Best Sources of Vitamin C on the Carnivore Diet

Animal-based food is not known as a rich source of vitamin C, however, it certainly contains enough vitamin C to protect you from scurvy.

This post provides an extensive list of sources of vitamin C on the carnivore diet and recommends the best sources of this essential nutrient.

Table of Contents

• Vitamin C’s roles in the human body
• How much vitamin C do you need?
• Sources of vitamin C on the carnivore diet
• Best sources of vitamin C on the carnivore diet

Vitamin C’s roles in the human body

Vitamin C, also known as L-ascorbic acid, is a natural water-soluble nutrient that plays many important functions in the human body. However, unlike many other animals, humans can’t make vitamin C endogenously and must obtain it from dietary sources. ^[1]

Vitamin C can be found in abundance in many plant-based foods such as oranges, lemons, berries, cherries, guavas, kiwis, bell peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, and kale.

Animal-based foods like meat, organ meat, seafood, and dairy are generally not known as a source of vitamin C but they do contain a sufficient level of vitamin C to prevent vitamin C deficiency and scurvy.

Vitamin C plays many important roles in the functioning of the human body.

Vitamin C is required in the biosynthesis of collagen (an important protein used in making skin, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels), L-carnitine, and neuropeptides. ^{[2, 3]}

Vitamin C aids in the absorption of nonheme iron and is also needed in repairing and maintaining cartilage, bones, and teeth as well as being involved in all stages of wound healing. ^{[4, 5, 6]}

Vitamin C protects the immune system and is widely known as a powerful antioxidant that helps neutralize free radicals, the build-up of which can lead to premature aging and many other diseases. ^{[7, 8]}

Vitamin C is an ingredient in many topical skin care products and there is some evidence supporting its effectiveness. ^[9]

How much vitamin C do you need?

The Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health currently recommends daily allowances (RDAs) for vitamin C as follows. ^[10] 

The above RDAs for adults are set “based on the vitamin C intake to maintain near-maximal neutrophil concentration with minimal urinary excretion of ascorbate” to provide antioxidant protection. ^[11]

According to the Office of Dietary Supplements, depending on the level of vitamin C the body stores, signs of scurvy can appear within one month of a vitamin C intake below 10 mg/day. That means as little as 10 mg of vitamin C a day is sufficient to prevent scurvy. ^[12]

Eating just muscle meat alone will give you enough vitamin C to prevent scurvy, but there are other animal-based foods that are relatively high in vitamin C (see in the section below) which will boost vitamin C intake a lot higher than the scurvy threshold.

We don’t know exactly how much vitamin C people on the carnivore diet would need for optimal health but it is likely that they would need a lot less than those who are on a carb-rich diet.

This is because vitamin C and glucose are known to compete for absorption. If you don’t eat carbs and processed sugar, you don’t need a lot of vitamin C because your body can absorb much better the little vitamin C that you consume. ^[13]

Sources of vitamin C on the carnivore diet

Below are the vitamin C contents of some animal-sourced foods divided into five food groups: ruminant, pork, poultry, seafood, and dairy.

Note that different testing samples will give different results but these should give you a good indication of the vitamin C levels in these food groups.

1. Ruminant

Ruminant organs are a great source of vitamin C.

Beef spleen seems to be the best source of vitamin C in this group.

A 100-gram serving of cooked beef spleen would deliver 50.3 mg of vitamin C equivalent to around 84% of the average recommended daily intake. ^[14]

In addition to being high in vitamin C, beef spleen is also very high in protein, iron, B12, copper, selenium, and phosphorous. ^[15]

Pancreas, lungs, brains, and kidneys are all very high in vitamin C as well, however, unfortunately, many of those organ meats are usually not available at the butcher and you may have to place a special order to get them.

Beef muscle has a much lower level of vitamin C compared to beef and lamb organ meat with just around 2 mg per 100-gram serving. ^[16]

However, as mentioned above, just consuming muscle meat will give you enough vitamin C to prevent scurvy. Traditional groups subsisting on meat-based diets like the Arctic Inuit did not suffer from scurvy nor does the modern-day carnivore community. ^{[17, 18]}

It’s interesting that some cooked organs have a higher level of vitamin C than raw organs. This is probably due to the release of the juice during the cooking process that results in a more nutrient-dense food, gram for gram.

This also shows that, unlike what many people seem to believe (I used to as well), cooking appears to have little impact on the vitamin C content of food, at least in cooked meat. ^{[19, 20]}

2. Pork

Pork meat and organs are not as high in vitamin C as ruminant meat and organs but, similar to ruminants, pork organs are higher in vitamin C than pork muscle meat.

3. Poultry

As can be seen in the table below, poultry organs are not as high in vitamin C as ruminant organs.

However, poultry meat (e.g. goose meat, quail meat, wild duck meat, chicken dark meat) has a higher level of vitamin C compared to ruminant muscle meat.

4. Seafood

Some seafood contains a lot more vitamin C than ruminant, pork, and poultry muscle meat.

For example, fish roe, clam, and crab have 16, 13, and 7 mg per 100-gram serving compared to just around 2mg per same serving of beef.

5. Dairy

Dairy has very little vitamin C.

Raw milk that was expressed from the cow’s udder without any exposure to light has about 2mg per 100 ml of milk. ^[21]

Pasteurized milk and reconstituted milk have a lot less vitamin C (0.6mg/100ml) and vitamin C appears to be nonexistent in cheese products. ^{[22, 23]}

Although the vitamin C level is low in cow’s milk, it is sufficient for a developing calf.

Babies fed pasteurized cow’s milk get about 7mg of vitamin C a day and this extremely small amount is enough to protect them from scurvy. ^[24]

There is also very little vitamin C in the breast milk of lactating mothers and breastfed babies are estimated to get from only around 4 to 34 mg daily but this amount is already sufficient to prevent scurvy in babies. ^[25]

Also, note that dehydroascorbic acid (an oxidized form of ascorbic acid) in milk has been found to have neuroprotective effects thanks to its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier which does not exist in ascorbic acid. ^[26]

Best sources of vitamin C on the carnivore diet

Below are 30 top sources of vitamin C on the carnivore diet based on the data that I have collected.

The best sources of vitamin C on the carnivore diet are ruminant organs, followed by pork and poultry organs. Some seafood like fish roe, clam, and crab is also a good source of vitamin C.

It goes to show that, if you can, it is beneficial to add some organ meat into your diet on a regular basis. Organ meat is not only a good source of vitamin C but a rich source of many other essential nutrients as well.

It also emphasizes the well-known fact that ruminant meat, fat, and organs seem to be the best food choice on the carnivore diet.

Other posts you might be interested in:

Is Carnivore Diet + Fruit & Honey a Good Idea?

Best Sources of Omega 3 on the Carnivore Diet

How Much Organ Meat Should You Eat on the Carnivore Diet?

Do You Need Supplements on the Carnivore Diet?

What Do Hardcore Carnivores Eat in a Day?

Disclaimer: The information in this post is for reference purposes only and is not intended to constitute or replace professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified medical professional before making any changes to your diet or lifestyle. Please check out our disclaimer for more detail.