The variability of vitamin C in our diet

Abstract

1. The variability in the purchase and consumption of vitamin C in the diet of people living in the United Kingdom has been studied using the Annual Reports of the National Food Survey Committee and new observations gathered independently.2. The sources of variability examined have been family household composition, social class, seasonal and week-to-week sampling variation.3. The distribution of mean household daily intakes of vitamin C approximates closely to a log-normal distribution. Assuming this to be so, it may be calculated that about one-quarter of households have vitamin C intakes averaging less than the 30 mg/person per day recommended by the British Medical Association Committee on Nutrition to provide a good margin of safety. Households with intakes below 20 mg/person per day may average 5% of the total. These percentages fall during the late summer and rise correspondingly in the remainder of the year.4. Allowing for the many uncertainties involved, it is suggested that up to 10% of households and an even greater proportion of individuals may have a vitamin C intake that is permanently below 30 mg/person per day.