Milk and acne

The results from a just published study of U.S. girls (9 to 15 years of age) reveals that greater consumption of milk is associated with the severity of acne.

Interestingly, there was no association between acne and the intake of dairy fat. This suggests that the fat content of milk is not important in developing acne. It also suports earlier study results where there was a relationship between total skim milk intake and acne.

The article goes on to discuss the mechanisms that might be responsible for milk’s influence on acne formation. The bottom line is that moderation of milk intake might be useful as part of the management of teenage acne. For young people willing to forgo milk, consider other sources of calcium and vitamin D.

Also, consider that there are many contributing factors to the development of acne. Altering just one might have a positive but limited effect on the severity of the condition.

7/20/06 22:49 JR