Shadowing Practice: This Vitamin Prevents Age Spots (Most People Don't Get Enough) - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vitamin C is one of the simplest vitamins but also one of the most important ones for staying healthy and aging well.

Unlike most animals, humans can't make vitamin C ourselves.

We have to get it from food every day.

And this is important because vitamin C supports collagen synthesis, skin health, immunity, antioxidant defense and tissue repair.

So in this video, I'm going to break down what vitamin C actually does, how much you need and whether or not supplementing it is worth it.

Vitamin C is known as an antioxidant, but its primary role is probably collagen synthesis.

The story of vitamin C is tightly intertwined with scurvy, a disease that once devastated sailors on long sea trips.

For centuries, crews would develop bleeding gums, fragile skin, poor wound healing, and eventually death.

Today, we know that these symptoms are the result of the body's inability to produce collagen.

The sailors on the sea were deficient in vitamin C because they didn't have fresh food during their long voyages.

In 1747, Scottish naval surgeon James Lind conducted one of the first controlled clinical experiments.

He showed that citrus fruits that contained vitamin C could cure scurvy.

The sailors then started bringing more fermented vegetables like sauerkraut, which is very high in vitamin C.

The underlying mechanism was discovered much later.

Vitamin C is essential for collagen synthesis, and without it, you start to see your connective tissue break down, leading to the classical symptoms of scurvy, such as bleeding gums.

The pathway for vitamin C supporting collagen synthesis is this.

Procollagen gets formed when hydroxyl groups get added to proline and lysine, which is a process called hydroxylation.

This requires vitamin C.

This results in the assembly of procollagen with its triple helix structure.

Then, the secretion of procollagen outside the cells also requires vitamin C.

Without copper or vitamin C, collagen wouldn't have its most characteristic qualities that make it stronger than steel.

It's able to wound up together super tightly and is incredibly cross-linked.

The formation of collagen from procollagen requires vitamin C.

That's why vitamin C is often used in collagen supplements as well as in skin care products topically.

So does vitamin C supplementation support collagen synthesis in the joints and skin?

Well, yes it does.

A 2024 randomized controlled trial noted

that supplementing 80 mg of vitamin C with 5 g of hydrolyzed collagen for 16 weeks lowered wrinkle volume by 13.8%, wrinkle depth by by 16.9%,

skin roughness by 9.6%, and increased dermis density by 16.3% compared to placebo in healthy middle-aged women.

The addition of 30 mg of hyaluronic acid provided some small additional benefits.

Taking 48 mg of vitamin C before exercise to get over

15 g of gelatin enhanced collagen synthesis in the tendons that are being trained.

Both gelatin groups received vitamin C, and there is no group who didn't get vitamin C.

But vitamin C before exercise doesn't mitigate the collagen synthesis.

If anything, it would support it.

So vitamin C helps to support collagen synthesis, and it helps to maximize the benefits of collagen on skin and joints.

I want to take a quick break to tell you about the Bond Charge Infrared Sauna Blankets, my go-to way of getting 20-minute sauna sessions on the go

without needing to spend an hour to warm up a regular sauna.

Taking the sauna is, in my opinion, one of the best things for your overall health and heart function.

Studies show that taking the sauna regularly is associated with 63% lower risk of sudden cardiac death, 63% reduced heart disease mortality, 46% lower risk of hypertension,

and 40% reduced all-cause mortality.

This is mediated by an increase in body temperature

and increased heart rate that mimic a cardiovascular workout while at the same time improving arterial stiffness, endothelial function, blood flow, immune system function,

blood pressure, and metabolic health.

It doesn't matter if it's a traditional wooden sauna, an infrared sauna, an infrared sauna blanket, or anything else that elevate your body temperature above what's normal.

One-charged infrared sauna blankets have the advantage of shining far infrared light

that can penetrate deeper into your tissues than regular saunas can.

It warms up in two minutes to the optimal temperature of 70 degrees Celsius, and it's low in EMF.

You can get a 15% discount by heading over to bondcharge.com forward slash seamlund

and use the code seam for a 15% discount.

All right, back to the video.

What about vitamin C alone?

Is it going to help the skin or joints when you just take it alone?

People who consume more dietary vitamin C have a lower likelihood of wrinkled appearance and senile dryness.

However, that refers to dietary vitamin C and could be the result of people who consume more fruits and vegetables.

People who eat more vitamin C are just healthier.

But there are also some controlled studies looking at this.

A brand new study tested the effects of eating high vitamin C food like kiwifruit on skin vitamin C levels

and collagen synthesis.

Plasma and skin vitamin C also increased, showing that dietary vitamin C can reach skin tissue.

This was associated with improved skin function.

So eating more dietary vitamin C does help to supply more vitamin C to the skin.

Oral vitamin E

and C supplementation has been noted to increase the dose of

UVB radiation from the sun needed to cause redness of the skin.

As you can see from this graph, after three months, the minimal dose for UVB radiation to cause sunburns was significantly higher than before.

This suggests that the skin becomes more resilient against sun damage when it has enough vitamin E and vitamin C.

Topical vitamin C has also been seen to clinically improve photo-damaged skin and provide relief to deep furrows.

When it comes to topical vitamin C, then the evidence more suggests that it's useful for wrinkles and photoaging.

It can act locally in the skin and has clinical trials showing modest improvements.

When talking about oral vitamin C alone, then the data is much less convincing for wrinkles.

It supports normal collagen formation, especially if the intake is low, but there is not strong evidence that extra vitamin C by itself visibly reduces wrinkles in already sufficient people.

However, eating more dietary vitamin C appears to directly support skin collagen and function.

Regarding joint function, a 2021 meta-analysis of seven randomized controlled trials found

that vitamin C supplementation significantly reduced the risk of complex regional pain syndrome after orthopedic procedures,

but it didn't improve long-term functional outcomes or lower overall complications.

In patients who underwent joint replacement surgery, vitamin C can lower inflammatory markers and reduce the use of opioids, especially in the first 24 hours.

So overall, vitamin C supports collagen synthesis and protects the skin against photoaging.

Another important role for vitamin C is

that a vitamin C deficiency could contribute to the development of atherosclerosis and scarring of blood vessels.

Scurvy in arteries is essentially atherosclerosis or inadequate blood vessel healing and integrity.

In the mouth, scurvy causes bleeding gums, but a similar phenomenon of bleeding tissues and then the subsequent clotting may occur in the endothelium of the coronary arteries,

which leads to vascular dysfunction, thrombosis, and myocardial infarction.

Again, people who eat more vitamin C have lower rates of heart disease, probably because they eat more fruits and vegetables, and therefore they're healthier.

But it's partly also because vitamin C supports wound healing, and without vitamin C, you develop scurvy in the arteries, essentially.

And don't forget that vitamin C can act as an antioxidant, which lowers inflammation, which is another critical step in atherosclerosis.

A 2015 randomized controlled trial on obese individuals saw that 1,000 mg of vitamin C, 500 mg twice a day for 8 weeks,

lowered inflammation as measured by HSCRP by 48% and IL-6 by 36%.

Fasting glucose also dropped by 33%.

However, when it comes to overall heart disease risk reduction, then a 2017 Cochrane Review of clinical trials concluded that vitamin C supplementation doesn't reduce the risk.

However, a three-year randomized placebo-controlled trial in 520 men

and postmenopausal women found that a combination of 250 mg of slow-release vitamin C

and 91 milligrams of vitamin E given twice a day decreased the progression of carotid atherosclerosis in men.

So with all that being said, latent vitamin C deficiency can lead to poor wound healing in the gums and in the arteries.

So the most important thing is to prevent vitamin C deficiency.

But there's no evidence

that taking large amounts of vitamin C would help to reduce the risk of heart disease or something like that.

Lastly, I want to talk about a new finding regarding vitamin C's role in the broader context of aging.

Recently, scientists discovered that vitamin C was able to reverse biological age clocks in monkeys by inhibiting an enzyme called ACSL4.

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ACSL4 leads to cell senescence through what's called ferroaging, or iron accumulation.

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Excess iron levels are not only associated with a higher risk of heart disease and liver disease, but they're also implicated in the process of biological aging through what's known as lipofuscin.

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Lipofuscin is often called the age pigment.

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It's a yellow-brown waste material that gradually accumulates inside long-lived cells like neurons, heart muscle cells, and retinal cells.

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It looks like dark liver spots on the skin.

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Unlike many other forms of cellular damage, lipofuscant can't be eliminated that easily.

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As it accumulates over the course of decades, it begins to inhibit the normal cellular processing.

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Lipofuscant is made of oxidized proteins, damaged lipids, and iron.

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Iron acts as the catalyst that drives the process of lipofuscant accumulation, and vitamin C may help to interrupt this cycle in several ways,

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both as an antioxidant and by also supporting ferritin synthesis, which allows iron to be stored more safely and reducing the pool of free iron.

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So based on all of this, how much vitamin C should you get per day?

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The recommended daily allowance RDA for vitamin C is only 90 mg for males and 75 mg for females.

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That's not a lot, and you can easily cover that with a few pieces of vegetables or fruit.

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To prevent scurvy, only 1-2 mg is needed, but potentially as much as 7-10.

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Intakes of 200-400 mg milligrams a day of vitamin C from food

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or supplements largely saturates plasma and neutrophils in most healthy adults.

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The benefits above this level are largely limited to decreasing the severity and duration of common colds.

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You might see some additional benefits for antioxidant protection and blood sugar control at doses of 1000 milligrams a day.

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So taking over 200 to 400 milligrams of vitamin C can be an overkill, especially if you consume it in one meal or one supplement take.

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That's why for both supplementation and dietary intake, it's much better to spread out the vitamin C across the day to avoid this oversaturation.

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Vitamin C is a controversial supplement with many different opinions.

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Check out my video where I rank 100 supplements from worst to best based on clinical evidence.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “This Vitamin Prevents Age Spots”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: vitamin, skin, collagen, synthesis, sauna. This video has 121 sentences and 1836 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:50. The speaker talks fast, about 187 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 68% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
vitamin noun	/ˈvɪt.ə.mɪn/	Any of a specific group of organic compounds essential in small quantities for healthy human growth, metabolism, development, and body function. They are found…
collagen noun	/ˈkɑləd͡ʒən/	The main structural protein in the extracellular matrix of the connective tissues of many animals.
synthesis noun	/ˈsɪnθəsɪs/	The formation of something complex or coherent by combining simpler things.
sauna noun	/ˈsɔː.nə/	A room or a house designed for heat sessions.
supplement noun	/ˈsʌp.lɪ.mənt/	Something added; especially, such an addition added to make up for a deficiency.
dietary adjective	/ˈdaɪəˌtɛɹi/	Pertaining to a prescribed diet; (generally), relating to what a person or animal eats.
antioxidant noun	/ˌæntiˈɒksɪdənt/	Any substance that slows or prevents the oxidation of another chemical.
supplementation noun		The act of supplementing
wrinkle noun	/ˈɹɪŋkl̩/	A small furrow, ridge or crease in an otherwise smooth surface.
infrared adjective	/ˌɪnfɹəˈɹɛd/	Having a wavelength in the infrared spectrum.
atherosclerosis noun	/ˌæθɚoʊskləˈɹoʊsəs/	The clogging or hardening of arteries or blood vessels caused by plaques (accumulations of fatty deposits, usually cholesterol).
milligram noun	/ˈmɪlɪɡɹæm/	An SI unit of mass equal to 10⁻³ grams. Symbol: mg
procollagen noun		The precursor of collagen; it is formed in fibroblasts and converted to collagen by a peptidase.
randomized adjective		Obtained by randomization
artery noun	/ˈɑɹ.təɹ.i/	Any of the muscular- and elastic-walled blood vessels forming part of the circulation system by which blood is conveyed away from the heart regardless of its…

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
break down verb		To stop functioning.
check out verb		To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
get over verb		To overcome.
spread out verb		Become further apart.
warm up verb	/ˌwɔː(ɹ)m ˈʌp/	To become warmer.
wind up verb	/waɪnd ˈʌp/	To wind (rope, string, mainsprings, etc.) completely.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	is known · was discovered · being trained
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	sauerkraut, which is · lysine, which is · People who consume
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has been noted · has also been seen

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 13 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, doesn't, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: synthesis /ˈsɪnθəsɪs/, atherosclerosis /ˌæθɚoʊskləˈɹoʊsəs/, pathway /ˈpæθˌweɪ/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: deficiency /dɪˈfɪʃənsi/, accumulation /əˌkjuːm.jəˈleɪ.ʃən/, inflammation /ɪnfləˈmeɪ̯ʃən/, complication /ˌkɑm.pləˈkeɪ.ʃən/, deficient /dɪˈfɪʃənt/
Long words — get the stress right: antioxidant /ˌæntiˈɒksɪdənt/, atherosclerosis /ˌæθɚoʊskləˈɹoʊsəs/, deficiency /dɪˈfɪʃənsi/, accumulate /əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪt/, accumulation /əˌkjuːm.jəˈleɪ.ʃən/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like vitamin, collagen, synthesis.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: This Vitamin Prevents Age Spots (Most People Don't Get Enough) - Learn English Speaking with Video

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