Sign in to follow this , January 21, 2013 Create an account or sign in to comment You need to be a member in order to leave a comment Sign up for a new account in our community. Register a New Account Already have an account? Sign in to follow thisVitamin D3 is the common name for cholecalciferol.Vitamin D3 can be taken as a supplement to improve overall health or used to treat osteoporosis.It can also be used to treat conditions in which vitamin D3 levels may be low, such as in people who have underactive parathyroid glands, low levels of phosphate in the blood, or hereditary conditions in which the body doesn't respond to the parathyroid hormone.Vitamin D3 also encourages the kidneys to recycle phosphate back into the blood, which helps the blood stay at the right pH.Vitamin D3 is available for purchase over-the-counter (OTC).Historically, vitamin D3 loss has been associated with rickets, a disease caused by low levels of vitamin D3 that commonly affects children.
Children with rickets and adults who had rickets as children often have legs that are bow-shaped.However, while adults who are deficient in vitamin D3 do not typically develop rickets disease, their bones may start to become softer -- a condition known as osteomalacia.People with digestive problems like celiac disease, liver problems, or Crohn's disease are more likely to have low levels vitamin D3.Sunlight is a natural source of vitamin D3, and people who rarely or never go outside (for example, those in nursing homes or bedridden hospital patients) are most likely to be deficient in it.Also, the darker your skin, the more sunlight you need to keep vitamin D3 at healthy levels.This is because the extra melanin found in darker skin slows the absorption of vitamin D3.Some studies suggest that the time of day when you receive sunlight affects how well your body absorbs vitamin D3.While many experts advise people to avoid sunlight between the hours of 10 AM and 2 PM or 3 PM to help protect their skin from cancer, data shows the body actually absorbs vitamin D3 better during this time.
There are two forms of vitamin D: Vitamin D2, or ergocalciferol, is commonly found in foods.Vitamin D3 is made by the body naturally when skin is exposed to the sun.Although there is some debate, most experts currently believe that the best form of vitamin D supplement to take is vitamin D3.It's thought that D3 is more natural and easier for the body to absorb.Also, the body does not allow as large a concentration of D3 to circulate in the bloodstream as it does D2, so it's considered safer.Oily fish like salmon, codfish, mackerel, and blue fish are great natural sources of vitamin D.Fortified foods -- such as milk and cereal -- along with egg yolks and raw shiitake mushrooms also contain vitamin D.There is some debate about whether vitamin D3 works to treat acne.The Vitamin D Council website states that lack of sunlight may increase acne, and some people notice their acne worsening during the winter and improving during the summer.Still, there aren't any clinical studies supporting the use of vitamin D3 for acne.
There's also very little evidence supporting the use of vitamin D in preventing acne.However, some anecdotal reports claim that acne improved after taking vitamin D supplements or applying it (in oil form) to their skin.Recent studies show that people who are overweight may have higher levels of vitamin D.The reason is thought to be because vitamin D is an oily substance that tends to get stored in the body's fat tissue.So, the more body fat you have, the more easily the body can store vitamin D.If you are underweight, your levels may be lower than you'd expect because you have less body fat in which to store extra vitamin D.Talk to your doctor before taking vitamin D3 if you:It's unclear whether vitamin D3 might harm your unborn baby.Talk to your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant before taking this medication.You should also tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.Vitamin D3 passes into breast milk and is therefore not recommended for breastfeeding mothers.
Getting over acne can feel like an impossible task. The net is full of bottles, pills, and dietary regimens that promise to clear your skin, and yet it seems like none of them works for you.Fortunately, scientists are slowly uncovering promising solutions to acne, such as vitamin D. Several studies have looked into the relationship between vitamin D and acne. These studies show that people with acne are more likely to be deficient than those without acne and that taking vitamin D supplements can reduce acne.In this post, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about vitamin D for acne.In 2016, Korean researchers compared vitamin D levels of people with acne to those with clear skin. Their results showed that acne patients were much more likely to be vitamin D deficient than those without acne; 48.8% of acne patients were deficient in vitamin D vs. 22.5% of people without acne.This graph shows average vitamin D levels for people with different severities of acne.There was no difference in vitamin D levels between those with mild acne and people with clear skin.
The researchers also tested whether vitamin D supplementation can reduce acne. They divided 79 people with acne into two groups. One group got vitamin D (1000 IU/day), and the other group got placebo supplements.This graph shows the results for inflammatory, noninflammatory and total pimple counts.It can be a bit hard to see from that graph, but here are the results in a nutshell:The researchers speculated that 1000 IU/day might not be enough, because, even after supplementation, average vitamin D levels in acne patients were still below the level considered as adequate (20 ng/ml).Other studies have also looked into the relationship between vitamin D and acne.A study published in the Journal of Research in Medical Sciences in 2014 tested calcium and vitamin D supplementation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Women with PCOS have similar, but more severe, hormonal disturbances that women with acne, and PCOS patients frequently also suffer from acne. The combined supplementation had no effect on acne.
On the other hand, the women in this study already had more or less sufficient vitamin D levels (average 19.53 nl/ml). A 2015 systematic review also concluded that vitamin D supplementation has no effect on PCOS.In 2014, Turkish researchers also compared vitamin D levels in acne patients and people without acne. Their results showed that 95.3% of acne patients were vitamin D deficient – vs. 56.5% of those without acne. The average vitamin D level among acne patients was 11.2 ng/ml and 19.7 ng/ml for those without acne.On the other hand, an Iranian study published in 2015 showed no difference in vitamin D levels between acne patients and healthy controls. In this study, both groups had very low vitamin D level; 8.4 ng/ml in acne patients and 10.4 ng/ml in controls.That’s the sum total of all the studies on vitamin D and acne.In a nutshell, studies show that vitamin D deficiency is more common among acne patients than those with clear skin – research on other inflammatory skin conditions has produced similar results.
Vitamin D supplementation may reduce acne, but we need more studies before we can really say whether this is true or not.I remain cautiously optimistic about vitamin D, given what we know about its cellular effects in the skin.Several cell culture (test tube) studies have looked at the cellular effects vitamin D has in the skin.In most cases, acne forms like this. Spurred by irritation, keratinocytes (specialized skin cells) multiply rapidly and produce too much protein called keratin. Keratin is a tough protein that binds skin cells together (your nails are made of keratin). Excess keratin, combined with sebum, leads to blocked pores. Bacteria (P. Acnes) multiply in blocked pores and causes irritation in skin cells. This causes inflammation and turns the blocked pore into an inflammatory pimple.I explained this in detail here.Cell culture studies have shown vitamin D protects skin cells from bacteria-triggered irritation.This means that vitamin D reduces the number of blocked pores that turn into inflammatory pimples.
In fact, this is what the Korean study showed. That study showed vitamin D supplementation has no effect on non-inflammatory comedones, but reduced the number of inflammatory pimples by 35%.Studies have also uncovered other cellular effects relevant to acne:I have to say all of this is still highly speculative. It goes without saying that what happens in test tubes is not always the same as what happens in living humans.So what does this mean to you? And should you try vitamin D supplements?If you have more than a few inflammatory pimples (i.e. you have moderate to severe acne), then I would try adding vitamin D to your treatment regimen. Keep in mind that acne is a complicated problem, and I doubt you’ll get good results, if you try to get over acne with vitamin D alone. But it could work as a part of a well-rounded treatment program that addresses all the aspects of acne, such as my Clear for Life program.On the other hand, if you have mild acne that mainly consists of non-inflammatory blackheads and whiteheads, then I doubt vitamin D works for you.
Nobody knows exactly how much you should take vitamin D. As the above study showed, 1000 IU/day can reduce acne, but the study also showed that blood vitamin D levels were still below the recommended levels (20 ng/ml and above). On the other hand, The National Institute of Health recommends taking no more than 4000 IU/day. At that intake, you are highly unlikely to get any side-effects. So aim for something in between.If you want to try vitamin D supplements for your acne, here are a few options to consider. All of these represent good value for money (at the time of writing).Disclaimer: I may get a small commission from the merchant if you decide to buy based on my recommendation. et al. Comparison of Vitamin D Levels in Patients with and without Acne: A Case-Control Study Combined with a Randomized Controlled Trial. Plos One 11, e0161162 (2016). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27560161Yildizgören, M. T. & Togral, A. K. Preliminary evidence for vitamin D deficiency in nodulocystic acne.
Dermatoendocrinol 6, e983687 (2014). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26413187Toossi, P. et al. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels in patients with acne vulgaris and its association with disease severity. Clin Cases Miner Bone Metab 12, 238–42 (2015). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26811702Tehrani, H. G., Mostajeran, F. & Shahsavari, S. The effect of calcium and vitamin D supplementation on menstrual cycle, body mass index and hyperandrogenism state of women with polycystic ovarian syndrome. J Res Med Sci 19, 875–80 (2014). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25535503He, C., Lin, Z., Robb, S. W. & Ezeamama, A. E. Serum Vitamin D Levels and Polycystic Ovary syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients 7, 4555–77 (2015). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26061015Agak, G. et al. Propionibacterium acnes Induces an IL-17 Response in Acne Vulgaris that Is Regulated by Vitamin A and Vitamin D. J Invest Dermatol 134, 366–373 (2014). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23924903Krämer, C. et al. Characterization of the vitamin D endocrine system in human sebocytes in vitro.