Everyone is on the lookout for the fountain of youth and the magic serum that has amazing anti-aging abilities. Recent studies tout the use of Vitamin C as a powerful anti-oxidant that is capable of restoring youthfulness to skin as well as an intravenous treatment for diseases such as cancer and other chronic conditions. Additionally, other studies have shown that there is a significant decline in Vitamin C in older individuals.
Vitamin C use has been shown to have an advantage in reducing wrinkles due to the nature of the powerful antioxidant. It is becoming widely known that Vitamin C has the ability to fight damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals are thought to damage proteins and destroy collagen. Vitamin C protects proteins and fats as well as promoting the synthesis of collagen.
Vitamin C introduced to the patient in the form of an IV may be beneficial in relation to treating chronic diseases. One non-scientific study analyzed the use of intravenous Vitamin C for use in treatment of infection, fatigue and cancer by alternative and complementary medicine practitioners. The research provided results on IV Vitamin C use in over 9000 patients with only a little over 100 of those patients experiencing minor side effects.
It is unknown whether IV Vitamin C can have the same effects as a highly enriched Vitamin C diet can provide. When used in a topical form such as a lotion Vitamin C is very unstable and can oxidize very quickly. Many skin care and anti-aging products advertise the inclusion of stabilized Vitamin C in their product, but consumers should know that if the product becomes oxidized it may actually harm the skin and promote the production of additional skin damaging free radicals.
