If there is any vitamin we have all heard about, it is vitamin C. Most people take vitamin C to boost immunity. For acne, however, vitamin C when it is used to keep immune responses in check. Vitamin C is the nutrient most people get from orange juice or by taking 1000-mg capsules. It turns out that neither orange juice nor 1000-mg capsules of synthetic ascorbic acid is the best way to get vitamin C for fighting acne. When the famous Hungarian-American scientist Albert Szent-Györgyi was researching treatments for scurvy nearly 90 years ago, he noticed that vitamin C wasn’t enough to treat the red and sore gums, red and sore skin, loose teeth, and connective tissue degeneration caused by this vitamin C deficiency disease. Vitamin C needed some kind of co-factor to regenerate it and to keep it active. Dr. Szent-Györgyi found that if people got their vitamin C from goulash made with paprika (he was Hungarian, after all), then they got better. If they didn’t get this factor he called “vitamin P,” the vitamin C didn’t work.
The term “vitamin P” was used in the medical literature not printed in English until just a few years ago. In the English-speaking world, what Dr. Szent-Györgyi called vitamin P we call citrus bioflavonoids. What this means is that natural sources of vitamin C are far more effective than synthetic sources of vitamin C. There is even a standardized product known as Acerola with Vitamin C USP that uses the Caribbean fruit acerola as the source of an intensely concentrated natural vitamin C that has the cofactors that stabilize the collagen in blood vessels. But what does that have to do with acne? Probably the most dramatic effect of taking a vitamin C supplement if you have acne is clearing up the redness in your skin. Redness is partially the result of inflammation. The immune system releases inflammatory chemicals known as leukotrienes to destroy acne bacteria, but the bacteria have a “decoy” system that redirect those chemicals toward the skin itself. Vitamin C in large doses doesn’t stimulate the immune system.
It “tones it down.” That’s a good thing, however, when the immune system is misfiring and destroying healthy skin rather than the acne bacteria in pores. The other way vitamin C helps take the red out of acne is by strengthening the linings of capillaries. These are microscopic blood vessels that provide oxygen and nutrients to the basal layer of the skin, about the thickness of 25 cells deep. The basal layer generates new skin cells that keep pushing outward to the stratum corneum, where they die and rupture to form a solid protective layer of protein and ceramides over the skin. The redness we see in pimples is mostly generated at this lower layer, but it is minimized when vitamin C with its cofactors helps stop leaks of bright red blood. It used to be standard procedure for nutrition experts to recommend very large doses of vitamin C. Daily doses of 1000, 5000, and even 25,000 mg of vitamin C were supposed to be thing to activate the immune system. Some people (who made their living by selling vitamin C) even tried to persuade their customers that the diarrhea and dehydration that come with taking huge doses of vitamin C was a good thing, a signal that the vitamin C was working.
But the old advertising pitch for vitamin C was based on at best a faulty understanding of how the nutrient actually works in the human body. Getting enough vitamin C to avoid scurvy really only requires an orange or an apple once or twice a week. (In the UK, however, many people don’t get that much.) Getting enough vitamin C for optimum health of your skin really isn’t especially hard, either. You can just fine on as little as 100 mg per day if you are sure to get it from natural sources. Some of these food choices provide more vitamin C than that in a single serving. All serving sizes in this list are 3-1/2 oz, which is roughly 100 grams. Just one to four (five if you only eat potatoes) servings of the foods on this list provides all the vitamin C you need for the health of your skin. There are other conditions that require more vitamin C, but 100 mg per day is enough for acne. Of course, some people just aren’t going to get their vitamin C from fruits and vegetables.
If that’s you, then there are two ways you need to get your vitamin C. Take vitamin C with bioflavonoids or Acerola with Vitamin C USP. One capsule or tablet per day is enough. Use skin care products that provide the form of vitamin C known as palmityl ascorbate. But be sure to buy it in tube form and to close the tube tightly to prevent the oxidation of the palmityl ascorbate by exposure to the air.Vitamin C is the most popular single vitamin. Besides taking it to treat colds, people pop vitamin C capsules hoping that it will cure numerous ailments. There is now scientific evidence to support some of that hope. Scientifically controlled studies using vitamin C for colds show that it can reduce the severity of cold symptoms, acting as a natural antihistamine. The vitamin may be useful for allergy control for the same reason: It may reduce histamine levels. By giving the immune system one of the important nutrients it needs, extra vitamin C can often shorten the duration of the cold as well.
However, studies have been unable to prove that megadoses of the vitamin can actually prevent the common cold. As an important factor in collagen production, vitamin C is useful in wound healing of all types. From cuts and broken bones to burns and recovery from surgical wounds, vitamin C taken orally helps wounds to heal faster and better. Applied topically, vitamin C may protect the skin from free radical damage after exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays. Vitamin C makes the headlines when it comes to cancer prevention. Its antioxidant properties protect cells and their DNA from damage and mutation. It supports the body's immune system, the first line of defense against cancer, and prevents certain cancer-causing compounds from forming in the body. Vitamin C reduces the risk of getting almost all types of cancer. It appears that this nutrient doesn't directly attack cancer that has already occurred, but it helps keep the immune system nourished, enabling it to battle the cancer.
As an antioxidant, vitamin C helps to prevent cataracts -- the clouding of the lens of the eye that can lead to blindness in older adults. The lens needs a lot of vitamin C to counteract all the free radicals that form as a result of sunlight on the eye. Vitamin C is concentrated in the lens. When there's plenty of this vitamin floating through your system, it's easy for the body to pull it out of your blood and put it into the lens, protecting it from damage. It's possible that 1,000 mg per day of vitamin C might stop cataracts in their tracks and possibly improve vision. As with the other antioxidants, vitamin C helps to prevent heart disease by preventing free radicals from damaging artery walls, which could lead to plaque formation. This nutrient also keeps cholesterol in the bloodstream from oxidizing, another early step in the progression towards heart disease and stroke. Vitamin C may help people who have marginal vitamin C status to obtain favorable blood cholesterol levels.
High blood pressure may also improve in the presence of this wonder vitamin. All these factors combined make vitamin C an inexpensive and easy way to lower one's risk of heart disease and strokes. Asthmatics tend to have higher needs for vitamin C because of its antioxidant function in the lungs and airways. Doses of 1,000 to 2,000 mg per day improve asthmatic symptoms and lessen the body's production of histamine, which contributes to inflammation. People with diabetes can benefit from extra vitamin C, too. This nutrient can help regulate blood sugar levels. Since insulin helps vitamin C, as well as glucose, get into cells, people with diabetes may not have enough vitamin C inside many of their cells. Just like glucose, vitamin C can't do its work if it's not inside of a cell. Supplementing vitamin C can force it into body cells, where it can protect against the many complications of diabetes. A dose of 1,000 to 3,000 mg per day drives down glycosylated hemoglobin levels.