It’s been a while, folks. was busy with university as well as a research internship which led me to be employed as a Research Assistant. This position gives me the tools to help all of you and myself, better and in a more holistic way than before as I have learned research tools that will aid this journey of mine.
I thank you, for being a part of my journey as it is only through your support that my blog has grown to 128 subscribers! I’m so glad that my content is resonating with people, and the people I want to target as well.
Without further ado, let’s get right into today’s topic.
So, ever since I was 13 I’ve dealt with not only bacterial and fungal acne but hormonal acne, which was definitely the worst one out of all three as it was cystic. If you’ve never been so unlucky to ever be graced with cystic acne, I will explain to you what it is. It is basically very painful acne, and even water touching it can lead to pain – and this is when I sought help from a dermatologist who gave me Accutane.
I took birth control, as most GPs always resort to the same crap especially when it comes to women’s health. Which is more the reason I have to do research on my fellow female friends and their health.
Accutane
Most people have had a similar journey to mine when it comes to Accutane and that is – it was life-changing. I had it when I was 20, so after 7-8 years of having bacterial (common teenage acne) to cystic acne, and many character developments during the journey, I decided it was time to look better on the outside too.
Accutane really did change my life, in the best way. It gave me the clearest skin that I have ever had, and it gave me hella dry skin; I finished a whole Papaya Lip Ointment while I was on it! And anyone who’s used that before knows how difficult it is to finish the tube in a year, but I did it in 6 months.
Let’s dive into why Accutane works before we talk about why there are better alternatives.
- It has HEAPS of vitamin A
Isotretinoin a vitamin A derivative is approved for those that don’t see any difference in their hormonal acne with standard treatment. It is also a teratogen – which means dangerous for fetuses. However, lack of vitamin A in the maternal diet has been found to create problems with the fetus as well as the mother. These include issues with the nervous system and nerve degeneration (which could explain rising rates of neurodegenerative diseases), as well as loss of limb coordination and motor neuron disease.
Experiments in quails found vitamin A deficiencies led to two CNS abnormalities such as the caudal hindbrain failing to develop and the spinal cord being abnormal. This is all to say that Vitamin A deficiency and the extent of deficiency can develop differently in different people. The highest amount of vitamin A is in our retinas, but we need it for so many other things – it’s impossible to cover all the grounds in this one article. So let’s focus on how it’s influential in skin health.
Zinc is required to properly absorb vitamin A into your body – metabolism and transporting of vitamin A is properly done with zinc and vitamin D.
Skin issues – deficiences in key minerals
The first symptom of such a deficiency (and of course, it’s not just vitamin A deficiency) is bad skin: hormonal acne, psoriasis, rosacea, eczema and general inflammation of the skin. Red skin, cystic acne and the whole Pandora’s box of skin issues begin with an internal deficiency: and the four main ones are zinc, vitamin A, omega 3s and probiotics.
Zinc
Skin issues have also been highly correlated with zinc deficiency as many patients see a drastic improvement in skin texture and breakouts when they supplement with zinc and vitamin A. There is a statistically significant connection between lower serum zinc levels and acne – and with our poor-quality soil, it’s no wonder we have all these problems we didn’t know existed. Zinc picolinate and methionine-based zinc have better bioavailability than other conventional zinc preparations.
Michaelsson and Fitzherbert demonstrated in the 1970s that those with acne had low serum zinc levels in their bloodstream. Their research showed that oral zinc gluconate was more effective in the treatment of severe and inflammatory acne, more than mild-moderate acne. Some people may react to zinc supplementation, especially when deficient so it is recommended to have zinc after food. Since zinc decreases the absorption of copper which is important for many functions: helping to absorb iron, keeping nerve cells and the immune system healthy and acting as an antioxidant against free radicals (also important to deal with skin issues).
Don’t forget, there is a correlation between zinc-copper levels and psoriasis, but we will get into that later.
Vitamin A
The fight against vitamin A is majorly unfounded, especially when it comes to natural sources of vitamin A (cod liver oil or beef liver). Although there may be some truth to man-made sources of vitamin A causing teratogenicity, and reduced bone mineral density that may result in osteoporosis – you would need a huge amount of natural vitamin A in your diet, to ever get to that place (and let me tell you, vitamin A is probably the nastiest vitamin to overdose on).
Oral vitamin A has been shown in multiple studies, especially alongside zinc to be effective in acne treatment (300,000 IU daily for women, 400,000-500,000 IU daily for men), this increases for women when they are pregnant or lactating.
Omega 3/Omega 6 ratios
The typical Western diet has a higher ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids compared with the hunter-gatherer communities who consume wild fish, wild deer and wild plants. Increased consumption of omega-3 suppresses inflammatory cytokine (found in inflammatory skin conditions) production.
Although realistically the majority of us will probably stay away from fish because we are scared of tis mercury content, wild-caught fish is a good alternative or smaller fish (literally fish that has been alive for less long) is a good alternative. Especially, if you’re like me and don’t like fish.
Moreover, fish oil and especially cod liver oil is a rich source of omega-3s – however, I recommend cod liver oil more strongly because it also contains vitamins A, D and omega-3s – so it’s pretty much a superfood – and you kill three birds with one hefty tablespoon (and a half).
Cod liver oil
Carlson’s cod liver oil – this is the one I use because it is high quality and really well-made. I have it with a bit of lemon to mask the flavour or with cacao – that way I get magnesium, Vit A, Vit D and omega 3s
Nordic Naturals Arctic Cod Liver Oil – is one of the best in the game, as the best cod liver oil comes from the Arctic. This one is lemon-flavoured, and trust me you want that flavour because like I said, vitamin A is the nastiest vitamin to eat.
Nordic Naturals Arctic Cod Liver Oil, Strawberry – bear in mind both of these are in ~oil~ form, not capsules.
Dr Martins COD liver oil – for those who want capsules
Probiotics
If probiotics have been shown to improve autistic symptoms, you best believe they can improve your skin from the inside out. The intestinal microbiota has been found to form acne lesions. C.Acnes strains dominate the gut in acne patients. Acne patients have a less diverse gut microflora and a reduced number of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Coprobacillus, Butyricicoccus, and Allobusulum. Dermatologists recommend creams that contain these bacteria strains to moisturise and help the skin heal to patients with eczema, acne, psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. In particular, Lactobacillus have an antibacterial effect on C.acnes. The reason opting for probiotics is a better choice is that probiotics do not lead to antibiotic resistance like the types that benzoyl peroxide, doxycycline and minocycline provide (topical treatments for acne). Once the bacteria are resistant, it only becomes harder to remove them.
Taking regular probiotics can not only improve your skin health but your overall well-being. Using antibiotics and isotretinoin will disrupt this gut flora (trust me, I know because currently, I’m trying to heal my gut) and it’s not worth having any man-made vitamin A in your system. This is because it can cause birth defects and you cannot plan to have babies for a year or two after you’ve taken Isotretinoin – I think that’s all we need to know about it.
iHerb Shop
www.iherb.com/me/politically-uncorrect
References
https://www.iherb.com?rcode=CZM3581
Michaelsson G, Juhlin L, Ljunghall K. A double-blind study of the effect of zinc and oxytetracycline in acne vulgaris. Br J Dermatol 1977;97:561-6.
Fitzherbert JC. Zinc deficiency in acne vulgaris. Med J Aust 1977;2:685-6.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-a-deficiency-symptoms#TOC_TITLE_HDR_9
https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/ijd.13607
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