The Claim: Your Diet Can Bring on an Acne Outbreak

The New York Times reminds us that dairy is a food with proven links to acne, something many teens will be more than happy to give up:

Those who drank three or more cups of milk a day, the [Harvard] researchers found, were 22 percent more likely to experience severe acne compared with those who drank one serving a week or less.

Skim milk had the greatest effect. Cream cheese and cottage cheese were also associated with outbreaks, while chocolate and greasy foods were not. The researchers attributed the effect to hormones in milk; other studies have had similar findings.

This study was published last year in The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, and analyzed the habits and diets of nearly 50,000 people, focusing particularly on what the subjects ate while in high school.

This information shouldn't be surprising, since cow's milk is, by nature, meant to turn calves into cows. How can this bovine nourishment be appropriate for humans in any measurable quantity?

Tags: dairy