How did cavemen get vitamin C from their diet?

November 21, 2025 •

4 min read

An estimated ancestral vitamin C intake was significantly higher than today's recommended intake, with some researchers suggesting early humans consumed up to 600mg per day. While modern humans often rely on citrus fruits, our ancient ancestors, known as cavemen or hunter-gatherers, adapted to get their essential vitamin C from a diverse array of wild plant and animal sources. Their diet was far more varied and less processed than what many people consume today.

Quick Summary

Early humans acquired vitamin C from a varied diet of wild fruits, vegetables, and roots. They also derived the nutrient from raw organ meats, like liver and brain, and sometimes even animal skin, which prevented deficiency, particularly in colder regions with limited plant life.

Key Points

Diverse Plant Sources: Early humans consumed a wide range of wild plants, including berries, leaves, roots, and tubers, all rich in vitamin C.
Raw Organ Meats: In colder climates or during winter, raw internal organs like liver, brain, and adrenal glands were a critical vitamin C source, as muscle meat has very little.
Minimal Processing: Hunter-gatherers often ate foods raw or minimally processed, preserving the unstable vitamin C, which is easily destroyed by heat.
Seasonal Adaptability: The diet changed with seasons and location; humans relied more on plants in summer and raw animal products in winter.
Alternative Winter Sources: In northern regions, extracts from conifer needles provided vitamin C when plant foods were scarce.
Cultural Knowledge: Ancestral knowledge about which specific plants and animal organs were most nutrient-dense was vital for survival.

The Gathering of Wild Plant Foods

Foraging provided a consistent source of nutrients for early human populations, who were omnivores, not purely carnivores. Hunter-gatherers consumed a vast diversity of wild plants, with some researchers positing that early humans ate as many as 100 different types. These plant foods offered a rich supply of vitamin C, even without access to modern citrus fruits.

Diverse Fruits and Berries

Many wild berries and fruits available in different climes were potent sources of vitamin C. Contrary to popular belief, citrus fruits were not globally accessible to many early human populations.

Rose hips: The fruit of the wild rose plant is exceptionally high in vitamin C. It provided a crucial source for populations in northern latitudes where citrus was absent.
Kakadu plums: A native Australian superfood, this plum contains significantly more vitamin C than oranges.
Wild strawberries: These small, wild versions of the modern fruit were an important part of the diet for early gatherers.
Blackcurrants and seaberry: Hardy berries found in cooler regions, these were also consumed for their high vitamin C content.

Vitamin C from Vegetables and Tubers

Plants that grew year-round or were storable also contributed significantly to early human nutrition. Vegetables, roots, and tubers were reliable sources of sustenance and vitamins.

Wild brassicas: Early relatives of modern vegetables like broccoli and cabbage offered significant vitamin C content.
Wild chilies and peppers: For ancient populations in warmer climates like Mexico, wild peppers provided a powerful and consistent dose of vitamin C.
Wild onions and garlic: The Ebers Papyrus from ancient Egypt documents the use of onions as a scurvy remedy, indicating a long history of reliance on these foods for vitamin C.

Conifer Needles

In northern regions during long, plant-scarce winters, hominins may have found a source of vitamin C by drinking aqueous extracts from the needles of pine and other conifers. Evidence of pine needle consumption has been found at Paleolithic sites.

The Role of Animal-Based Sources

While muscle meat contains very little vitamin C, early humans ate animals nose-to-tail, consuming specific parts that are rich in the vitamin. For northern populations, and particularly during lean winter months, animal sources were critical.

Vitamin C in Organ Meats

Raw or lightly cooked internal organs are far more nutrient-dense than muscle meat and were highly valued in the hunter-gatherer diet. This practice is still observed among some modern indigenous communities, like the Inuit, who eat raw meat.

Liver: This organ is a rich source of vitamin C. Caribou liver, for example, has measurable amounts.
Brain: Another nutrient-rich organ, the brain of hunted animals provided a valuable source of vitamin C.
Adrenal glands: Though not a common modern food, ancestral peoples consumed adrenal glands, which contain extremely high concentrations of vitamin C.

The Importance of Raw Consumption

Cooking significantly degrades vitamin C content, so consuming organs raw was crucial for early humans to receive the full nutritional benefit. Freezing, as practiced by Arctic peoples, also preserves the vitamin C in meats and organs.

Plant-Based vs. Animal-Based Vitamin C


Feature	Plant-Based Sources (Fruits, Berries, Leaves)	Animal-Based Sources (Raw Organs)
Availability	Seasonally variable, dependent on climate and foraging skills.	Reliable year-round source, especially critical in cold climates.
Processing Impact	Vitamin C content can be sensitive to cooking, drying, or processing methods.	Must be consumed raw or lightly processed to preserve vitamin C; cooking destroys it.
Quantity	Highly concentrated in specific wild fruits and berries.	Concentrated in specific internal organs like liver, brain, and glands, not muscle meat.
Acquisition	Gathering can be less dangerous and energy-intensive than hunting.	Hunting requires more energy and risk but provides a dense caloric reward in addition to vitamins.
Storage	Can be dried or preserved, though often with some nutrient loss.	Can be frozen, which effectively preserves vitamin C, as practiced by Arctic foragers.
Example	Rose hips, wild chilies, wild berries.	Raw liver, brain, adrenal glands.

The Seasonal Omnivore: A Balanced Approach

Early humans were not static in their diet but instead adapted their food sources based on their environment and the seasons. This flexible omnivorous strategy ensured they could obtain adequate vitamin C regardless of location or climate. In warmer regions, a plant-heavy diet was possible year-round, while colder regions required a greater reliance on nutrient-dense animal parts during the winter. This nutritional adaptability was a key factor in human evolutionary success, allowing for expansion across different ecosystems worldwide.

The Connection to Scurvy

The presence of vitamin C-rich foods was vital to prevent scurvy, a disease caused by deficiency. Evidence of scurvy has been found in the skeletal remains of some Paleolithic hominins, suggesting that deficiency could occur during periods of food scarcity, especially in colder months. This provides further proof that reliable access to vitamin C, whether from plants or animal organs, was a critical factor for early human survival. Studies on Neanderthal vitamin C intake further highlight the importance of organ meats for populations in northern latitudes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cavemen obtained their vitamin C from a diverse, seasonally-adapted diet that included a wide variety of wild plant foods and raw animal organs. They were skilled foragers and hunters who knew which plants and animal parts were most nutritious. This knowledge, passed down through generations, was essential for survival and a testament to human adaptability before the advent of agriculture. The concept that citrus fruits are the only source of vitamin C is a modern misconception, and studying ancestral diets reveals a much more complex and ingenious approach to nutrition.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, the caveman diet was not uniform. It varied significantly based on geographic location, season, and climate. Populations in warmer climates relied more heavily on plants, while those in northern areas were more dependent on animal sources during long winters.

Cavemen avoided scurvy by consuming a wide variety of nutrient-dense foods, both plant and animal-based. Foraging for diverse plants and eating raw, vitamin C-rich organ meats from hunted animals provided sufficient intake, preventing widespread deficiency.

While muscle meat contains very little vitamin C, the internal organs, brain, and glands of animals are rich in the nutrient. Early humans consumed these parts, especially raw, to ensure adequate intake.

Cooking, particularly prolonged boiling or high-heat methods, destroys vitamin C. Hunter-gatherers mitigated this loss by eating many of their vitamin-rich foods, especially animal organs, raw or lightly prepared.

Methods varied by region. Northern populations utilized freezing, which effectively preserves vitamin C in animal parts. They may have also dried or fermented certain foods, though some nutrient loss would occur.

Not globally. Citrus fruits were not universally available to all Paleolithic populations. The widespread availability of citrus is a relatively modern phenomenon due to agriculture and global trade.

The most important insight is that humans adapted to find and consume vitamin C from a diverse array of non-citrus sources, demonstrating the incredible nutritional adaptability of our ancestors through foraging, hunting, and clever food preparation techniques.