This is a topic that is often hotly debated! Some collagen products contain vitamin C (including My Skin Hero) whilst others don't! So, here is my reasoning behind including vitamin C in My Skin Hero...
Due to the discovery of the disease, scurvy (caused by a serious deficiency of vitamin C) hundreds of years ago in the 1700s, we know a lot about vitamin C and how it is involved in collagen synthesis. And a great deal of research since the discovery for scurvy, shows that vitamin C is an essential nutrient for collagen biosynthesis [1].
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Biosynthesis is basically the generation of natural products through enzymatic (chemical) reactions.
Compounds are modified or converted into other compounds.
In one sentence it is the creation of a compound in a living organism. |
Vitamin C also has an active role in collagen production as well as helping to bind collagen fibres together. It is crucial to the complex process of fibroblast production, BUT so are the other essential vitamins and minerals. It is just that vitamin C is the much-discussed vitamin due to the research and studies backing it up, and we don't have the research surrounding all the other vitamins and minerals...yet! Every single day, new studies and data are being published, so hopefully in the near future we will know how important (or not) the other vitamins and minerals' roles are when it comes to collagen production and fibroblast production.
| Fibroblasts are a type of cell that is involved in the formation of connective tissue. They also secrete proteins that help to maintain our structural framework. |
I personally have times when I am travelling with work and I don't have access to all the fruit, veg and other plant foods I would normally eat, so by having my collagen shot once a day, I feel satisfied in the knowledge that all bases are covered since My Skin Hero along with the collagen and hyaluronic acid, contains vitamin C, biotin and other B vitamins!
References
[1] Grosso G, Bei R, Mistretta A, Marventano S, Calabrese G, Masuelli L, Giganti MG, Modesti A, Galvano F, Gazzolo D. Effects of Vitamin C on health: a review of evidence. Front Biosci. 2013 Jun 1;18:1017-29.