Want younger-looking skin? Doctor names supplement 'thousands of times more potent than vitamin C'

The doctor, who works with Evera Nutrition, says there's a world of ingestible ingredients that work wonders for your complexion. From collagen to green tea, the GP revealed some of her top skin-boosting ingredients.

"Dewy, beautiful skin is one of the key signs of youthful appearance," Dr Aslam explained.

The question of whether to take collagen supplements has sparked widespread debate, but Dr Aslam is firmly in the pro-ingestion camp.

"My belief is that collagen is super useful to ingest, because there is a lot of research that tells us that it improves skin hydration, it improves wrinkles, and elasticity," she explained. There is solid science to back these claims, too.

"The mechanism is that when you ingest collagen, it is broken down and hydrolysed from your gut into your blood, and gets fibroblasts to produce more collagen," Dr Aslam explained.

Essentially, this means that eating collagen encourages your body to make more of its own.

But beyond collagen, Dr Aslam has a couple of other ingredients she absolutely loves for skin health.

"Hyaluronic acid is one of my favourite ingredients; it's a water magnet. It does help moisturise your skin and make it look youthful and dewy, and bouncy," she explained.

There is also astaxanthin, a lesser-known powerhouse derived from algae, which is believed to help replenish skin moisture and enhance elasticity.

"Astaxanthin is actually found in algae," noted Dr Aslam. "It's an antioxidant, and one study states that it is far more potent than vitamin C, thousands of times more potent as an antioxidant."

And if you're looking for a simple swap to boost your skin, Dr Aslam suggests ditching your regular black tea for green tea.

"Something I try to do every day is stop drinking the builders' tea and try and have a cup of green tea because it's so good for you," she explained.

In essence, green tea helps keep the outer layer of skin properly hydrated while its polyphenols work to prevent moisture from escaping.

"Green tea catechins, [...] are going to protect our skin from inflammation, redness, because they're antioxidants," Dr Aslam added, noting that they also offer natural protection against sun damage.