Ultra-Low-Dose Oral Contraceptive Effectively Treats Acne
Many times, acne can be caused by excess testosterone. In today’s lifestyle patterns, high insulin levels can effect the conversion of estrogen into testosterone effectively increasing testosterone levels. One of the best ways to approach acne actually comes from within…balancing insulin levels, restoring health of the GI tract (probiotics, glutamine…), Vit A, essential fatty acids… Giving estrogens in this study may work by blunting the difference between estrogen and testosterone levels in the body, but does not actually work by lowering the excess testosterone.
Fertil Steril. 2001;76(3):461-468 An ultra-low-dose oral contraceptive has been shown to be just as effective in treating acne as pills with higher doses of estrogen, according to a study published in the September issue of Fertility and Sterility. “Our study confirms that an oral contraceptive containing only 20 micrograms of estrogen — the lowest dose on the market today — is effective in suppressing androgen production and reducing acne lesions,” said Diane Thiboutot, MD, lead study investigator and associate professor of medicine at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania. “This clinical trial is good news for women because it shows that we now have more birth control choices that are not only 99% effective in preventing pregnancy, and offer numerous other health benefits, but can also treat acne lesions without causing a change in weight — a common estrogen-related side effect,” said Dr. Thiboutot.”In addition, the choice of a low-dose contraceptive resulted in a low occurrence of estrogen-related side effects like nausea, headaches, and breast tenderness, in addition to weight gain,” she added. “If women experience fewer side effects and can treat their acne, they may be less likely to discontinue pill use, to switch to a less effective method of birth control, or to use no birth control at all.”