Dairy Milk Revealed As Biggest Cause Of Acne

by Russell Eaton

For a long time scientists have searched for the causes of acne. Now at last, a dramatic picture is emerging that shows milk to be a major cause of acne. In an article by Sanjida O’Connell (How a Pinta Causes Pimples, The Independent, May 8th, 2007, USA) the way milk causes acne is shown graphically.

One of the subjects in O’Connell’s 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 that on her return to the States she would open a deli as well as a restaurant. So before she returned Julianne toured Europe, sampling just about every cheese she could find. As she recounted this to the dermatologist Bill Danby, something clicked: “Oh my God, it’s the cheese,” she realized with horror. For the next six months, she cut out all dairy products. During that time she became 85 per cent free of acne, and her skin has now cleared up.

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.”

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.

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.

As with any pregnant mammal, cow’s milk is full of hormones. These hormones help the calf grow quickly. Other hormones are produced by the placenta to help the cow’s pregnancy. One of the main hormones found in milk is IGF-1. This is a growth hormone which is also produced by all humans as they grow. IGF-1 peaks at age 15 in girls and 18 in boys, coinciding with peak acne levels.

It is thought that IGF-1 works with testosterone and DHT to cause acne. It is heavily present in all types of dairy milk: nonorganic, organic, raw or pasteurized. By consuming any kind of cow’s milk, this greatly increases the amount of IGF-1, and this in turn causes acne.

There is plenty of evidence showing that milk is a major cause of acne. In a major study, Dr Walter Willett and his colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston looked at the diets of 47,000 women who were part of a research project called the ‘Nurses Health Study II’.

In the study, the 47,000 women were asked to fill in a questionnaire that related to their diet as teenagers. They had to say whether they had ever been diagnosed with severe acne. The results of the study found no links between food such as French fries, chocolate and acne. But a significant link was found between women who had drunk a lot of milk in their teens and those that had severe acne.

Other research confirms this:

* IGF-1 [in milk] contributes to the increase in sebum production during puberty.

* About 80% of [dairy] cows are throwing off hormones continuously [dairy 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).

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.

Tags: Acne