I have always used b5 with great success in treating acne from roids but stumble across this ans thought I'd put it out. This is the net and there is bound to something to dicredit everything. But this presents a decent arguement. So here it is!
http://www.natural-acne-treatments.com/b5-acne.html
"Mega dose vitamin b5 acne treatment is DANGEROUS and DOES NOT work"
Discover the disturbing side-effects our vitamin b5 expirments produced...
Why vitamin b5 acne treatment does not work...
And why it is dangerous despite all the claims it is safe...
Wouldn't it be a dream come true...you just pop a vitamin and POOF your acne's gone...no side effects and completely safe.
That's what so many of the proponents of pantothenic acid acne supplements are claiming.
According to the b5 acne theory to cure acne all you've got to do is take EXTRAORDINARILY high doses of pantothenic acid (vitamin b5) and your acne will disappear.
What's the real scoop?
Well, I've spent considerable time, money, and experimentation and put several volunteers through substantial discomfort and risk to bring to you the TRUTH about the vitamin b5 acne theory.
In this report I'm going to reveal to you all the shocking details about the vitamin b5 acne theory.
This report is a definite MUST READ for you if you're considering b5 acne treatment.
The vitamin b5 acne phenomenon: What started it all...
The vitamin b5 acne phenomenon all started with a paper published by a doctor named Lit-Hung Leung.
In this paper he proposes a theory that acne is caused by a deficiency in vitamin b5.
So summarize Leung's theory...
High fat diets aggravate acne because the body is not metabolizing fats properly. (I certainly don't agree with this, I'm just summarizing his theory.) Coenzyme-A is necessary for the metabolization of fat.
Coenzyme-A is formed from adenosine triphosphate, cysteine, and pantothenic acid. And of those pantothenic acid (b5) is often the deficient one. So if you don't get enough pantothenic acid then your body can't make enough coenzyme-A.
Here's where Leung's theory gets interesting...
Coenzyme-A is necessary for both fat metabolization and hormone synthesis. And if coenzyme-A is lacking then hormone synthesis takes precedence over fat metabolization.
So when you're body's producing lots of hormones (for instance during puberty) then your body needs more coenzyme-A to synthesis those hormones, and if coenzyme-A is lacking then your body will choose to synthesize hormones rather then metabolize fats.
According to his b5 acne theory fats start to accumulate in the skin's oil gland causing an increase in sebum...which leads to acne.
So what he's saying is that the reason acne is associated with hormones isn't because of the hormones themselves. But because the hormones are "robbing" coenzyme-A for hormone synthesis that could be used for fatty acid metabolization if there was an abundance of coenzyme-A.
In effect fatty acid metabolization is getting "shafted" by excess hormones.
And to correct a coenzyme-A deficiency all you need to do is take as high as 10 to 20 GRAMS (Not milligrams) of pantothenic acid (b5) a day.
Pretty interesting theory...and when you read his paper it all sounds very compelling. But does it work?
Vitamin b5 acne theory put to the test
Being an investigator of natural acne treatments it's my job to check this kind of stuff out. And I've always been willing to give anything a try despite how crazy it sounds. But I don't take ANYONE'S word for it...I'll always put it to the test.
I had my reservations with such extraordinarily high doses of vitamin b5 for acne, but I went ahead anyway. I followed the guidelines exactly as the paper suggest...between 10-20 grams a day divided up in a minimum of 4 doses per day. The vitamin b5 acne theory was tested with several women and men and athletes as well.
When the initial experiments did not work to cure acne, I tested various doses and several different brands of pantothenic acid. I really, really wanted this to work.
But sad to say...It did NOT work on anyone I experimented with, despite the dose or brand of pantothenic acid they were using.
What's worse is it caused nausea, and chronic low energy and fatigue in virtually everyone. In several people it caused cracks in the corners of the mouth that would not heal. Others reported poor wound healing in general. And still others reported headaches.
Granted, this was far from a formal scientific study. I simply purchased b5...showed a few volunteers the study, and took their word for it that they were taking it as directed. But despite my best efforts over several months, I could NOT duplicate any of reported benefits for acne sufferers.
In addition to that, I have yet to find anyone IN PERSON (not some random story on the web) who has actually had long-term success, not the intial placebo response, but rather long-term success with the mega dose vitamin b5 acne treatment.
So from my own personal experience I've come to the conclusion...
Vitamin b5 does NOT work for acne treatment and is DANGEROUS in the doses advocated by the vitamin b5 acne theory and the vitamin b5 acne theory is flawed.
Here is why I think that...
Why the b5 acne theory is WRONG
If acne was in fact caused by a vitamin b5 deficiency then it wouldn't take nearly as much of the dose being advocated to correct the deficiency. B5 is used as a treatment for several diseases, yet well under 2 grams and usually less then 0.5 grams are typically used with results for these other various diseases.
If a vitamin b5 acne theory was correct as proposed then virtually EVERYONE deficient in vitamin b5 would have acne to some degree or another. This ISN'T THE CASE.
If a vitamin b5 deficiency was the cause of acne then simply supplementing with b5 would cure acne. WHICH IT DOES NOT DO. Believe me I've tested it again and again.
Despite how convincing the sales pitches are, despite what studies you may read on the net the bottom line is RESULTS. Does b5 produce results?
And I'm telling you I've tested the b5 acne theory again and again and not ONE person I've tested this on cured their acne.
Not one!
No dose or brand of b5 had a positive effect outside of the initial placebo response!
Not only does it not work, but it is dangerous in these high of doses...
Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) is DANGEROUS in high doses
The proponents of the vitamin b5 acne theory claim that since b5 is a water-soluble vitamin any excess would simply be excreted from your system.
And in any reasonable dose I would agree with them.
But think about this...
Your body has to excrete the excess vitamin b5 from your system, and to do that takes time. And while the excess vitamin b5 is in your system it's going to have an effect.
We're not talking about a little excess here, but were talking about MANY TIMES what is normally in your system.
Secondly, the balance between various nutrients in your system is very important.
To illustrate...
The balance between calcium and phosphorous is very important...so important that if you ingest excess phosphorous your body will leach calcium from your bones to keep the ratio of these key electrolytes in balance in the blood.
The same is the case with b vitamins...
The b vitamins work WITH each other in a complex and synergistic relationship. For them to work properly they have to be kept in proper ratio to each other.
If you ingest excess of any one b vitamin your body will try to balance things out by leaching the other b vitamins from anywhere in your system it can.
So what you are doing by ingesting these extraordinarily high doses of vitamin b5 is leaching out of your system key b vitamins like b3, b6, and b12.
This is why I believe fatigue was the most common side-effect on the vitamin b5 acne treatment. Because these other b vitamins are so key for metabolization of nutrition for energy.
B5 does not exist in ANY foods in these high of doses out of balance with the other b vitamins. In my opinion it is suicidal to be taking it in such high doses long-term.
If the b5 acne treatment worked I would be the first to tell you. I'd shout it from high heaven, but it doesn't work...as convincing as the theory sounds IT DOESN'T WORK, and is DANGEROUS in the doses that are being recommended!
My prediction is the vitamin b5 acne phenomenon is going to burn out real soon because it doesn't work.
Hear me now, believe me later!
A better alternative to vitamin b5
B vitamins are only a small piece to a much more complex acne puzzle. I unravel the whole acne puzzle and how b vitamins (including b5) fit into the acne puzzle in The FREE Acne Cure E-Course.
In it you will find the ONLY approach I've found for natural acne treatment that works, and the only approach that actually corrects the ROOT cause of your acne.
You're crazy if you don't check it out.
If after reading it you're still bound and determined to test the vitamin b5 acne theory yourself, then I would suggest you AVOID pantothenic acid. But instead use pantethine. Pantethine is much more readily absorbed form of vitamin b5, and would work much better for b5 acne treatment.
And I STRONGLY suggest you take it in no more then 1 to 1 1/2 grams a day. If a vitamin b5 deficiency is in fact contributing to your acne then that would be a more then sufficient dose to compensate for any deficiency.
If you follow around some stuff on that page that links to other stuff it goes into hormonal balance and toxic buildup & liver illiminations factors. All these things that are factors in roid induced acne.
