111 replies to this topic

[ChrisTOPHER1992]

First, my history of Acne...If you don't feel like knowing my background, scroll down.
-I've had acne from the time I was 12 until 19. I had tried numerous medications for acne, some that worked to kill bacteria so acne couldn't form, and others that worked to balance hormones. Nothing worked and the only time I had perfect skin were the three months during the summer when my acne always clears up. I never cared about having acne until I was about 16 because I thought there was nothing that could be done for me. I accepted having acne on my entire back, chest, and face. Then I finally got tired of watching my friends eat whatever they wanted and still have awesome looking skin, while I had to suffer every time I looked in the mirror. That began my addiction to finding out everything I could about acne so i could figure out how to fix it myself. Anyway, eventually the research began taking over my life. Anytime I wasn't on the computer, thoughts about what I was learning would run through my head, changing my social life greatly. I couldn't help it. I wasnt going to settle for anything less than perfect skin. I've tried many different natural supplements over the past couple years, making sure to include supplements that work together or aid in absorption. If it cleared me up 75% but could never get me to flawless skin, I'd start over with something different. Supplements and remedies Ive tried include Beta-Carotene, B-complex, Ascorbic Acid, Ester-C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Multi-Vitamins, Zinc, Chromium, Fish Oil, Cod Liver Oil, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Spirulina, Barley Grass, Dimpro, Drinking Lime water and Apple Cedar Vinegar, The No-Milk Diet, and of course, Cinnamon. Whenever possible, I also made to sure pay the extra money for the natural supplements with the USP seal, or made sure the Fish Oil and Cod liver oil were from deep sea fish, and not raised on a fish farm. Finally, I've figured out what really causes acne and exactly how to take care of it with one supplement, although I will recommend a few others.

Cinnamon--The Acne Miracle and How to Use it Correctly

We've all heard how acne is caused by imbalance or excess of hormones, which can cause excess oil and cause skin cells to shed faster, causing a mess of blocked pores waiting for bacteria to infect them. But why can some people stuff their face with greasy foods, sugar, and fats and have flawless skin while we can take supplements and better our diet but have new pimples forming every day? Based on what I've found, it's insulin insensitivity. To say that acne is simply caused by an imbalance of hormones due to puberty is ridiculous. Also, with the No-Dairy diet showing results for many people, it's almost impossible to say that diet isn't related to acne. I read an interesting study where researchers looked into a couple hunter/gatherer tribes that still exist. Out of over 1000 people, not a single one had any form of acne. They go through puberty too, correct? So, that definitely supports that the diet-acne connection is more plausible than just saying the excess hormones cause the acne, although the excess hormones do contribute some, as shown by people who's acne cures up in their early twenties when somes acne ceases. I also read a lot on a person who said they changed their diet to eating vegetables and fruits, and drinking only water. He claimed that, although his acne did get better, he could never get the flawless skin. So I tried it, along with cutting out dairy. My acne did get better, but it wasn't near enough to cure my skin the way I wanted it to. Well, here's the correlation between all of this--it all boils down to insulin. The reason some can cure acne with one simple supplement or by eliminating things in their diet, while others can eliminate everything that should cause acne and still not be cured is due to insulin. Basically, the more sugar(glucose) you ingest, the more insulin that is needed to take care of it. So, I believe that the reason some can be cured by eliminating dairy particularly, while others can't be completely cured, is that the ones who's acne is cured do not have insulin insensitivity while the ones who can't cure it DO have insulin insensitivity. To further back this up, it makes sense if you look at another factor--IGF-1. Insulin-like Growth Factor. When you start puberty, IGF-1 are more abundant as your body is developing so much in those years. Once we are out of the stage of puberty, if insulin insensitivity isn't present, then we should be cured of acne. However, as milk consumption increases, more and more people continue to deal with acne after puberty. Most people believe milk causes acne due to the hormones found in the cow's milk, but I find it is more likely that milk causes acne due to the amount of protein in milk, specifically casein although whey is present too. I say this because protein consumption is linked to the release of IGF-1. IGF-1, like insulin, can cause acne through increased oil production and faster skin shedding rate, hence the name "Insulin-Like". Since dropping milk from my diet helped my acne a bit, I decided to cut out proteins such as beef and chicken as well. My acne got even better after that, but still not perfect. So, I added cinnamon(cassia) to my diet in supplement form, based on a study where people in Pakistan with diabetes were given different amounts of cinnamon each day and had decreased blood glucose levels, cholesterol, and more. After 40 days they were taken off the supplement and the ones who had taken the lowest dose showed that the results stayed with them the longest. Along with that, they found the results were not determinant upon the amount taken, which was even more confusing. So, when I added the cinnamon supplement to my diet I was taking 2g in the morning and 2g in the evening, both after a meal. My acne did get better, but once again, I reached a stopping point that couldn't be crossed. My acne wouldn't get better. So, I did more research to see if their were more studies on the topic. While Pakistan had great success, studies in America were found to be inconclusive--the results couldn't be achieved consistently or as well as the study did in Pakistan. So I thought about that for some time. If the amount taken doesn't result differently, yet lower amounts show results are sustained longer, how can this work? Well, I believe what it's showing is that cinnamon, regardless of amount taken, still affects insulin in the exact same way. However, when taking larger amounts, your body gets more used to and reliant upon the larger amounts. When you stop supplementing, it more or less goes into shock, because rather than being slightly helped with the process using low amounts, your body is used to being pushed by the larger amounts. I also found that the researchers told the patients to take the cinnamon immediately after eating, which led me to believe that the effects the cinnamon will have are based on timing. I concluded, in my opinion, that cinnamon must help the insulin before the insulin is used to break down the sugars. Given this, I decided to take .5g at a time, but instead of just taking it morning and night, I took one immediately after each meal throughout the day. Whether it was 3 times a day or 6 times a day, I only took one .5g cinnamon capsule after each meal. What I found was astonishing. The very first day I started this, I saw results from morning to night. Instead of my face and skin getting oily after each meal, the cinnamon kept my face from becoming extremely oily instantaneously. At this time, I had been avoiding proteins and eating fast food. My acne cleared up completely. So I decided to test myself and ate greasy pizza, McDonald's, and anything else I could find bad, still remembering to take a cinnamon capsule immediately after each meal. It worked the same as it did while I was eating healthy. My acne was barely anything after 3 days of starting this cinnamon experiment, and after a week even the blackheads were gone. I've recently added cod liver oil, B complex, E, and Zinc for overall health and to assist with the healing of acne scars that are still slightly left. Cinnamon was the only thing to ever work completely for me, and I'd say my case of acne was among some of the worst. I'm happier than ever.

So, if what I say makes sense to you, or you're as desperate as I was and don't care to try another acne supplement in hopes of reaching flawless skin, cinnamon is worth the try. Remember,

Cinnamon (Cassia) - Find a bottle that has .5g supplements and take immediately after any meal. Try to avoid snacking in between meals as much if you tend to do that.
If you're looking for better complexion as well, I recommend natural cod liver oil, the liquid form if you can stand it, a good B complex vitamin, natural vitamin E, and Zinc Gluconate or Zinc Picolinate. Remember to look for the USP seal as well as this guarantees freshness and testing for many negative things. I recommend enough cod liver oil to get 10,000 IU of Vitamin A. The B complex should require only 1 pill because the amounts we need are small. Vitamin E, I take 400 IU a day. Make Sure when looking for Vitamin E you get the D-alpha Tocopherol and not the D1-alpha tocopherol as the D1 version is synthetic. And with Zinc, I take 50 mg a day. If you have any questions let me know!

Of course, I am not a professional in this field so always consult your doctor before starting a new supplementation for safety!

[dreamingofclearskin2011]

cinnamon cassia .5 gram supplement...
i cant seem to find a picture or any information online where can i get it? GNC only has pure cinnamon cassia oil

[ChrisTOPHER1992]

I found mine at Walmart. CVS should also have them if you live close to one. Also a lot of bottles will say 1g on the label to make you think you're getting more but make sure you check the label and see how many capsules makes 1g. If the serving says 1g and says to take 2 capsules, that means each of their capsules is actually .5g. Just a way to con people into buying their product

[dreamingofclearskin2011]

I found mine at Walmart. CVS should also have them if you live close to one. Also a lot of bottles will say 1g on the label to make you think you're getting more but make sure you check the label and see how many capsules makes 1g. If the serving says 1g and says to take 2 capsules, that means each of their capsules is actually .5g. Just a way to con people into buying their product

okay thanks bubba and it says cassia on the bottle some where?

[ChrisTOPHER1992]

Yeahhh you'll find it by all of the other supplements and vitamins, and in the same kind of bottles. It should literally say Cinnamon on the front, and then just check the white label on the back and it will tell you what type of cinnamon it is.

[dreamingofclearskin2011]

thanks ill give this a shot

[alexisc]

This is really interesting. I have managed to become clear from eating a very restrictive diet (no non-natural sugar, meats, dairy, high glycemic meals, wheat etc) but anytime I falter with the diet I pay for it with my skin. I am going to try this and see if it helps, thanks for the information!

[y3rfd0g]

this is very interesting. I learned in nursing that it is recommmended for diabetics to take cinammon because it helps insulin in managing glucose levels. I think I'm going to try the cinnamon capsules. How much were they?

[ChrisTOPHER1992]

Alexisc--Let me know how it goes!

Y3rfd0g--At Walmart I found a bottle with 180 capsules, each 500mg, which also contain small amounts of chromium. Chromium has been found to possibly be effective for sugar metabolism as well. Anyway, I believe the bottle is 5 bucks, give or take a dollar. Depending on how many times a day you eat, this will last a month or two. Hope all goes well!

[ChrisTOPHER1992]

Y3rfd0g--Also, have you thought about taking cod liver oil instead of just vitamin D3? Many people have had great success with cod liver oil, for what I believe consists of 2 reasons.
1. Vitamin A and D are said to work together. Many things I've read say that Vitamin D isn't absorbed as well without Vitamin A and vice-versa. Since Vitamin A has been linked to oil production control, and Vitamin D is thought to promote normal cell growth (keeping the skin from shedding abnormally fast), it makes sense why many have had success with the cod liver oil combination.
2. If your body isn't absorbing the D like it should, zinc, which has been considered a major link to acne, can't be utilized as well. Many Americans are thought to be zinc deficient, and even more are believed to be Vitamin D deficient. The reason I believe in that is because we supposedly only need roughly 10-15mg of zinc each day. Yet, when recommending zinc for acne, researchers suggested up to 135mg a day. What I think is this -- due to technology keeping us indoors more and the busy American life causing many to suffer with poor diet, people with better skin aren't vitamin D deficient, and therefore don't need to supplement with zinc as their body can utilize the small amounts from food. Those deficient in Vitamin D have trouble absorbing as much zinc so larger amounts must be used to achieve results. This is why I added the combination of Cod liver oil, zinc, and vitamin E (all of these are said to work together, Vitamin E's role being that it keeps Vitamin A from being oxidized, which helps it work with Vitamin D better, in turn allowing for better zinc usage). Again, this is based on loads of research and my opinion, so feel free to disect the argument if something doesn't sound right! I enjoy the criticism!

[bobbi364]

You actually need to take 100% daily values in vitamins and eat a healthy diet. Your body never digests all the things you eat, specially zinc, which is around 30% digestion of whatever is ingested (on average). Take a daily multi-vitamin. You should be getting 30mg of zinc. However most of these are achievable in the western diet, deficiencies are a rare thing the western world.

[ChrisTOPHER1992]

Bobbi-The point is that no, we don't actually NEED those vitamins and healthy diet because many people can diet terribly every day and remain acne-free. The reason for this has been explain above. To further help explain I found another research which found that the reason for some having insulin insensitivity is due to body composition. They explained how their are 2 insulin receptors that determine how much glucose is cleared from the blood. They are called the adipocyte receptor(clears far less glucose) and myocyte(clears far more glucose). Far more people are having a much higher ratio of adipocyte receptors to myocyte receptors than we normally should have, which means it takes a lot more insulin to break down the sugars. They also believe that could explain the growing type 2 Diabetes rate. You can find that info here
http://thepaleodiet....lished-research
It's called Evolution, Body Composition and Insulin Resistance

[Omnivium]

Great post, I have a few questions about it.

So cinnamon works by lowering blood glucose levels and increasing insulin sensitivity?

Does lowering blood glucose make you tired or decrease your energy?

How bad was your acne and oil before you tried cinnamon?

Can you eat whatever you want without breaking out now?

[dreamingofclearskin2011]

whats up omni ive done a little research since reading this guys post i believe that the cinnamon actually reduces blood sugar levels AND inceases insulin
i believe what is happening here is that before all the sugar gets a change to enter the blood stream the cinnamon some how helps the insulin sensativity to be more healthy? i guess for us helping us not get acne from junk. which most unk food turns into sure in the blood stream.

any way i may be wrong ive only done a little research but i went to the store and bought some myself any way today! theyre standard sized pills smell so good! i also got yogurt for the first time in months and ate some with bueberries and i busted open a cinnamon capsule and poored it all over my yogurt HOLY CRAP it was SO GOOD im going to wamr up some cut apples in the microwave and bust some more cinnamon on them as well to make apple pie snacks LOL im also going to take them as pill form but i figured either way im getting the cinnamon in my system whether pill or busted open on some food hahah i really hope this works!!

thanks alot for this post chris ill let you know how this goes as i continue my journy with cinnamon..

i have a question though if i dont have diabetes or high blood sugar levels or anything is it still safe to mess with my insulin levels like this? or could it be hurting me internally?

im going to take 1 capsule every meal as suggested i got the 1000mg cinnamon cassia but the bottle says you have to take 2 so that = .5g a capsule. on sale for 4 bucks!
thanks again! wish me luck!

Edited by dreamingofclearskin2011, 16 January 2012 - 09:08 AM.

[Omnivium]

Hey man it's nice to see someone trying this already. I'll add it to my list of things to try, but it'll be awhile before I actually use it.

I'm kinda jealous that you get to use a supplement that actually tastes good. And it probably works better in powder form when you don't have to break down a capsule first.

I was kind of wondering that too. How do you know if your blood sugar is too high or too low? And does insulin resistance make your blood sugar higher?

[dreamingofclearskin2011]

i read a few people that tried this dotty said she didnt have any problems at all with her blood sugar but she tried it and it worked. and the OP i believe does not have problems with blood sugar. i read the bottle and it says that you can open the capsules and take them in powder on food im going to just do that instead because it taste fo freaking good apples and cinnamon HECK YES you should try it now bro its only 4 bucks

[dreamingofclearskin2011]

dude im going cinnamon crazy!!! cinnamon on everything!!!! i hope this woks on acne cause i could eat this stuff every day!

[bobbi364]

Chris, there are countless research papers that suggest the opposite from what you state, however, there is some discrepancies with this.  The normal western diet actually contains pretty much all the vitamins and minerals one needs, and I view (so do many other doctors) vitamins/supplements to be a guarantee rather than a necessity.  Vitamin/mineral deficiencies are very very rare in the Western Diet (even if you eat only fats/junk food).  I personally do not diet, and do not believe diet is a main cause of acne.  It isn't diet, it is digestive issues, that are not caused by diet alone, they would still exist even on a diet, however, one can soften the impact by dieting.  The main reason people get acne is hormonal, then secondary triggers can exist (such as allergies, digestive track issues, and then lastly vitamin/fat deficiencies).  It has been well known since the 70s that Zinc/Magnesium deficiencies, and low omega-3 fat content is expressed and connected with acne patients.  It is also well documented that DHT testosterone is the main problem behind acne, in both males and females.  I am not sure positive if/what, natural herbs can do, neither is the scientific field, however I am never against trying new things.

Your regime/success is good news, and I agree that some people can have insulin issues, but clearly this is not the main issue with everyone.  From my experience and personal research acne is sourced from DHT testosterone, and has nothing to do with insulin or diet.

High levels of insulin significantly lower if not totally cut off two other hormones. Glucagon and Sex Hormone Binding Globulin. Glucagon is basically insulin’s adversary, also produced in the same part of the pancreas. Glucagon removes artherosclerotic plaques, lowers triglycerides and improves overall blood flow. So if very high insulin exist it is a likely issue for DHT production and could potentially affect acne.

Edited by bobbi364, 16 January 2012 - 07:51 PM.

[Omnivium]

i read a few people that tried this dotty said she didnt have any problems at all with her blood sugar but she tried it and it worked. and the OP i believe does not have problems with blood sugar. i read the bottle and it says that you can open the capsules and take them in powder on food im going to just do that instead because it taste fo freaking good apples and cinnamon HECK YES you should try it now bro its only 4 bucks

I don't really trust Dotty1 anymore. It seems like she was known for claiming something got her clear, then a few weeks later claiming that something else got her clear, without saying why she stopped using the first thing. I got that impression from this thread: http://www.acne.org/...__fromsearch__1 And on page 2 of this thread http://www.acne.org/...on/page__st__20 , she answered 3 years later and said that she had stopped using cinnamon.

Maybe I will move cinnamon up on my list if people start getting results from it, but I have been waiting a long time to try betaine HCL and digestive enzymes, so I'm going to try those first.

[ChrisTOPHER1992]

Bobbi- Yes, regardless of the topic being argued there will be plenty of research all stating different things. That being said, it doesn't take a genius to realize that countries as a whole who have less fat, carb, and sugar in their diets have less acne. I agree 100% that hormones are part of the problem, but when I said hormones being the cause of acne is ridiculous, I mean that saying puberty is the reason we have acne is extremely false, because not everyone gets it, and because many people have acne after puberty. Insulin is a hormone, too. Also, part of the reason I believe hormones are some of the problem is due to the high number of girls I know who only get acne around that time of the month. However, don't girls seem much more stressed out around that time? And isn't stress linked to making skin or acne worse? Well, the interesting thing is that stress is linked to increase in blood sugar. When we get stressed out, our bodies secrete glucocorticoids to combat it. These glucocorticoids do many things to our body in defense, but one thing it also does is spike blood sugar. Glucocorticoids are supposedly secreted in a way to try and get your body used to the stress you experience, comparable to lifting weights (your body rebuilds the muscle to compensate for the heavier loads). However, Glucocorticoids are thought to actually suppress the defense systems instead of help them out when the levels are too high. Since insulin is such a powerful and important hormone, and many things that are related to acne can be linked back to blood sugar, I believe cinnamon will work better than anything else overall for acne due to its effects.


Also--If you ARE right about digestive issues being the cause, that could also be linked back to this^ If you are having trouble digesting, this puts physical stress on your body, leading to excess glucocorticoids, and leading to spiked blood sugar. Makes sense now why many people have seen improvements when cutting out dairy and meat as those are much harder for our body to digest. Milk is said to be the number one thing to eliminate from diet for acne, and has even been linked recently to an increase to heart disease and other serious illnesses, given that after a certain age in our young childhood, many people cannot even digest milk properly. Seems to be a common correlation between most things said to cause acne.

Edited by ChrisTOPHER1992, 16 January 2012 - 10:28 PM.