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Thursday, May 7, 2009

Vitamin C: The Reliable Beauty Solution


If there is one vitamin that I am so addicted into, that is Vitamin C. Why? Because aside from giving our body a boost during stress, it is also known as an anti-oxidant and an anti-aging vitamin.

Personally, I love everything about Vitamin C, but what I love about it most is it helps in wound healing... so, goodbye nasty scars! :)

What is Vitamin C?


According to Wikipedia, L-ascorbic acid, popularly known as Vitamin C, is essential to a healthy diet as well as being a highly effective antioxidant, acting to lessen oxidative stress; a substrate for ascorbate peroxidase; and an enzyme cofactor for the biosynthesis of many important biochemicals.

Vitamin C is soluble in water and heat labile. It can be easily oxidized in presence of oxygen at 100 degrees Celsius. Since it is heat labile, canning and cooking foods rich in Vitamin C is somewhat useless, since the heat, alkali and copper salts detroy it. Ascorbic acid is readily absorbed in the intestine, and released through the urine.

Vitamin C Deficiency

Although rare, the classic vitamin C deficiency disease is scurvy. This is commonly comorbid with other diseases of malnutrition
. In scurvy, there is increased fragility of the capillaries thus producing the early signs of the disease such as bleeding gums and bleeding under the skin, causing tiny pinpoint bruises (medical term: petechiae). There is also malfomation of bones and teeth. There is increased brittleness of bones that may lead to fracture. Lack of vitamin C may cause poor wound healing and increased susceptibility to infections. Patient may experience easy fatigability and stressed.

Vitamin C and its benefits

Vitamin C may act as a natural anti-histamine, that's why it is commonly given to patients with colds in order to reduce the severity of its symptoms.
Some studies also say that Vitamin C may have a role in cancer prevention. It has antioxidant properties that protect cells and their DNA from damage and mutation. It can be used as a first line of defense against cancer since it supports the body's immune system by preventing certain cancer-causing compounds from forming in the body.

Vitamin C is also found to help prevent cataracts-- the clouding of the lens of the eye that can lead to blindness in older adults. It counteracts all the free radicals that form as a result of excessive exposure to sunlight and other harmful rays to the eye.

It also lowers low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. HDL is the good cholesterol.

It prevents atherosclerosis and lowers blood pressure.

Higher vitamin C intake reduces serum uric acid levels, and is associated with lower incidence of gout-- a recurrent, painful form of arthritis.

Vitamin C: A Beauty Vitamin?

Ascorbic acid is well known for its antioxidant activity. When there are more free radicals (they are the bad ones!) in the body versus antioxidant, human is under the condition called Oxidative stress. Oxidative stress may cause diseases like cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, chronic inflammatory diseases and diabetes. These oxidative stress may cause every cell in your body to age faster than a normal, healthy cell!

If your diet consists of plenty of foods rich with vitamin C, your skin will improve. Vitamin C is a natural nutrient vital to skin care because it is essential for collagen production. It is the main component for structural protein in the skin. Vitamin C improves skin elasticity, appearance, evenness and skin tone.

Vitamin C can prevent scarring and aid in speedy recovery of skin injuries. If your body lacks it, you may find that wounds take a long time to heal and leave a scar when they do. Rose Hip Oil is great for healing scars as it is a rich source of vitamin C.

Since vitamin C is a natural antioxidant, it reduces skin damage and minimizes those dreaded wrinkles. Skin texture could even improve with regular use of natural or organic products utilizing vitamin C as one of the main ingredients.

It can reduce the appearance of sun damage on the skin as well as reduce brown pigmentation from the sun as well as melasma. It may have an anti acne effect especially when combined with glycolic acid.

And as far as I am concerned, taking Vitamin C everyday, and using topical creams with Vitamin C in it, make my skin glowing. Vitamin C brightens and evens out my skin tone. I love it!

Daily Requirement

Our body can not make our own supply of vitamin C that is why we must obtain this through our diet and supplements.

A daily intake of about 100 mg is enough to maintain the normal plasma level. For children, the recommended dosage is 30 mg to 80 mg for the adolescents. However, if you have scurvy or other signs of Vitamin C deficiency, dose may be increased. You must consult your physician about this.

Who needs more Vitamin C?

Smokers, alcoholics and people who are always stressed and live in polluted areas require vitamin C more than those who are not smokers, alcoholics and who are not stressed most of the time.

Also those who are taking analgesics, anticoagulants, anti-depressants and oral contraceptives since these lower the Vitamin C circulating in the body.

Where can we find Vitamin C?

Aside from the supplements readily available, Vitamin C can also be found through the foods we eat!
The richest natural sources are fruits (especially citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, tomatoes, pineapples and papayas! Yum!) and vegetables (like cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, green peppers and beans). It is also present in some cuts of meat, especially liver. Cow's milk, meat and fish contain a little.

And yes, Vitamin C topical creams, lotions, toners and a lot more are available. They should be added on your beauty regimen. I love Vitamin C!

3 comments:

BIG SALE YEAR said...

nice blog...keep $mile 4 u,,,,

BATMAN said...

nice blog...keep $mile 4 u,,,,

BIG SALE YEAR said...

keep smile....