Hello Health Advocates,

It may seem cosmetic on the surface, but our bodies want to look as attractive as possible, so when they are plagued with something like acne it clearly indicates a dysfunctional metabolism in need of a fix.

Most conventional acne treatments are toxic:

• Roaccutane is an anti-vitamin and can be toxic long term
• Tetracycline is so disruptive to the skeletal system so used cautiously
• Topical benzoyl peroxide has 5% systemic absorption, leading to circulating benzoate and hydrogen peroxide that can reduce your cellular oxidative stress.
• Birth control is often given and carries a risk of depression and suicide.

So why not try a novel functional approach. 

A B5-Oriented Protocol
Pantothenic acid, (B5) 2.5 grams four times a day for a total of ten grams. Take at least one hour away from meals and away from any supplements of biotin or lipoic acid to avoid interference with absorption. If you are sensitive to supplements, start small (500 milligrams or smaller if needed)

Order your favourite skincare product with B5, we can help here big time. This is a form of pantothenic acid optimised for delivery to the skin. Experiment with concentrations between 0.5% and 5% as directed on the label or up to 20% used in the Leung study (which used pantothenic acid in cream rather than dexpanthenol).

Vitamin B3 cream here (Prescription required)

The pantothenic acid should be brought down to 1-5 grams per day after the acne lesions are gone, and then occasional attempts to titrate down to a maintenance dose of 5-150 milligrams should be tried, keeping it at whatever dose is required to prevent acne from reoccurring.

Other nutrients and things that may help include reducing glycemic load and repleting vitamins A and D if needed.

Reducing the glycemic load can be done by titrating down carbs, especially high-glycemic carbs. If a large decrease, such as a reduction of 50-100 grams of net carbs per day, generates results, go as low as needed to clear the acne.

Levels of vitamins A and D should be checked as part of the comprehensive nutritional screening. Ideally decisions are made based on optimizing those markers, since either nutrient can produce toxic effects if the levels raise too high. However, they are rendered much safer and much more effective by being balanced with each other, and by not running too far out of balance with vitamins E and K.

Vitamins A and D can be used at 10,000 IU each per day on a short-term basis for a week to a month (or longer if testing justifies it), and 200-600 micrograms of K2 and a natural vitamin E blend containing 20 IU of alpha-tocopherol should be used in the background. Liver, cod liver oil, fatty fish, and sunshine can all contribute to the A and D.

For an appointment regarding your skin, please send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call at (07) 3862 6000.