Table 2

Percentage of subjects in each plasma vitamin C group not eating foods contributing to vitamin C intake

		Plasma vitamin C group		Linear trend
		% Low	% Marginal	Linear trend	% Optimal
Men
Citrus fruits	67	53	42	^***
Fruit juice	63	49	31	^***
Potatoes (other than chips)	4	2	2
Chips (fried potatoes)	16	15	13
Non-citrus fruit	42	34	17	^***
Green vegetables and salads	20	10	7	^***
Soft drinks	49	38	29	^***
Other vegetables	9	1	3	^*
Milk	7	6	5
Tomatoes (fresh, tinned, pureed)	22	18	14	^*
Other foods^†	12	6	4	^**
Women
Citrus fruits	56	54	32	^***
Fruit juice	54	46	23	^***
Potatoes (other than chips)	7	2	2	^**
Chips (fried potatoes)	13	10	16
Non-citrus fruit	24	21	11	^***
Green vegetables and salads	14	10	4	^***
Soft drinks	33	34	26
Other vegetables	3	4	1
Milk	6	6	5
Tomatoes (fresh, tinned, pureed)	19	14	8	^**
Other foods^†	7	5	3

Plasma vitamin C groups are Low <11.4 μmol/l, Marginal 11.4–22.7 μmol/l, and Optimal 22.7 μmol/l and above. ^***p<0.001,^**p<0.001, ^*p<0.05. ^†Other foods are liver, fruit tarts and crumbles, fruit cake, tinned fruit, jellies, savoury snacks and sweet spreads.