What if you get rid of your acne 2 days from now? No topical applications, no unknown remedies, no toxic drugs, and no overdose supplements. You will just fine tune the supplements you may be aready taking.

After the tremendous response to my hub about facial masks, I decided to give you more of my experience as a pharmacist. Today I will present to you the best successful, experimented cure of acne that I have been recommending people for years. It is based on the brilliant basics of biochemistry and supported by recent scientific findings.

Children are free from acne until puberty, when all the body activities
are directed towards building more bones and muscles, and preparing the body to reproduce (to preserve life).The pitiuitary gland (maestro gland) hormones directs the body to serve these purposes, thus :

• Growth hormone increases utilization of fats for energy production, increases lipolysis (fat breakdown by fat cells), spares carbohydrate, and increases protein synthesis.

• Thyroid Stimulating Hormone(TSH) stimulates the thyroid gland to secrete Thyroid hormenes, and these increase oxygen utilization and metabolic rate, as well as they increase glucose absorption.

• Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Lutenizing Hormone (LH) causes
increased biosynthesis of sex steroids by the ovaries and testis. Sex hormones build muscles and raises blood glucose so as to be maintained within a certain range.

The net result is increased energy production from fats, decreased energy production from carbohydrates (as it is needed for protein metabolism) , increased protein synthesis, and increased biosynthesis of sex hormones. The biochemical translation of that is, the production of huge amounts of COENZYME A.

Coenzyme A is the central molecule in our metabolism, it combines acetate that comes from carbohydrates, protein, and fat metabolism to form Acetyl-Coenzyme A, the only molecule that the mitochondria use to produce energy through Krebs cycle. Also fat synthesis - including steroidal hormones - starts with Acetyl Coenzyme A. Acetyl choline the neurotransmitter of all para-sympathetic nervous system can not be synthesised without acetyl-coenzyme A.

Coenzyme A is formed by stepwise union of Cysteine (amino acid), ATP
(high energy molecule), and Pantothenate (Vitamin B5). ATP is provided by metabolism, Cysteine if not present in food can be derived from Methionine (amino acid), and Vitamin B5 can be only provided by food.

The body deals with the high demand of an essential nutrient in such a way to maintain the functionally more important reactions, while at the same time slowing down the less important ones (or why a certain disease is debilitating?).

In our case, where Coenzyme A is a pivotal molecule in at least 70 metabolic pathways, the body chooses to utilize Coenzyme A and excess fats to senthesises sex hormones, leaving excess fats unmetabolized. Were there extra amounts of Coenzyme A, the body would metabolize the excess fat in the sebaceous glands.

Now we can easily understand that acne is due to unmetabolized fat that is accumulated in the sebaceous glands, due to insufficient amounts of Coenzyme A,i.e., acne is due to slow metabolism of excess fat.

The reason acne first erupts at puberty is not effects of hormones, but rather metabolic, it is secondary to deployement of a substantial amount of coenzyme A to the purpose of synthesis of sex hormones. In the following examples we may see that, it is not the androgen that is the cause of acne:

• Eunuchs (early castrated males) rarely exhibit acne, while normal adult males may exhibit adult acne

• Two groups of adolescent boys with the normal blood levels of androgens may exihibit differnt incidence of acne

• Stress related acne ( prior to examination, tension, insomnia...etc)
is caused by increased synthesis of corticosteroids that the body secretes to combat stress. The same thing apply for adult acne of people who have not had acne as teenagers

• The premenstrual flare of acne patients due to increased levels of progesterone which is not an androgen

• Rapid decline in incidence of acne after puberty is due to cessation of need of increased sex hormones synthesis

• Biotin and Nicotinamide are important vitamins of lipid metabolism, and with vitamin B5 they may help cure acne, yet when they are used alone, they are far less effective in treating acne

• Frequently seen acne with those secreting tumors of the ovary, testis and adrenals, in people with variant ages

The precursors of coenzyme A are ATP which is very abundant in the body of adolescent people, Cysteine which is non essential amino acid that can be supplied with food or derived from the essential amino acid Methionine, and Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) which is essentially supplied by food.

Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) supply to increase body production of coenzyme A , has been recommended by Dr Lit-Hung Leung in high doses reaching 1000-1500 times its recommended daily intake which is 10 milligrams per day. The recommended dose is so high (10-15 grams/day), because vitamin B5 is a water soluble vitamin, i.e., with each heart beat the unused B5 molecules pass into the kidney to be excreted. It follows that Vitamin B5 should be present all the time to capture any free Cysteine.

Since the demand for coenzyme A increases in adolescence, the need for Cysteine must increase. Cysteine is a sulfur amino acid that is heavily used in building keratin, which is an important constituent of the skin (which increases largely in size during adolescence), growing wanted and unwanted hair, and also used in forming nails.

Cysteine free pool in the liver has a narrow range, since the liver cells tightly regulates it to keep it within that range. The liver synthesises Glutathione as a reservoir of cysteine. Glutathione is the primary tool of the liver for detixification. It has a vital role in many cell cycle related events that are needed during tissue repair. It is also vital for maintaining functioning of the immune system.

Cysteine with Glutamic acid (another amino acid) are considered by some researchers to be essential elements for adolescents.

Administration of Cysteine is the only means by which we can reduce the dose of Pantothenic acid. I have recommended the combination of Pantothenic acid + Cysteine for many acne patients for more than 10 years with great results in curing acne.

Taking 0.5-1 grams of Cysteine per day reduces your intake of Pantothenic acid to only 1-1.5 grams per day (they will be combined).

The metabolic pathway of synthesis of coenzyme A involves a compound called Pantetheine which is the direct precursor of coenzyme A. It is now produced in the stable form pantethine, as it involves 2 molecules in the disulfide form of pantethine. It has an extra advantage of being sustained over time, since every molecule has to be split first, and this delays its elimination.

It was intensively researched for its cholesterol and lipid lowering properties (aren't they excess fats?), and has become very popular for cardiovascular support. The literature about Pantethine is full of details about that property, and this made me reluctant to recommend its use for acne, until I found some people are already using Pantethine to cure acne as you can read in the link below.

The dose of Pantethine in most human studies is 900 mg per day and this may be a good guide for us to start with 300 mg three times daily until improvement, it is supposed to improve acne within 2 days.

In the below link, there is the details of each product you may choose to cure acne. I included both systems of treatments to overcome the problem of individual variations, so that you may choose the most convenient one that meets your requirements.

If you like take some adjuvants, you may take supplements that contain
Chromium, Zinc, Vitamin E, Vitamin B complex, and Vitamin A, but it is not a must.