I have severe cystic acne and I've tried virtually every product, OTC and prescription, that is available to me. Nothing has worked so far. My last resort is accutane, but I risk major side effects which will effect my already difficult collegiate running career and after reading so many negative responses, I think I'm going to hold off on it while I search for a few more last attempts.
I have been doing a lot of extensive research on the use of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCg) and it's use to treat acne. I have heard many good things about it and not one negative review. I have decided to give it a try now. So with that being said, does anyone have any suggestions on brands, dosages, etc? Any personal experiences, negative or positive? Any additional supplements that either inhibit or assist in bioavailability. Thanks for any help in advance.
Yeah I'd definitely attack diet first. If your diet's off, no amount of EGCG will fix the problem. Conventional dairy, vegetable oil, sugar, and gluten tend to be the biggest triggers in my experience. I do use green tea / matcha for damage control - I have a post about the effects of EGCG on acne here if you're curious:
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(Note to admins - I'll avoid repeatedly linking to my own site, just thought it was pretty relevant here!)
I cant begin to tell you how good my diet regimen is. I haven't had dairy or gluten in over a year. I do not eat any processed ingredieants (high fructise corn syrup, corn syrup, refined sugars, etc.). I rarely have anything with added sugar and if I do, it is unrefined, organic, non gmo. My breakfast consists of egg whites typically with spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, etc. in them and fresh fruit as well. Lunch and dinners consist of spinach salads with other greens such as dandelion leaves, arugula, etc. cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, etc. I do not use dressing because of additives. I very rarely eat red meat. I stick to chicken and turkey. As for grains, I stick to whole grain brown/wild rice or quinoa. I haven't had soda in probably 7 years and I do not drink fruit juices or anything of that sort. I drink only water, tea (mainly green), and almond milk (for calcium). So I dont mean to be rude but I have had this diet for quite some time and have had minimal to no results so I hate oit when people tell me to clean up my diet because I haven't had pizza or a good bagel or anything that I really want in a couple years. So if anyone has any other ideas I would appreciate it. Thank you for the above responses, but I do not think I could do much more with my diet except for go completely vegetarian and just eat raw greens and fruits and that is not an option due to recovery from injury and sports.