Essential Vitamin Triggers Acne, says Study

 

A new study has found that the essential vitamin B12 could trigger outbreaks of acne in susceptible people.

The essential nutrient, which is found in meat, fish, eggs and dairy products, is thought to alter the activity of skin bacteria and that leads to spots and pimples appearing on the skin.

Now you may be thinking that this sounds familiar and that’s because vitamin pills have long been associated with acne flare-ups, but until now this phenomenon remained unexplained.

It’s hoped that the findings of the research will now lead to the development of new acne treatments and reveal more about why some people develop spots when they take vitamin B12 supplements.

The study found that the vitamin affects the metabolism of the bacteria that causes acne. As a result, it secretes an inflammatory compound which triggers spots.

The US-based team, led by Dr Huiyang Li, from the University of California, reported their findings in the journal Science Translational Medicine:

“Our findings suggest a new bacterial pathogenesis pathway in acne and provide one molecular explanation for the long-standing clinical observation that vitamin B12 supplementation leads to acne development in a subset of individuals.

“Our study... provided evidence that... interactions between the host and the skin microbiota play essential roles in disease development.”

 

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