138 replies to this topic

[databased]

I remember reading that one shouldn't take zinc with dairy because the calcium disrupts the absorption of zinc.

Interesting, but of course it begs the question "what form of zinc?" Or, did they simply try to measure "zinc levels" (in serum? hair? urine? feces?) in people taking in different doses of calcium.

I find this study [PubMed ID: 17712948] interesting in Chinese adolescents. It claimed either no effect or increased absorption for zinc, depending on the subgroup. I still lean more towards the thought that dairy's effect on acne is more related to hormones (cow's milk is, after all, just filtered cow's blood -- so it's full of cow hormones) than to its calcium content. If it were the calcium, I would hope to see significant acne variation with how "hard" (full of calcium carbonate) the local drinking water is, and can find no such effect.

I'm still looking for whatever study might have spawned the lore that calcium decreases absorption of zinc. Recent studies do not seem to support the idea.

I'm also interested to hear about stomach upset in people taking zinc picolinate. I'm not known for having a strong stomach, but have had no problem with 180mg/day zinc picolinate (divided into 3 doses). Of course, the strongest predictor of nausea is always whether or not you expect nausea (that big ol' nerve from the brain to the gut transmits both ways!), so the best experiment would be to have someone slip you the zinc when you're not looking :-). I guess I did worry about feeling a little queasy one day, but I kinda hate to blame the zinc on a day when I ate 4 ice cream sandwiches :-).

And, for anybody doing their own zinc experiment, you might want to go all out and hit all the nutritional factors that have been implicated in acne: zinc, folic acid, selenium, chromium and omega-3 fatty acids.

[ctbo]

Data is that all you're taking to clear you're acne is the zinc picolinate?Do you find eating anything with cheese like pizza or cheese on a sandwitch or grated cheese on spaghetti or milk makes you break out at all while on the zinc picolinate?what about milf in coffee or tea does that make you break out at all while taking the zinc picolinate?I will be interested to hear you're answer.

[CoolGuy68]

I've been off dairy for about 10 months now, with varied results. I have much less oily skin since starting the zinc supplements. I've also read something else interesting, to avoid soy while taking zinc. I myself have suffered from acne for about 28 years now.

what about milf in coffee or tea

Sure, who wouldn't like to have a little milf in the morning with their coffee & tea, sounds like a fabulous start to anyone's day

[databased]

Do you find eating anything with cheese

Previously in this thread, I posted my dairy experiment using ice cream sandwiches (I normally avoid dairy). It was a disaster, and my initial conclusion was that zinc picolinate was useless for me against any dairy-inspired acne. However, I realize now that that was the same time I switched brands of zinc picolinate, so I have to try to retain a little skepticism. I think it unlikely, but cannot yet rule out that my latest brand of zinc picolinate (NOW Foods) is ineffective. I definitely had small amounts of cheese (e.g., half a large pizza that had a modest amount of cheese on it) while I was clear with zinc without having any outbreak whatsoever.

And, as someone pointed out previously in this thread, I can't rule out that it's not zinc picolinate in combination with something else that I've been taking/eating/drinking for years that did the trick. The only way to answer that question for my case is to return to being clear on zinc picolinate, then try to drop other substances one at a time

There certainly are other things in the old pillcase that have been associated with acne improvement in studies, though I haven't seen them help me: folic acid, selenium, fish oil pills, and chromium GTF. Those are the things that would be first on my list to do elimination tests with, to see if their combination with zinc picolinate is key. However, since each test can take multiple weeks, that will take me some months to attempt. The chromium GTF interests me, since there is conflicting data to imply it plays key roles in insulin activity (getting back to the theory that total glycemic load is the root of much acne). However, there is much voodoo and bad science associated with chromium; two different people selling "chromium GTF" may be selling two pretty different substances (I use Natural Factors "Chromium GTF Chelate", FWIW, which ain't much :-).

[CoolGuy68]

I discontinued all dairy products in March of last year. I thought that this was it! However, during the summer months broke out like crazy on the verge of turning 40!!! The "milk theory" is kind of a "grey area" at best. Upon reading this thread, I bought some Zinc Gluconate, I did 2 X 50mg for a week with some improvement. After doing more research, bought some Chelated Zinc Gluconate. After only 3 days, seeing major improvement taking 2 X 50mg again. I am not in any rush to run out and buy a crapload of dairy products! Even if the acne finally goes into complete remission, my face has been totally destroyed by acne, the damage has been done...

[AltaPGT]

The megadoses of NOW zinc picolinate had no effect on me. Just puttin in my experience. That is the brand I tried previously with no effect also. Wish zinc picolinate was easier to find locally in a different brand so that I could try that just in case.

[ctbo]

I bought zinc picolinate made by zolgar.the pills are only 22mg each i have worked up to 3 a day i will keep you posted on how its doing so far everythings the same but i just started taking them a week ago.in a few days i will up it to 4 pills a day.but yeah I really try not to eat any dairy at all milk cheese etc.when i went out with my friend to get something to eat I really didnt know what to order everything had cheese in it ugh.I told them pasta with butter no cheese but then again i thought wait a minute butter is made with milk in it hmmm.I really dont know how far to go with this.But i started with no fast food anymore and no soda and no coffee anymore i have seen a slight improvment from just not eating those things.freaking acne sucks i wish there was a cure i know thre isnt but i can dream.I wish you all luck.

[ctbo]

I just looked on my bottle of zinc picolinate it says it has calcium in it.milk has this in it right?you think this would be a bad think for the zinc to have in it?just wondering.

[AltaPGT]

Who knows, maybe the calcium doesn't hinder absorption. Scientists tend to not know shit about shit when it comes to food/diet/health, thats why theres so much conflicting evidence lol. I wouldn't worry about it, and it doesn't block absorption totally, just a small fraction if at all.

[ctbo]

I know you're taking alot of zinc but how much zinc is really safe to take a day?on the now bottle it says only take one 50 mg pill a day.we all want to clear up out acne but we dont wanna hurt our bodies but over doing on zinc picolinate.ill have to search somemore on it.how many mg of this form of zinc do you take a day if you're taking it?

[princesspimple]

I've been off dairy for about 10 months now, with varied results. I have much less oily skin since starting the zinc supplements. I've also read something else interesting, to avoid soy while taking zinc. I myself have suffered from acne for about 28 years now.

what about milf in coffee or tea

Sure, who wouldn't like to have a little milf in the morning with their coffee & tea, sounds like a fabulous start to anyone's day

LMAO...that's pretty funny.

[AltaPGT]

Any updates on this?

[ctbo]

I was wondering the same thing any updates guys?

[WydGlyd]

OK, I'll chime in. I had a tough time finding the Zinc picolinate, so I went to the net. I found some at cheapvitamins.com . I take between 150mg-200mg a day. They are 50mg tabs, and I'll usually take one with breakfast, one with lunch, and two with supper. That's it. No changes to my diet at all, well, mostly anyway. I have tried to cut back on soda, that is my biggest weakness. I have mild to moderate acne on my face, and IMO BAD acne on my back, and shoulders. I'm 34 and have tried for many years to beat this. I can honestly say, that after two weeks of this Zinc regimen, I can see honest improvement. I have seen no new breakouts, and a LOT of the acne that was existing is, and has dried up. Also a nice benefit is that a lot of the scaring that had been there for years is beginning to heal ! I have been telling my self that this is just happy thinking, or the power of persuasion, but this morning when I got in the shower, I could REALLY see a marked improvement. My face.... not so much, but thats ok for now. Like I said, my face acne is somewhat mild. In fact when I went to the Derm. two weeks ago, the girl asking me my health concerns questions looked at me funny and said "you don't have bad enough skin to come here" ! SO, I can wait for my face to heal, as long as my bacne clears up soon ! I really want to offer my thanks to "databased" who ever you are for posting this information ! I have been very great-full for this and hopefully will continue to be. ! I say, if you haven't tried this yet go for it !

[yayagirl57]

database

Glad you found what works! I read somewhere a few years back that your body's chemistry
changes every 7 years. So it makes sense to me that what did not work for you in the past
may work for you now. I have tried alot of supplements, but have never gotten as close to
being as "free" as you are. I will try for starters the 60 mg X 3 a day of the zinc picolinate.
Again good for you! Glad you found it!

[AriesRising]

I'll chime in too. I took databased story and decided to give it a try myself. I started taking 100 mg (50mg 2xday) zinc picolanate on the 26th and I can already tell a difference. I have no new zits anywhere! My back was my worst acne zone too and after just a couple days I can tell that the old zits are healing and my skin is so soft! I also added vit E at the same time so I guess it could be because of both but hey, I'll take it! I really hope this continues to work for me and I'll keep you all updated after a couple weeks of trying it out.

I say give it a try if your reading this thread and still trying to decide, what can it hurt really? And, it's cheap to boot so why not?

[alternativista]

Huh. It was thirty years for me too. And zinc was the first thing that ever helped me. But I took it along with C and a B-complex, which are also beneficial to acne in a variety of ways.

But it was diet that cleared me. And one of the many ways that a low-glycemic diet can help is because fructose, especially High-fructose corn syrup, chelates metals from the blood, which can lead/add to a zinc deficiency since it's in everything if you eat processed foods and drinks.

[chapstick1]

dude you take 200 mg of zinc a day im happy its working for you but that can be really bad for you..did you change you're diet at all?..do you eat dairy and fast food?soda?just wondering...you may wanna read this link.zinc info

[databased]

dude you take 200 mg of zinc a day im happy its working for you but that can be really bad for you..did you change you're diet at all?..do you eat dairy and fast food?soda?just wondering...you may wanna read this link.

Over the years, I've tried many, many diet experiments. I've seen bad outbreaks while on a almost-no carbs diet, and I've seen my skin have a good week while eating nothing but fast food and sodas. In summary, the only consistent relationship I've found between my diet and my acne has been that dairy makes it worse -- so I've generally avoided dairy for many years (but of course, that didn't cure my acne, only decreased the worst episodes).

As mentioned earlier in this thread, I'm not interested in taking huge zinc doses forever. And, in fact, the doses I'm taking are significantly smaller than used in some research studies on zinc and acne. Now that I've discovered (see newer thread) that it appears I have to combine zinc picolinate with something else to be "cured", I'm hopeful that I'll be able to significantly decrease the dose of zinc and still have clear skin.

Although I had not seen the link you supplied, I have read the complete research study (observational, aka the least useful class of study that can be done) they allude to. All I can say is that if you read all the published research on the relationship of zinc to prostate cancer, you'll find that it's not a simple relationship. For example, the fact that zinc can decrease PSA and that prostate tissue is zinc-depleted in prostate cancer makes many researchers quite skeptical that the truth will turn out to be anything as simple as "zinc causes prostate cancer". It may be, for example, that zinc helps prevent prostate cancer if you don't have it, but exacerbates it if you do already have prostate cancer. I don't think any competent researcher at this point would claim that we understand the detailed relationship between the two.

[yayagirl57]

databased,

I tried the zinc 180 mgs for 2 days and had the most horrific metallic taste in my mouth.
Anyone else experience that? It could be that coffee or something else I ate could have caused it
also. I am trying Dan's products now, day 3 and so far the only problem I encountered was
that last night the application of BP burned a little. I've used 2.5 BP before, but my skin may
just be adjusting to his formula or maybe I put on more than in the past. Will stick with the
regimen though.