Effects of fish oil supplementation on inflammatory acne
Khayef G, Young J, et al, Lipids Health Dis, 2012 Dec 3; 11(1): 165
In a study involving 13 individuals with inflammatory acne, supplementation with 3 grams of fish oil (containing 930 mg of EPA) per day for a period of 12 weeks, in addition to their existing acne remedies and their diet left unchanged, was found to be associated with improvement in severity of acne in 8 of the 12 subjects, out of which 7 were classified as having "moderate to severe" acne at baseline. Interestingly, 4 of the subjects were found to have a worsening of symptoms, and of those, 3 were classified as having "mild" acne. The authors conclude that, "There is some evidence that fish oil supplementation is associated with an improvement in overall acne severity, especially for individuals with moderate to severe acne. Divergent responses to fish oil in our pilot study indicates that dietary and supplemental lipids are worthy of further investigation in acne."
