The best food sources include green leafy vegetables such as kale, parsley, spinach and broccoli. Smaller amounts are found in milk and other dairy products, meat, eggs, cereal, fruits and other vegetables. Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that helps the body absorb iron out of food made from plant sources. It helps produce the connective tissue collagen, helps form and repair red blood cells, bones and other tissues, helps keep capillary walls and blood vessels firm, protects against bruising, helps maintain healthy gums and heal cuts and wounds, helps protect from infection by keeping the immune system healthy. Scurvy, a disease that causes loose teeth, Excessiveive bleeding, swollen gums and improper wound healing.
Scurvy is rare in the United States.
Citrus fruits and many other fruits and vegetables, including berries, melons, peppers, many dark-green leafy vegetables, potatoes and tomatoes. Vitamin C intake may cause diarrhea and gastrointestinal discomfort. Use of supplements can also interfere with tests for blood sugar level. Thiamin is a water-soluble vitamin that helps all body cells produce energy from carbohydrates. Ultraviolet light destroys riboflavin.