Milk and Acne
There has been a lot of talk lately about milk and dairy products, and the effect they have on acne-prone skin. Which sounds sort of odd, because haven't you been told for years that diet doesn't cause acne?
The latest research, published in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, found teen boys who drank the most milk also had the most severe acne. Researchers believe the hormones found in milk may influence acne development.
Interestingly, naturopathic practitioners have long advised their clients to stay away from milk and dairy products. And common scapegoats like chocolate and pizza had no effect on acne severity.
But many caution against reading too much into the findings. The research only links milk consumption to acne severity. Saying milk actually causes acne isn't accurate. Proving diet affects acne is really a difficult thing to do, because so many other factors can influence breakout development.
On a personal note, I have never been a big milk drinker, even as a kid. And I never had acne as a teen. But after I developed acne as an adult, I noticed the development of many big, inflamed zits after an occasional glass of milk. Was it the really the milk, or coincidence? As my old Psych. 101 professor was so fond of saying, "correlation does not prove causation." Which is just a fancy way of saying, just because two events happen at the same time, doesn't prove they're related.
Remember, while doctors have long held there is no proof diet affects acne, they have also advised to stay away from any foods that seem to exacerbate breakouts. So, if you think dairy is influencing your acne, try keeping a food journal. Or cut back on dairy products for a period of time and see if you notice a difference in your skin.
Sources:
Adebamowo CA, Spiegelman D, Berkey CS, Danby W, Rockett HH, Colditz GA, Willet WC, Homes MD. "Milk consumption and acne in adolescent girls." Dermatology Online Journal 2006; 12(4):1.
Adembamowo CA, Spiegelman D, Berkey CS, Danby FW, Rockett HH, Colditz GA, Willett WC, Holmes MD. "Milk consumption and acne in teenaged boys." Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2008; 58(5): 787-793.
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This is absolutely true that milk causes acne. I suffered from horrible cystic acne for almost a decade, from my mid-teens into my mid-twenties. And this wasn’t a normal breakout or pimples — it was deep, under-the-skin, scarring acne. I was on every kind of antibiotic, topical cream, OTC cleanser, and even went on Accutane twice. Nothing helped, and I thought I was doomed to have acne forever. But it wasn’t until I started graduate school (a stressful time!) and got too busy to have a bowl of cereal every morning that my face started to clear up. I’ve since tested this hypothesis several times, and every time I have a glass of milk — even the non-hormonal kind — my face becomes inflamed with the cystic acne again. It is the only variable that consistently causes my acne (aside from sleep deprivation), and I’ve actually had to switch to more gentle cleansers rather than the abrasive acne-clearing ones because my face is doing that much better.
And after doing some research on milk production and pasteurization, I’ve realized that it’s not the added hormones in milk that caused my breakouts; it’s the hormones the cows secrete because they are lactating to feed their calf. I have sworn off regular milk forever. I can’t believe this isn’t talked about more as a major cause of acne today. It has caused me so much grief, and I have the physical scars to prove it. I wish I knew about this at 15!