Vitamin A and vitamin C come from food, not from willpower. The most reliable way to get both is to eat a mix of colorful plant foods and a few animal sources, since almost no single food delivers meaningful amounts of both. Citrus, peppers, and berries cover vitamin C, while orange vegetables, leafy greens, liver, and eggs cover vitamin A.
That split matters more than most people realize. Vitamin C is found almost entirely in fruits and vegetables. Vitamin A comes in two forms: preformed vitamin A (retinol) from animal foods, and provitamin A carotenoids like beta-carotene from plants. Your body converts the plant form into usable vitamin A, but the conversion is not one-to-one, and some people convert it far less efficiently than others.
How To Get Vitamin A And C From Everyday Foods
The practical answer is to build meals around foods that carry one or both nutrients, then let variety do the rest. You do not need exotic ingredients or supplements to hit the recommended intake.
For vitamin C, the standout sources are raw or lightly cooked:
- Red and green bell peppers
- Citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruit, and lemons
- Kiwi, strawberries, and guava
- Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower
- Tomatoes and tomato juice
For vitamin A, the strongest sources are:
- Sweet potato, pumpkin, and carrots (as beta-carotene)
- Spinach, kale, and other dark leafy greens
- Liver and liver products (preformed retinol)
- Eggs, dairy, and fortified milk
- Cantaloupe and apricots
Notice the overlap is thin. Carrots give you vitamin A but almost no vitamin C. Oranges give you vitamin C but essentially no vitamin A. That is why a mixed plate beats a single “superfood” every time.
How Much Vitamin A And C Do You Actually Need?
Adult men need 900 micrograms of vitamin A per day, and adult women need 700 micrograms. For vitamin C, adult men need 90 milligrams daily, and adult women need 75 milligrams. These are the established reference values used in US dietary guidance.
To put that in perspective, a single medium orange provides roughly 70 milligrams of vitamin C. One medium sweet potato with the skin provides well over 100 percent of the daily vitamin A requirement for most adults, delivered as beta-carotene.
| Nutrient | Adult Men | Adult Women | Upper Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A | 900 mcg RAE | 700 mcg RAE | 3,000 mcg RAE (preformed) |
| Vitamin C | 90 mg | 75 mg | 2,000 mg |
That upper limit for vitamin A applies to preformed retinol from animal foods and supplements, not to beta-carotene from plants. High intakes of preformed vitamin A over time can be harmful, particularly to the liver and bones. Plant carotenoids do not carry the same risk because your body regulates the conversion.
Why Vitamin C Is Easy to Lose and Vitamin A Is Easy to Overdo
Vitamin C is water-soluble. Your body does not store it in any meaningful reserve, so you need a steady daily supply. It also degrades with heat, light, and oxygen. Boiling vegetables for a long time can strip out much of the vitamin C they started with.
Vitamin A behaves in the opposite way. Preformed vitamin A is fat-soluble and stored in the liver, sometimes for months. That storage is useful during short periods of low intake, but it also means excess accumulates rather than washing out.
This is a genuine asymmetry worth understanding. Skimping on vitamin C shows up faster. Overdoing vitamin A takes longer but carries real risk.
Does Cooking Destroy These Vitamins?
Cooking reduces vitamin C more than vitamin A. Heat, water, and time all work against it. Steaming or microwaving with little water preserves more vitamin C than boiling, and eating some produce raw helps too.
Vitamin A is more heat-stable. Beta-carotene in cooked carrots and sweet potatoes actually becomes somewhat easier for the body to absorb, because cooking breaks down cell walls. Pairing these foods with a small amount of fat improves absorption further, since both beta-carotene and preformed vitamin A are fat-soluble.
A practical takeaway: cook your orange vegetables with a little oil, and keep some of your fruit and peppers raw.
Who Is at Risk of Falling Short?
True vitamin A deficiency is rare in the United States. It is more common in parts of the world where diets lack animal foods and fortified products, and it remains a leading cause of preventable blindness in some regions globally.
Certain groups face higher risk even in well-fed countries:
- People with fat malabsorption conditions, such as celiac disease or cystic fibrosis
- People with liver disease, since the liver stores and processes vitamin A
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women, whose needs are higher
- People with restricted diets that exclude most fruits and vegetables
Vitamin C deficiency, historically called scurvy, is uncommon today but not extinct. It appears in people with very limited diets, heavy alcohol use, or certain eating disorders. Smokers need more vitamin C than nonsmokers because smoking depletes it.
Should You Take a Supplement?
For most healthy adults eating a varied diet, supplements are not necessary to meet vitamin A and C needs. Food sources also bring fiber, water, and hundreds of other compounds that pills do not replicate.
Supplements can be appropriate in specific situations, such as diagnosed deficiency, malabsorption, or pregnancy, but those decisions belong with a clinician. This is not a case where more is automatically better. High-dose vitamin A supplements during pregnancy can cause birth defects, and vitamin A toxicity from oversupplementation is a documented harm.
If you do take a supplement, check whether it contains preformed vitamin A (retinol or retinyl palmitate) versus beta-carotene, and add up everything you take. Multivitamins, cod liver oil, and standalone pills can stack.
Can You Get Too Much of Either?
You can get too much vitamin A, but you essentially cannot get too much from plant sources alone. The upper limit of 3,000 micrograms per day applies to preformed retinol. Consistently exceeding it can cause liver damage, bone problems, and other issues over time.
Vitamin C is far more forgiving. The tolerable upper limit is 2,000 milligrams per day for adults, and the main effect of going over is digestive upset like diarrhea or stomach cramps. There is no strong evidence that very high doses prevent colds in the general population, though some research suggests they may slightly shorten how long a cold lasts in certain people.
The Simplest Plan That Works
Eat a fruit or vegetable high in vitamin C at most meals. Add an orange vegetable or dark leafy green most days. Include a small amount of healthy fat with the orange vegetables. Cook some produce lightly and leave some raw.
That pattern covers both vitamins without counting milligrams or buying anything special. It also happens to be close to what general dietary guidance has recommended for years, which is not a coincidence. Whole foods tend to deliver nutrients in combinations that work together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What foods have both vitamin A and vitamin C?
Few foods are rich in both. Dark leafy greens like spinach and kale contain meaningful amounts of each, and so do red bell peppers to a lesser degree for vitamin A. Most people meet both needs by combining foods rather than relying on one source.
How much vitamin C do you need daily?
Adult men need 90 milligrams per day and adult women need 75 milligrams. Smokers need more, and a single medium orange provides roughly 70 milligrams.
Can you get vitamin A from carrots alone?
Carrots provide beta-carotene, which your body converts to vitamin A, so they can contribute most of your daily need. However, conversion varies between people, and carrots supply little vitamin C, so they should not be your only source.
Is it safe to take vitamin A and C supplements together?
For most adults, taking both within recommended limits is considered safe. The concern is excess preformed vitamin A, especially during pregnancy, so check total intake across all supplements and talk with a clinician if unsure.
