Can you get vitamin C from meat?: Demystifying a Nutritional Diet Myth

October 22, 2025 •

5 min read

For decades, conventional nutritional wisdom has held that vitamin C is found almost exclusively in fruits and vegetables. This common belief sparks a crucial question for those on meat-centric diets: Can you get vitamin C from meat? The answer is more complex and surprising than many assume, challenging the long-held assumption that a plant-free diet leads to deficiency.

Quick Summary

Organ meats and fresh muscle meat contain trace amounts of vitamin C, challenging the myth that it exists only in plants. Bioavailability and reduced needs on low-carb diets explain how some people maintain sufficient vitamin C without typical plant-based sources.

Key Points

Fresh organ meats contain vitamin C: Contrary to the zero-value often cited for muscle meat, fresh liver, kidney, and spleen offer a source of vitamin C.
Cooking destroys vitamin C: Since it's a heat-sensitive vitamin, cooking meat at high temperatures significantly reduces or eliminates its vitamin C content.
Lower needs on low-carb diets: For individuals on low-carbohydrate or carnivore diets, the body’s vitamin C requirements can be lower due to less competition with glucose for cellular absorption.
Fruits and vegetables are the primary source: For most people, the most practical and potent sources of vitamin C remain fruits and vegetables, which typically contain much higher concentrations.
Scurvy prevention on carnivore diets: Historically, carnivore cultures and modern followers of the diet avoid scurvy by consuming fresh organ meats, not just muscle meat.
Consider supplementation: For those who cannot or will not eat organ meats, especially on a plant-restricted diet, a vitamin C supplement may be necessary.

Unpacking the Myth: Vitamin C and Meat

For most of modern history, it has been a widely accepted fact that meat contains no vitamin C. Standard nutritional databases often listed the amount of vitamin C in muscle meat as zero, solidifying this belief for decades. This has fueled concerns for people following diets that restrict or eliminate plant matter, such as the carnivore diet. However, emerging research and anecdotal evidence from long-term, meat-only eaters suggest this is not the full story. The truth is nuanced: while muscle meat contains only small amounts, fresh organ meats are a legitimate source of this essential nutrient.

The Crucial Role of Organ Meats

Organ meats, sometimes called 'offal', are the key to unlocking vitamin C from an animal-based diet. Unlike the trace amounts found in fresh muscle meat, certain organs contain significantly higher concentrations. This is why traditional cultures that relied heavily on animal products, like the Inuit, included organs in their diet, and rarely suffered from scurvy. Some of the best organ meat sources for vitamin C include:

Beef Spleen: A surprisingly rich source, with 100 grams potentially providing a significant percentage of the daily value.
Beef Thymus (Sweetbreads): Another potent source, though less common in modern diets.
Beef Pancreas: Contains a notable amount of vitamin C.
Beef Liver: Often called nature's multivitamin, liver contains a modest but still valuable quantity of vitamin C along with a host of other nutrients.
Beef Kidney: Provides a small but worthwhile amount of the vitamin.
Fish Roe: An excellent source of vitamin C and omega-3 fatty acids.

The Impact of Cooking on Vitamin C

One critical factor when considering meat as a vitamin C source is preparation. Vitamin C is water-soluble and heat-sensitive, meaning prolonged cooking or high temperatures can destroy it.

Fresh and Raw: The highest concentrations of vitamin C in animal products are found in their fresh, raw state. Cultures like the Inuit traditionally consumed raw meat, which helped preserve the vitamin content.
Light Cooking: Minimally cooking meat, such as keeping a steak medium-rare, will retain more vitamin C than thoroughly cooking it.
Heavy Cooking: Boiling, stewing, or canning meat significantly degrades or eliminates its vitamin C content, explaining historical cases of scurvy on long sea voyages where fresh provisions were unavailable.

For those who prefer not to eat raw meat, sourcing high-quality, fresh organ meat and lightly cooking it is the best strategy. However, the risk of foodborne bacteria means raw consumption is not advised for everyone, and proper sourcing and handling are crucial.

Low-Carb Diets and Vitamin C Requirements

Another piece of the puzzle lies in how the body uses vitamin C, especially on a low or no-carbohydrate diet. Vitamin C and glucose (a type of carbohydrate) use the same transport mechanisms to enter cells. When carbohydrate intake is low, as in a carnivore or ketogenic diet, there is less competition for these transporters. This allows the body to absorb and utilize vitamin C more efficiently, potentially lowering the daily amount required to prevent deficiency. While the standard Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for vitamin C is typically 75-90mg per day for adults, some research suggests that significantly lower amounts may be sufficient to prevent scurvy in the absence of high carbohydrate intake.

Vitamin C from Animal vs. Plant Sources

To put the differences into perspective, here is a comparison of vitamin C content and characteristics between animal and plant sources.


Feature	Animal-Based Sources (e.g., organ meat)	Plant-Based Sources (e.g., citrus, peppers)
Primary Sources	Organ meats (spleen, liver, kidney), fish roe	Fruits (oranges, kiwi, berries), vegetables (peppers, broccoli, spinach)
Concentration	Generally lower per gram compared to top plant sources; varies by organ	Generally much higher, especially in specific fruits like acerola cherries or bell peppers
Effect of Cooking	Highly sensitive to heat, with significant loss during cooking	Heat-sensitive, though some cooking methods like steaming preserve more than boiling
Bioavailability on Low-Carb Diet	Potentially more efficient absorption due to less competition with glucose	N/A; absorption remains a factor of intake and competition with glucose
Dietary Context	Requires careful dietary choices (including organs, minimal cooking) to obtain	Abundantly available from a wide variety of readily accessible foods

Can You Get Enough Vitamin C from Meat Alone?

For individuals eating a varied diet that includes fresh organ meats and is low in carbohydrates, it is possible to get adequate vitamin C from animal sources. Historical accounts and modern carnivore dieters who consume organs report no issues with scurvy. However, this is a very specific dietary approach that requires commitment to eating parts of the animal that many modern Westerners find unappetizing. For most people, fruits and vegetables remain the most practical and reliable sources of vitamin C.

Ultimately, whether one can get vitamin C from meat is not a simple yes-or-no question. It depends on the specific parts of the animal consumed, the freshness, the preparation method, and the overall context of one's diet. While fresh organ meats offer a surprising source, they should not be seen as a replacement for the diverse array of nutrients found in a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables for those who consume them. For further reading, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health offers more detailed information on vitamin C and its functions within a varied diet.

Conclusion

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to get some vitamin C from meat, particularly fresh organ meats like liver, spleen, and kidney. The amount is modest compared to common plant-based sources, but it is bioavailable, especially for individuals on low-carbohydrate diets where the body's need for vitamin C may be reduced due to less competition with glucose. Cooking significantly degrades vitamin C, so the fresher and less processed the meat, the more vitamin C it retains. For the average person, consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables remains the easiest and most reliable way to meet their vitamin C needs. However, for those choosing a meat-focused diet, incorporating fresh organ meats is the most effective strategy to prevent deficiency without supplementation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, fresh steak contains very small, trace amounts of vitamin C, but the content is considered negligible and is significantly lower than what is found in organ meats or plant sources.

Followers of the carnivore diet who eat fresh organ meats, such as liver and kidney, get small but bioavailable amounts of vitamin C. Also, because their diets are very low in carbohydrates, their bodies need less vitamin C to prevent deficiency.

Among organ meats, spleen, thymus (sweetbreads), pancreas, liver, and kidney contain the most significant amounts of vitamin C. Fish roe is also a good animal-based source.

To maximize vitamin C intake from meat, eating it raw is most effective as cooking destroys the vitamin. However, this carries significant health risks from bacteria. Most experts do not recommend eating raw meat. Light cooking, such as medium-rare, will preserve some, but not all, of the vitamin C.

Your body's vitamin C needs decrease on a very low-carb diet. While the RDA for adults is 75-90mg, some research suggests much less may be needed to prevent scurvy in the absence of carbohydrates.

No, processed and canned meats have been heated to high temperatures, which destroys the vitamin C content. This is why historical accounts mention scurvy among sailors on long voyages who subsisted on preserved meats.

While fresh organ meats can provide adequate vitamin C for some individuals on specific diets, for the majority of people, relying solely on meat is not practical. Fruits and vegetables are the most abundant and safest sources of this nutrient.