Do You Really Need Vitamin C with Your Collagen Supplement?

Is Taking Vitamin C with Collagen Really Necessary?

There's a lot of confusion around this topic, with some brands even claiming that vitamin C is needed for collagen to "work."

The truth is that the link between collagen and vitamin C is not as simple as that. While vitamin C plays a key role in collagen synthesis, what matters most is that it's in your diet, not that it's packed into your supplement or taken with it.

Dive into the science of how collagen and vitamin C work together, including how much you need and where to find it, as we explain why you won't find vitamin C in our pure hydrolyzed collagen peptide supplements.

Why Is Vitamin C Added to Collagen Products?

Many collagen products contain added vitamin C. The reasoning behind this sounds simple enough: Vitamin C is essential for collagen production, so your collagen supplement must need it too. Right?

Truthfully, most people consuming a varied diet will already meet the levels of vitamin C required to support this process. At typical dietary intakes, the enzymes responsible for collagen formation are already functioning optimally.

Let's dive into the science and how collagen and vitamin C work together in the body.

How Does Vitamin C Help with Collagen Production and Absorption?

Vitamin C's role in collagen production is one of the most fascinating processes in the human body.

Vitamin C as a Cofactor in Collagen Formation

An essential protein, collagen supports your skin, joints, and connective tissues. Its strength comes from its unique triple-helix structure, built from three protein chains tightly wound together.

For this structure to form correctly, specific amino acids within the collagen chain, proline and lysine, must first be chemically modified into hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine. This step is carried out by enzymes known as prolyl and lysyl hydroxylases, which require vitamin C as a direct cofactor.

Without sufficient vitamin C, this finely tuned process is disrupted. These enzymes cannot make the modifications needed for collagen to form properly, and the collagen produced is less stable. An extreme example of this deficiency is scurvy. 

Vitamin C's Influence on Collagen Production

Beyond its role as a cofactor, vitamin C also influences collagen production at a cellular level. Studies in skin cells show it can stimulate fibroblasts, the cells responsible for producing collagen, and upregulate genes involved in collagen synthesis (reference, reference).

Vitamin C's Role in Collagen Absorption

What vitamin C does not affect is how collagen peptides are digested or absorbed in the gut. Instead, collagen absorption occurs independently of vitamin C. The confusion comes from blending two distinct biological processes: absorption (gut) and synthesis (intracellular, in connective tissue).

Therefore, the more important question is not whether vitamin C matters for collagen synthesis, but how much you actually need, and whether you need it to be in your supplement.

Why Don't We Add Vitamin C to Our Collagen?

At Ancient + Brave, we lead with science and have made a deliberate choice not to add vitamin C to our pure collagen peptides. Here's why:

Necessity

Collagen synthesis is not a single event triggered when you take a supplement. It's a continuous process happening throughout the body. This means that vitamin C needs to be available within the body. It does not necessarily need to be delivered at the same moment as collagen peptides.

Nourish First, Supplement Second

At Ancient + Brave, we always come back to the fact that nutrition starts with food. Supplements are there to support. An added benefit of supporting vitamin C intake through your diet is that when you get vitamin C from food, you're not getting it in isolation. It comes packaged within a wider nutritional matrix, including fiber, polyphenols, and other micronutrients, that influence how your body absorbs, distributes, and uses it.

Purity is proven

Our formulation priority is simple: deliver the highest quality, most bioavailable collagen at a dose that clinical trials have shown to work, without layering in additional nutrients that are better obtained through your diet. In our pure hydrolyzed collagen peptides, we keep the formula focused: meaningful doses of highly bioavailable collagen peptides, without adding nutrients that many people can readily obtain from food.

Consistency

Adding vitamin C would also change the sensory and flavor profile of our collagen, limiting the versatility that makes daily use easy. Consistency is everything with collagen. The benefits accumulate over time, so if a product is unpleasant to take, there's a risk that you simply won't take it. 

Practicality

Vitamin C degrades rapidly in hot liquids, so if you're stirring your collagen into coffee or a warm drink, as most people do, you're losing a significant proportion of it before it even reaches you.

There is no question that vitamin C is essential, but its role begins after absorption, inside cells, where it supports the formation of stable, functional collagen.

Rather than adding nutrients that are readily obtained from food, we focus on delivering highly bioavailable collagen peptides at meaningful doses, designed to work alongside, not replace, a well-nourished diet.

Vitamin C and Collagen: How Much Is Actually Needed?

Now that you know how collagen and vitamin C work together, let's look at how much you actually need.

Recommended vitamin C intakes vary slightly by region. Recommended vitamin C intakes vary slightly by region. In the US, recommendations are 75 mg per day for adult women and 90 mg per day for adult men.

However, when we look specifically at collagen production, the science is not quite that simple.

Research into how vitamin C behaves in the body shows that your body takes what it needs and excretes the rest. Around 100–200 mg per day is enough to saturate your tissues. Beyond this point, absorption becomes less efficient, and you excrete more than you absorb. 

The enzymes involved in collagen synthesis don't require megadoses. According to the research, the threshold for supporting normal collagen synthesis appears to be around 100–200 mg per day, a level most people achieve through their diet. 

Getting What You Need from Food

If you're taking collagen and wondering whether you need vitamin C, you may be surprised by how much you're already getting through your diet. A red bell pepper provides around 150 mg, a handful of strawberries delivers close to your daily needs, and broccoli, leafy greens, and fresh herbs all contribute meaningful amounts.

This isn't just theoretical. Human studies show that vitamin C from whole foods is effectively delivered to the skin. In a 2025 study, regular consumption of kiwifruit significantly increased skin vitamin C levels and improved skin function, reinforcing that diet can provide the vitamin C your skin needs to support collagen production (reference).

Of course, there are situations where someone may be deficient in vitamin C. Population data suggest that around 5–10% of adults in the UK have low vitamin C levels, with a higher risk among smokers, those following restricted diets, or people with a low intake of fruits and vegetables. If you're concerned about your vitamin C intake, it's best to speak with your healthcare provider.

Five Other Nutrients That Matter for Collagen and Where to Find Them

Vitamin C often gets all the attention, but collagen production doesn't depend on a single nutrient. These nutrients also play important roles in supporting normal collagen formation. 

Copper

Copper is essential for cross-linking collagen fibers, the process that gives tissue its strength and resilience. You can produce collagen without enough copper, but it won't be properly stabilized.

Food sources: oysters, shellfish, cashews, dark chocolate, and liver.

Zinc

Zinc supports tissue repair, cell division, and the ongoing turnover of connective tissue, the continuous remodeling that helps maintain healthy collagen over time.

Food sources: red meat, pumpkin seeds, lentils, and whole grains.

Iron

Iron is required by the same hydroxylase enzymes that depend on vitamin C. Low iron, which is common in women of reproductive age, may impair collagen synthesis even when vitamin C intake is adequate.

Food sources: red meat, lentils, tofu, dark leafy greens, and seeds. Pair these foods with a source of vitamin C to help support iron absorption.

Vitamin A 

Vitamin A helps regulate skin cell turnover and collagen remodeling. Both too little and too much, particularly from high-dose supplements, can disrupt this balance. Food first, always.

Food sources: eggs, oily fish, sweet potatoes, carrots, and dark leafy greens.

Sulfur Compounds

Sulfur compounds, found in garlic, onions, and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and kale, support the body's antioxidant systems that help protect existing collagen from breakdown. Less talked about, but genuinely important.

Closing Thoughts: A Better Way to Think About It

Vitamin C is genuinely important for collagen synthesis, but it's likely your diet is already providing what your body needs.

Rather than asking which nutrient to add, ask whether your overall diet is giving your body the building blocks it needs to do what it already knows how to do.

Eat a varied, colorful diet. Prioritize protein, plenty of vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. The system responds to the whole, not the single ingredient. The science behind our collagen stands on its own.

References

Murad, S. et al. (1981). Regulation of collagen synthesis by ascorbic acid. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 78(5), 2879–2882.

Dikici, S. Enhancing wound regeneration potential of fibroblasts using ascorbic acid-loaded decellularised baby spinach leaves. Polym. Bull. 81, 9995–10016 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-024-05185-1

Gorres, K.L. & Raines, R.T. (2010). Prolyl 4-hydroxylase. Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(2), 106–124.

Levine, M. et al. (1996). Vitamin C pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers: evidence for a recommended dietary allowance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 93(8), 3704–3709.

Shaw, G. et al. (2017). Vitamin C-enriched gelatin supplementation before intermittent activity augments collagen synthesis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 105(1), 136–143.

Carr, A.C. & Maggini, S. (2017). Vitamin C and immune function. Nutrients, 9(11), 1211.

EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (2009). Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to vitamin C and collagen formation. EFSA Journal, 7(9):1226.

NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin C: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. ods.od.nih.gov

Pullar, J.M., Carr, A.C. and Vissers, M.C.M. (2017) ‘The roles of vitamin C in skin health’, Nutrients, 9(8), 866. doi:10.3390/nu9080866.

Pullar J, Bozonet S, Segger D ...
Improved Human Skin Vitamin C Levels and Skin Function after Dietary Intake of Kiwifruit: A High-Vitamin-C Food
Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2025; 146, 1408-1411.e7