Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin your body cannot make or store. You need a steady supply from food. It runs collagen synthesis. It recycles other antioxidants. It supports immune cells.^[1] In nōuxx Bloody Berry it has one main job. It sits next to the 15 mg of iron bisglycinate to push more of that iron across the gut wall.

This page covers which form of vitamin C your body recognises and what the research shows.

Forms of vitamin C

Vitamin C in supplements comes in two broad camps.

Synthetic ascorbic acid is the cheapest form. It is made by fermenting corn glucose. The molecule is identical to the vitamin C in food. Most large brands use it because the cost per milligram is very low.^[1]

Whole-food vitamin C from acerola or camu camu is extracted from fruit. Acerola (Malpighia emarginata) is one of the densest natural sources known. The vitamin C arrives bound to the fruit's bioflavonoids and polyphenols.^[3] This is the form nōuxx uses in Bloody Berry. She gets vitamin C in the matrix her body evolved to recognise.

Liposomal vitamin C wraps ascorbic acid in phospholipid spheres to raise plasma uptake at high doses. Time-release formats spread absorption over several hours. Both target megadose users.^[1]

How much you need

The European Food Safety Authority sets the population reference intake for vitamin C at 95 mg per day for adult women. Smokers need an extra 35 mg because smoking depletes plasma vitamin C faster.^[1]

Absorption is dose-dependent. At intakes up to 200 mg in one sitting your body absorbs about 70 to 90%. Above that, the percentage drops sharply. Megadoses of 1 to 2 grams are mostly excreted in urine and can cause diarrhoea, nausea and abdominal cramps.^[1] The 60 mg in Bloody Berry sits in the well-absorbed range.

The science on women's health

Iron absorption

Vitamin C is the single most reliable dietary enhancer of non-heme iron uptake. It reduces ferric iron to the ferrous form your gut can absorb. It also chelates iron away from polyphenols and phytates that would otherwise block it.^[1] This matters most for women on plant-forward diets, where almost all dietary iron is non-heme.

A 2025 isotope study in 14 non-menopausal women showed how meal composition swings iron absorption. Polyphenols in 100 g of fresh blueberries cut iron bioavailability from 30% to about 7%.^[3] Vitamin C works in the opposite direction. The 60 mg in Bloody Berry pairs with the 15 mg iron bisglycinate for exactly this reason.

Skin and immune function

Vitamin C is required for collagen synthesis. Two enzymes that hydroxylate proline and lysine cannot work without it. Skin holds one of the highest vitamin C concentrations in the body.^[1] A 2024 systematic review of randomised trials awarded vitamin C a Grade A recommendation for antiaging skin appearance.^[5] A 2024 placebo-controlled trial in 87 women aged 40 to 65 found that 16 weeks of oral collagen with 80 mg vitamin C improved dermis density, skin texture and wrinkle severity.^[4]

On the immune side, vitamin C accumulates in white blood cells. A 2021 meta-analysis reported that supplementation reduced the risk of acute respiratory infection by 4% and shortened symptoms by 9%.^[6] A 2023 meta-analysis of 10 placebo-controlled trials showed vitamin C cut common cold severity by 15%.^[7]

EU authorised health claims

Under EU law, vitamin C is officially authorised to carry the following health claims:

• Vitamin C increases iron absorption
• Vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system
• Vitamin C contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress
• Vitamin C contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue
• Vitamin C contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism
• Vitamin C contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system
• Vitamin C contributes to normal psychological function
• Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin
• Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of bones
• Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of cartilage
• Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of gums
• Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of teeth
• Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of blood vessels
• Vitamin C contributes to the regeneration of the reduced form of vitamin E^[2]

References

[1] National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin C: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional

[2] Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 establishing a list of permitted health claims made on foods. Official Journal of the European Union, 25 May 2012. eur-lex.europa.eu

[3] Galán-Ramírez G, Moya D, Olivares M, et al. Effect of blueberries on non-heme iron absorption in adult women. Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology 2025;92:127753. doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2025.127753

[4] Žmitek K, Žmitek J, Hristov H, et al. The effects of dietary supplementation with collagen and vitamin C and their combination with hyaluronic acid on skin density, texture and other parameters: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Nutrients 2024;16(12):1908. doi.org/10.3390/nu16121908

[5] Lau M, Mineroff Gollogly J, Wang JY, Jagdeo J. Cosmeceuticals for antiaging: a systematic review of safety and efficacy. Archives of Dermatological Research 2024;316(5):173. doi.org/10.1007/s00403-024-02908-2

[6] Abioye AI, Bromage S, Fawzi W. Effect of micronutrient supplements on influenza and other respiratory tract infections among adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Global Health 2021;6(1):e003176. doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003176

[7] Hemilä H, Chalker E. Vitamin C reduces the severity of common colds: a meta-analysis. BMC Public Health 2023;23:2468. doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17229-8