Does Vitamin C Break a Fast? Can You Take Vitamin C While Fasting?

Whether or not vitamin C can break your fast depends on the form you’re taking it in. Foods rich in vitamin C will likely break the fast as they may contain enough calories and sugar to stimulate an insulin response. On the other hand, vitamin C in supplemental form may not break the fast unless it’s a sugary gummy or powder. When taking vitamin C supplements during a fast, note the caloric content.

Vitamin C in its pure form without additives will not break a fast, whether you’re doing it for weight loss, gut health, or autophagy. It’s best to stick to a schedule when it comes to supplements and ensure that your primary source for them is food. Fastic, an app designed to make intermittent fasting easy, can help you find fast-friendly foods and drinks and track their intake.

Vitamin C and Fasting

You can take some vitamins while fasting, and fortunately, vitamin C is one of them. That’s because it’s water-soluble, meaning you don’t need to eat something with a vitamin C supplement. It can be taken at any time of day.

Water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C don’t break a fast if there are no carbohydrates (sugar). Gummies, chewable, and even some effervescent tablets may contain sugars for taste, potentially interfering with the ketosis state and breaking your fast.

Why Take Vitamin C?

Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, is an essential vitamin for your body that is needed via diet. In other words, it’s not something your body naturally produces. Yet, it’s necessary for several processes in your body. While it’s a popular ingredient in skincare, including it in your diet is equally important.

Benefits of Vitamin C

Vitamin C has multiple benefits that can be achieved through diet and supplementing (although we always recommend diet as the primary source of any nutrient).

Boosts Immunity: Vitamin C supplements are often promoted as boosting immunity, the body’s power to fight illnesses. They do so by enhancing the production of white blood cells that attack pathogens. Folks who don’t get enough vitamin C in their diet may find their immunity low, which exposes them to diseases.
Lowers Blood Pressure: Vitamin C may help maintain optimal blood pressure and can be beneficial for individuals with high blood pressure. A meta-analysis of several randomized trials showed that vitamin C supplements can lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure in both healthy individuals and those with high blood pressure.
Lowers Risk of Heart Disease: A cohort analysis confirms that vitamin C can reduce the risk of heart disease by as much as 25%. While some studies attribute this benefit to vitamin C in the diet, there’s not enough research to say that the same benefit can’t be attained from supplements.
Lowers Uric Acid Levels: Uric acid is a waste product, and if its presence in the body exceeds a certain level, health issues like gout or kidney stones may begin. Research shows that vitamin C intake can help reduce uric acid concentration.
Protects Memory and Cognition: Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant linked to preserving memory and cognition. Conditions like dementia are caused by inflammation, which antioxidants like vitamin C target.

Do Vitamin C Supplements Have Calories?

Vitamin C supplements typically have less than five calories, which isn’t enough to break a fast. However, the calories per serving may vary by supplement type and brand. It also depends on what other ingredients the supplement has. Effervescent tablets and chewable with no carbs would only have a few calories. Gummies with added sugars may have more calories than that and may break a fast.

Types of Vitamin C Supplements

While most vitamin C supplements may only contain vitamin C, others may also contain other vitamins or minerals. For instance, vitamin C is often found in calcium supplements. Other vitamins you may see in the same supplement are K, D, and B6. While all these are essential for your body, you may want to seek medical advice on which vitamins or minerals to supplement. You may not need to supplement if you’re getting enough through your diet.

Also, vitamin C comes in several forms, so pay attention to the ingredient to see which type it includes. Here are the different forms of vitamin C found in supplements:

Ascorbic acid, also known as L-ascorbic acid, is the most common form of vitamin C, used in most over-the-counter supplements and multivitamins.
Sodium ascorbate is a buffered vitamin C that’s gentler on the stomach than ascorbic acid.
Calcium ascorbate is another buffered form of vitamin C that provides both vitamin C and calcium.
Ascorbyl palmitate is a fat-soluble vitamin C form often used in topical products.

How to Take Vitamin C During Intermittent Fasting?

As vitamin C is water-soluble, it can be taken without food. So, you may take them on an empty stomach while fasting. Similarly, you can also take them during the feeding window of your intermittent fasting.

You can set reminders during fasting to take vitamin C with water and stay hydrated. The Fastic app allows users to set hourly hydration reminders so they get ample water during the fast.

How to Include More Vitamin C in Your Diet?

While supplementing is generally safe, including vitamin-rich foods in your diet is essential. Citrus fruits, such as oranges, grapefruits, clementines, pineapples, and limes, are typically rich in vitamin C. Broccoli and bell peppers contain vitamin C in vegetables. Lemons also contain vitamin C, but you can drink lemon water since they're sour.

These fruits and vegetables can be eaten in meals, particularly salads when breaking your fast or before beginning it.

So there you go, vitamin C is incredibly important for your health, including that of your skin. The daily recommended amount for women is 75 mg, whereas for men, it’s 90 mg. Pregnant women should get even higher amounts of vitamin C, preferably 120 mg daily. And yes, you can consume vitamin supplements during a fast, as long as they’re low-calorie and contain no sugars.

Disclaimer: Speaking with a health professional before beginning intermittent fasting or a diet program is advised. There may be side effects for people with certain medical conditions.