Discover 8 Crucial minerals and vitamins that help with acne.
We have more than 32 nutrients, which are crucial to human health. This includes the classic nutrients that you have been eating since you were a kid and others that you are not familiar with.
Today we are going to concentrate on the vitamins and minerals that help in improving the health of your skin. These are the Best Vitamins for Acne.
While everyone would want to have beautiful and youthful skin, age, environment pollution, and poor lifestyle take a toll on our skin making it look tired and old.
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What Causes Acne?
We are going to discuss some of the crucial vitamins and minerals that you would not want to miss on when it comes to your skin health. If you are suffering from Acne or would want to prevent it, you should consider using the following vitamins.
But before looking at the some of the vitamins that help you keep your skin free from acne, we would want to shed some light on the reason why acne attacks our skin in the first place.
Medical experts believe that most acne is caused when there is an increased level of androgen hormone(1). When this hormone rises, it makes the oil gland on the face to grow and produce more oil. This also leads to the cellular walls breakdown leading to the growth of bacteria.
The experts further explain that a specific bacteria strain referred as Propionibacterium acne can also trigger acne.
So, acne is caused by a combination of high oil production, sensitive skin, bacteria, and clogged pores. While we have some rumour stating that a dirty face also causes acne, it is untrue because regardless of how much you clean your face, you cannot get rid of acne.
According to a study that was published in the academy of nutrition and dietetics journal, acne can also be triggered by consuming high Glycemic foods including:
- White potatoes
- White bread
- Sugary foods
- Processed foods
- Pizza and other junk food
- Rice
Vitamins That Help You Get Rid of Acne
1. Vitamin A
Vitamin A contains five compounds that include retinol and four provitamins referred as carotene. While the carotenoids are a large group, only four of them contain vitamin A activities. These four carotenoids include the beta, alpha, gamma, as well as the beta-cryptoxanthin. The retinol is found in animals while the carotenoids are found in plants.
Importance of Vitamin A in Treating Acne
The vitamin A plays a crucial role in rejuvenating the skin. This vitamin works by exfoliating the skin top layer and boosting skin turnover through the promotion of the maturation of the new epithelial cells. The vitamin also helps to treat the inflammatory response of the immune cells as well as promoting hormonal balance.
Because of these properties, Vitamin A reduces the production of formation of inflammatory acne lesions as well as the production of excess sebum. Other crucial properties that you get from using the vitamin are its antioxidant activity. Besides protecting the skin from reactive oxygen species as well as other free radicals, the vitamin will also improve the presence of other antioxidants including vitamin E and Selenium.
2. Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Usually found in fish and other seafood, the Eicosapentaenoic Acid is an omega 3 fatty acid, which is arguably one of the best natural anti-inflammatory
Importance of Omega 3 in Treating Acne
Inflammation is one of the main causes of acne. For this reason, using one of the best anti-inflammatories will help to prevent and to treat acne. Inflammation is usually triggered at the systemic levels contributing to the not only development of acne but also other serious diseases including the heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis.
These fatty acids do their work by inhibiting the inflammatory chemical that leads to acne breakout. Another way of inhibiting these chemicals is by the use of acutance drug, which contains the omega three fatty acids. This means consuming the omega 3 fatty acids you can prevent the skin breakouts.
You can do this by consuming foods that are rich in these acids and supplementing it with 2grams of EPA omega 3 acids daily. Apart from the fish, some of the other fantastic sources of omega3 fatty acids include the anchovies, mackerel, sardines peanut, soybean, palm oil, and sunflowers.
3. Vitamin B12
Also referred as cobalamin, vitamin B12 is produced by bacteria even in the animal and plants where we normally get it. Generally, the bacteria will produce the hydroxocobalamin, which is a form of vitamin B12, which is converted to cyanocobalamin.
The primary dietary source of this vitamin is the liver, milk, eggs, fish, poultry, shellfish, as well as fortified foods. It’s importance in treating acne
Well, the Vitamin B12 doesn’t have a direct effect in treating acne. However, it is involved in the fatty acid synthesis, cellular metabolism, and DNA production. For this reason, this vitamin has a regulatory role in the endocrine and immune system. This means that the vitamin assist in hormonal balance as well as reduction of the inflammatory response. However, you should be careful when using the B12 vitamins as high dosage can cause acne.
4. Vitamin D
This vitamin is also referred as sunshine vitamin since it is synthesized in the skin after the cholesterol from the skin is exposed to sunlight. While there are five fat-soluble secosteroids in the vitamin D family, only the Ergocalciferol (Vitamin D2) and Cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) are used in the supplementation. The natural sources of the vitamin D2 are the Alfalfa and mushrooms while you can get the vitamin D3 from the beef, eggs, fatty fish, as well as liver.
Importance of Vitamin D in Acne Treatment
Vitamin D offers several benefits when it comes to treatment of acne. To begin this vitamin will suppress the cell proliferation of sebaceous glands. By so doing, it will prevent sebaceous cell enlargement, reducing the production of sebum. In this way, it will prevent acne from coming back.
However, failure to follow the correct dosage, this vitamin can cause inflammation. Next vitamin D also produces antimicrobial effects that help clear the bacteria that are responsible for acne breakouts. Lastly, this vitamin is also a potent antioxidant that helps protect the skin from the oxidation stress.
5. Vitamin C
Also referred as ascorbic acid, vitamin C contains an active compound known as the L-acerbate. The natural source of this vitamin includes the raw liver, fruits, oysters, and vegetables. Vitamin C is water-soluble and considered as one of the most potent antioxidants. What’s more, this vitamin is a cofactor for many enzymes and is actively involved in the collagen synthesis.
Its Importance in Treating Acne
As mentioned, the Vitamin C is potent antioxidants. While it is a reversible antioxidant, this vitamin is a special antioxidant since it doesn’t produce any reactive oxygen species when it is regenerated and reused. Because of its antioxidant properties, this vitamin will protect your skin from free radical damage.
Another crucial role of the Vitamin C is boosting the production of stable collagen. In so doing, Vitamin C prevents the protective barrier of the skin from breaking down. The vitamin also plays a major role in preventing skin pigmentation helping to remove the scars caused by acne.
6. Zinc
Zinc is a crucial mineral that has many benefits to our body. This mineral plays an active role in brain function, immune function; reproduction, growth, and development just to mention a few. You can get this mineral by consuming foods such as seeds, beans, nuts, lean meat, oysters, and whole grain.
Importance of Zinc in Treating Acne
Zinc play more than one role in the clearing of acne. To start, this mineral helps in the metabolism of omega three fatty acids. Secondly, zinc is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory for the skin. Third, zinc boosts the breakdown of the substance P which is a nerve chemical that leads to the production of sebum production especially when the body is stressed.
Besides, zinc helps in the transportation of vitamin A. as mentioned earlier, the vitamin A plays an important role in clearing acne. This means by transporting A, zinc works hand in hand to help to treat and preventing this condition.
The recommended dosage of zinc is about 40 Mg per day. While we can get the zinc from food, it is hard to meet the daily requirements. For this reason, we would advise considering supplements. Similar to another supplement you should consult your doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
7. Vitamin E
Similar to other vitamins, vitamin E is a combination of eight related compounds, tocotrienols, and tocotrienols(2). With the most active compounds being the alpha-tocopherol, this vitamin is an efficient antioxidant that helps in clearing all the reactive oxygen species that are produced during the metabolism of fat.
The vitamin also plays a crucial role in tissue regeneration, which is important in the healing of wounds. Your body can get the right amount of vitamin E by consuming foods such as almonds, green leafy vegetables, palm oil wheat germ, sunflower oil, and safflower oil.
Importance of Vitamin E in Acne Treatment
Vitamin E ’s antioxidant effect is the primary reason why it is used in treating acne. We have a number of ways that this antioxidant helps in treating acne. First, it will prevent the oil secreted from sebaceous from turning hard. This prevents the pores clogging. The vitamin will also prevent your skin from ultraviolet ray’s damage.
In addition, the vitamin will also stabilize the protective skin barrier reducing the inflammatory response from the immune cells. Several studies suggest that the Vitamin E works greatly when combined with other antioxidants such as selenium and vitamin A in treating Acne.
8. Selenium
If you are a keen reader of health articles, you are likely to have come across this mineral. Selenium is a combination of a minor mineral and antioxidant that plays a major role in ensuring other antioxidants works effectively. You can get it from seafood, nuts, whole grains, halibut, as well as salmon.
Selenium Value in Treating Acne
According to the latest studies, selenium works synergistically, preserving the levels of other antioxidants. This mineral also functions in the enzyme referred as the glutathione peroxides, which plays a crucial role in preventing inflammation responsible for acne.
Combining small amounts of vitamin E and selenium have shown to clear acne especially to individuals that have low baseline activity of the glutathione enzyme.
Additionally, these studies have proved that the deficiency of the selenium plays a major role in inflammatory conditions that lead to eczema, psoriasis, and acne. Medical experts recommend taking the selenium with other antioxidants such as zinc.
Conclusion
Clearing acne is not simple. Therefore, if you have tried most of the prescription medicine and topical treatment and you still have an acne breakout, using these vitamins and minerals might be what your skin needs to clear the breakouts.
Acne is not only a painful condition that affects millions of people globally, but it can lower your self-esteem.
Combining the use of the above-listed minerals and vitamins, making acne fighting lifestyle change and use of gentle skin cleansers. You can effectively solve your problem of acne finally and have healthy skin.
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