Milk Shown As Biggest Cause Of Acne

by Russell Eaton

One of the subjects in OConnells article, Julianne, had 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. An American, she had travelled to Europe to learn to do a cookery course.

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, its 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.

Danby, the dermatologist, said: “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.”

Although acne can affect people at any age, it usually peaks at between 16 and 18, when up to 98 per cent of the population of developed countries are affected. A link between dairy milk and acne has been observed because acne is significantly less common in parts of the world that consume less dairy milk. As well as being socially embarrassing, acne is costly - up to five $billion is spent worldwide each year treating the affliction.

Acne is caused by hormones in dairy milk that affect the glands of hair follicles, making them produce more sebum than usual. This makes hair follicles stick together and form a kind of plug in the skin pore - this is the first visible sign of acne. The plug blocks the sebum canal and prevents the free-flow of sebum to the skin, thus making acne develop.

Milk is full of hormones: not only ones intended to help the calf grow, but also those produced by the placenta to aid the cows 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 known to work with testosterone and DHT to cause acne. IGF-1 is found in all types of dairy milk: raw, pasteurized, organic and nonorganic. So when you consume any type of dairy milk it will significantly increase your levels of IGF-1 and be likely to cause 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 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., Dont 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 drinking milk. (George J. Georgiou, Ph.D., Clinical Nutritionist, Milk - A Recipe for Disease, Nov. 2002, worldwidehealthcenter.net).

There is, of course, a simple solution to help prevent acne: switch to non-dairy milk. You can buy commercial non-dairy milk such as soy and rice milk in some supermarkets. Better still, make your own non-dairy milk. When made correctly home made milk is super-nutritious and truly delicious, and of course, it does not cause acne.

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

Tags: Cause Of Acne