Almost everyone has heard of vitamin C and knows how important it is for our health, but do you know why?

Hearing about all the brilliant benefits of vitamin C may have you opting for a glass of OJ more often or scouring the beauty isle for vitamin-C enriched skin goodies!

Are you ready to see what vitamin C can do for you? Discover some of the best benefits vitamin C has to offer in this handy guide.

What is vitamin C?

Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is an essential vitamin that you can find in lots of fresh fruits (especially the citrus variety) and veggies. Our bodies can’t make or store it, so we need to make sure we are getting enough in our diets or by taking supplements.

As you will discover, this useful vitamin is very important for a variety of body functions, from supporting our immune system to helping to reduce the appearance of those fine lines and wrinkles and so much more!

Top 10 vitamin C benefits:

Let’s find out what vitamin C is good for!

1. Supports energy-yielding metabolism

Our bodies need vitamin C in order to efficiently convert the food and drinks we consume into energy. It also helps us to absorb other vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients to keep our bodies ticking over nicely.¹

Need a boost? Healthy plant sugars meet vitamin C goodness with this vitamin C-rich ice lolly to keep you energised in more ways than one!

2. Helps maintain psychological function

When your body is very deficient in vitamin C, you are at high risk for scurvy. Depression, personality changes, listlessness and general malaise are some of the symptoms of scurvy, making vitamin C vital for normal mental health.

Vitamin C also helps our body cells communicate with each other and contributes to the synthesis of some hormones (noradrenaline and adrenaline).² These hormones help to regulate your mood and ability to concentrate. They also work with other hormones to help the body respond to exercise and stress.³

3. Supports the immune system

Our immune system is responsible for keeping us healthy – and the stronger it is, the better. Everyone’s immune system needs vitamin C to function normally, so keep it topped up!⁴

Researchers from the University of Helsinki found that taking a vitamin C supplement could reduce the rate of colds in active people by 50%.⁵

4. Helps maintain bones and cartilage

Vitamin C plays a big part in keeping our cartilage and bones strong by helping our bodies to make collagen. Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies and acts as a scaffold to provide structure and strength.

About 90% of the matrix proteins in our bones are collagen, so it makes sense that it is good for our bones and cartilage.

Some research suggests that higher vitamin C intake appears to be associated with higher bone mass density and lower bone loss. Very high vitamin C levels have also been seen to help protect against hip and other bone fractures.⁶

Another micronutrient needed for strong and healthy bones is calcium, so try this calcium and vitamin C recipe for a double whammy of bone support.

5. Improves skin appearance

If you feel like your skin needs a boost – vitamin C could help!

Do you ever wonder why we get those fine lines and wrinkles as we age? The decline in elasticity and ‘plumpness’ in our skin is due, for the most part, to our natural collagen levels decreasing as we age.

There are two main options in using vitamin C to help your skin:

• Dietary: getting enough vitamin C through your diet or by taking supplements will support your body’s natural collagen production – helping to fight the signs of aging from the inside out.
• Topically: you have probably seen a lot of beauty products that have been enriched with vitamin C. Applying vitamin C-rich skin products can help to promote normal levels of collagen production and reduce the appearance of ageing skin, according to New York dermatologist Howard Sobel. It can also help to tackle blemishes and brown spots.⁷

6. Reduces tiredness and fatigue

Feeling tired and fatigued sometimes is normal – especially if you lead a busy lifestyle or exercise a lot.

However, if you’re feeling exhausted all the time is a sure sign that your body is struggling to convert the energy you give it into action.

If you are fuelling your body with the food and drink it needs and still feeling the fatigue, it could mean that your body is lacking in certain micronutrients, like vitamin C.

Weakness and fatigue are among the symptoms of a vitamin C deficiency, so it’s important to make sure you’re getting enough. A cause and effect relationship has been established between the intake of adequate levels of vitamin C and reduced tiredness and fatigue.⁸

7. Helps create vitamin E

When our bodies perform certain tasks, e.g. fat oxidisation, by-products get left behind.

Some of these by-products can be upcycled with the help of vitamin C to make a reduced form of vitamin E. Clever eh!

It’s hard for the body to ‘scavenge’ them if too many accumulate, creating oxidative stress, so vitamin C is important to reduce the chance of this happening.⁹

8. Helps iron absorption

Not only does vitamin C do a good job on its own, it can help other micronutrients do their job too!

Vitamin C helps our bodies to absorb iron – one of the most important minerals for health. Iron is an important component of haemoglobin, which is found in our red blood cells and carries oxygen from our lungs to the rest of our bodies.

When we don’t consume enough iron – or it isn’t being absorbed properly in our bodies – it can have detrimental effects on our health. So it’s important to not let your iron go to waste – make sure you have enough vitamin C for your body to put it to good use.

9. It’s a potent antioxidant

Vitamin C is a natural antioxidant. Antioxidants help the body to protect its DNA, proteins and lipids from oxidative damage caused by rogue particles in our bodies called free radicals.¹⁰ 

Free radical build up in the body can be detrimental to health, so the more protection we can get, the better.

10. Supports gum and teeth health

Although a lack of vitamin C may not cause gum disease, research suggests that it can support healthy gums. A 2003 study on patients with periodontitis (a common type of gum disease) found that they had lower levels of vitamin C in their blood.¹¹

10 reasons why we love Vitamin C for skin (and you should too!)

1. Most people can use it

Because Vitamin C is a naturally-occurring antioxidant, it has an excellent safety profile.¹² This means that it’s ok for most people to use topically without experiencing any side effects.¹³

However you should always check the ingredients list of products you use on your skin if you have any allergies or sensitive skin issues.

2. You can match it to your skin type

This is because it’s available in different concentrations, ranging from 5% strength to 30%.

As an indicator, if you have dry or sensitive skin, then you may want to use a lower concentration. Meanwhile, oiler skin tends to be able to tolerant more higher concentrations.¹⁴

Top tip: Serums are the most effective way of getting vitamin C as they are more concentrated.

3. It can help minimise the appearance of UV damage

Vitamin C’s known to be able to reduce the appearance of UV damage caused by molecules called ‘free radicals.’

However, it’s important to note that it doesn’t work in the same way as sunscreen so it’s important to always wear sunscreen. It doesn’t absorb UV light, its antioxidant properties help to protect against UV-induced damage caused by free radicals instead.¹⁵

4. Brown spots and pigmentation are no challenge

Vitamin C contains a property that inhibits your skin’s melanin production, which is what causes skin discoloration, such as dark spots and hyperpigmentation.

When applied consistently and continuously, Vitamin C has been known to: a) help prevent marks from forming and b) combatting existing brown spots.¹⁶

5. You can mix it with other vitamins for maximum impact

The effectiveness of Vitamin C is said to increase when combined with other antioxidants, such as vitamin E, providing double protection against free-radical damage.¹⁷ It helps speed up new cell regeneration.

6. It helps speed up new cell regeneration

Because topical Vitamin C’s acidic, it removes dead cells from the skin’s surface and makes way for new cells. This process essentially encourages the skins natural healing process by encouraging it to produce more collagen and elastin.¹⁸

7. You can easily incorporate it into your skincare regime

While most people get their Vitamin C skincare fix via serums, there are plenty of other Vitamin C products, e.g. cleansers, moisturisers, exfoliants and sunscreens out there that you can use instead. This is the ideal option if you don’t fancy adding another step to your existing regime.

8. It can help soothe sunburnt skin

Remember how we mentioned a bit further up how Vitamin C can help encourage cell regeneration? Well, this cell-boosting property has been known to work wonders in encouraging the skin to replace damaged skin with new skin cells.¹⁹

9. You can use it under your eyes

The skin that’s underneath our eyes is the most delicate, which is why it’s important you gently apply products to this area, and not be too vigorous when applying them.²⁰ As well as helping to combat brown spots and pigmentation, Vitamin C serums can reportedly also reduce the appearance of under-eye dark shadows.²¹

10. You’ll be spoilt for choice

Vitamin C skincare ranges these days are incredibly diverse in that there are multiple different types of products, not to mention ingredient combinations, to choose from. Start your Vitamin C skincare journey by checking out these Vitaskin Vitamin C products.

A word about using Vitamin C

As with all skincare products, it’s important you apply Vitamin C properly (i.e. follow the instructions) to feel the full effects. Start slowly and make sure you do a patch test before applying it to your entire face.

You can apply Vitamin C in the morning or at night however, it’s important to note that if you’re heading out, then you need to make sure it’s fully absorbed into your skin, as it can become less effective when exposed to light.²²

As for where it should fit with the rest of your skincare regime? Some people say Vitamin C serums should be applied to freshly-cleansed skin pre-moisturiser. However, moisturisers with antioxidant properties should be applied last.²³

General word on the street is (when using Vitamin C serums) cleanse, tone, apply vitamin C serum, and then moisturise.²⁴

How much vitamin C do I need?

Now we’ve covered the function of vitamin c in our bodies and all its wonderful benefit health, let’s find out how much you need to stay healthy.

If you consume a healthy balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and veg, you will probably be getting enough vitamin C.

However, our bodies cannot make or store vitamin C. Of you don’t hit your 5-a-day target as much as you’d like, you may need to reconsider your diet or start taking a supplement.

Try tracking your food for a few days to see if you’re hitting the recommended vitamin C targets below:

Adults:

• Male – need a minimum of 90mg of vitamin C a day
• Female – need a minimum of 75mg of vitamin C a day

Children:

• 1-10 years – 30mg of vitamin C a day
• 11-14 years – 35mg of vitamin C a day
• 15 years and older – 40mg of vitamin C a day

What are the signs you’re not getting enough vitamin C?

It can be hard to know if you’re getting enough vitamin C in your diet, especially if you’re a smoker as this can affect how your body absorbs this helpful vitamin. If you are suffering from a combination of the below symptoms, you may be deficient in vitamin C:

• Bruising easily
• Bleeding gums
• Not healing quickly
• Dry and splitting hair
• Depression
• Fatigue

Please consult a medical professional if you think you or a member of your family may be experiencing vitamin C deficiency. If untreated it can cause a multitude of health problems.