Can You Take Vitamin C With Coffee?

You pour the coffee. Then you look at the vitamin C tub and wonder if the coffee will cancel it out.

You're not being fussy. Plenty of people take both at breakfast and want a straight answer. Here's what the NIH says, and how we drink our scoop next to a cup of coffee.

Can you take vitamin C with coffee?

Yes. Most healthy adults can take vitamin C with coffee. The NIH vitamin C fact sheet lists interactions with cancer treatment and with a statin-plus-niacin combination. It does not list coffee or caffeine.

Your morning cup does not show up as a vitamin C conflict the way those medicine pairings can.

• Coffee is not listed as a vitamin C interaction.
• Caffeine is not listed either.
• Tablets, capsules and powders get the same basic answer.
• Follow each product's own label for how to take it.

Does coffee destroy vitamin C?

The NIH does not say that drinking coffee destroys vitamin C in your body. Heat is a separate issue. The NIH health professional fact sheet says ascorbic acid "is destroyed by heat," which is why cooking can lower the vitamin C in food.

That warning is about hot cooking, not about sipping coffee after a cold drink. Keep a vitamin C powder out of boiling liquid.

• Coffee and vitamin C side by side: fine for most healthy adults.
• Vitamin C before or after coffee: also fine.
• Powder stirred into hot coffee: skip it; heat can destroy vitamin C.
• Vitamin C with food and coffee: helpful if a large amount upsets your stomach.

"The NIH lists no coffee interaction. Heat is the part to watch."

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Step 1: Keep them as two drinks

The simplest habit is two glasses, not one chemistry experiment. Drink your coffee the way you like it. Take vitamin C the way its label says.

• Decaf and black coffee get the same NIH answer as regular coffee.
• You can take vitamin C before, after or beside the cup.
• Don't pour a powder into a boiling mug and call that the dose.

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Step 2: Mix vitamin C with cold water

If you use a powder, mix it with cold water. Ultimate C's label is one scoop in 250ml (8 oz) of cold water. Stir until it turns orange, then drink it.

For more on mixing, see how to use vitamin C powder. For cooking heat, see whether boiling water kills vitamin C in food.

• Use a normal glass of cold water.
• Stir until the powder dissolves.
• Then drink your coffee as usual.

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Step 3: Add food if your stomach is sensitive

Some people feel off when they take a large amount of vitamin C on an empty stomach. The NIH notes that too much vitamin C can cause nausea, diarrhea or stomach cramps.

If black coffee already bothers you, don't add the scoop on an empty stomach too. Have both with breakfast. Read vitamin C on an empty stomach if that is your main question.

• Pair the scoop with breakfast if your stomach complains.
• Stay with the same routine for two weeks before you change it.
• Morning still works well, as we cover in the best time to take vitamin C.

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Step 4: Why we drink Ultimate C next to coffee

Ultimate C is our vitamin C drink mix. One scoop is 35 oranges of vitamin C in one scoop. It tastes like orange juice, with zero calories and no added sugar.

It has no caffeine and no stimulants, so the only caffeine in this pairing is the coffee you already chose.

• One scoop in 250ml (8 oz) of cold water
• Natural orange flavor and a little stevia
• Zinc and rutin added
• Made in the USA
• One tub of 60 scoops is $35

What customers say

"This is by far the best tasting Vit C I've ever bought and I am very picky about quality and purity of supplements."

"Just add to water. refreshing"

Results vary. Ultimate C isn't a medicine.

What's in Ultimate C?

• Vitamin C (3 forms): 35 oranges of vitamin C in one scoop*
• Rutin (a citrus bioflavonoid): 78mg
• Vitamin E: 67mg
• Calcium: 20mg
• Zinc: 5mg
• Vitamin A (beta-carotene): 420mcg

The three vitamin C forms are ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate and calcium ascorbate. The NIH says research has not shown that any form of vitamin C is better than the others.

Also in the scoop: sea salt, silica and xanthan gum. No dairy, gluten, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts or added sugar.

Vitamin C supports normal immune function.* It also improves the absorption of iron from plant-based foods, according to the NIH.