Iron is essential to our survival, but as it turns out, harmful pathogens also need iron to survive. That’s because iron is a key component of hemoglobin, the chief oxygen-carrying protein in the human body. A recent publication(1) looked at the role of iron in rosacea pathology. Some believe that this may be due to the increase in insulin levels in PCOS caused by insulin resistance. Dietary deficiency of vitamin A. Retinol-form vitamin A, found in abundance in animal foods like liver, egg yolks, and grass-fed dairy (and in precursor carotene form in orange and dark green veggies), works to prevent acne in the skin, and also is needed to create ceruloplasmin, as noted in the above bullet. Is excess iron the hidden acne trigger we’ve all been missing? Starve the iron and the bacteria has nothing left to fuel it’s party! This is true for just about every nutrient – even all the acne-clearing nutrients like zinc, vitamin A, and iodine – but with iron, it’s especially easy to build up a toxic overload, for a number of reasons we’ll get into shortly. Black tea can inhibit growth in children and affect iron absorption. This is pretty new to me, but the research seems sound. Calamine lotion is a topical skin treatment made of zinc oxide and iron oxide. Hoping it’s not the case for you, and wishing you all the best! It’s very easy to follow. Overview. It breaks down vitamin A in the body, which leads to ceruloplasmin deficiency. To help prevent acne, naturally, lemon juice can strip off stubborn dirt, makeup residue and dead skin that clogs the pores. Iron chelators bind themselves to iron and take it where it needs to go in the body. Iron triggers acne by oxidizing PUFAs in the body, creating toxic lipid peroxides and inflammation in the skin. My DGD is 13 and has acne (spots on brow, around nose and chin) and is spoiling her otherwise beautiful face! I didn't really use the acne gel since I've been prescribed the crap before to no avail. It will stop soon” But it does not stop. It turns out that tetracycline-family antibiotics (minocycline, doxycycline, etc.) Zinc and copper are sorely lacking in modern soils due to over-farming and strip-mining the topsoil, without replenishing trace minerals. Face and have grown darker. Understanding hormonal imbalances isn’t always easy, so thank you for writing an informative and easy to follow article with helpful tips. There are lots of beneficial skin-clearing minerals in meat and seafood, such as zinc and copper, which are harder to find in plant foods. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] You’re much less likely to develop cancer if you have low-normal body stores of iron, and much more likely to get cancer if you have excess iron. Luckily, unlike many other supplements, we have real scientific studies that analyze the effects of zinc on individuals with acne, and the results are pretty surprising. One way our bodies deal with iron is to lock it in our hemoglobin and ferritin, which is something like a “cage” for the iron. The problem with IP-6 is that it also can bind to zinc, magnesium, copper, and other critical minerals, so you must take IP-6 away from meals. (See my iron article for more info on tests.). What does pH balancing do for the skin? I haven’t seen any research on iron and acne directly, only one study that found elevated ferritin levels in people with acne[26] . That’s probably also the reason why studies have shown that people who eat beans regularly have cleaner intestines and digestive systems than people who don’t! (31 Posts) Add message | Report. Limit added sugar. It also causes your body to produce less hepcidin, the hormone that stunts iron absorption, in turn boosting how much iron your body absorbs. Having too much iron in your body, an excess of iron, results in a host of problems that are just as severe and life-threatening as having too little iron. (I’m actually eating mostly vegetarian these days, due to trying to reverse my iron overload problem, and, yes, the environmental impact.). This may help relieve some of the redness and irritation associated with moderate-to-severe acne. Worse, there’s no shut-off mechanism for absorbing heme iron like there is with plant iron – your body always absorbs as much heme iron as it can, even if you already have an iron overload problem (possibly due to evolutionary adaptation to meat being quite rare in the diet, historically). If the colostrum is derived from cows or colostrum is from humans, wouldn’t in theory the human one be closer to what we need? Top answers from doctors based on your search: Disclaimer. When excess iron … I tried it on my face and found out the hard way that it breaks me out. Here’s how I think iron might trigger acne: Lipid peroxidation. But it’s kind of like radioactive fuel in a nuclear reactor. Even though they may not have experienced acne during the time they were taking birth control – due to progesterone which gives you clear skin – stopping their progesterone intake allows the iron to surface and wreak havoc on their skin. Unfortunately, this isn’t always enough to limit the excess iron from being a problem in the body. ), they start accumulating iron around age 18, after puberty-fueled growth stops and there’s no more growth to push all that iron into. Another reliable iron chelator is lactoferrin, a protein that the human body naturally produces in all of its secretions. This has been a mystery for me for a long time, and now we finally have a plausible explanation for this big bummer of a problem. Hey! Spirulina, for those who don’t know, is a cyanobacteria, a blue-green algae that’s a complete protein, rich in multiple B vitamins, iron, and beta-carotene (a natural skin-clearing agent). hi, suffering from acne for 20 years and a rediculolus amount of money spent on “solutions”i tried a newer supplement that’s called acne block that contains lactoferrin,found it on amazon.. it actually was/is one of the only supplements I have tried that actually helped.. Great to hear you got good results from lactoferrin! Isn’t iron good for us? One natural remedy that some have tried is vitamin E, which can either be taken internally or applied topically. However, I can’t wholeheartedly recommend leech therapy or frequent blood donation if you’re dealing with acne, since you’ll be dumping lots of beneficial minerals as well (like zinc, copper, etc). Also, do you want to give an overview of what your current diet is – the more detail the better! Its active ingredients have drying properties but do not treat bacteria or inflammation. We’ve heard this since childhood - Iron is beneficial for all living organisms. Plus powerful & uncommon tips on how to avoid acne. GGT levels higher than 25 U/L for men, or 18 U/L for women (ideally, they should be below 16 for men, and below 9 for women). However, this type of iron is very easy for the body to absorb, and as a result, it’s a sure-fire way to end up with an easy excess of iron in the body. (I will say that whey isolate/concentrate both give me acne as well!). I’m 25 and I have very irregular periods (which have never been regular) and acne since puberty. Great research, thank you for linking the sources. EGCG can lower androgen levels in the body. I’d target the iron-utilization-boosting nutrients listed in the iron article, personally. I also think the research strongly points to heme iron from meat being an excellent source of iron – much more absorbable than plant iron – but I now think eating too much meat leads to iron overload, because your body can’t shut off absorption from heme iron like it can from plant iron. Seriously, based on the studies showing how effective blood donation is at reducing the risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes,[56] [57] [58] leeches were probably quite effective at improving health by reducing excess iron stores in the body. As the level of this hormone drops in the body, the ability to absorb more iron increases. Also, how much iodine are you taking? ), and is rarely talked about. These estrogen-mimicking chemicals interfere with hemoglobin production in the bone marrow. It is an excellent way to have your body naturally dump out its excess iron without having to consume anything extra. Raspberry leaf is an excellent tonic for irregular periods, heavy flow, cramping + hormonal acne! Article Table of Contents Wait, Is Ir… ( 6 ) There is a certain antioxidant called catechin in raisins that may prevent the growth and development of cancerous cells in the colon by scavenging free radicals responsible for it ( 7 ). [48] [49] [50], Fluoride. As it turns out, excess iron, or iron overload, is a real problem that causes damaging effects on the body, including making your skin and acne much worse. It’s used not just for oxygen carrying, but also for DNA synthesis, electron transport, and bodily growth. We ALL need iron. It is a chief component of hemoglobin and helps in carrying oxygen to the red blood cells. That’s a problem for iron overload, because vitamin A is required to make ceruloplasmin (copper-binding protein), which in turn is required in the liver to load free iron into transferrin. Good stuff. 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