19 replies to this topic

[AthleticHunta]

I know they both work in the same way, accutane is a modified version of vitamin A. I have been breaking out a bit for some reason, I know milk had something to do with it, but I seem to be getting small cluters of little bumps on my cheeks and jaw.

Thanks in advance.

Edited by AthleticHunta, 06 December 2010 - 12:11 AM.

[OmegaisJaded]

Hmm, I think the way beta carotene works is by helping you synthesize your own vitamin a...so if I'm right then your body would discard the rest. Do not quote me on that,though. I can't even remember where I heard that.So it has a high chance of being wrong.

If I AM wrong,then it would take a lot of carrots to do what accutane does. A retinoid is a synthetic compound that is much,much stronger than plant sources of vitamin A. You could not even begin to consume that many carrots.

I have heard people megadosing on vit A supplements,but that is very unhealthy. Consuming large amounts of vitamin A when you're not under the supervision of a doctor is retarded. You get blood tests done monthly when on tane to make sure it's not harming you.

[Jaerid]

I take 15,000 IU beta carotene daily with 10,000 IU of renityl acetate

[Lima]

Carrots have a lot of sugar in them, so I would get your vitamin A from somewhere else as the sugars might be causing your bumps.

[AthleticHunta]

Thanks for the help /: . Well I already read in many places that the beta carotene in carrots helping acne is a myth. carrots help, but from what i hear beta carotene is not y.

Edited by AthleticHunta, 06 December 2010 - 12:31 PM.

[Dotty1]

Many people have trouble converting Beta Carotene to Vitamin A. For example, those with Celiac Disease, hypothyroidism, diabetes. All three of these diseases are VERY common so that means a lot of people. And about 90% of people who are Celiac don't know it and the same goes for hypothyridism.

But I did take 40,000 IU of Vitamin A (not Beta Carotene but cod liver oil) a few weeks ago and my complexion cleared immediately. The results were obvious the next day -- the pores were closed, the huge active infections had almost completely disappeared over night. I suppose this is why the pharmaceutical industry created "retin-A" without telling the public that plain vitamin A would work . But, just like retin-A, high doses of Vitamin A can be toxic to the liver so I lowered my dose to 10,000 IU a day (that is the only dose sold in the health food stores!!) so it helps my skin while I try to find the root of my acne. It may be wise to find a dose of 8,000 IU -- but I cannot find this low amount in the stores.

When I take beta carotene supplements, my skin turns orange immediately which means that my body isn't efficiently converting beta carotene to vitamin A. This probably due to some underlying health problem.

BUT!!!! If you are a female who is pregnant or can BECOME pregnant, do NOT use this method because Vitamin A can severely damage the fetus (horrible birth defects). That means if you are having sex you can become pregnant. Doctors who prescribe Retin-A to females must make sure they are using at least 2 forms of birth control. I just wouldn't risk it though.

Edited by Dotty1, 08 December 2010 - 11:57 AM.

[Jaerid]

Surprisingly enough, 10,000 IU of RETINYL ACETATE (not beta carotene) has seemed to help my skin immensely. I was taking 5,000 IU a day... and my skin was going through a slight purge, if I remember correctly. It only lasted for about a week/2 weeks. I adjusted my dosage to what I'm taking now and I've stayed pretty clear.

Edited by Mirrfiak, 07 December 2010 - 08:39 PM.

[Dotty1]

Surprisingly enough, 10,000 IU of RETINYL ACETATE (not beta carotene) has seemed to help my skin immensely. I was taking 5,000 IU a day... and my skin was going through a slight purge, if I remember correctly. It only lasted for about a week/2 weeks. I adjusted my dosage to what I'm taking now and I've stayed pretty clear.

I read that 10,000 IU or more each day has been linked to bone fractures. I am using the same dosage as you are just to keep the really bad infections under control while I try to find the underlying cause of my acne. I suggest you try Vitamin D3 -- about 5000-10,000 IU daily -- because that also immensely helped my skin.

[alternativista]

Your body is only going to make as much vitamin A as it needs, and use the rest of the beta carotene as an anti-oxident.

And try sweet potatoes, broccoli, kale, spinach etc for better, more nutrient dense sources of beta carotene. Don't binge on carrots.

Edited by alternativista, 08 December 2010 - 03:50 PM.

[Jaerid]

Your body is only going to make as much vitamin A as it needs, and use the rest of the beta carotene as an anti-oxident.

And try sweet potatoes, broccoli, kale, spinach etc for better, more nutrient dense sources of beta carotene. Don't binge on carrots.

If I take 10,000 IU of Retinyl Acetate A... and I eat a sweet-potato, what will happen to the beta carotene from the potato? I've been kind of wary of eating foods with Vit A in them because I think I might over-dose

[greentiger87]

Your body is only going to make as much vitamin A as it needs, and use the rest of the beta carotene as an anti-oxident.

And try sweet potatoes, broccoli, kale, spinach etc for better, more nutrient dense sources of beta carotene. Don't binge on carrots.

If I take 10,000 IU of Retinyl Acetate A... and I eat a sweet-potato, what will happen to the beta carotene from the potato? I've been kind of wary of eating foods with Vit A in them because I think I might over-dose

Don't ever worry about "overdosing" on plant-based Vitamin A (really pro-Vitamin A). If you don't need it, your body won't convert the beta-carotene into retinol. There is a tiny chance, that if you eat beta-carotene containing foods all day every day for weeks on end, you might get a orange-ish tint to your skin. Harmless, but not exactly desirable... It doesn't sound like you should be remotely worried about that though.

Don't let Vitamin A scare you away from eating veggies!

[Jaerid]

Your body is only going to make as much vitamin A as it needs, and use the rest of the beta carotene as an anti-oxident.

And try sweet potatoes, broccoli, kale, spinach etc for better, more nutrient dense sources of beta carotene. Don't binge on carrots.

If I take 10,000 IU of Retinyl Acetate A... and I eat a sweet-potato, what will happen to the beta carotene from the potato? I've been kind of wary of eating foods with Vit A in them because I think I might over-dose

Don't ever worry about "overdosing" on plant-based Vitamin A (really pro-Vitamin A). If you don't need it, your body won't convert the beta-carotene into retinol. There is a tiny chance, that if you eat beta-carotene containing foods all day every day for weeks on end, you might get a orange-ish tint to your skin. Harmless, but not exactly desirable... It doesn't sound like you should be remotely worried about that though.

Don't let Vitamin A scare you away from eating veggies!

Sweet-potatoes 7 days a week!

[alternativista]

Your body is only going to make as much vitamin A as it needs, and use the rest of the beta carotene as an anti-oxident.

And try sweet potatoes, broccoli, kale, spinach etc for better, more nutrient dense sources of beta carotene. Don't binge on carrots.

If I take 10,000 IU of Retinyl Acetate A... and I eat a sweet-potato, what will happen to the beta carotene from the potato? I've been kind of wary of eating foods with Vit A in them because I think I might over-dose

Plants don't contain A, they contain beta carotene. Animals convert it to A, so only animal products contain any vitamin A.

[clairebear6292]

This is really interesting... but why not just take vitamin A supplements instead of Beta Carotene? Its already converted then?

[greentiger87]

This is really interesting... but why not just take vitamin A supplements instead of Beta Carotene? Its already converted then?

Beta-carotene is extremely common, in large amounts, in many plant foods. Consuming it allows your body to regulate the amount of vitamin A you have circulating more closely, because it can increase or decrease the rate of conversion. In pretty well established theory, this lets your body convert only the optimal amount of Vitamin A. The bottom line is, you can't practically overdose (even slightly) on beta-carotene.

When you take true Vitamin A supplements, you run the risk of overdosing. Vitamin A has particularly well-documented and serious side effects from overdosing. Your liver has to work quite hard to detoxify the excess Vitamin A. In the meantime, it circulates and acts on retinoid receptors - hence its effect on acne.

Beta-carotene also has its own biological activity, independent of being a pro-vitamin. It's a fairly potent antioxidant, for example, and may have cancer-fighting properties.

It's unlikely you'll get the acne-fighting benefits of Vitamin A from beta-carotene, as its essentially having more of it than you need in your system that causes sebum reduction, etc. It's a not a strategy I personally support, but if that's what you want to do, beta-carotene won't cut it.

[Ichance23]

Many people have trouble converting Beta Carotene to Vitamin A. For example, those with Celiac Disease, hypothyroidism, diabetes. All three of these diseases are VERY common so that means a lot of people. And about 90% of people who are Celiac don't know it and the same goes for hypothyridism.

But I did take 40,000 IU of Vitamin A (not Beta Carotene but cod liver oil) a few weeks ago and my complexion cleared immediately. The results were obvious the next day -- the pores were closed, the huge active infections had almost completely disappeared over night. I suppose this is why the pharmaceutical industry created "retin-A" without telling the public that plain vitamin A would work . But, just like retin-A, high doses of Vitamin A can be toxic to the liver so I lowered my dose to 10,000 IU a day (that is the only dose sold in the health food stores!!) so it helps my skin while I try to find the root of my acne. It may be wise to find a dose of 8,000 IU -- but I cannot find this low amount in the stores.

When I take beta carotene supplements, my skin turns orange immediately which means that my body isn't efficiently converting beta carotene to vitamin A. This probably due to some underlying health problem.

BUT!!!! If you are a female who is pregnant or can BECOME pregnant, do NOT use this method because Vitamin A can severely damage the fetus (horrible birth defects). That means if you are having sex you can become pregnant. Doctors who prescribe Retin-A to females must make sure they are using at least 2 forms of birth control. I just wouldn't risk it though.

no sources. no credibility

[AKL]

no sources. no credibility

Nice bump... Coming from someone who doesn't pay much attention to his own sources (i.e. mostly blogs). In case you haven't noticed: 99% of the posts don't mention sources. You could have quoted every single post in this topic, for example.

[Ichance23]

no sources. no credibility

Nice bump... Coming from someone who doesn't pay much attention to his own sources (i.e. mostly blogs). In case you haven't noticed: 99% of the posts don't mention sources. You could have quoted every single post in this topic, for example.

fail

[AKL]

fail

Exactly.

[Ichance23]

no sources. no credibility

Nice bump... Coming from someone who doesn't pay much attention to his own sources (i.e. mostly blogs). In case you haven't noticed: 99% of the posts don't mention sources. You could have quoted every single post in this topic, for example.

okay sorry

Edited by Ichance23, 08 December 2012 - 08:57 PM.