- By Jackie Newson
- BSc (Hons) in Nutritional Therapy
Jackie has been writing for a range of health publications since graduating as a nutritional therapist from Westminster University in 2008. In addition to producing health and nutrition workshops, Jackie is also an experienced assessor and enjoys the opportunity to help other students of nutrition to achieve their goals. In her role as an experienced nutritional therapist, Jackie offers individualised advice on a variety of health conditions. She believes wholeheartedly in the power of healthy nutritious food, supported with high quality supplementation to achieve optimal health. Jackie is a great believer in the power of positive thinking and attributes much of her enthusiasm and sense of well-being to the wonderful people in her life, a healthy diet and yoga which she practices regularly.
How Vitamin C Supplements Can Benefit Your Skin
You might have noticed that vitamin C is a common ingredient in a lot of skin care treatments. The reason for this is that this vitamin provides a very effective shield against the sun and has a number of beneficial effects on the skin. By increasing the amount of vitamin C in your diet or taking vitamin C supplements, you can enjoy these excellent benefits.
What are the benefits that vitamin C offers the skin? Here are a few of the many advantages:
Sun Protection
Vitamin C will protect your skin from sun damage, by fighting off free radicals that are developed due to excess sun exposure (as well as environmental pollution and smoking). Also, vitamin C will help you to reduce the effects of sun burn that has been caused by exposure to Ultra Violet Radiation. It helps to prevent the dangerous consequences of long term sun exposure, which can potentially lead to skin cancer.
Collagen Production
Collagen is the material that your skin needs in order to produce hydroxylysine and hydroxyproline, which are both necessary for binding the molecules that create collagen. This is the substance that gives your skin firmness and helps it to have a toned look. When your skin is deficient in collagen, it will appear limp, lifeless and dull. By improving your collagen production, you will be able to reduce wrinkles and fight against the signs of aging.
Healing Wounds
Did you know that vitamin C can actually help your body to heal wounds? The body will use the vitamin C to replace the damaged tissue, so that it can heal the wound faster. If you find that your wounds heal very slowly, this can be a sign that you are deficient in vitamin C – so make sure that you increase your intake!
Preventing Skin Discolouration
By taking in more vitamin C, you will be able to protect your DNA from all types of photochemical reactions that will lead to skin discolouration – as well as skin cancer and tumours. This is because vitamin C works to inhibit the production of Pyrimidine dimers, which are what primarily causes melanoma in humans. Also, vitamin C can potentially improve the look of age spots, so that your skin will appear smoother and younger.
Improving Your Skin’s Texture
Did you know that collagen also makes up the structure of your blood vessels? This means that vitamin C may help you have a healthier vascular system, which will help your blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to the skin to keep it healthy. When you lack vitamin C, your skill will eventually become rough and dry – so adding more vitamin C will plump up the skin surface and help it to retain more moisture.
So if you want to have healthier, smoother and younger looking skin – try adding more vitamin C supplements to your routine or adding more vitamin C containing foods to your diet!
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