker
Current vitamin C intakeaccepts 0–2,000 mg
70 mg

Results

Vitamin C requirement
90 mg/day
Extra allowance for smoking
0 mg/day
Shortfall
20 mg/day
Oranges needed to close the gap
0.29

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Vitamin C reference intakes
  3. 3Vitamin C requirement= 90 mg/day
  4. 4Extra allowance for smoking= 0 mg/day
  5. 5Shortfall= 20 mg/day
  6. 6Oranges needed to close the gap= 0.29

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
  • Educational estimate only. Not a substitute for professional clinical judgement, and must not be used to make treatment or dosing decisions.
  • This is an estimate for general information and not professional medical advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Educational estimate only. Not a substitute for professional clinical judgement, and must not be used to make treatment or dosing decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do smokers need more?

Oxidative stress from smoke raises turnover and lowers plasma ascorbate for the same intake.

How little prevents scurvy?

About 10 mg a day, far below the reference intake, which targets tissue saturation rather than deficiency avoidance.

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