Last updated on June 19th, 2018 at 09:05 pm

Want get rid of wrinkles, have glowing skin or even lose weight? Then make sure vitamin C-rich foods are a part of your diet! Vitamin C is an extremely important nutrient for us humans and has many benefits for the way we look! Here are 9 benefits of vitamin C-rich foods for beauty.

If you’re not crazy about fruits and vegetables, then this article will definitely help you find the motivation to eat more of them. Because fruits and vegetables are our best source of vitamin C.

Vitamin C is not something you need only when you’re in the mood to do something good for your body.

It has many functions in the body, but 2 of them are most important and make it one of the most famous vitamins we know.

From Weight Loss to Glowing Skin, This Vitamin Can Do It ALL

BENEFIT #1: VITAMIN C FIGHTS WRINKLES

Vitamin C is very powerful against wrinkles for two reasons:

First of all: vitamin C is an antioxidant. In fact it is the most common water-soluble antioxidant in the skin. It prevents damage from free radicals to collagen and other structures in the skin like for example elastin (that’s a coworker of collagen).

Second: vitamin C also helps fibroblasts grow faster and make more collagen (1, 2). Fibroblasts are cells that produce extracellular matrix and are super important for firm skin.

So the consequences of all vitamin C actions lead to what?

Exactly, more healthy collagen. This means: smoother and younger looking skin with fewer wrinkles.

If you don’t believe me, believe a study that showed how middle-aged women who were consuming more vitamin C looked younger and had fewer wrinkles than women who didn’t get that much vitamin C. (3) Now that’s one reason to make us all eat more cabbage.

Related Article: What to eat for better skin, hair and nails

BENEFIT #2: VITAMIN C MOISTURIZES THE SKIN FROM INSIDE

Vitamin C improves the barrier function of the skin. It helps build certain lipids in the skin surface and this way prevents dehydration of the skin and keeps moisture in it. (1)

BENEFIT #3: VITAMIN C HEALS WOUNDS

Nobody likes a wound that takes forever to heal (actually no normal person likes wounds at all) – it might get infected and it looks gross.

With enough vitamin C from your diet you’ll feel like Wolverine, because your wounds would be healing with the speed of light. (1)

BENEFIT #4: VITAMIN C AGAINST SUN DAMAGE

The sun these days is a huge beauty killer. It’s responsible for sunburn, allergies, age spots and wrinkles, it dries out the skin and even causes skin cancer. (1)

Vitamin C can fight the free radicals caused by sun exposure in the skin, but it needs to get to the skin BEFORE they do.

Another problem is that sunlight decreases the amount of vitamin C in the skin by about 70% (2).

That’s why it’s important to get enough of this vitamin on a regular basis, many times throughout the day.

This explains why we need more fruits and vegetables during summer.

However, be warned that vitamin C is not enough to protect you from sun damage.

It might help a little to fix the problem with free radicals, but it’s beyond its abilities to protect you from serious sun damage, if you don’t protect yourself. The best way to protect yourself from sun damage is to avoid the sun between 10am and 4pm, wear sunscreen and cover up.

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BENEFIT #5: VITAMIN C BRIGHTENS THE SKIN

Vitamin C can reduce the amount of melanin produced in the skin.

Melanin is the guy responsible for skin and hair pigmentation.

This means that vitamin C can give you brighter skin and possibly remove age spots. (1)

BENEFIT #6: VITAMIN C CAN PREVENT HAIR LOSS

The skin consists roughly of three layers – the epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous fat.

The dermis of the skin is where all the hairy magic starts: the hair follicles are resting in this layer of the skin.

Dermis is also the skin layer containing large amounts of collagen.

As we know, vitamin C is needed for collagen production in the dermis.

If there’s not enough collagen due to vitamin C deficiency, the dermis becomes lose.

And this can then lead to hair loss or brittle hair. That’s why vitamin C is also of importance for the appearance (and the presence) of hair. (4)

BENEFIT #7: LOSE WEIGHT WITH VITAMIN C

Another talent of vitamin C is that it takes part in the synthesis of carnitine (5).

Maybe you’ve heard of carnitine… It’s this small molecule that transports fatty acids across the mitochondrial membrane.

Therefore it’s also vital for fat oxidation.

Which would mean that vitamin C is also involved in burning some serious fat by helping produce carnitine.

In fact this has been proven in a few studies:

A lower level of vitamin C in the body is associated with higher degree of overweight. (6)

But not only that: it was shown that people who supply their diet with vitamin C lose more weight (7).

So if you’re trying to lose weight and more specifically fat, don’t be a stranger to vitamin C.

Related Article: 5 Morning Habits To Help You Lose Weight

BENEFIT #8: VITAMIN C REDUCES REDNESS IN THE SKIN

Vitamin C is anti-inflammatory (8) and if applied directly to the skin it can reduce redness as for example with rosacea or acne.

Related Article: 2 Foods To Avoid If You Have Acne

BENEFIT #9: VITAMIN C FOR STRONGER NAILS AND HAIR

I guess many of us know, that with a plant based diet we need to combine iron with vitamin C to be able to absorb that nonheme iron.

Iron is very important for the maintenance of skin, nails and hair (1).

If you don’t have enough iron in your body, which is common in women, you might have dry skin, brittle hair and nails or even be losing some hair.

So make sure to get your vitamin C, even if you’re not on a plant-based diet.

It increases your chances of also getting enough iron and avoiding all those unattractive symptoms.

Q: USE IT ON MY SKIN OR EAT?

A: Vitamin C is often used in creams and other cosmetics, because it’s a phenomenal antioxidant. But it’s very unstable and once it’s exposed to air, it doesn’t take long until it’s oxidized. (1)

Also vitamin C is water soluble and can’t penetrate the skin if it’s not bound to a specific vehicle. And I don’t have that vehicle (<- freaking out). So what are we going to do?

The best way to get your vitamin C is: eat your vitamin C.

It’s more stable and you don’t need a special vehicle to get it to the skin, the blood circulation will take care of that.

If you’re very talented you can of course make your own formulation for use on the skin. It would be even better if that formulation contains some vitamin E and ferrulic acid – they act synergistically and protect against UV light perfectly. (9)

FINAL THOUGHTS

Not bad, right? It’s definitely more than I could ever do.

By giving vitamin C all these beauty talents nature again tells us – if you want to look good: eat your fruits and veggies!

Therefore make this a priority, rather than eating less or exercising for too much.

My workout routine has changed a little bit over the summer. Along my favorite Barre and Pilates workouts I started doing more of my own workouts, around 2-3 times a week. Everything at home or outside, because me and the gym = no amigos, but rivales.

I think once you get familiar with working out, different exercises & their proper form it’s important to start trying to create exercise routines for yourself. This way you can do exactly the workouts that challenge you, without dull moments, that are also suitable for your own level.

That’s what I’ve been doing for 6-7 years now and I find the workouts that I do for myself the most effective ones for me. On the other hand I really love yoga, barre and pilates so I want to keep doing those as well on most days. Exercise should bring results, but mostly it should be fun.

The other thing I started doing this summer is that I started incorporating some weights into my workouts every now and then. You know, the ones I found from my dad? Nothing huge, just 8 pounds in each hand. I do arm workouts, leg and butt workouts, upper body workouts – and they get very challenging when I add that much weight. I’ve only used 2 pounds in the past and I used to hate weights. For now I actually like them and I haven’t become Arnold Schwarzenegger yet, so…And how can I, he’s older than me.

So this workout is a leg workout, that will also tone your booty and has a cardio component to it to burn some fat as well. I made sure to include some inner thigh work, as this is kind of a problem area for me – my inner thighs have their own life and they like to move wherever they want.

I did this workout in 15 minutes last week, after I woke up at 6am and then headed to my morning walk. Which is ironic…next day I almost couldn’t walk because everything hurt. So make sure to stretch after the workout, if you’ll need to get from point A to point B by foot the next day.

You can do this workout at home, outside or at the gym – it’s short, but very effective! Don’t forget to play your favorite music while you’re doing it and have fun!

Also, and I have to say it every time, please consult with your doctor when you start a new workout regimen.

15-Minute Workout To Tone Your Legs and Burn Fat

This short leg workout is made out of 5 different movements that target your lower body muscles.

2 rounds with almost no rest between each movement was what worked for me and it took me 15 minutes to complete the entire thing.

If you need breaks: make them. For every exercise, it’s really important to keep your core tight and keep the proper form as shown in the videos below. Also make sure to have your water there and to use weights that are suitable for your fitness level or no weights at all. I used 8 pounds, but even without weights I would feel this workout.

20x Skaters

video demo via Howcast, this is the more cardio part of the workout

20x Reverse Lunge with Front Kick

video demo via FITNESS Magazine, this move was challenging for me, especially my knees so I did no weights.

20x Side Lunges

video demo via LIVESTRONG.COM, love this move – it’s simple, but tones many muscle groups (inner thighs, glutes) – I used weights here.

20x Inner Thigh Leg Lifts

video demo via Howcast, lovely to take a break on the mat while toning those inner thighs!

20 Side Lunge To Curtsey Lunge

video demo via Health Magazine, loooved this move! I felt my low back muscles tighten as well, it’s really important to keep core very strong here. As mentioned in the video, this move works your coordination and balance as well – awesome move!

Now that you’ve been through all the exercises once, do it again.

Don’t forget to stretch

My favorite part after the workout. While stretching, I feel so strong, relaxed, just awesome. It’s like the hard work is over, time to relax and enjoy. Here’s a 13-minute routine to stretch your lower body – pretty similar to what I always do.

I hope you enjoy this 15-minute leg workout for women, let me know how it was for you.