Healthy skin centre

Beauty and skin care: Vitamins and antioxidants

Age takes its toll on our skin, just as it does on other parts of our bodies. Exposure to sunlight and oxygen throughout the years produces unstable molecules called free radicals, which cause inflammation, damage skin cells and ultimately increase the risk of developing skin cancer.

While no magic pill can make you look 20 years younger, you can help your skin look as young as possible in a variety of ways. You probably already know the three surest ways to ensure youthful skin: protect your skin from the sun, eat a healthy diet and don't smoke.

Vitamins and antioxidants for skin

In addition to lifestyle changes, some research suggests that certain vitamins and antioxidants may also help maintain the health and quality of your skin.

Here are a few of the most effective vitamins and antioxidants for the skin:

Vitamins C and E and selenium for your skin

Research suggests that vitamins C and E, as well as selenium, may help protect the skin against sun damage and skin cancer and possibly reverse some of the discolouration and wrinkles associated with ageing and sun exposure.

In research presented at the 2002 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology, Duke University researchers demonstrated that "appreciable photoprotection can be obtained from topical vitamins C and E." A more recent 2005 study published in The Journal of Investigative Dermatology reported that people who take vitamins C and E in the long term reduced their sunburns from exposure to UVB radiation. Researchers also saw a reduction of factors linked to DNA damage within skin cells, leading them to conclude that antioxidant vitamins help protect against DNA damage.

Meanwhile, studies published in 1996 in The Journal of the American Medical Association showed that skin cancer patients who ingested 200 micrograms of selenium per day had fewer malignancies, reduced risk of death from skin cancer and a decrease in overall mortality. Further research published in 1991 in the French journal Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed, �found that oral selenium as well as copper helped reduce the formation of sunburn cells in human skin.�

The best dietary sources of selenium include whole-grain cereals, seafood, garlic and eggs.

These antioxidants are thought to work by speeding up the skin's natural repair systems and by directly inhibiting further damage. Although you can find these nutrients in skin creams, the challenge in applying vitamins E and C to the skin is that the concentration in most creams tends to be low, and they can lose their effectiveness when exposed to air and light.

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends taking supplements containing 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C; 400 international units (267mg) of vitamin E (in the D-alpha-tocopherol form); and 100-200 micrograms of selenium (l-selenomethionine) to gain the most benefit. However, don't give selenium to children until they have all of their adult teeth because it can interfere with the proper formation of tooth enamel.

If you do use a topical form of these antioxidants, the most potent products contain 15% to 20% of vitamin C (non-esterified), 2% to 5% of vitamin E (D-alpha-tocopherol), and 0.02% to 0.05% selenium (l-selenomethionine).