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Dairy Milk Revealed As Biggest Cause Of Acne

Author: RussellEaton
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For several decades scientists have tried to establish the causes of acne. A picture is emerging at last that dramatically shows milk to be a major cause of this skin affliction. For example an article by Sanjida O'Connell (How a Pinta Causes Pimples, The Independent, May 8th, 2007, USA) shows graphically how milk causes acne.

Julianne, an American subject mentioned in O'Connell's article, never suffered from spots as a teenager, but by the time she was 28 she had terrible cystic acne along her jawline and across her neck. She had travelled to Europe to learn to learn about cooking.

She decided to open a deli as well as a restaurant back in the States, so before she returned home she toured Europe, sampling every cheese she could find. As she recounted her story to the dermatologist Bill Danby, something clicked: "Oh my God, it's the cheese," she said. For six months, she cut out all dairy products. During that time she became 85 per cent free of acne, and her skin has continued to improve.

According to Danby, a skin expert, "The ability to develop acne is partly genetic and partly the result of hormone exposure [e.g. hormones from dairy milk]. I tell my female patients that genetics are the key to the fact that Paris Hilton has lots of money and no zits and my patients have lots of zits and no money."

In teenagers acne peaks at between 16 and 18, although it can affect anyone at any age. Up to 98 per cent of people in Western countries are affected. A clear link between acne and dairy milk has been noted by researchers because acne is much higher in parts of the world that consume more milk. Acne makes the skin sore and uncomfortable, and is socially excruciating - $5 billion is spent worldwide each year treating it.

This is how milk causes acne: hormones in dairy milk stimulate the glands of hair follicles, making them secrete more sebum than they normally would. As a consequence, hair follicles stick together and form a plug in the pore of the skin - the first visible sign of acne. As the plug 'pinches' the sebum canal it prevents the free-flow of sebum to the skin. The result is acne.

Milk is full of hormones: not only ones intended to help the calf grow, but also those produced by the placenta to aid the cow's pregnancy. Another worrying hormone, as far as acne is concerned, is IGF-1. Both humans and cows make IGF-1 in their bodies. This hormone peaks at age 15 in girls and 18 in boys, coinciding with peak acne levels.

IGF-1 is thought to work with testosterone and DHT to cause acne, and is heavily present in all types of dairy milk: organic, nonorganic, raw or pasteurized. So consuming any kind of dairy milk is going to increase your levels of IGF-1, thus contributing to acne.

There is no shortage of evidence showing that dairy milk is one of the biggest causes of acne. Dr Walter Willett and his colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston studied more than 47,000 women who are part of a research project called the Nurses Health Study II.

As part of the study, 47,000 women were required to complete questionnaires concerning their diet as teenagers, and to indicate whether they ever had severe acne. The study found no links between foods such as potato chips or chocolate and acne, but they did find a strong link between women who had acne and those who had regularly consumed milk.

Other research clearly confirms this:

* IGF-1 [in dairy milk] contributes to the increase in sebum production during puberty. (Endocrinology, 1999 Sep, 140:9).

* About 80% of [dairy] cows are throwing off hormones continuously [milk is] implicated as a factor in the development of acne teenage acne patients improved as soon as milk drinking stopped. (Frank Oski, M.D., Don't Drink Your Milk, Teach Services, Inc).

* About 80% of cows that are giving milk are pregnant and are throwing off hormones continuouslyDr. Jerome has found that acne improved as soon as the teenagers stopped consuming milk. (Dr. George J. Georgiou, Ph.D., Clinical Nutritionist, Milk - A Recipe for Disease, Nov. 2002, worldwidehealthcenter.net).

To minimize the risk of acne (or get rid of it), you simply have to avoid dairy milk. Doing this is easy if you replace dairy with non-dairy milk. Nowadays you can buy soy and rice milk in many supermarkets. But better still, consider making your own milk at home. When made correctly home made milk is super-nutritious and truly delicious, and of course, it does not cause acne.

About the Author

To get more information about making non-dairy milk go to Make Your Own Milk. Special recipes show how to make delicious and super-nutritious milk easily and quickly. No special milk-making machine required. Find out more.