Today, we’re going to discuss a completely non-secret weapon which has been staring acne patients in the face for decades – vitamin C.
Back in 2009, during the swine flu outbreak which supposedly nearly ended civilisation as we know it, a family man called Allan Smith lay dying in hospital, unanimously deemed a hopeless case by doctors. However, they were still reluctant to turn off life support, so at the family’s insistence, they injected him with a vitamin C megadose of 25 grams (the RDI is 0.06 grams) twice daily. The doctors’ real plan was to prove that the vitamin C was useless.
Within 24 hours, however, Mr Smith’s lungs regained the ability to process oxygen. The doctors denied it, claiming that a passing bus was just as likely to have been his saviour, but when treatment stopped, the family’s father became close to death again. Several threats of legal action later, the vitamin C treatment was restarted and Mr Smith was discharged from hospital.
The doctors continued to blindly deny the role of vitamin C, but 70 years of data shows that megadoses are shockingly effective against many diseases. One disease it may cure is acne.
Vitamin C is a major acne antioxidant
Vitamin C is not and never has been a popular supplement among acne patients. But it certainly should be if this study is any indication:
- 60 women aged 16-22 years were divided into 4 groups: 1) obese with acne, 2) obese without acne, 3) normal weight with acne, 4) normal weight with normal skin. The results were fascinating, as acne patients averaged at 40% less vitamin C in their bloodstream compared to clear skinned patients. Beta-carotene, vitamin E, vitamin A were also lower.
The results say it all. You’d think that given how common obesity has become in the West, people would at least be getting tons of vitamin C from all that food. However, 31% of US citizens are now deficient, and apparently, acne patients are even more at risk.
Read Annihilate Your Acne – get the ultimate diet for clear and glowing skin!
Vitamin C’s first benefit is being the number one water-soluble antioxidant in the human diet. Antioxidants are absolutely critical for stopping acne, as they build themselves into the sebum (oil) on your face. There, they prevent a component of that sebum called squalene from oxidising and turning into pore-clogging squalene peroxide.
It’s vitamin E that protects squalene directly, but vitamin C can shield against countless more minor free radicals that gnaw at your skin, and inflame pimples directly.
Vitamin C is so potent in humans that it’s been dubbed the grandfather of traditional antioxidants.
Vitamin C protects numerous oxidised tissues, like proteins and also some lipids, despite not even being fat soluble. Perhaps its most interesting power is enhancing endless other dietary antioxidants. There’s one powerful group called catechins, found in many foods, but most famously green tea. Catechins are highly unstable in the human small intestine, as only 20% of the catechins in tea remain after digestion…
…but one study found that after mixing green tea with citrus juices, the bioavailability rose to 80%.
Two of the most potent catechins increased by 6 fold and 13 fold respectively. One classic catechin is epicatechin 3-gallate, which is 25 times and 100 times more potent than vitamin C and vitamin E respectively. Eating more vitamin C enhances your antioxidant supply through a variety of mechanisms.
Vitamin C accumulates in your face!
Vitamin C builds itself directly into the tissues of the epidermis, the skin’s outer layer. It can therefore cut off chains of free radicals which attack your skin specifically.
There’s also evidence that vitamin C in the skin can directly control the release of pro-inflammatory chemicals behind acne, such as interleukin-6 and interleukin-1beta (study).
Next is sunlight prevention, and all the acne inflammation from it. Vitamin C is not a true “sunscreen” because unlike vitamin A, it doesn’t directly protect cells against UV radiation…
…but its real power is just as potent, as vitamin C scavenges the armies of free radicals which sunlight forms:
ONE – two rat studies found that adding ascorbic acid (the most common supplementary form of vitamin C) to the diet significantly reduced the formation of tumours and dermal neoplasms triggered by UV light (study, study).
TWO – it’s well known that vitamin C transporter proteins increase in the skin during sunlight exposure (study, study), suggesting that vitamin C is an automatic response against UV light inflammation. If your diet is poor, this automatic defence cannot kick in.
THREE – this study found that topical vitamin C fell substantially after sunlight exposure, illustrating its defensive role.
By increasing vitamin C, you can enjoy more time at a sunny beach, by the pool, climbing mountains in summer, etc.
Hence, you can also 1) maximise your vitamin D production, a critical nutrient for acne, and 2) start manufacturing anti-inflammatory nitric oxide, which kicks in the very second sunlight touches your skin.
Vitamin C slashes stress hormones!
Vitamin C has a potent and very overlooked power – being the greatest natural stress buster alongside magnesium.
The old legends about stress causing acne are completely true. Any metal anxiety signals your adrenal glands to secrete the stress hormone cortisol, which is used to summon “flight or fight” style energy. Cortisol is safe for acne in moderation, but when overloaded, it can unleash delayed wound healing and impaired acne nutrient absorption.
Important article – the top 6 vitamins and minerals for clearing acne
Many studies show the benefits clearly. For example, some German scientists subjected 120 participants to a classic stressor, a task which combined public speaking and mathematical problems. 60 people were given large doses of vitamin C, 1000mg compared to the RDA of 60mg.
Compared to placebo takers, these people had far fewer signs of heightened stress responses, including high blood pressure and cortisol levels. The vitamin C takers even completed a survey and reported less mental stress.
This study gave 1500mg of vitamin C to 45 athletes for seven days before a race, on the day of the race, and for another two days afterwards. Other athletes received either 500 grams of vitamin C or a placebo. Context: cortisol commonly increases after intense exercise.
According to the scientists, “immediate post-race serum cortisol was significantly lower in the vitamin C 1500 group than in placebo and vitamin C 500 groups”.
Likewise, this study found that vitamin C attenuated the cortisol spike in 20 patients undertaking 90 minutes of exercise. This study noted cortisol reductions in ultra marathon runners, and this one in the reverse; 16 untrained male volunteers.
When under heightened stress, a goat will synthesise up to 100,000mg of vitamin C daily. Compare that with the recommended daily allowance in humans of 60mg.
Unlike animals though, we humans cannot synthesise vitamin C ourselves. We lost the ability through an unfortunate genetic mutation.
Therefore, if you’re a chronically stressed acne sufferer, it is critical to eat enough vitamin C.
Even if you only experience mild day-to-day stress, megadoses will be an excellent preventative shield. You’ll also enjoy a calmer, happier mind, and indirect acne benefits like deepened sleep, since cortisol notoriously disrupts sleep neurotransmitters.
Vitamin C – the godfather of all collagen
Not only can vitamin C keep a lid on acne, it can also enhance your overall skin quality.
Collagen is the main structural protein in skin, and forms 30% of the body’s total protein. Increasing levels can prevent wrinkle formation and have truly miraculous effects on skin tone and radiance.
These days, are collagen is being depleted fast, whether it’s by cigarette smoke, sodium fluoride, air pollution, or chemicals in cosmetics. Sunlight can also warp your collagen if you lack natural sunscreen nutrients like vitamin A and vitamin E.
That’s where vitamin C steps in. All collagen begins life with the assembly of the amino acids glycine and proline into the collagen precursor procollagen. Next, the procollagen is morphed with lysine and proline by two catalysing enzymes. Vitamin C is utterly critical, because those enzymes cannot function without it.
Consider the famous disease scurvy, which plagued sailors of the British Empire for hundreds of years. In 1899, a simple vitamin C deficiency was discovered to be responsible, and all long voyage sea captains were ordered to bring crate loads of citrus fruits with them.
Scurvy begins with a lacklustre body and mind, then progresses to bleeding gums and unsightly blotches on the hands. Finally, scurvy ends with death after the blood vessels fatally weaken and collapse.
What do those symptoms have in common? A weakening of the structural tissues caused by reduced collagen production.
Without vitamin C, your skin won’t fall to pieces where you stand, but it will be weaker in the face of threats, and generally less appealing. Laying down a collagen matrix in the epidermis is also the first step in wound healing, so collagen is critical for healing old acne.
Read the eBook: learn why common vegetable oils are an acne nightmare
Luckily, the opposite is true – megadosing vitamin C can give you the collagen levels of a superhuman. I megadose on a regular basis by taking camu camu powder and I have noticed 1) extremely smooth skin, and 2) dryness going extinct, and 3) harsh moisturisers becoming pointless.
Dietary sources of vitamin C
It’s now estimated that 30% of US adults and 1 in 7 young Canadian adults are deficient, so there’s a great chance that you personally can clear your acne with more. In Asia, deficiency is especially rampant in India, Pakistan, China and Malaysia.
The first step is to eat a good variety of plant foods. In nature, vitamin C is rare in animal foods, with the exception of some seafoods such as crab (5% of RDI per 100 grams), oysters (6%) and salmon (6%). Some dense, acne-friendly and convenient sources include…
Berries – berries dominate among fruits, particularly strawberries, with 97% of the recommended daily intake per 100 grams. Raspberries are next, with 43%, followed by blackberries with 35% and blueberries with 16%. The less common berries are also good sources, including cranberries (22%) and elderberries (60%).
Don’t forget to buy organic though! This study found that organic strawberries contain 9.7% more vitamin C, 8.5% higher total antioxidants and 10.5% more phenolic antioxidants.
Furthermore, berries are the worst family of fruits for pesticide contamination. If you’ve stumbled across wild strawberries or blackberries, then you’ll know why – they’re usually a feeding frenzy of flies and bugs.
Cruciferous vegetables – basic broccoli is even better for vitamin C than strawberries, with 148% of the RDA per 100 grams. Kale is stellar, with 200%. Spinach, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and cabbage are also excellent.
Watch out for cooking though, as vitamin C is especially delicate in heat. Boiling is most notorious, because the acne nutrients leach into the water. This study found that boiling broccoli depleted the vitamin C levels by 33%. Steaming is optimal for acne, and roasting is inconvenient, but nevertheless effective.
Citrus fruits – the common orange is actually the world’s largest berry, and it shares the vitamin C of the more traditional varieties. 100 grams contains 88% of the RDA, 100 grams of clementine contains 81%, and satsumas contain roughly 50%. Citrus fruits were the favoured weapons of European sailors against scurvy back in the day.
Potatoes – basic white potatoes are loaded with vitamin C and actually provide a big proportion of the average Westerner’s daily intake. I usually eat 400 grams of roast potatoes per serving, and that contains 128% of the RDA. Even McDonald’s fries will contain some (not that I recommend them). Sweet potatoes contain less but are still decent.
Bell peppers – these colourful vegetables contain approximately twice as much as an orange. If you’re looking for tasty and enriching flavourings without resorting to neurotoxins like MSG, bell peppers are perfect. Yellow bell peppers have the most, followed by red and then green.
Once again, the organic version has more vitamin C; this Polish study found 119mg of per 100 grams in conventional bell peppers compared to 136mg in organic, and also more flavonoid antioxidants.
The best vitamin C supplement
It’s incredibly easy to reach the default RDI of 60mg for both adult men and women, but there’s a problem: the RDI is far too low. Goats synthesise 100,000mg a day when under stress, and it’s estimated that prehistoric humans ate up to 1000mg per day in a tropical diet rich in fruits.
Secondly, vitamin C levels in market staples have plummeted since the mid-20th century. For example: a Kushi Institute analysis found a 30% decline in 12 different vegetables between 1975 and 1997. A 2004 study found a “reliable decline” in vitamin C levels across 43 different fruits and vegetables.
Cauliflower has been found to contain 40% less vitamin C compared to in 1975. Onions have lost 36%, collard greens 61.6%, cabbage 31.9%, and watercress 45.6%.
How can a normal person find the quantities necessary for a shocking improvement in acne?
The answer is to take a supplement, and my favourite is easily Terrasoul Superfoods Raw Camu Camu Powder (amazon link).
This natural supplement is a dried and highly concentrated powder of the camu camu berry, a red/purple cherry-like fruit growing in the jungles of Peru. The camu camu plant (also called myrciaria dubia) grows on riversides, and is harvested by the natives using canoes. Its claim to fame is being the richest vitamin C source on Earth, with 2-3% by weight.
Hence, the concentrated powder is equally amazing; a single teaspoon, or 5 grams, can provide over 600mg, 1000% of the recommended daily allowance. Furthermore, it’s all-natural vitamin C, so it retains the enzymes and cofactors necessary for absorption in the digestive system.
Simply add camu camu powder to recipes, or mix some into a glass of water like I usually do. Be warned that the taste is extremely strong, but you get used to it.
If you’re desperate to megadose vitamin C, but too impatient for camu camu powder, then a great dedicated supplement is this Garden Of Life Raw Vitamin C (amazon link).
Conclusion
Megadosing vitamin C is a great strategy for preventing acne and revolutionising your overall skin tone.
Large doses of 500-1000mg are extremely safe, as any excess vitamin C is excreted through urine. Mr Allan Smith was injected with 50,000mg daily and he recovered from swine flu. The studies showing headaches, nausea, vomiting, etc mostly used synthetic ascorbic acid, not natural vitamin C.
Don’t commit the common mistake of underestimating vitamin C for acne! It’ll be especially useful if you’re stressed out, don’t eat many fruits and vegetables, or are aged over 30 and therefore have steadily depleting collagen levels.
NEXT: learn the root causes of acne, clear your skin permanently
Thanks for reading!
Would mixing ascorbic acid and camu camu powder in some ratio be the best value way to mega dose? Would it ensure you’re maxing out the effects of the enzymes and co-factors in the camu camu powder?
Yes, that’s a good value way to take vitamin C if you can’t take camu camu powder alone.
Hi Richard,
I have been taking camu camu powder for roughly seven weeks now. I have also been taking safe amounts of vitamin d and e cod liver oil, a multivitamin which houses zinc, vitamin a, b12 etc as well as bio curcumin. I consume all these on a dailybasis and eat the standard three meals a day. I have been following a paleo diet for roughly five months now.
I am well aware that my skin is affected by air pollutants because whenever I have relocated outside the city, my acne always cleared up. Oil is not the enemy initially, it’s the ozone which alters it for the worst.
Relocating is somewhat out of the question, so the only solution is to combat the oxidation process and thus I have struggled to do so. Could you please enlighten me on what I’m doing wrong? Do I need to consume a lot more antioxidants? Are topical antioxidants the answer? I have had mild acne for seven years now, not including the periods I have travelled. Could it be that my immune system is in overdrive?
Ok, it’s likely that air pollution is a big factor but there could be others too. Firstly, if you’re visiting these rural villages for a holiday then you might have lower stress levels too, which can significantly improve acne. Secondly, if that holiday is especially active (skiing, hiking) then the extra exercise can really help your skin too. Finally, you say you’re following a paleo type diet, but the quality of the classic paleo foods can vary a lot. For example, a carton of eggs bought in an American supermarket will have been pumped full of inflammatory growth hormones and fed a diet that worsens the fat profile and nutritional quality, badly enough to make it unhealthy for your skin. Meanwhile a box of eggs bought in a French village is far more likely to be entirely free range and have a extremelh healthy balance of omega fats and more nutrients. If it definitely is air pollution, then yes eating more antioxidants is a good goal in order to defend against ozone. Vitamin e is especially important for preventing acne. If that fails you can go all out on other factors behind acne like sugar intake, pesticides in produce, dodgy tap water (which could easily be a villain behind acne if you live in a city). I can’t give a complete recommendation without knowing about your diet in more detail however.
Hey Richard,
So for breakfast i will usually eat a bowl of fruits, nuts and seeds.
1 apple
1 pair
handful of blueberries, almonds, pumpkin seeds
1 kiwi fruit
1 orange
1/2 mango ( when in season)
Lunch,
Steamed broccoli, pumpkin, sweet potato. carrot
Grilled meat balls ( consisting of pork and beef)
Free range eggs x 2 (I have my own chickens)
Dinner,
Roast free-range chicken, garlic, onions
A glass of red wine (home made)
Interesting point you make about stress levels. I was generally happier during my travels but there were days were my stress levels were elevated.
Regarding activity, I was definitely burning more carbs than what I am now. For instance I am currently not swimming because I don’t wish to swim in chlorinated water at my local public pool. I don’t do much cardio, but rather a lot of strength and resistance training. I train six days a week (1.5 hours per session).
I don’t have filters on my taps but I order bottled water from this company: http://www.sakawater.com/water.html. I’m not really sure if I’m doing myself more harm than good but It tastes a lot more pure than tap water.
I have recently ordered some topical treatment, although i would like to know what you use topically.
http://au.iherb.com/Madre-Labs-Camellia-Care-EGCG-Green-Tea-Skin-Cream-1-7-fl-oz-50-ml/39108
http://au.iherb.com/p/4432
http://au.iherb.com/p/44332
The diet looks very solid so I have three suggestions for right now. 1) eat some oily fish for the omega 3s if you’re not already, to lower inflammation. 2) Try cold showers, which are excellent for clearing acne as I wrote about in an article. 3) Start by taking the vitamin e supplement you already ordered.
I have stopped eating fish for some time now but if it means clearing up my skin, then i will start asap. I don’t really like fish other than tuna. Is canned okay or should I look for fresh variety from the local market?
Regarding the cold showers, they did wonders for me. A couple years back i was camping and the only option was a cold shower, so i braved up and went with the ”spartan method’ as you call it and the result was that within a month, my bacne had cleared.
With my body acne, i have noticed that hot showers and the sun both cause me to break out. Assuming i steer clear of these two, i am fine.
The only thing left fixing is my ‘pizza face’, which is a shame knowing i can be 100% clear living in an area which is free of harmful pollutants.
I have a few of questions regarding the face. Firstly, what to cleanse with? Should i moisturize or use a toner? When i produce oil, should i allow it to lubricate or remove it by blotting?
Alright that’s good news because the omega 3s found in fish oil are crucial for clearing acne thanks to their ability to lower inflammation. I covered omega 3s extensively in my eBook. Tuna is lower in omega 3s and contaminated with the heavy metal Mercury, so a good mild tasting fish is salmon. Fishmonger salmon or prepackaged at supermarket both beat canned salmon. Any oily fish will be good for acne if you can stomach it. Topical treatments: essential oils like tea tree oil and rose water are good cleansers and the links you provided in your earlier comment are solid. However my favourite ever topical strategy is to dunk my head in cold water for forty seconds three times in a row, as this provides the benefit of cold showers but far more concentrated to your face. If cold showers helped your body then this takes cold water treatment to the next level because in the shower the cold water doesn’t touch your face for as long.
Thanks for an insightful article- i use hydrolysed collagen powder with vit c powder everyday even in my fryit vege smoothies,im feeling more energetic so far so good!
Honestly I’m shocked. I decided to take 1000mg of capsule vitamin C just out of nowhere, well mainly to prevent sickness during this winter, I didn’t think much of it AT ALL…………………I have struggled with acne ever since I can remember…. I’m 28 years old and I have NEVER seen this clear skin I have in my life. It worked SO SO QUICK. I mean I’m even concerned because this clear face is not me at all, so I was researching what could I have done to clear it up as all my attempts in the past failed. I after reading this I most certainly believe it most of being my increased intake of fruits and vegetables which was also very very low, and vitamin C.
Thank you!
Hi Richard
Do you know any substance naturally high in vitamin c that can be applied directly to the skin? I think it’s the missing link somehow.
Cheers
I’m wondering…because vitamin C is water soluble if it the camu camu powder is actually retained or eliminated via urine. Could it be that only a very small amount is required to get the job done?
You can use natural vitamin C powders or even fruits rich in it but combine it with an oil base such as grapeseed oil or jojoba oil for optimal absorption. However I’ll also have a full article on topical vitamin C at some point.
Will using a vitamin c supplement with magnesium stearate be good? Will the vitamin c be absorbed well?
Hi Richard,
So, I have been taking 3000 mg of Vit C for weeks now along with B12, Silica and Magnesium….. I don’t usually have skin break outs or spots but I have noticed a lot of sore spots on my face lately…my diet is Vegetarian and I eat super healthy, I workout 5 days a week.
I read somewhere that high doses of Vit C is good for receding gums so I started upping my dosage for that reason…….
Can it cause skin breakouts ?
Only very rarely; the vitamin B12 is more likely to be the problem. What form of B12 are you taking and what is the dosage? Massively high doses of B12 are a problem and supplements often contain way too much.
So if I add lemon juice to green tea to prevent oxidation won’t the heat destroy all of the vitamin C???
Lemon juice is a diobolical topical treatment anyway, since it increases your sensitivity to sunlight, and if you’re thinking of mixing it in to get vitamin c, it contains only low levels. Most green tea products are creams or extracts, so pouring boiling hot tea on your face is pointless.
No, I meant actual green tea. You know, to drink. It is good for diabetes I have heard
Yes, there’s some evidence that green tea and its compound ECGC can help with diabetes and blood sugar, but watch out for green tea’s DHT lowering abilities too, as DHT is one of the most important androgenic hormones in men. Also, lemon juice doesn’t contain much vitamin C, so adding it for that purpose is pointless, and yes, the heat would damage its nutrients.
Is there a tea you could recommend for both acne and testosterone?
Greetings Herman the German, do you mean for increasing testosterone or decreasing it?
Greetings. A tea that is beneficial for both if there is such a thing.
I would like to see you add to this article with regards to liposomal vitamin c. I am a heart attack survivor who takes approx 4 grams of liposomal C daily and have felt results. My understanding is that liposomal C greatly increases the absorption % and does not cause a bowel tolerance issue. But back to acne. My son has terrible acne and getting hom to change his diet is a challenge. I am going to see if he’ll let me use liposomal C on an area of his face as a test. Should I add any other vitamins, etc? Also, there is a good lecture on YouTube by Dr. Thomas Levy on liposomal C..
Thanks for the tip off Theo. Well, liposomal vitamin C is very interesting technology, but the average acne patient who isn’t taking any supplements yet doesn’t need to begin with it. Liposomal vitamin C is the advanced choice, regular vitamin C (like the food-derived supplements I recommend here) will easily succeed. As for your son, try giving him some zinc and vitamin E supplements. Great results from those two supplements might excite him to change his diet and clear his skin more than any article can, and those supplements are just pills which surely he won’t mind taking. Also, thanks for your post-heart attack story, because the RDI of 60mg per day is way too low. I’ve used about 2000mg a day myself for an injury and it worked excellently, so it’s always great to hear about other people who have succeeded by disregarding the rules and taking massive doses.
Hi Richard, do you think it would it be an option to mix ascorbic acid powder with water and spray it onto our face on days where we can’t get enough vitamin c rich foods and vegetables in to our body?
It’s a decent idea, diet is always the top priority, but adding topical solutions on top never hurts.