The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of vitamin C is less than half what it should be, scientists argue in a recent report. Researchers said that there is compelling evidence that the RDA of vitamin C should be raised to 200 mg/day for adults, up from its current levels in the United States of 75 mg for women and 90 mg for men.

Even at the current low RDAs, various studies in the U.S. and Canada have found that about a quarter to a third of people are marginally deficient in vitamin C, and up to 20 percent in some populations are severely deficient – including college students, who often have less-than-perfect diets. Smokers and older adults are also at significant risk.

Even marginal deficiency can lead to malaise, fatigue, and lethargy, researchers note. Healthier levels of vitamin C can enhance immune function, reduce inflammatory conditions such as atherosclerosis, and significantly lower blood pressure.

Rather than just prevent the vitamin C deficiency disease of scurvy, said researchers, it's appropriate to seek optimum levels that will saturate cells and tissues, pose no risk and may have significant effects on public health at almost no expense--about a penny a day if taken as a dietary supplement.

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