And although folic acid has been around a long time, it's suddenly in the lime light for its role in reducing homocysteine, a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke. When plastic surgeons in Indiana wanted to find out if putting ascorbic acid on skin improves wrinkles, texture and firmness, they turned to a computer for help. Using a topical vitamin C product on one side of the face, they were able to prove that sun-damaged skin improves when the vitamin is used everyday. Sunlight depletes vitamin C, and people with skin cancer have sub-normal amounts of the vitamin in their skin. People living in sunny, smoggy places are getting a double whammy.
Antioxidant depletion is visible in the form of wrinkles, slackness and bad texture.
That depletion can be reversed with supplementation, both oral and topical. Ascorbic acid not only protects the skin from sunlight, it also protects the eyes. The lens of the eye contains high concentrations of ascorbic acid where it acts as antioxidant protection for the lens. People with cataracts have low blood levels of the vitamin. Research from the University of California shows that low vitamin C is the number one risk factor for cataracts.