Does Drinking Milk Cause Acne?

Is There a Link Between Dairy and Acne?

We've heard it over and over again: your diet does not cause acne. However, there are a handful of doctors who believe that what we eat may indeed affect our skin. And they're not pointing fingers at chocolate and potato chips, but instead at milk. That's right -- the wholesome drink that we've always considered healthy is at the center of an acne controversy.

Researchers claim to have found a correlation between milk intake and the incidence of acne. It seems milk drinkers develop more severe acne than non-milk drinkers. One study, published in the May 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, looked at the diets of teenaged boys. The young men who drank the most milk also tended to have the worst acne.

This supports the results of previous studies, during which teenage girls were asked to keep food diaries and monitor breakout activity. Again, girls whose diets were rich in dairy products had more severe acne than the rest.

Of all dairy products, milk was the worst offender. Chocolate milk, cottage cheese, and sherbet also had a negative effect on the skin. But other dairy products didn't seem to cause breakouts.