At what times do people most often choose vitamin C in this form?

Vitamin C enters the body primarily from food – fresh vegetables, berries, leafy greens and citrus fruit. When the diet contains less of these foods or lifestyles change, people turn to supplements more often.

• The cold season. In winter and early spring, the range of fresh produce available narrows, and cooking reduces the vitamin C content of vegetables and fruit.
• Intense physical activity. With regular training, the need for antioxidants increases – vitamin C is involved in neutralising the oxidative stress that arises during exercise.
• Periods of heavy workload and lack of sleep. Irregular sleep and chronic tiredness are situations in which people try to support their general tone, including through diet and supplements.
• An unbalanced diet. If the diet is monotonous or contains few plant foods, a supplement can make up the shortfall.

It is important to understand that a supplement complements the diet but does not replace varied nutrition. Vitamin C from whole foods is absorbed together with other nutrients, and this is difficult to reproduce in a capsule.