Vitamin C, famously found in citrus fruits amongst others, is a water-soluble vitamin with many functions in the body – it assists in collagen formation, which is important for the health of blood vessels and gums, development of bones and teeth, and wound healing; it also supports immunity and helps the body absorb iron.

It’s important to get vitamin C from your diet because the body doesn't produce or store this vitamin. For the average adult woman, the daily requirement for vitamin C is 75 milligrams, which we can get from a medium orange or a cup of sliced strawberries provides enough vitamin C for the day. Any extra vitamin C will simply be flushed out of the body in the urine.

For adults, the recommended upper limit for vitamin C is 2000 milligrams a day. Although too much dietary vitamin C is unlikely to be harmful, megadoses of vitamin C supplements may cause diarrhoea, headache, insomnia, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, stomach cramps or kidney stones

For most people, a healthy diet effortlessly provides enough vitamin C to meet the body’s needs.