An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but an orange a day will keep the wrinkles away. Yes, researchers in the United States have carried out a study and found that foods rich in Vitamin C help prevent ageing of skin.

"Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant that has been shown to play a role in the synthesis of collagen, the protein that helps keep skin elastic Our findings add evidence to a predominately supplement and topical application-based hypothesis that what we eat affects our skin-ageing appearance," according to lead researcher Maeve C Cosgrove.

In fact, the team came to the conclusion after examining links between nutrient intake and skin ageing in over 4,000 women aged between 40 and 70 years. All the women had extensive dermatologic examinations designed to evaluate skin wrinkling and other aspects of skin ageing and also completed a 24-hour recall survey listing all the foods they ate in a particular day.

The researchers found that the women, who ate plenty of Vitamin C-rich foods, had fewer wrinkles than those whose diets contained little of the chemical compound. Diets rich in the Omega-6 fatty acid were found to be associated with less skin ageing from dryness and thinning while higher-fat diets and those higher in carbohydrates were found to be linked to more wrinkling.

The findings have been published in the latest edition of 'The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition'.  So, wrinkle-proof your skin with Vitamin C.