A new recommended dietary allowance of vitamin C for healthy young women

Levine M, Wang Y, Padayatty SJ, Morrow J · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

The companion study in women, and the saturation point sits higher: plasma and circulating cells saturated at 400 mg daily, with everything above that eliminated in urine. Biomarkers of oxidant stress — plasma and urinary F2-isoprostanes and a major metabolite — were unchanged at every dose, so in healthy young women vitamin C did not measurably alter lipid peroxidation at any intake up to 2,500 mg.

Population

Healthy young women hospitalized for 186 ± 28 days

Intervention

Sequential daily doses of 30 to 2,500 mg vitamin C with steady-state measurement

Limitations

A small inpatient depletion-repletion study with no control group. The null antioxidant-biomarker result is in healthy young women with no oxidative stress to lower, so it does not rule out an effect in inflamed tissue. No musculoskeletal endpoint.