The smartest anti aging vitamin is most definitely Vitamin C. It is excellent in collagen synthesis and also prevents oxidation of free radicals which leads to cell damage and thus aging. It is very good against deadly eye diseases of old age such as cataract and also helps against age diseases like coronary and cardio vascular disease. You have to though keep replenishing it in the body as it cannot be stored by the body as it is water soluble. The rich sources are fruits, vegetables and green peppers. There is research going on in with derivatives of Vitamin C to create a more stable form, with similar properties. A bit about these is mentioned here.

A good Vitamin-C derivative is very good at penetrating the cells of the skin and should also be able to discharge L-Ascorbic acid in such amounts as would be able to help collagen synthesis which leads to repair of the skin cells. It should also be not so irritating and far more stable than Vitamin C. As of now two major derivatives are there in the market. These are Magnesium Ascorbyl palmitate and Ascorbyl Palmitate. There are others being researched.

First we talk about Ascorbyl Palmitate. This is soluble in fat and is more stable and much less irritating than Vitamin C. It is as good as Vitamin E in its protection of your skin from damage caused by free radicals in the skin. But it has been seen that commercial preparations rarely have the needed concentration of this derivative in their formulation. And so the collagen synthesis may not happen.

Magnesuim ascorbyl phosphate is one such derivative. It is water soluble. It does not irritate the skin and is more stable that Vitamin C. It also helps in Collagen synthesis that is the regeneration of cells and tissues of the skin. But the problem is that it is useful in small concentrations only, at the moment. It is best for people having a sensitive skin and those that do not want the exfoliating effects of Vitamin C. As Vitamin c is acidic, it leads to exfoliation or skin peeling.

The products with this derivative are easily available in the market but may not be very suitable as yet. Many are still quite unstable and degrade as they get exposed to sunlight and air.

It is not even present in the concentrations required to be effective. These also may not really help in synthesis of collagen.

The upcoming derivatives of Vitamin C include some other fragments attached to the ascorbic acid molecule. These have been found to be more stable than the earlier mentioned derivatives.

If you want you can store vitamin C after extracting the fruit juice containing the vitamin in special bottles and keeping a batch ready, for when you need it. But you still can’t keep it for long and need to keep preparing fresh batches, but they will stay for a while. You can also regularly keep drinking fruit juices like Orange juice which can meet your requirements of the vitamin.

So this was a brief overview of this vitamin and its more stable derivatives which help in slowing down the process of aging.
By: Stephens Paul James