List your supplements

[jksl 1]

I just wanted to know what supplements you guys are taking. Please post the exact brand you are taking

And do you think they are helping you?

[Quality 0]

i dont have the patience to go look at all the bottles for the brand

MSM

Niacin IH flush free

Vitamin A,B complex, C, E

Chromium

Zinc

Fish Oils

Magnesium

Lipoic Acid

Copper

Selenium

and without a doubt they have helped me. Theyve done 10x more than any antibiotics have done or expensive prescription topicals. I just started taking Niacin last week and i think its been the power punch to the mild acne flairups i was still getting. Just last winter i had moderate to severe acne and thought there was nothing to fix it. A friend of mine reccommended Zinc and Vitamin A, after a few days i saw an improvement. So I searched online for other vitamins that would help acne sufferers. There was a lot of trial and error, but these are what has worked for me. It may seem like a lot, but these supps also have restored my hairline which seemed to be gradually receeding and have given me more energy and less fatigue.

[Packerfan785 2]

Zinc

Chromium

B-Complex

Vitamin A (10,000 IU)

Vitamin E

Vitamin C

Calcium + Magnesium + Vitamin D

I am also going to order Chia Seeds for a source of Omega 3 that will not go rancid.

They help, but do not clear me. I think large amounts of Omega 3 might make a big difference though.

Edited September 4, 2009 by Packerfan785

[Packerfan785 2]

I am going to try a probiotic "megadose" though.

[strato 1]

Calcium + Magnesium

B complex

No flush Niacin (soon)

Taurine

zinc

I stopped taking fish oil and selenium. zinc and taurine will soon follow.

To Packerfan785: I'm also going to try probiotics to speed up my internal cleansing. Does it matter which products you buy? I don't even know which ones are available, but I guess I'll go to the pharmacy and buy what they have randomly...

[jksl 1]

Thanks for the replies. But, can at least some of you post the brands you are taking?

[strato 1]

Thanks for the replies. But, can at least some of you post the brands you are taking?

Just buy what's expensive. Cheap stuff is usually crap...

[Stephen01 0]

Thanks for the replies. But, can at least some of you post the brands you are taking?

Just buy what's expensive. Cheap stuff is usually crap...

I would recommend just going to an online vitamin store like iherb.com and search for the vitamin you're looking to buy then sort your results by best selling. Usually other people will do the work for you as to what is the best one to buy.

[jksl 1]

Just buy what's expensive. Cheap stuff is usually crap...

Expensive or not, i'm primarily concerned about fillers and excipients.

Come on, don't be lazy. At least post the name of the brand of just one of your supplements. Just one.

[jksl 1]

I would recommend just going to an online vitamin store like iherb.com and search for the vitamin you're looking to buy then sort your results by best selling. Usually other people will do the work for you as to what is the best one to buy.

I do that all the time. I'm more interested in what you guys here at acne.org are taking.

but these supps also have restored my hairline which seemed to be gradually receeding and have given me more energy and less fatigue.

how much of your hairline was restored? would you say as much as one finger width?

[Stephen01 0]

A couple of the best brands that I tend to buy are Jarrow Formulas, Doctor's Best, and NOW.

Edited September 4, 2009 by Stephen01

[jksl 1]

A couple of the best brands that I tend to buy are Jarrow Formulas, Doctor's Best, and NOW.

Thank you

[AKL 1238]

• Spirulina
• Chlorella

Both unbranded, own import from a guy I know and from good sources (the same as well-known brands). I take a lot of these pills: a total of 18 spirulina pills and 30 chlorella pills daily. I swallow the chlorella pills 5 at a time, so it's not taking me 5 minutes everytime. And since both of them are food sources instead of just supplements it's no problem taking so much (doubling the dose would be no problem at all).

• Solgar zinc picolinate 22 mg - 1 daily
• Now Opti-L-zinc 30 mg with 300 mcg copper - 1 daily (not sure about the "Now" brand, I hear mixed stories about the quality of their supplements)
• Vitakruid Fish oil 1000 mg - 1 daily (Dutch brand). Will be switching to Marinol 2 x 480 mg daily soon.
• Essential Organics vitamin C 1500 mg - 1 daily
• Bonusan vitamin D3 15 mcg (600 IU) - 2 x 2 daily
• Solgar niacinamide 550 mg - 1 daily

Especially spirulina and zinc have reduced my moderate-severe acne by about 95% last year (I was also taking Maca at that time, that may have helped in the initial stage as well). Since this year I'm pretty stable at 99%. I have a feeling that since taking D3 and niacinamide things are even improving further, but I realize it takes some time (I've been taking them for about 2 weeks now). I try to avoid vegetable oils, have only a little dairy, no milk (I like to believe that I'm not a cow so why should I drink its milk), and absolutely no soy milk as that has given me the biggest and longest lasting breakout ever last year (only a couple of glasses a day for about a week). Besides that I can eat and drink just about anything I want. Since taking spirulina, chlorella and zinc I haven't been ill for a single day, which in my opinion is a nice side effect. What I found is that being positive, not stressing and having a good sleeping routine are extremely important factors too (though I tend to forget about the sleeping routine lately, it's just too busy).

Edit: I forgot to mention the spirulina/chlorella doses: spirulina 3 x 3 grams daily, chlorella 3 x 2.5 grams daily.

Edited September 5, 2009 by AKL

[Quality 0]

but these supps also have restored my hairline which seemed to be gradually receeding and have given me more energy and less fatigue.

how much of your hairline was restored? would you say as much as one finger width?

it had gone back about 1/2 an inch on both sides. i really wasnt too concerned with it, but when i noticed fine hairs starting to grow in, i was pretty hype. Its been said that selenium and zinc help with preventing balding, but im not too sure exactly which supplement(s) were responsible

[Swits 0]

500 mg of flush Niacin

1000 mg of fish oil

200 mcg of chromium

50 mg of zinc picolinate

vitamin supplements definitely have an effect on my acne. i first started taking zinc and that reduced a lot of the swelling and severity of breakouts. it also made my skin heal faster. i take fish oil just to be healthy in general, i dont think it affects my acne that much. i started taking niacin a month ago and it was great in the beginning so the results started fading. then i added chromium and it seems like thats getting me back to the skin i had before.

AKL your right. ever since i started taking zinc i barely get sick. i often share bottles with my friends that are sick and coughing their guts out, i have yet to be sick. its amazing and i think zinc is my favourite supplement of all.

Edited September 4, 2009 by Swits

[ZBlue 0]

Ok here are my supplements:

Zinc (Blackmores Skin Support), approx 30mg total of zinc amino acid chelate - been taking for over a month, haven't noticed anything yet

Vitamin A (Thompsons Vitamin A), approx 30,000 IU a day - taking that amount for a few weeks, haven't noticed anything...

Cod Liver Oil (Red Seal Cod Liver Oil), with Vitamin A and D - taking for two months, not noticing anything

Saw palmetto tea (Blessed Earth Herbals) - only been drinking for 4 days

Detoxing herbs, milkthistle, calendula, dandelion, cleavers (Blessed Earth Herbals) - only been drinking for 4 days

I also have a small, natural topical regimen. Tea tree oil was strong and made a big difference to my acne, so its hard to notice if supplements are working, but I will give them patience

[heyaawhatsupp 1]

2 Vitamin B-50 Complex

1 Milk Thistle

6 Evening Primrose Oil (GLA)

ACV

Olive Oil

1 Calcium

1 Zinc

1 Magnesium

1 Chromium Picolinate

1 500 mg Flush Free Niacin (IH)

Kombucha daily

Coconut Oil

Multivitamin Juice With Super foods

2 Flax Seed Oil

1 Cup of Peppermint tea

2 Vitamin C

1 Vitamin E (400 IU)

There might be more that I am taking... I don't really know. As for are they helping, I have been taking most of the supplements for many months.

Maybe without them my acne would be worse.

Edited September 5, 2009 by heyaawhatsupp

[ameliabright 1]

I sometimes take a multivitamin, but after reading all these posts i'm going to make it a daily thing.

I have two questions:

1)What are the benefits of taking all of these vitamins individually rather than in a multi? Is there a difference at all?

2)Someone mentioned that they take spirulina. What about using spirulina in powder form to make a shake? Will it have the same effects?

thanks!

[Stephen01 0]

I have two questions:

1)What are the benefits of taking all of these vitamins individually rather than in a multi? Is there a difference at all?

The benefit is that you can control how much of an individual vitamin you're getting as well as the form you're getting it in. Most multiple vitamins only have the basic recommended doses of each vitamin and while this may be enough to prevent certain vitamin defeciency diseases it doesn't usually have high enough amounts of certain vitamins to promote optimal health. For example the multi may have 300mg of Vitamin C and I normally take at least 3,000 mg a day or it may have 400 IU of Vitamin D and I take 2000-4000 IU a day and may need to take even more but I haven't gotten my Vitamin D levels tested yet so I play it safe.

Also, unless you get a really good multiple most of them use forms of some of the vitamins that are not very absorbable by the body. For example most use Zinc in the form of Zinc Gluconate and Magnesium in the form of Magnesium Oxide both of which have lower bioavailability than other forms. I believe the bioavailability of Magnesium Oxide is like 14% so that means if your multiple had 500mg of Magnesium Oxide in it and your body only absorbed roughly 14% of the Magnesium then you would only be getting 70mg. And that can make a difference in your health because most people are Magnesium deficient. So with taking vitamins individually you can buy the forms of each vitamin that are said to be the most absorbable by the body. And then certain vitamins are better absorbed on an empty stomach where some are better with food that contains fat so if you take a multi you're just lumping them all together.

The only real negative to buying each vitamin individually instead of just taking a multiple is the fact that's it's going to be more expensive.

Edited September 5, 2009 by Stephen01

[ameliabright 1]

I have two questions:

1)What are the benefits of taking all of these vitamins individually rather than in a multi? Is there a difference at all?

The benefit is that you can control how much of an individual vitamin you're getting as well as the form you're getting it in. Most multiple vitamins only have the basic recommended doses of each vitamin and while this may be enough to prevent certain vitamin defeciency diseases it doesn't usually have high enough amounts of certain vitamins to promote optimal health. For example the multi may have 300mg of Vitamin C and I normally take at least 3,000 mg a day or it may have 400 IU of Vitamin D and I take 2000-4000 IU a day and may need to take even more but I haven't gotten my Vitamin D levels tested yet so I play it safe.

Also, unless you get a really good multiple most of them use forms of some of the vitamins that are not very absorbable by the body. For example most use Zinc in the form of Zinc Gluconate and Magnesium in the form of Magnesium Oxide both of which have lower bioavailability than other forms. I believe the bioavailability of Magnesium Oxide is like 14% so that means if your multiple had 500mg of Magnesium Oxide in it and your body only absorbed roughly 14% of the Magnesium then you would only be getting 70mg. And that can make a difference in your health because most people are Magnesium deficient. So with taking vitamins individually you can buy the forms of each vitamin that are said to be the most absorbable by the body. And then certain vitamins are better absorbed on an empty stomach where some are better with food that contains fat so if you take a multi you're just lumping them all together.

The only real negative to buying each vitamin individually instead of just taking a multiple is the fact that's it's going to be more expensive.

Thanks so much! Good to know!

[AKL 1238]

I sometimes take a multivitamin, but after reading all these posts i'm going to make it a daily thing.

I have two questions:

1)What are the benefits of taking all of these vitamins individually rather than in a multi? Is there a difference at all?

2)Someone mentioned that they take spirulina. What about using spirulina in powder form to make a shake? Will it have the same effects?

thanks!

To answer your second question: yes, in fact many people use the powder because it's easier to consume larger amounts of it that way.

[Bosie 11]

1 tablet of centrum (which is a multivitamin...and i cant say i've noticed that much difference it makes in aiding my skin or health)

2 25mg of Zinc Gluconate, from Holland and Barrett.

1 500mg of flush free Niacin, Swanson.

Are there any other suggestions for supplements I could use in helping my skin get better? Any help would be much appreciated thanks.

[LostAndDelirious 1]

Vitamin C and E

Zinc

selenium

and a probiotic

[jksl 1]

it had gone back about 1/2 an inch on both sides. i really wasnt too concerned with it, but when i noticed fine hairs starting to grow in, i was pretty hype. Its been said that selenium and zinc help with preventing balding, but im not too sure exactly which supplement(s) were responsible

Just out of curiosity, which brand selenium are you using and at what dosage?

[ld70 0]

I get a majority of my supplements from my naturopath. Some I get from super supplements in the pacific NW.

B-complex (NOW)

Biotin (bronson)

Evening Primrose Oil (Biotics Research)

Vit D-3 - (metabolic maintenance)

EPA-DHA omega 3s w/natural lemon flavor (metagenics - these are THE BEST - no fish oil taste)

calcium-magnesium (thorne)

HLC high potency - probiotic (pharmax)

vitamin E (solaray)

I am on accutane right now, but when I am done I take a multivitamin by Thorne.