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Vitamin C is great at brightening dull skin, but dermatologists say it can irritate skin if applied improperly. Here's how to fix it, plus vitamin C serum suggestions from top skin experts.
Mar 10, 2023 · Vitamin C. Testing. Treatment. When you take a vitamin or supplement, you're likely focused on the benefits: closing a gap in your nutrition, for example, or helping you battle a cold. But if you have a skin reaction after taking one of these products, you might wonder: Can you get a rash or hives from vitamins? In short: Yes.
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- Overview
- Vitamin C is water-soluble and not stored in your body
- Too much vitamin C may cause digestive symptoms
- Vitamin C may cause iron overload
- Taking supplements in high doses may lead to kidney stones
- How much vitamin C is too much?
- The bottom line
Consuming too much of this essential vitamin may come with side effects, which range from minor digestive issues to more serious health issues.
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that’s abundant in many fruits and vegetables.
Getting enough of this vitamin is especially important for maintaining a healthy immune system. It also plays a crucial role in wound healing, keeping your bones strong, and enhancing brain function (1).
Interestingly, some people claim that vitamin C supplements provide benefits beyond those that can be obtained from the vitamin C found in food.
One of the most common reasons people take vitamin C supplements is that they believe the supplements can help prevent the common cold (2).
However, many supplements contain extremely large amounts of the vitamin, which can cause undesirable side effects in some cases.
Vitamin C is water-soluble, which means it dissolves in water.
Unlike fat-soluble vitamins, water-soluble vitamins do not get stored in your body.
Instead, the vitamin C you consume gets transported to your tissues via body fluids, and any extra gets excreted in your urine (1).
Since your body does not store vitamin C or produce it on its own, it’s important to consume foods that are rich in vitamin C daily (1).
Even at high doses, vitamin C is not known to be toxic or to cause any serious adverse effects. The most common side effects are diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps, and other gastrointestinal issues (3).
Still, if you take larger-than-normal doses of this vitamin, your body can have difficulty processing it, and this can potentially lead to negative effects (4).
The most common side effect of high vitamin C intake is digestive distress.
In general, these side effects do not occur as a result of eating foods that contain vitamin C. They occur only as a result of taking high doses of vitamin C supplements.
You’re most likely to experience digestive symptoms if you consume more than 2,000 milligrams (mg) at once. Thus, a Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) of 2,000 mg per day has been established (1, 4, 5, 6, 7).
The most common digestive symptoms of excessive vitamin C intake are diarrhea and nausea.
Excessive intake has also been reported to lead to acid reflux, although scientific evidence does not support this (1, 5, 6, 7).
If you’re experiencing digestive problems as a result of taking too much vitamin C, you can simply cut back your supplement dose or avoid vitamin C supplements altogether (5, 6, 7).
Vitamin C is known to enhance iron absorption.
It can bind to non-heme iron, which is found in plant foods. Your body does not absorb non-heme iron as efficiently as heme iron, the type of iron found in animal products (8).
When vitamin C binds with non-heme iron, it makes this iron much easier for your body to absorb. This is an important function, especially for individuals who get most of their iron from plant-based foods (9).
One study found that participants’ iron absorption increased by 67% when they took 100 mg of vitamin C with a meal (10).
However, individuals who have conditions that increase the risk of iron accumulation in the body, such as hemochromatosis, should be cautious with vitamin C supplements.
Under these circumstances, taking vitamin C in excess may lead to iron overload, which can cause serious damage to your heart, liver, pancreas, thyroid, and central nervous system (11, 12, 13).
Your body excretes excess vitamin C as oxalate, a waste product.
Oxalate typically exits your body via urine. However, under some circumstances, oxalate may bind to minerals and form crystals that can lead to the formation of kidney stones (14).
Consuming too much vitamin C has the potential to increase the amount of oxalate in your urine, thus increasing your risk of developing kidney stones (15).
In one study, when adults took a 1,000-mg vitamin C supplement twice daily for 6 days, the amount of oxalate they excreted increased by 20% (16).
High vitamin C intake is not only associated with greater amounts of urinary oxalate but also linked to the development of kidney stones, especially if you consume more than 2,000 mg per day (11, 17).
Instances of kidney failure have also been reported in people who have taken more than 2,000 mg in a day. However, this is extremely rare, especially in otherwise healthy people (18).
Since vitamin C is water-soluble and your body excretes excess amounts within a few hours after you consume it, it’s quite difficult to consume too much.
In fact, it is nearly impossible to get too much vitamin C from your diet alone. In generally healthy people, any extra vitamin C consumed — beyond the Recommended Dietary Allowance — simply gets flushed out of the body (1).
To put it in perspective, you would need to consume 25 oranges or 14 red bell peppers before your intake reached the UL (19, 20).
However, the risks of vitamin C overdose are higher when people take supplements, and it is possible to consume too much of the vitamin in some circumstances.
For example, people who have conditions that increase the risk of iron overload or who are prone to kidney stones should be cautious with their vitamin C intake (11, 12, 17).
All the adverse effects of vitamin C, including digestive distress and kidney stones, appear to occur when people take it in doses greater than 2,000 mg (4).
Vitamin C is generally safe for most people.
This is especially true if you get it from foods rather than from supplements.
Individuals who take vitamin C in supplement form are at greater risk of consuming too much of it and experiencing side effects, the most common of which are digestive issues.
However, more serious consequences, such as iron overload and kidney stones, may also result from taking excessive amounts of vitamin C (5).
Fortunately, you can easily prevent these potential side effects by avoiding high dose vitamin C supplements.
Unless you have a vitamin C deficiency, which rarely occurs in generally healthy people, it is probably not necessary for you to take large doses of this vitamin.
- Brianna Elliott, RD
Jul 6, 2023 · Vitamin C deficiency (also known as scurvy, a condition that’s quite rare today) can hinder the body’s ability to do its normal functions.³ That’s why it’s important to always get the daily recommended intake of vitamin C. Thankfully, that’s easy to do by simply eating fruits and veggies rich in vitamin C, like oranges, broccoli, and spinach.⁴.
Apr 4, 2023 · Nutrition. 15 Signs and Symptoms of Vitamin C Deficiency. Indicators of a vitamin C deficiency may include fatigue, easy bruising, and bumpy skin. You may be more likely to have this...
Oct 16, 2023 · Dermatologists explain all the vitamin C benefits for skin, including its ability to prevent sun damage, brighten dark spots, and minimize wrinkles.
