Acne problem? Stay away from vitamin B12 supplements

A new study suggests that to reduce acne, one should pass up on supplements of Vitamin B12. However, the study also says that natural sources of the nutrient should not be neglected.

Are you dealing with those recurring bouts of acne? A new study says you should pass up on supplements of vitamin B12 to get rid of acne.

A-study-suggests-taking-Vitamin-B12-supplements-is-not-practical-for-reducing-acne-but-natural-sources-of-the-Vitamin-should-not-be-neglected-Shutterstock

While natural sources of Vitamin B12 are essential for the body, taking a supplemental dose is not practical if you want to get rid of acne.

The lead author Li Huiying tells in an interview with Relaxnews, "Vitamin B12 is essential to us. I hope people do not misinterpret the results of our study and think vitamin B12 is bad."

The team of scientists from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), who did the study, says that it works in a similar way as gut bacteria that live in intestines and keep you healthy.

Friendly facial bacteria can become unsettled by vitamin B12, leading to inflammation and eventually to pimples, according to the study published in Translational Medicine.

Vitamin B12 changes how genes behave in the facial microbiota -- the term scientists use to describe the community of bacteria that lives on your face even after washing -- leading to activity changes in these critters.

After coming up with that as a hypothesis, the scientists tested it by analysing skin microbiota in healthy volunteers who took supplements of vitamin B12.

One of their 10 subjects developed acne within a week of vitamin B12 supplementation.

To further test their hypothesis, the scientists cultured acne-causing bacterium P acnes and supplemented it with vitamin B12.

At this moment, they saw increased production of a group of organic compounds called porphyrins, which are well known to promote acne, according to the paper.

The idea that supplementing your diet with vitamin B12 brings about acne isn't new; the scientists say in their paper that it's been observed for sometime now, but they think their discovery of the molecular mechanism behind it could lead to new treatments.

"Some of the genes in the pathways described in our study potentially could be drug targets for new acne treatments," says Huiying.