Vitamin C reverses premature ageing, study finds

Vitamin C is one of the ‘wonder vitamins’, and it can help heal skin problems, overcome the effects of premature ageing, and even speed up the healing of wounds, researchers have reported this week.

People who regularly take vitamin C supplements could also have healthier DNA, as the vitamin helps repair damaged cells.

The cosmetics industry is expected to act on these new findings, and start producing products that are rich in the vitamin.  The vitamin is an antioxidant, a family that ‘mops up’ free radicals that can cause premature ageing.

Researchers from the University of Leicester and the Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology in Portugal found that the vitamin can counteract the damaging effects that the sun can have on our skin and reverse premature ageing.  In an earlier study, the researchers also discovered that vitamin C supplements can help promote healthy DNA by repairing damaged cells.

(Source: Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 2009; 46: 78-87).