The Whole Story About
Vitamin B5 And Acne

Vitamin B5 (or pantothenic acid) is probably the most popular of vitamin treatments for adult acne.

Vitamin B5 treatment was started by a study conducted by Dr. Lit-Hung Leung. You can read his study here (http://www.coenzyme-a.com/acne_vulgaris.html), but in a nutshell it goes like this:

High fat diets cause acne because the body is not metabolizing fats properly. This causes fatty acids to build up and to be excreted through the skin, causing adult acne.

Coenzyme-A is required for both fatty acid metabolism and making sex hormones. Dr. Leung says that nature prioritizes sex hormone production over fatty acid metabolism.

Coenzyme-A is formed from adenosine triphosphate, cysteine, and vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid). Of these the vitamin B5 is the only component that is a vitamin, and must be provided from our dietary intake.

According to Dr. Leung's theory a vitamin B5 deficiency leads to improper metabolism of fatty acids and eventually to adult acne.

During puberty sex organs develop rapidly and the need for sex hormones is higher. This would certainly explain why teenagers get acne more often than adults do.

Study on the effects of vitamin B5 on acne

Dr. Leung tested his theory by treating 100 Chinese acne patients by giving them very high doses of vitamin B5. This is from his study (http://www.coenzyme-a.com/acne_vulgaris.html)

"With this treatment regimen, the response is as prompt as it is impressive. There is a noticeable decrease in sebum secretion on the face usually 2-3 days after initiation of therapy. The face becomes less oily. After two weeks, existing lesions start to regress while the rate of eruption of new acne lesions begins to slow down. In cases with moderate severity, the condition is normally in complete control in about eight weeks, with most of the lesions gone and new lesions only to erupt occasionally. In those patients with severe acne lesions, complete control may take months, sometimes up to six months or longer. In some of these cases, in order to get a more immediate response, it may even be necessary to step up the dose to 15-20 grams a day. In any event, the improvement is normally a gradual and steady process, with perhaps minor interruptions by premenstrual flare or excessive intakes of oily food."

My thoughts of vitamin B5 as adult acne treatment

Though I do think that Dr. Leaung's theory does make sense and fatty acid metabolism may play a role in development of acne I would not recommend vitamin B5 to treat adult acne.

Vitamin B5 and improper fatty acid metabolism can at most be a small part of the adult acne story. If vitamin B5 deficiency would play a major part in causing acne then virtually everybody with deficiency would develop acne. But this isn't the case. Also If a vitamin B5 deficiency was the cause of acne then simply supplementing with B5 would cure acne, and as long as you would keep taking B5 supplements acne would not come back. According to many posts at various acne forums this is not the case.

Another and more worrying point is that large doses of vitamin B5 over long periods are likely to lead to deficiencies in other vitamins.

The balance between various vitamins and nutrients in your system is very important. The body does not use vitamins and nutrients in isolation. To utilize one type of vitamins other vitamins are also required.

The B vitamins work WITH each other in a complex and synergistic relationship. For them to work properly they have to be kept in proper ratio to each other.

If you take excess of any one B vitamin your body will try to balance things out by leaching the other B vitamins from anywhere in your system.

Fatigue is one of the most common side-effects of long time vitamin B5 users. B vitamins are essential for absorption of nutrients from food.

Bottom line of vitamin B5 as adult acne treatment

First I just have to say that I have not used vitamin B5 as adult acne treatment and I doubt that I ever will (because there are much more effective and healthier treatment options available).

I regard vitamin B5 treatment as a cookie-cutter or magic-pill solution. It's an easy way out and requires little effort. However the downside is that vitamin B5 treatment does absolutely nothing to address the root cause of acne.

Many people on various acne forums are raving about how effective vitamin B5 is, but there are also people who say that it does absolutely nothing to their acne.

My recommendation is that you address the root cause of acne and improve your health at the same time. My FREE minicourse will set you on the right track.

If you still choose to try vitamin B5 treatment for acne please be careful. Also avoid taking high doses for long times to minimize the changes of deficiencies.

Here is one reputable company selling Vitamin B5 supplements for acne:

Vilantae
Click here to get Vilantae.



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