Acne is a fairly common yet annoying condition. Depending on its severity, acne has a wide array of negative impacts, ranging from lowering one’s self-esteem to increasing risk of skin infection. There are many ways to get rid of acne, one of them is changing one’s diet.
This particular approach to clear up the skin is built on the notion that there are certain diets that may promote the formation of acne, particularly the dairy products.
But is the claim true? Read on.
Examining the scientific evidence
There are three large studies conducted to examine the relationship between frequent milk consumption and acne. Firstly, a study that involved high school teenagers found out that the higher the total milk consumption, the more likely the teenagers developed acne. As suggested by the result of the same study, another study also revealed that individuals who take skim milk are more likely to develop acne. (Skim milk lover, watch out maybe?)
That’s the case in teenage boys, how about teenage girls? A study involving 6,094 adolescent teenage girls arrived at the same conclusion. Another large study that involved 78,529 children, adolescents and young adults has further confirmed that an increase in consumption of dairy products (such as milk, yoghurt and cheese) leads to an increase in acne among its subjects aged 7 - 30 years old.
Research with a similar aim has been conducted in Malaysia as well. 88 patients, aged 18 to 30 years old, were asked to complete a food diary for 3 days. Half (44) of the patients had acne, and half (44) did not have acne. The patients who had acne consumed more cow's milk and high-glycemic foods than did the patients without acne. Another case-control study found out that Malaysians who take more milk and chocolate are more prone to acne development. However, the study did not prove that higher intake in sweets, potatoes, chips, nuts, yoghurt, ice-cream or carbonated drinks may lead to more acne.
Although scientific evidence seems to provide substantial evidence to the role of dairy products in causing acne, some scientists and doctors have questioned their validity. Those reasons include poor design of study and the highly variable results. For instance, some studies found out that all dairy products promote acne, whereas some only confirmed milk consumption alone that causes acne.
Also, so far there are no controlled trials demonstrating the direct causal link between milk and acne. Acne formation is a complex process that involves hormone, lifestyle, and genetic makeup. Without a rigorous controlled trial, we can’t know for sure whether people who develop more acne are due to their higher intake of dairy products or due to other reasons, say, genetics.
How dairy products cause acne?
What do you think about dairy products that cause acne? Well, scientists established that both skim and whole milk are food with high glycaemic load and may over-stimulate your body’s production of insulin when you drink them, known as a hyperinsulinaemic response. This is due to the high carbohydrate content present in those milk. (Yes, your milk contains a high amount of carbohydrates, not just protein.) As a result, hyperinsulinemia increases a chemical substance in your body known as the IGF-1, which is known to stimulate acne growth.
Another proposition is that cow’s milk contains a high amount of growth hormones, including IGF-1. Because the cow’s growth hormone is in a lot of ways similar to human’s growth hormone, so it was as if we are taking in growth hormones we don’t need when we ingest milk or dairy products. The growth hormone is also what promotes the growth of acne.
If you’re an acne sufferer, should you get rid of dairy products?
While more research is needed to know whether certain foods can worsen acne, if you think your diet affects your acne, start paying more attention to your acne breakouts:
-
Does any food or beverage seem to trigger a breakout or worsen your existing acne?
-
If something seems to trigger a breakout, what happens when you don’t have that food or beverage for a day, a week, or a month?
You may keep a food diary that tracks your daily diet and corresponding acne development.
While diet may play a role in causing your breakouts or worsening your acne, keeping your skin clear requires more than a diet change. Getting professional medical help may increase your chance of getting rid of your acne. Your medical professional would be able to recommend effective acne-clearing products and/or personalised advice that makes your journey to a clear skin easier.
References:
