Vitamin B is by no means a small fry in the high stakes game of beauty. Just take the case of pellagra for example. Pellagra is a life threatening skin disease characterized by dementia, diarrhea, and dermatitis that is caused by niacin (B vitamin) deficiency. In the early 20th century in the United States pellagra plagued thousands of people in the South and Midwest. It was thought to be contagious until investigators discovered that vitamin B deficiency was the cause behind it.

So, how can Vitamin B improve your acne condition?

Dermatologists have found that one derivative of the B vitamin niacin, nicotinamide, has been shown to improve the ability of the epidermis, the skin’s upper-most layer, to retain moisture. In case you didn’t know it, healthy moist skin is what prevents bacteria from attacking the skin and offsetting a biological warfare in your body.

One study reports that nicotinamide, when applied topically to the skin for six days makes the skin softer and smoother skin, and reduces fine lines. Even more promising is its anti-cancer influences. For instance, when applied to the skin of mice, topical nicotinamide reduced ultraviolet-induced skin cancer by 70 percent.

BUY TOPICAL NIACINAMIDE

Niacinamide, another byproduct of vitamin B, is an effective skin-lightening agent. In one clinical investigation, patients with hyper-pigmentation applied moisturizer which five percent niacinamide.

Four weeks later, computer analysis of the hyper pigmentation and skin color revealed a decrease in hyperpigmentation along with an increase in skin lightness. Topical niacinamide also exhibits anti-inflammatory properties, which makes it a potential treatment for acne, rosacea and any blistering-type disease.

Dermatologist Zoe Diana Draelos, MD, clinical associate professor of dermatology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C. is confident about the therapeutic effects of niacinamide.

She said that topical gel containing 4% niacinamide has been shown to be beneficial in treating of papular and pustular acne, as well as the improvement of skin cancer and its anti-tumor characteristics.

Dr. Baumann, however, cautions that the many versions of one vitamin can be confusing and recommends speaking with your dermatologist to ensure you’re selecting the right vitamin product for treating your acne.

But of course, the best sources of Vitamin B are those that are found in Mother Nature. You can start treating your acne naturally by going to the local supermarket and helping yourself to some chicken, tuna, potatoes, spinach, asparagus, black beans and watermelon. But these really are just a few sources of natural Vitamin B.

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Did you know that there are OVER 1,500 vitamin supplement brands being sold in America and Canada, but that only a handful of them are really worth your money?

With so many competing brands, it isn’t surprising that most buyers become confused on which to buy. For acne sufferers, it could be a hit or miss situation.

But really, when it comes to buying vitamin supplements, the only thing you should be concerned about is “bioavailability” or how easily the body can absorb nutrients contained in the supplement.

In the past, people were used to synthetic vitamin supplements in tablet form, but it has been proven that they are very difficult to absorb by the body, meaning they do not easily cross the intestines into the bloodstream, where nutrients are absorbed.

Don’t believe it? Well, a popular brand of vitamins is called “bed pan bullets” by some nurses in the United States. Why? Because in patients that take them, you can still see the brand stamped on the pill when it comes out to the bed pan. (Now that’s literally a waste of money.)

But this isn’t to say that you should discard vitamin supplements all together. On the contrary, a 2007 report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 39.5% of Americans eat less than the recommended three to five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Vitamins and minerals can be taken to supplement our diets when our nutritional needs are lacking through food consumption alone.

So what are the readily absorbable forms of vitamin supplements?

Chelated vitamin supplements

Chelated supplements have minerals that are bound to amino acids, the building block of proteins. The process of chelation helps the nutrients to move more easily across the intestinal wall and into the body’s blood stream. The body’s cells draw their nutrition from the bloodstream. Once they are inside the body, the vitamins and minerals promote chemical reactions that are needed to clear your skin of acne.

Sublingual Vitamins

Sublingual literally means “under the tongue”. Apart from vitamin supplements, many cardiovascular drugs, steroids, barbiturates, enzymes are also administered “sublingually.”

The nutrients in sublingual vitamins are diffused into the profusion of capillaries under the tongue. In contrast to chelated vitamins, sublingual vitamin supplements do not to go through the liver before entering the bloodstream. However, factors such as your body’s pH level, and the nutrient’s molecular weight, and lipid solubility can all affect the absorbability of this type of supplement.

Organic Vitamins

These types of supplements are made from organic botanical sources like vegetables and fruits, and being such, are presumed to move more easily across the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream.