Chapped lips, also called as cheilitis occur when your lips are depleted of moisture. The cold and windy conditions play a major role for creating chapped lips. The symptoms seen for chapped lips are dry, sore and red lips, also when the lips are too dry due to dehydration, painful cracking and pealing begins that splits and bleeds while you talk, eat and smile. A variety of vitamins can protect lips from damage and helps to keep them healthy and moist.
Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin that protects the lips from toxins, viruses, infections, pollutants and also reduces the risk of diseases that dry your lips. Vitamin A is essential for production of natural oils called sebum which is produced by sebaceous glands that prevent dryness of lips. Food sources for Vitamin A are cereals, milk, broccoli, kale, pumpkin, squash, eggs, collard greens, sweet potatoes, carrots and mangoes.
Vitamin B3 , also known as niacin protects the chapped lips by retaining their moisture. It eases the pain associated with dry and cracked lips, aids in healing process of damaged lips, supplies nutrients, oxygen and blood to the lips. The food sources rich in Vitamin B3 are chicken, enriched pasta, lentils, lima beans, coffee, whole wheat bread, salmon, beef and peanuts.
Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, heals the damaged lips, relieves dry and cracked lips and reduces the risk of anemia disease that may prevent your lips from healing.