ACNE AND VITAMIN A

Using a vitamin for acne can be effective. There are numerous clinical examples which show that using an acne vitamin such as vitamin a for acne can be a helpful treatment.

Large quantities of vitamin A for acne (up to 500,000 IU per day) have been used successfully to treat severe acne. But taking vitamin A at those levels can be quite toxic.

So vitamin A acne treatment is not recommended as a typical treatment for acne and should be taken only under the supervision of a health professional, if at all.

With normal vitamin A acne treatment, the acne will return several months after you stop taking this vitamin for acne. Vitamin A for acne is more effective and permanent when utilised as derivative forms in treatments such as Retin-A.

This vitamin is essential for acne-free skin. Vitamin A produces a lot of the effects of the isotretonoin and retinoids but without the side effects (including severe birth defects in unborn fetuses).

Vitamin A and carotene can be obtained from either animal or vegetable sources. The animal form is divided between retinol and dehydroretinol whereas the vegetable carotene can be split into four very potent groups - alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, gamma-carotene and crypto-carotene. With enough beta-carotene available in the body, the body can manufacture its own vitamin A.

Vitamin A is required for night vision, and for a healthy skin. It assists the immune system, and because of its antioxidant properties is great to protect against pollution and cancer formation and other diseases. It also assists your sense of taste as well as helping the digestive and urinary tract and many believe that it helps slow aging.

It is required for development and maintenance of the epithelial cells, in the mucus membranes, and your skin, and is important in the formation of bone and teeth, storage of fat and the synthesis of protein and glycogen.

Toxicity and symptoms of high intake

Dosages exceeding 15,000 IU per day must be taken under medical supervision. Toxicity can appear in some individuals at relatively low dosages and the symptoms may include nausea, dizziness, menstrual problems, skin changes and dryness, itchiness, irritability, vomiting, headaches and long term use can cause hair loss, bone and muscle pain, headache, liver damage, and an increase in blood lipid concentrations.

Normal use is male 5,000 IU per day (1,000 µg equivalent), female 4,000 IU per day (800 µg retinol equivalent), although 10,000 IU per day is normally used in supplementation. For acne patients recommended dosage is 25000IU-40000IU per day in provitamin form of Beta caroten.

Pregnant women must be careful as a high intake of this vitamin can cause birth defects.

Pro-vitamin A - beta-carotene does not cause toxicity.

Be careful if you in the unlikely event run across polar bear on a menu - 500 gram (about ½ a pound) of polar bear liver will deliver about 9,000,000 IU to your diet - a very lethal dose. Headaches, blurred vision, loss of hair, drowsiness and diarrhea, enlargement of the spleen and liver can all be indications when your intake is too high.




Best used with

Take vitamin A with B group vitamins, vitamins C, D and E, choline, essential fatty acids together with calcium, phosphorus and zinc for the best results.

Vitamin A is fat-soluble and is stored in your body along with vitamins D, E and vitamin K. Your body can store up to two years worth in your liver. Levels above 100,000 IU of vitamin A are considered toxic (hypervitaminosis). Loss of hair can occur with megadoses of vitamin A. Excess carotene can cause your skin and the whites of your eyes to turn yellow. I have seen a patient with a jaundice look to their skin and eyes because of excess carotene intake from supplements. Generally, carotene will turn the skin yellow when the intake is above 20 mg per day (about 34,000 IU). The yellow skin tint is most noticeable on the hands and soles of your feet where there is little underlying tissue between the skin and bones. If the carotene supplement is discontinued, the skin will lose the yellow tint.

Your body uses Vitamin A for growth, healthy skin and cells (epithelial) that line any opening to the body (nose, throat, lungs, mouth, stomach, intestines, vagina and urinary tract) and good night vision. Absorption of vitamin A is dependent on fat from food sources and bile (cholesterol substance produced by your liver and stored by your gall bladder and used to break down fats, seeds and skins). Your body can store two year's worth of Vitamin A in your liver. If you don't eat enough Vitamin A, it can cause blindness or in milder cases, your ability to see or drive at night.

Food sources of vitamin A

Liver, milk, egg-yolk, carrots, dark green leafy vegetables and yellow fruits are high in vitamin A or beta-carotene.