Vitamins and Youthful Skin A Reality Check
Women are inundated with advertisements touting the value of products containing vitamins that will revitalize their skin and give them that ‘youthful glow’ so important to their self-image. Use our product, the announcer will declare and in (so many) days have a more youthful glow, wrinkle free, better color, blah, blah, blah!
If you are willing to part with a good amount of your hard earned cash to buy unusual vitamins in skin creams that promise to erase fine lines and prevent skin aging, you are probably willing to purchase some shares in the Brooklyn Bridge as well. Truth is, those exotic items will do little more than smooth out your wallet, so says many dermatologists.
Though there are many creams on the market which contain vitamins known as antioxidants, very few are effective in preventing or reversing skin damage. Antioxidants are known to prevent agents called free radicals from damaging cells in the body and on the skin. Free radicals are the result of normal body function but they may also be created by other means. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation, smoking and other environmental hazards can also cause the problem radicals.
In a presentation to the American Academy of Dermatology’s annual meeting by Karen E Burke M.D. (New York City Dermatologist), she explained that almost all topical formulations contained very low concentrations of antioxidants that were poorly absorbed at best. Only three antioxidants have been proven to be of benefit, Dr. Burke explained, when applied (via creams or lotions) to the skin. Those are Vitamins C, E and the mineral selenium.
Another problem with skin preparations is that the active ingredients usually have very short term effects. There are some products soon to be released that may deliver better concentrations to the skin and increase their absorbability, but they haven’t been released yet and the probability is the exotics will not be numbered among them.
Recent animal studies found that when selenium is taken orally (or absorbed through the skin), it provided protection against both everyday and excessive UV damage. Another study showed that selenium also delayed the development of skin cancer in the animals. it must be pointed out, however, that though the results are promising, studies in human subjects must still be done and evaluated.
It has also been suggested that supplementation with 400 international units of vitamin E daily will help reduce photodamage, wrinkles and improve skin texture. It is also noteworthy to report that a skin cream carrying vitamin C is a difficult proposition since it reacts (the C) immediately when exposed to Oxygen and begins to deteriorate. Stable products are under development but none are truly available at this time.
Based on this information, ladies, it is recommended that you keep your hard earned money in your wallet and don’t blow it on products to leave your wrinkles in place while moving the contents of your wallet from you to them.
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