Does Dairy Cause Acne?

Canadian Dermatologist Reports Dairy Linked to Acne

Aug 29, 2007

Think that piece of cheesecake, grilled cheese or slice of pizza isn't the cause of acne on your face, back or chest? A few dermatologists suggest you think again!

It was a recurring argument in our household - maybe in yours too?

Husband: “I can’t believe my back! Look at this!” he’d say while pointing to what looked like an angry bee sting right by his shoulder blade or off to the side of his lower back.

Wife: “Maybe that welt (actually acne) has something to do with all of the cheese you’re so fond of?”

Husband: “What?! No way! I asked a dermatologist in South Africa if there was any link between cheese or dairy and acne and he said no!”

Wife: “Why don’t you cut down on your cheese intake and see what happens?”

Husband: (reluctantly) “Yeah… (sounding less than enthusiastic and willing).”

Dairy Linked to Causing Acne

So, it is with much interest and eye-brow raising that we bring you this article by Canadian dermatologist Dr. F.W. Danby, who writes in a 2005 piece published in the medical journal Dermatology, dairy has been linked to causing acne!

In his paper, Dr. Danby posits, "But how could milk cause acne? Because drinking milk and consuming dairy products from pregnant cows exposes us to the hormones produced by the cows’ pregnancy hormones that we were not designed to consume during our teenage and adult years. It is no secret that teenagers’ acne closely parallels hormonal activity..."

On his excellent site Dr. Danby offers FAQ answers and other concerns brought about by his recommendation of a “No Milk Acne Diet” for those wanting to stop dairy caused acne. For example, some people might think that replacing milk with lactose-free or organic milk will skirt the problem.

Dr. Danby quickly points out that this in fact is not the case. He says, “No. Lactose intolerance has nothing to do with acne, and "organic" simply means that the pesticides and insecticides the cows are exposed to in their food are less toxic than usual.”

One Pint of Ice Cream Per Day Counts as Dairy

Dr. Danby even mentions the case of one client who couldn’t understand why in his 60s he had severe back acne. When asked what he ate every day, the patient mentioned 1 pint of ice cream- yes, every day! Dr. Danby said it took about 1 year for this man’s back to “cool” and for the oil plugs (that turn into acne) triggered by the consumption of hormones in dairy/milk products to subside.

Old habits die hard though, especially for the resident “mouse” in our house, but as Dr. Danby says, it’s all about finding your personal threshold so that you can eat what you enjoy without your skin paying the price.

** For more information about Dr. Danby's study, to learn how milk/dairy triggers acne and to read about his "No Milk Acne Diet," click here. To read Dr. Danby's Dermatology piece, click here.

The copyright of the article Does Dairy Cause Acne? in Food Trends is owned by Mary Luz Mejia. Permission to republish Does Dairy Cause Acne? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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Oct 20, 2008 1:49 PM

Guest :

I am a nursing mom and found that my daughter is allergic to dairy (the dairy proteins not lactose) and so I've had to cut it out of my diet. Interestingly, right before I became pregnant last year, a make-up person indicated that the kind of acne I had, and that had been plaguing me during the back half of my 20's, looked like it was caused by dairy b/c of its placement on my face. I decided not to try going off dairy while I was pregnant but now must cut it out and my acne has completely cleared up. Completely. It is amazing.

Feb 25, 2009 6:21 PM

Guest :

I am 21 years old and have suffered from acne since the 5th grade. No kidding. Recently, during a study abroad trip, I went to Prague for a week. Because I had no money, I ate only fruit and bread and noticed my face cleared up IMMENSELY. When I returned from Prague, I went back to my typical cereal and cheese-on-everything diet. The acne came right back. So the experiment settled it... No more dairy for me, although I can have cream in my coffee, and in baked goods and things like that.

Mar 11, 2009 12:20 AM

Guest :

I was told by a woman at a make-up counter at the mall my acne was caused by hormones (along my jawline area) it makes sense now!! milk has hormones! ha.. i've suffered this acne since i was 13..i'm now 20! about 3 months ago i completely cut out dairy! my skin has improved so much! it explains why i got it predominantly around my cheeks/jaw! its hard saying no to ice cream and cheese! but its definitely worth it! :)) i wish i knew this back then! ha

Apr 2, 2009 4:00 PM

Guest :

32 yr old male. have had acne since i was 13. It continually got worse as i went to college so i started to see dermatologists. went through two rounds of accutane and it kept recurring. I've been taking antibiotics for over 13 yrs, tried everything. Best dermatologists from UCLA and UCSD med center could't figure it out> My last dermatologist did recommend cutting out dairy but i didnt try it until a wk ago thinking i might have food allergies causing my sinus problems. A little half-n-half w/ coffee and some cheese everyday was all i normally had but i stopped all dairy and all my skin problems went away...immediately!
Sounds too good to be true?! i still cant believe it myself! i want to write a letter to tell my story to all dermatologists i have ever been to and say F-U for poisoning my body with expensive drugs for 14 years!! If i added up all the money i've spent trying to fight this skin problem i would probably cry. All they had to do was tell me the truth: Dairy causes ACNE and there is a CURE. Somebody needs to report to the FDA that the dairy industry is poisoning us with hormones.

So anybody reading this needs to try giving up dairy. it might change your life, seriously. dont wait til you're 32 like me!

Now i just need to figure out how to live without dairy and fix all these scars...

Apr 2, 2009 4:01 PM

Guest :

Jun 18, 2009 11:06 PM

Guest :

I have been having severe acne, mood swings, hot flashes off and on for a while. I went so far as to see an Endocrinologist. She checked my estrogen levels, etc. and they were all normal, so I did not know what was going on still. I have noticed that every time I eat ice cream my face breaks out even worse though, especially if I've also eaten something with a lot of cheese. I've eaten an extreme amount of dairy here recently and my entire jawline is severely broken out. My mood swings and hot flashes are also severe right now. I am only 29 so I shouldn't yet be going through menopause. I don't use birth control pills and I'm most definitely not pregnant. (had hysterectomy, but still have ovaries) I'm going to cut all dairy out of my diet starting tomorrow and I will report back to this site if it clears up for sure!!
Sincerely,
Miserable In AL

Jul 13, 2009 12:15 PM

Guest :

Hi, I’m a 23 year old male from London, and I’ve had mild to severe acne since my early teens. However during my summer vacations to Africa (last 3 years) i would eat the same diet with slight changes. However by date of return my acne would completely disappear. I put this down to the sun and all the extra bottled water i had been drinking. I would return and shortly afterwards lo and behold my severe acne breakouts would return (particularly affecting my cheeks).

So i thought to myself cut out all junk food and eat healthy home cooked, and that didn’t help. I’m also quite active in that i play football and I’m a keen jogger, again no luck.

The sun i thought is the key, since it’s pretty dull here in England, we don’t get much sunshine. But the last month has been exceptionally hot and sunny, so i decided to sun worship with the masses. Again no luck.

So, i eat healthy, lead a healthy lifestyle (not even alcohol) included a dose of sun bathing and my acne becomes more severe.

Reading the above article i had proverbial ‘penny dropped’ moment, when I realised that all my African vacations had one thing in common. NO to little milk intake in my diet. Sure the sun may have helped but the key for re-occurrence is my being fond of milk with my Bran Flakes every morning, and in particularly liberal helpings of Philadelphia cheese.

So I am looking forward to cutting out all milk from my diet and I’m praying for good results, as I feel I’ve exhausted the alternatives. So I hope to report back in 4 weeks with positive results. Even if there is a slight improvement I will stick to it.

Aug 7, 2009 10:22 PM

Guest :

I cut dairy out of my diet because my naturalpath thought that i might be lactos intolerant because i was sluggish. I have always had bad skin and just dealt with it as best i could with make-up and what not. i have been dairy free for about 23 days and not one zit!! get rid of dairy!!Its so nice to not wear make-up every moment. A new confidence.

Aug 29, 2009 2:20 PM

Guest :

Acne was haunting me for nearly 40 years and took me years and years of self research and experiments to realize it was MILK and related food products causing it. Stopped eating and drinking anything of the kind (and I LOVE CHEESE and ice cream!) and got CURED! A miracle? Maybe. I think that many doctors know it but won't tell you or they will go out of business and the big pharma companies would not like it either. Milk does the body good but not for everyone, unfortunately. I love milk, ever was a milk addict, but have to leave without it, for the sake of my well being. Good luck to all you who suffer from acne, it really sucks!

Sep 29, 2009 9:31 AM

Guest :

I only recently realized that I started getting acne when I started eating dairy. My mom is lactose intolerant and so we never really had much dairy in the house. Also noticed it when my skin cleared up when I went to China/Japan. After both trips my acne was gone. Thought it was the not as stressful environment. Now I realized it is the dairy. I avoid dairy and my skin has completely cleared up. Now to convince my sister.

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