If there's one nutrient that deserves the title of "collagen's best friend," it's vitamin C. This essential vitamin isn't just helpful for collagen production—it's absolutely necessary. Without adequate vitamin C, your body simply cannot produce functional collagen, regardless of how much supplemental collagen you consume. Understanding this relationship is key to maximising the benefits of your collagen routine.
The Science: Why Collagen Needs Vitamin C
The relationship between vitamin C and collagen isn't just correlational—it's mechanistic. Vitamin C serves as an essential co-factor for two enzymes crucial to collagen synthesis:
Prolyl Hydroxylase
This enzyme adds hydroxyl groups to proline amino acids within the collagen molecule, converting proline to hydroxyproline. This modification is essential for the collagen molecule to form its characteristic triple helix structure. Without this hydroxylation, collagen molecules are unstable and cannot function properly.
Lysyl Hydroxylase
This enzyme hydroxylates lysine amino acids, creating hydroxylysine. This modification is necessary for collagen molecules to cross-link with each other, forming strong, stable fibers. Without proper cross-linking, collagen tissue is weak and prone to breakdown.
In both cases, vitamin C keeps the iron atom at the active site of these enzymes in its functional (reduced) state. Without vitamin C, the iron becomes oxidised and the enzymes stop working.
🔬 The Bottom Line
Without vitamin C, your body produces dysfunctional collagen that cannot form stable structures. This is true whether you're making collagen from scratch or processing collagen from supplements.
Historical Evidence: Scurvy
The importance of vitamin C for collagen is dramatically illustrated by scurvy, a disease that plagued sailors for centuries. Scurvy occurs when vitamin C intake is severely deficient, and its symptoms are essentially the symptoms of collagen failure:
- Bleeding gums and tooth loss: Collagen in gums breaks down
- Poor wound healing: New collagen cannot form
- Joint pain: Cartilage deteriorates
- Easy bruising: Blood vessel walls (containing collagen) weaken
- Rough, dry skin: Skin collagen degrades
These symptoms resolve remarkably quickly once vitamin C is restored, demonstrating how rapidly the body can resume collagen production when the necessary co-factor is available.
How Much Vitamin C Do You Need?
The recommended daily intake (RDI) for vitamin C in Australia is:
- Adult men: 45mg per day
- Adult women: 45mg per day
- Pregnant women: 60mg per day
- Breastfeeding women: 85mg per day
- Smokers: Add 35mg to these values (smoking depletes vitamin C)
However, these are minimum amounts to prevent deficiency. For optimal collagen support, many experts suggest higher intakes:
- General wellness: 100-200mg daily
- Collagen supplementation: At least 75-90mg alongside your collagen
- Therapeutic levels: 500-1000mg daily (safe for most adults)
The upper tolerable limit is 2000mg per day. Above this, you may experience digestive discomfort, and absorption efficiency decreases significantly anyway.
Vitamin C and Collagen Supplements: The Synergy
When you take a collagen supplement, you're providing your body with amino acids that can be used to build new collagen. But those amino acids need to be processed correctly, and that processing requires vitamin C:
- You consume hydrolyzed collagen peptides
- Your body breaks them down into amino acids and small peptides
- These are absorbed and transported throughout your body
- Fibroblasts (collagen-producing cells) use these building blocks to create new collagen
- Vitamin C is required at this stage to properly hydroxylate proline and lysine
- Functional collagen is produced and integrated into tissues
If vitamin C is inadequate at step 5, you end up with dysfunctional collagen regardless of how much supplemental collagen you consumed.
✓ Practical Recommendation
Take your collagen supplement with a source of vitamin C—either from food (citrus, berries) or from a supplement. This ensures vitamin C is available when your body processes the collagen.
Best Food Sources of Vitamin C
Many foods provide excellent amounts of vitamin C. Here are the top sources:
Fruits
- Kakadu plum: 3000-5000mg per 100g (Australia's vitamin C superstar)
- Guava: 228mg per 100g
- Kiwi fruit: 93mg per fruit
- Strawberries: 59mg per 100g
- Oranges: 53mg per 100g
- Papaya: 61mg per 100g
- Mango: 36mg per 100g
Vegetables
- Red capsicum: 190mg per 100g (more than oranges!)
- Broccoli: 89mg per 100g
- Brussels sprouts: 85mg per 100g
- Kale: 120mg per 100g
- Cauliflower: 48mg per 100g
Vitamin C Content in Common Servings
- 1 medium orange: ~70mg
- 1 cup strawberries: ~85mg
- 1 cup raw red capsicum: ~190mg
- 1 cup cooked broccoli: ~100mg
- 1 kiwi fruit: ~65mg
Vitamin C Supplements: What to Know
If you struggle to get enough vitamin C from food, supplements are an effective option:
Forms of Vitamin C
- Ascorbic acid: The basic, well-absorbed form; can cause stomach upset in some people
- Sodium ascorbate: Buffered form, gentler on the stomach
- Calcium ascorbate: Another buffered option
- Liposomal vitamin C: Encapsulated in lipids for potentially enhanced absorption
- Ester-C: Contains vitamin C metabolites; may be gentler on stomach
Absorption Considerations
- Absorption is most efficient at doses up to 200mg
- Higher doses are absorbed less efficiently
- Splitting larger doses throughout the day improves total absorption
- Taking with food may reduce stomach upset but doesn't significantly affect absorption
Factors That Deplete Vitamin C
Certain factors increase your body's vitamin C needs or deplete stores:
Lifestyle Factors
- Smoking: Dramatically increases vitamin C oxidation; smokers need 35mg more daily at minimum
- Alcohol: Interferes with vitamin C metabolism
- Chronic stress: Increases vitamin C utilization
- Intense exercise: May increase requirements
Health Factors
- Illness/infection: Body uses more vitamin C during immune responses
- Surgery/wound healing: Increased demand for collagen production
- Certain medications: Some drugs interfere with vitamin C absorption or increase excretion
Dietary Factors
- Cooking: Heat destroys vitamin C; raw or lightly cooked foods retain more
- Storage: Vitamin C content decreases in stored produce
- Processing: Processed foods typically have less vitamin C than fresh alternatives
🍳 Cooking Tip
To preserve vitamin C in vegetables, use quick cooking methods like steaming or stir-frying rather than boiling. If you do boil, use the cooking water in soups to capture the vitamin C that leaches out.
The Antioxidant Connection
Beyond its role in collagen synthesis, vitamin C serves as a powerful antioxidant that protects existing collagen from damage:
How Antioxidants Protect Collagen
Free radicals—unstable molecules from UV exposure, pollution, smoking, and normal metabolism—can damage collagen fibers. Vitamin C neutralizes these free radicals, protecting your collagen investment.
Synergy With Other Antioxidants
Vitamin C works alongside other antioxidants:
- Vitamin E: Vitamin C regenerates vitamin E after it neutralizes free radicals
- Polyphenols: Found in green tea, berries, and other plant foods; work with vitamin C
- Carotenoids: Vitamin C helps protect these antioxidants from oxidation
Optimising Your Vitamin C for Collagen
Practical strategies to ensure adequate vitamin C for collagen support:
Daily Habits
- Start your day with vitamin C: A glass of orange juice, citrus fruit, or berries with breakfast
- Pair collagen with vitamin C: Add berries to your collagen smoothie or take collagen with citrus juice
- Include vegetables at each meal: Raw or lightly cooked for maximum vitamin C
- Consider timing: Vitamin C is water-soluble and doesn't store well; spreading intake throughout the day ensures consistent levels
Supplement Strategy
- Look for collagen supplements that include vitamin C
- If supplementing vitamin C separately, take it at the same time as collagen
- For higher doses (500mg+), split into two daily doses
Signs of Vitamin C Inadequacy
While severe deficiency (scurvy) is rare in developed countries, suboptimal vitamin C status is more common. Signs may include:
- Slow wound healing
- Easy bruising
- Dry, rough skin
- Splitting hair and nails
- Bleeding gums
- Frequent infections
- Fatigue
If you experience these symptoms, increasing vitamin C intake is a sensible first step (along with consulting a healthcare provider if symptoms persist).
The Bottom Line
Vitamin C isn't optional when it comes to collagen—it's essential. Whether your body is producing collagen from scratch or processing the collagen peptides from supplements, vitamin C must be present for functional collagen to form.
The good news is that meeting your vitamin C needs is straightforward: a diet rich in fruits and vegetables easily provides adequate amounts. For extra assurance, especially if you're investing in collagen supplements, consider a vitamin C supplement or choose collagen products that include vitamin C.
By ensuring adequate vitamin C alongside your collagen supplementation, you're giving your body everything it needs to build strong, healthy collagen throughout your skin, joints, gut, and beyond.