Vitamin B5 Acne
September 23, 2008 · Print This Article
A certain doctor named Lit-Hung Leung has proposed a theory that acne is caused by a deficiency in vitamin B5. The vitamin B5 acne theory states that Coenzyme-A is necessary for the metabolization of fat. Coenzyme-A is formed from adenosine triphosphate, cysteine, and pantothenic acid(B5). And of those pantothenic acid is often the deficient one. So if you don’t get enough pantothenic acid your body will not be able to make enough coenzyme-A.
When your body is produces large amounts of hormones (for instance during puberty) your body will need more coenzyme-A to synthesis them, and if coenzyme-A is lacking your body will choose to synthesize hormones rather than metabolize fats. According to the vitamin B5 acne theory fats start to accumulate in the skin’s oil gland causing an increase in sebum which leads to acne.
If in fact vitamin B5 acne was caused by its deficiency then it wouldn’t take nearly as much of the dose being advocated to correct the deficiency. B5 is used as a treatment for several diseases, yet well under 2 grams and usually less then 0.5 grams are typically used with results for these other various diseases.
Lastly, 50 mg of Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) taken daily will aid the metabolism of hormones that are responsible for acne. Vitamin B6 deficiency will cause an increase in uptake of androgens as well as increased sensitivity. For improving the metabolism and excretion of androgens and other steroid hormones from the body, vitamin B6 is very effective. Vitamin B6 can effectively reduce the occurrence and severity of the flare-up in women who get premenstrual flare-ups of acne. Vitamin B3 which includes niacin, nicotinamide, niacinamide, NADH has been shown to be a justifiable treatment for acne. It can act as an effective antioxidant since it prevents cellular breakdown by free radicals and lipid peroxidation and can also protect the cell membrane.
Some of the studies have shown that the B vitamin coenzyme NADH was used in a 1% concentration to Vaseline. In other studies, it is shown that other B-complex vitamins are effective in treating provocative acne. Niacinamide was shown to be as effective as topical clindamycin for treating this condition by applying it to the affected area twice daily.
