Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate, is an essential vitamin to the human body. It could very well be one of the safest and most important vitamins you could take on a daily basis. Vitamin C is most known as the first thing people go for whenever they have a cold. It is a water-soluble vitamin that is necessary for normal growth and development. Since it is water soluble, extra amounts that the body doesn't use leaves the body through urine within 24 hours.

Now that we know you need vitamin C and why, we have to figure out how much you should take. The Food and Drug Administration set their guidelines for how much a person should take for general health. These are the FDA recommendations for each age group and gender.

Infants And Children

0 - 6 months: 40 milligrams/day (mg/day)

7 - 12 months: 50 mg/day

1 - 3 years: 15 mg/day

4 - 8 years: 25 mg/day

9 - 13 years: 45 mg/day

Adolescents

Girls 14 - 18 years: 65 mg/day

Boys 14 - 18 years: 75 mg/day

Adults

Men age 19 and older: 90 mg/day

Women age 19 year and older: 75 mg/day

Now these guidelines aren't designed for athletes. Those folks that are active obviously need more C than the non-active person would. It is believed that active people can benefit from taking anywhere from 500 milligrams to as much as 3,000 mg a day, depending on the person's daily activity level. If you are sick, you may need as much as eight grams a day for the duration of your illness.