I’ve been looking into Vitamin D lately and what I’m finding is jolting.  It turns out most of us are deficient, and achieving adequate levels is critical to our health…and perhaps to acne.

What vitamin D does in our bodies:  Vitamin D helps keep cells healthy.  Pretty much all of our cells use Vitamin D, including our skin cells, and they don’t work optimally when they don’t have enough.  When our cells don’t have enough Vitamin D, they tend to mature incorrectly.  This may result in cancers, diabetes, stunted growth, muscle weakness, arthritis, bowel disease, and skin conditions like psoriasis and perhaps acne.

We don’t get enough:  Evolution has created the human body to be a well tuned Vitamin D factory which makes just the right amount of Vitamin D for ideal health.  Over billions of years, all the way back to some of the very earliest cellular lifeforms on earth, living things were designed to soak up the sun and produce vitamin D. Throughout human evolution, our species evolved many different skin tones depending on where we lived around the world in order for our skin to soak up just the right amount of sunlight to produce optimal Vitamin D levels. It’s that important.

Some varieties of fish and some fortified foods contain Vitamin D, but the sun is by far the leading way that our bodies get Vitamin D. However, in modern society, most of us no longer get the sun exposure Mother Nature intended, and thus do not produce adequate amounts of Vitamin D.  The darker the skin tone, the more serious the deficiency tends to be, but even people with the light skin are often deficient.  A 2006 Mayo Clinic review reported that 57% of general medicine inpatients in the U.S. were deficient.  Levels were even higher in Europe.  Chances are you may be deficient as well.  My doctor ordered a full blood work done recently, and the one thing he expressed concern about was my slight Vitamin D deficiency.  I take a Vitamin D pill almost every day, but even with this I remain slightly deficient.

What about acne? I’ll be looking more deeply into a possible Vitamin D and acne connection.  Since Vitamin D helps keep cells from overproducing, it makes sense that proper amounts of Vitamin D could help prevent pores from overproducing cells, which is what ends up producing a clogged pore and an ensuing zit.  Supplementation with Vitamin D or topical application of Vitamin D are both potentially an option.  Already, the front line in psoriasis treatment is the application of topical Vitamin D. Could it help with acne too? I think it would be interesting to find out.

How to get enough:  In almost every study I’m reading on Vitamin D deficiency, scientists recommend 5-10 minutes of exposure to the sun during 10am and 3pm, without wearing any SPF.  Since most of us either work or go to school during those times, this can be difficult.  In that case, they normally recommend taking a Vitamin D supplement.  The minimum recommended amount seems to be 1000IU per day.  However, this is what I take each day and I’m still slightly deficient.  I’m considering bumping it up.  Vitamin D can be toxic in super high amounts, but even at levels over 7000IU per day, researchers saw no adverse effects after two months of supplementation.  From what I’m gathering from my reading, Vitamin D3 in particular is a safe choice, and is widely available on store shelves.

I’ve been telling all my friends and family to consider hanging out in the sun a little more, or alternately supplementing with Vitamin D.  I really think it’s important.  For people with acne in particular, I think daily supplementation of fish oil, zinc, a good multivitamin, and at least 1000IU of Vitamin D makes a lot of sense.

I have found no conclusive research linking vitamin D with acne, but then again, I have found no research signaling that there is not a link. This is true for, well, most vitamins and minerals. We can only make educated guesses at this point.

From a common sense perspective, it is logical to ensure adequate amounts of essential vitamins and minerals. Vitamin D is one of the big ones. And since our bodies make vitamin D in the skin (by converting cholesterol), it’s interesting to look into how vitamin D might affect the skin itself, and in our case, acne. Recently, scientists have located vitamin D receptors in the skin, and they are hypothesizing that vitamin D may facilitate normal skin functioning, including playing a potential role in cell maturation as well as perhaps aiding in the fight against skin bacteria. No one knows for sure if, and to what degree, vitamin D might affect acne.

I figure it’s better to be safe than sorry. So how do we get the vitamin D that we need? Exposing the body to the sun for 15 minutes or so at least twice a week during the summer months makes for adequate supplies of vitamin D in lighter skinned people. The darker your skin, the more time that is required. However, in the winter, getting enough sun exposure can be tough. Food manufacturers often fortify dairy products and some juices, cereals, and breads with Vitamin D, so that can help. However, from what we’re learning about a potential dairy and acne connection, many of us are limiting our dairy exposure. Cod liver oil, salmon, and mackerel also provide some vitamin D. Since I personally don’t eat much dairy, bread, or cereal, and since I rarely intake salmon or mackerel, and do not supplement with cod liver oil, I choose to take a vitamin D pill once a day just to be on the safe side.

I hope the scientific community will look into the Vitamin D and acne connection more in the coming years. If I find anything more out about this topic, I’ll be sure to pass it along.

Hey you guys. I wanted to show you the supps that I take each day. I’ve read enough evidence to come to the conclusion that supplementing with fish oil and zinc is prudent. I also supplement with some other stuff, which I thought I’d share. Here’s a list of what I take each day:

Fish oil: Three 1000mg pills. Fish oil is a potent anti-inflammatory. Acne is an inflammatory disease. Plus, fish oil is great for heart health and a bevy of other diseases. No-brainer. I take Country Life brand because they don’t give me any fish burps.

Zinc: There is probably more evidence backing up zinc for controlling acne than any other supplement. Study after study show about 40% reduction in acne lesions. Keep in mind that placebo is 30%, so zinc outpaces placebo, albeit not to an astonishing degree. I take one 30-50mg pill per day, depending on what’s on sale. Zinc becomes toxic at levels above 100mg/day.

Multi-vitamin: Just to cover my bases I take a name brand multi-vitamin. I prefer a large name brand because I figure they’ve got more to lose if they are found negligent in some way, such as not putting the required amount of vitamins in there. From what I’ve read, we don’t know if a multi-vitamin is definitely beneficial, and multi-vitamins do not contain polyphenols, the life-giving chemicals in plants. But taking a multi makes me feel better just in case.

Borage oil/evening primrose oil: Borage oil, or evening primrose oil both contain GLA (gamma linoleic acid). Their anti-inflammatory activity and efficacy are controversial and still up for debate. So why do I take it? Because I saw a naturopath a few years ago and she told me to, so I take them on occasion. Yeah, not a good reason. I’ll probably stop taking them soon But for full disclosure, I thought I’d let you know I take them. If you have recent evidence of their efficacy or non-efficacy please let me know.

Vitamin D3: I take one 1000mg vitamin D3 pill per day. I don’t eat vitamin D fortified dairy much at all, and my sun exposure is limited, so I make sure to take a D3 pill each day.

That’s it. It’s a handful as you can see, but I’ve become adept at gulping them all down in one swig. Have I noticed effects from them? Honestly, not really. But it feels good to take them just for bodily insurance. Hopefully evidence will mount regarding all of the above mentioned supplements so we have a better idea of which are truly beneficial.