Foods Low in Vitamin C

If you are trying to eat more Vitamin C, ranked lists are useful because the best options are often not the most obvious ones. The foods below are ordered by Vitamin C amount per 100g mg drawn from the foods in our database.

Remember: ranking by one nutrient is only one way to choose foods. Pairing matters too. Use the Vitamin C compound page to understand absorption, forms and interactions.

Nutrition facts per 100g

Source: USDA FoodData Central (FDC 171320, Spices cinnamon ground) — corrected 2026-07-01, the previously-linked record (FDC 171849) was “Bread, cinnamon” (a baked good), not the spice at all — a wrong-food-match, not a basis issue. Confirmed by the prior values matching a bread product exactly: 388mg sodium and 41.93g water content, both impossible for a dried spice, and only 3.5g fibre vs true ground cinnamon’s well-documented ~53g/100g. Switched to the correct “Spices, cinnamon, ground” record.

Top 15 Vitamin C foods

1. Cinnamon — 0.00 mg per 100g (0% DV). Manganese, calcium, cinnamaldehyde
2. Sardines — 0.00 mg per 100g (0% DV). Omega-3, calcium (with bones), vitamin D
3. Lean Beef (95% lean) — 0.00 mg per 100g (0% DV). Heme iron, zinc, vitamin B12
4. Turkey Breast — 0.00 mg per 100g (0% DV). Niacin, vitamin B6, selenium
5. Kefir — 0.20 mg per 100g (0% DV). Probiotics (diverse strains), calcium, B12
6. Turmeric — 0.70 mg per 100g (1% DV). Manganese, iron, curcumin
7. Tofu — 2.50 mg per 100g (3% DV). Calcium, manganese, selenium
8. Ginger — 5.00 mg per 100g (6% DV). Gingerol, vitamin B6, magnesium
9. Blueberries — 8.06 mg per 100g (9% DV). Vitamin C, vitamin K, manganese
10. Banana — 9.70 mg per 100g (11% DV). Vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium
11. Avocado — 10.0 mg per 100g (11% DV). Folate, vitamin K, vitamin E
12. Pomegranate — 10.0 mg per 100g (11% DV). Vitamin C, vitamin K, punicalagins
13. Garlic — 10.0 mg per 100g (11% DV). Manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C
14. Sweet Potato — 11.0 mg per 100g (12% DV). Beta-carotene (vitamin A), vitamin C, manganese
15. Edamame — 11.4 mg per 100g (13% DV). Folate, vitamin K, isoflavones

How to actually eat more Vitamin C

A handful of additions usually move the needle more than a full diet reset. Vitamin C is best consumed from whole foods rather than supplements whenever possible. Try adding one new source each week, track how you feel, and build from there rather than forcing every meal to hit a target.

For broader context, see our Heart Health hub and the Vitamin C compound page.

Common questions

How much Vitamin C do I need a day? Needs differ by age, sex, life stage and health status. The figures here are not prescriptions; use them to compare foods, then apply your own context.

Are supplements better than food sources? Not automatically. Food provides co-factors such as fibre, fat and other micronutrients that help the body use Vitamin C effectively. Supplements are useful for filling confirmed gaps.