The Top 5 Vitamins For Acne Treatment And Are They Really Effective?
If you suffer from acne — a skin condition that produces whiteheads, blackheads, and other forms of pimples — you’re not alone. Acne breakouts are among the most common skin conditions in the United States. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, this skin condition has an effect on up to 50 million people every year. Acne develops when an enlarged skin pore becomes blocked with the dead skin cells and sebum, an oily substance produced by the skin, creating an environment for bacterial overgrowth. There are numerous helpful acne treatment, and many vitamin supplements — vitamin A, nicotinamide, vitamin C, vitamin D and vitamin E — may play a role helping to maintain your skin clear.
There are more than 32 nutrients in the human body which are considered important for human health. This group contains all the classic nutrients you are aware of love along with a significant amount more which most people are not really acquainted with; so that means calcium, iron, b-vitamins, but also more unknown nutrients like chromium.
Because acne enormously reflects the health of your entire body, every single one of those 32 vitamins and minerals can cause some improvement in your skin. However, there are five acne vitamins that go above them all to become vitamins and minerals that you don’t want to miss out on. If you had no way to get all the acne vitamins you need but could only focus on five or so, then these vitamins would improve your acne the most.
Vitamin A
Topical retinoids, prescription vitamin A supplements generally utilized for whiteheads and blackheads without having skin inflammation, help cure acne by unblocking skin pores as well as normalizing skin cell turnover. A systematic review published in”Journal of the American Medical Association” stated that several common topical vitamins A formulas were effective acne treatment. The topical retinoids reduced pimples by almost 70 percent, with noticeable improvement developing within 8 to 12 weeks of starting treatment.
An oral form of vitamin A — the retinoid isotretinoin — is commonly used to deal with more severe, inflammatory acne when other prescribed medicines fail to work. Additionally, it is only available by prescription. Along with normalizing skin cell turnover, isotretinoin also decreases sebum production. According to a review published in”American Family Physician,” after 20 weeks of isotretinoin treatment, 40 percent of individuals with severe acne required no further treatment, 40% required added treatment with oral antibiotics or topical medication, and 20% required another course of isotretinoin.
The nemesis of the Arctic explorer; plenty of them have attempted to hunt polar bears, foolishly consumed the liver, and died because of it being the richest source of vitamin A in the world.
This overdose potential of vitamin A can also be observed in the terrible side effects seen from the last option acne treatment Accutane, which includes permanent dry eyes, destroyed sexual functionality, and depression.
However, don’t get postponed this vital acne vitamin, because at safe doses vitamin A can improve enough of the bodily conditions that cause acne. Its outstanding function that takes it to elite status is its strong ability to minimize both the size of your sebaceous glands and the amount of sebum they produce. That means less oily skin, and inevitably less blocked pores.
Almost every single acne patient could improve their skin considerably by getting more vitamin A. Getting plenty can also lessen some of the other acne causing problems in your body; high levels of testosterone lead to oily skin, but they won’t matter as much if you consume 800ug of vitamin A per day.
It speaks for itself that Accutane, the leading acne drug in the world, is a massively overpowered vitamin A supplement. It can cure acne, but it also causes the side effects listed above. Get plenty of vitamin A for acne but don’t go overboard.
The recommended daily allowance of 800ug is quite accurate for acne and health. However, vitamin A is still a crucial component of an acne plan that covers various other aspects. A supplement is not completely necessary if you can put together a well-organised diet, but you can use one if you wish to have an extra acne clearing boost (just don’t go crazy).
Nicotinamide as an acne treatment
Nicotinamide is a water-soluble substance found in the body as part of the vitamin B complex. The assumption is that individuals with low levels of nicotinamide, zinc or folic acid may have a greater risk of developing particular forms of acne. Nicotinamide, folic acid, and zinc are offered in blend anti-inflammatory recommended medications which are beneficial for some sorts of acne.
It might minimize facial sebum. Clinical tests had been carried out in both Japan and the US to examine the effects of the application of a 2% niacinamide moisturizer. The Japanese subjects demonstrated a significant reduction in their sebum excretion rate, and the Caucasian subjects demonstrated a decrease in casual sebum levels.
Nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3 or niacin, is used externally to deal with acne. Another small study reported in”Journal of the Turkish Academy of Dermatology” discovered that application of a 4 percent nicotinamide gel for two months considerably decreased the number of pimples in individuals with mild to moderate acne. The authors attribute these results to nicotinamide’s anti-inflammatory properties, however, remember that higher studies are required to validate their findings.
Oral nicotinamide additionally seems promising. More than 85% of individuals who took an oral supplement containing nicotinamide, copper, zinc, and folic acid for two months revealed that their acne was moderately or significantly better, according to research published in “Cutis.” But, the research did not include a control group which received a placebo rather than the supplement, that limits the results that may be drawn. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved this supplement for use in acne treatment.
Applying niacinamide externally can have lots of benefits with regards to skin care. It is often termed as the cell-communicating ingredient, which means that it shows tissues to behave more like younger, healthier ones.
Niacinamide is something that is researched for its effective use against acne, aging, and rosacea, and it is showing guaranteeing outcomes.
Vitamin C
The acne community normally disregards the Vitamin C, however, a close look at the science lets you know that it is more powerful than most people know. Its first acne power is its capability to lessen the evil stress hormone, cortisol, in your blood vessels. The second is the reality that it is necessary for the human body to produce collagen, a key structural component of the skin.
The final acne advantage is that vitamin C is perfectly important for wound healing. Getting considerably more compared to recommended daily allowance for vitamin C will significantly increase the rate at which your old acne clears up, which will make your skin much clearer overall.
That’s the reason why in my opinion, the use of vitamin C is an absolute must for acne patients. The daily allowance of 60mg is pitifully low; the body can easily endure up to 2000mg and most likely much more.
I take a minimum of 750mg per day, using a fantastic Camu Camu Powder Supplement. I published this article here about the amazing experience I had where it cured a four-month-old injury within two weeks. Insufficient vitamin C is among the key reasons why individuals who don’t eat fruit and veggies have terrible skin that’s covered with acne, so consume plenty of berries, broccoli, potatoes, kale, along with other acne-clearing foods that provide 50% of the allowance or even more.
Vitamin C is not mentioned in several acne-clearing guides, but for the factors above as well as from my excellent personal experience with it, I believe that it is worth your time and money.
Here’s the highly concentrated vitamin C dietary supplement I use on a regular basis: Navitas Naturals Organic Raw Camu Camu Powder.
Vitamin D
The odd man out on the list, since it is hardly a vitamin at all. Vitamin D is a hormone that the body produces when exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
The so-called “sunshine vitamin” is essential for the highest number of different functions in the body out of these acne nutrients; you need it for combating insulin resistance, you need it to control inflammation, you need it for proper acne nutrient absorption, the list is endless.
It is essential for plenty of other health aspects too; more than 800 research papers are showing that increasing blood vitamin D to 50-70ng/ml can fight cancer. However, due to the fact, more jobs than ever are in dark workplaces and more time is invested stuck to screens, approximately 40% of the US population is now vitamin D deficient.
That’s the reason why I recommend that almost every acne patient takes a vitamin D supplement. Here in England, we can only make vitamin D from the sun for 7-8 months of the year; inadequate UV rays can penetrate the atmosphere in the winter months.
Even when the sun is strong enough, our damp Atlantic-influenced climate signifies that we don’t get the chance to absorb the sun’s rays anyway. Therefore I take 5000IU of vitamin D on a daily basis (in the winter), and if you are living in a high latitude country, it’s sensible for you to do the same.
I have taken a few different health supplements for both my acne and health and one of the best is Garden of Life Raw D3 Supplement.
However, if you desire a less expensive alternative without all the fancy prebiotic extras, then you can certainly choose this Vitamin D3 Drops with K2, which is indeed good value for money with a staggering 1000IU per serving with 600 servings in a container.
Additionally, it is crucial that your supplement is D3 (also called cholecalciferol), not D2 (ergocalciferol) because the body does not adequately absorb D2. If most of your days are spent relaxing on a beach in Jamaica, then you don’t need to have a supplement, but most individuals in North America are in the house for most of the day.
Take 5000IU in the darker months, and a little less in the summertime, depending on the climate of your country. Do this, and it’s highly likely that you’ll be happy with the improvement in your acne (and your skin tone as well). Read more about vitamin D here.
Vitamin E as an acne treatment
Like nicotinamide, the relationship amongst acne and vitamin E isn’t as well researched as the more well-established relationship between acne and vitamin A.
Research published in “Cutaneous and Ocular Toxicology” stated a link between low vitamin E blood levels and more severe acne. However, this research doesn’t prove low vitamin E leads to acne, or that supplemental vitamin E treats acne. More research is required to understand better how vitamin E might impact acne.
Also known as tocopherol, or alpha-tocopherol, vitamin E indeed is the king of kings with regards to acne vitamins. Obtaining at least the daily allowance of 22IU helps prevent your acne from becoming completely monstrous. Consuming significantly more than that will allow the face to be oily without actually having acne.
How can this be? The answer is that the problem with excessive sebum production isn’t that it directly blocks your pores, not entirely anyway, however, that the sebum typically oxidises to a greater extent. When sebum oxidises resulting from the free radical attack, it forms squalene peroxide, probably the most comedogenic (pore-blocking) substances in the world.
That’s the actual reason behind blocked pores, and p.acnes (Propionibacterium acnes) overgrowth plus your body carries a particular system to keep that from happening; it uses built-in antioxidants to keep your sebum strong. The anti-oxidant it uses essentially the most is good old vitamin E. Having a face like one of BP’s ocean oil rigs is never a good thing, however, if you have sufficient vitamin E, then it’s much less likely that the sebum will cause acne.
The reason why acne patients need it? Researchers in this study discovered that acne patients have an average of 10% less vitamin E in their blood vessels. Tons of various other studies all find one thing: the less vitamin E you consume, the more severe your acne will be.
This implies three things: 1) you will need to try and get plenty of vitamin E from acne friendly foods like green veggies, fish, chocolate especially, nuts. The king of all vitamin E sources is the almond and a handful each day provides enough vitamin E to give your acne a noticeable reduction.
Secondly, it is really worth taking a supplement for vitamin E which takes you far beyond 22IU. Dr. Evan Shute is a scientist who has dedicated his entire career to understanding vitamin E, and he claims that both women and men can benefit massively by taking up to 600IU per day.
Lastly, almost all standard synthetic vitamin E supplements consist of one isolated form, alpha-tocopherol. Vitamin E has eight different forms that are present in nature. For the most significant acne benefits, you may need all eight tocopherols and tocotrienols in the organic proportions found in food and what you need for clearing acne is, therefore, a supplement that is both professionally made and originates from food sources. Being produced from food gives you every type of natural vitamin E and ensure that the vitamin will be better absorbed compared to lab versions.
Out of all the health supplements available on the market, the one that will improve your acne the most is this Garden of Life Vitamin Code Vitamin E.
Warnings and Precautions
If you suffer from acne, consult with your doctor or skin specialist concerning your acne treatment options. While certain vitamins are beneficial in treating acne, some of these remedies are prescription-only, plus some consist of vitamin amounts excessive enough to require supervising by your doctor. Some of these acne treatment methods may pose severe side effects. For instance, isotretinoin enhances the risk of congenital severe disabilities and pregnancy loss and must not be consumed during pregnancy.
Your doctor can explain the risks and advantages of proposed acne treatment. Make sure to check with your healthcare providers before taking any nutritional supplement to deal with a medical condition.
You can also read my another article on home remedies to get rid of acne.
Conclusion
Almost every nutrient can help your acne to some extent, but those five are the ones you should focus on for acne. You can get the daily allowance of most of the others by consuming a diet with plenty of nutritious meats, fish, vegetables, and fruits, or only by taking a multivitamin.
You could also take a multivitamin for the acne nutrients above, however in some circumstances taking an individual health supplement is necessary. Taking zinc on its own enables you to be sure that it’s the well-absorbed zinc picolinate instead of an ineffective zinc oxide hidden among tons of other ingredients. You need to take vitamin C on its own because a multivitamin just provides a morsel in comparison to what you need for clearing acne.
Follow this advice, and you’ll enhance a good deal further along the road to the gloriously acne-clear skin.
