Acne is caused by....what??? Are you kidding me??

Here’s a startling “fun fact” that I wish I had known. I drank a gallon of milk a day as a teen – and had terrible skin! I just wish SOMEONE would have told me what you’re about to learn.

Milk causes acne. It just does. Why? Well here are some documented reasons…

·         There is abundance of a hormone called IGF-1 in milk, which is really good for baby cows, but not for you. IGF-1 is a growth hormone. It makes baby cows grow up big and strong, but in humans, it tends to make your acne grow big instead. IGF-1 is one of several factors that cause inflammation in humans, and which eventually lead to acne (and the ugly redness and swelling that makes acne so annoying).

·         Milk and dairy products cause an insulin spike in humans that cause the liver to produce even more IGF-1, leading to even more acne.

·         Dairy causes your skin to produce excess sebum (oil), leading to – you guessed it! – more clogged pores, more acne, and a breeding ground for P. acnes bacteria, which feed on your sebum and spew out inflammatory by-products.

·         Dairy glues together dead skin cells inside your pores, so they can’t exit naturally, leading to clogged pores (and thus more acne).

The milk and acne effect is well documented in the literature. In the last decade or so, a number of studies have found a strong link between the consumption of milk and increased occurrence of acne. For example, one such study found that teenage boys who drank milk broke out more often, and more severely, than those who didn’t drink milk.[1]  At least five other studies have confirmed that, in general, the more milk you drink, the worse acne you’ll get.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Want better skin? Cut out the dairy!!

1.     Milk consumption and acne in teenaged boys. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2008 May;58(5):787-93. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18194824 ^

2.     Family history, body mass index, selected dietary factors, menstrual history, and risk of moderate to severe acne in adolescents and young adults. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2012 Dec;67(6):1129-35. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=22386050 ^

3.     High glycemic load diet, milk and ice cream consumption are related to acne vulgaris in Malaysian young adults: a case control study. BMC Dermatology. 2012 Aug 16;12:13. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22898209 ^

4.     Role of insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1, hyperglycaemic food and milk consumption in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris. Experimental Dermatology, 18: 833–841. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19709092 ^

5.     Milk consumption: aggravating factor of acne and promoter of chronic diseases of Western societies. J Dtsch Dermatol Ges. 2009 Apr;7(4):364-70. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19243483 ^

6.     High school dietary dairy intake and teenage acne. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2005 Feb;52(2):207-14. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15692464 ^

7.     Opioid peptides encrypted in intact milk protein sequences. British Journal of Nutrition / Volume 84 / Supplement S1 / November 2000, pp 27-31. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=886780 ^