Acne may seem like no big deal for those of us who have never had it -- or who only had it for just a few years during puberty; but for many teens, having acne can feel like the end of the world. The damage it does to one's self esteem during the time when it's the most fragile can be devastating. Even for adults who find themselves facing breakouts for the first or second time in their lives, acne can be frustrating and annoying. It can also be expensive, whether you decide to try over-the-counter
products or visit a dermatologist.
For people looking for a natural alternative, there's now Accunatural, a product developed by Dr. Goodless, a skin health physician. Accunatural is a combination of vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, zinc, selenium, chromium and barberry. These vitamins and minerals were chosen based on their performance in past clinical studies. The herb, Dr. Goodless said, was chosen because it has a traditional of use in treating acne in Chinese and Japanese medicine. Users take three caplets a day with meals and, according to Dr. Goodless, typically see results after a month. The three pills add up to about 66 cents a day.
For those curious about each ingredient, Dr. Goodless provides references and citations for the clinical trials he researched. The information is available on the Skin Nutrients website, www.accunatural.com. He also provides information on his own clinical trial on Accunatural, which he presented at the 2005 meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.
The development of Accunatural
While typical acne treatments boast expensive chemical ingredients and long development times, Florida dermatologist Dean Goodless did something simple: He looked at the
research surrounding mild acne and observed which vitamins and
minerals seemed to help the problem. Then he created a
supplement that combined those
vitamins and minerals, plus an herb that's been used in Asian medicine to treat acne. By just focusing on the nutritional causes and effects of acne, he has been able to help his
patients at his private clinic. Now, he's offering the supplement, known as Accunatural, to others.
"I've done about a dozen FDA clinical trials. I've done some of them in my own office, some in research centers. I just kind of put all this together and decided, 'I think I'll come up with something that will help my patients with acne, that they would be happier taking than taking antibiotics,'" he said. "The antibiotics were giving patients side effects like sun sensitivity, yeast infections, and GI upset. I like to take nutritional supplements myself for the benefits they give, so I did a little background research."
Dr. Goodless said that he is an allopathic physician. If patients of his "roll their eyes" when he suggests using supplements, he does give them the option of trying antibiotics, or another prescription medication. But he doesn't think this is always the right way to go. "It's really not good for the whole group, humanity, as a herd. It's just not good to be feeding antibiotics to everyone," he said. "If I can treat something with diet or nutrition, I would do that before I take a prescription." For patients who see problems with taking antibiotics and prescription drugs first, he thinks his supplement can be the perfect treatment. Dr. Goodless found those types of patients within his own practice.
"A lot of patients are keen to try natural things. They like that idea. I'd say for a lot of patients they had surprisingly good results. I was kind of pleasantly surprised that it worked, and intrigued and kind of excited about the idea of maybe stumbling onto something important," he said. "I was just giving it to them to see if it would work and they wanted to buy it."
This enthusiasm from his own patients made Dr. Goodless decide to find his own manufacturer and run a clinical trial. The trial actually improved upon the results he first saw when he was using other combinations of other manufacturers' supplements. He says this was probably because the manufacturer created the supplements with his exact formula in mind.
"When I got those tablets, I wanted to confirm that it still worked, because it was a totally different manufacturer, and a slightly different formula. We repeated the study and actually the results were better," he said. "Now it's like a 50 percent improvement in 30 days in both inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions. I think that part of the improvement there is that, with the tablets, you know, every tablet has all eight ingredients."
Testimonials for Accunatural
His website features before and after photographs and testimonials from both his patients and from people who have ordered Accunatural over the internet. The comments and pictures concern users of all ages (there's even a testimonial from a pharmacist). One reads: "You gave me a sample at one of the
skin care shows in Orlando. My daughter just loves them. She sees a big improvement in her
skin. Thanks so much!!!!!" This testimonial demonstrates something else about Accunatural and Dr. Goodless: His commitment on a personal level to introducing this product to the public. In fact, Dr. Goodless still bottles and distributes the product from his home.
"The orders come in. I get an email and shoot out a label from the site. I have a room, and my kids box everything up in the back. When they want to earn some money they box Skin Nutrients. I have shelves and shelves of Skin Nutrients ready to go. I put a label on it, and it goes to the post office," he said. "It's pretty neat."
Note: This is NOT a paid interview or advertorial for Accunatural. Truth Publishing accepts absolutely NO money from companies and products covered in our content. Nor do we receive kickbacks or commissions from the sale of such products. Truth Publishing is one of the very few honest, independent, and unbiased publishers of health news you'll find anywhere in the world.
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