Probably the most highly effective antioxidants, vitamin C reduces cell harm from exterior insults like air pollution and an excessive amount of solar. It protects us from elements that age us from the within, like poor sleep.
It additionally works topically. “Vitamin C is the topical nutrient we’ve tracked the longest and know essentially the most about,” says Mark Tager, MD, creator of Feed Your Pores and skin Proper: Your Personalised Diet Plan for Radiant Magnificence. Analysis reveals that vitamin C protects towards solar harm, age spots, and even melanoma, the deadliest sort of pores and skin most cancers.
Because the pores and skin ages, a food plan excessive in vitamin C reduces wrinkles by nudging the physique to make extra collagen and elastin, two proteins that give the pores and skin construction, stretch, and energy. It additionally helps the pores and skin retain moisture, which might cut back the looks of high quality traces.
Consuming enough vitamin C even helps heal scratches and cuts, says Julie Backyard-Robinson, PhD, RD, a food-and-nutrition specialist at North Dakota State College. Our our bodies can’t make vitamin C, which is why it’s so important to devour vitamin C–wealthy meals, similar to crimson peppers, broccoli, kale, and citrus, every single day. You may as well safely complement with as much as 1,000 mg a day.
There’s quite a lot of hoopla about the advantages of topical vitamin C, however not all merchandise are equal. Search for these with L-ascorbic acid, an energetic type of the vitamin that your physique can put to work instantly. As a result of vitamin C degrades shortly when uncovered to oxygen and light-weight, select merchandise packaged in dark-tinted bottles with airless dispensers.
(This important nutrient helps practically each side of well being. Study extra at “What You Must Know About Vitamin C.”)
For additional steering on sustaining wholesome and radiant pores and skin by diet, see “11 Very important Vitamins for Pores and skin Well being,” from which this text was excerpted.
