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Time and again, researchers and scientists have pointed various factors that cause an acne breakout. Stress, diet, lack of physical activities, certain medications etc are believed to be some of the common causes that can trigger acne. This time around it is milk that is being blamed as the cause of acne. But can a drink as wholesome as milk really be the cause of your pimples and zits? Let us find out.
It is a known fact that milk contains male hormones known as androgens. Androgens are responsible to activate the sebaceous glands and cause them to secrete more sebum. This excessive secretion of sebum leads to clogging of pores, and hence causes acne. Milk comprises of androgen hormone known as testosterone. This testosterone changes to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) through a series of reactions in the sebaceous glands.
While milk as such contains numerous hormones by default, the amount of hormones gets increased when farmers inject their cows with more hormones. This is done to increase the productivity of milk by a given cow. Cows are injected with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) to increase the output of milk. These injections increase the amount of IGF - 1 present in milk. It must be noted that it is IGF -1 that woks along with testosterone and DHT to cause acne.
The contamination of milk just does not end here. Milk is further tainted during its processing. When skimmed milk is processed, whey protein is added to the same. This whey protein helps give milk a creamier consistency. It is a known fact that whey protein aggravates acne and can make your acne condition worse.
Yet another factor that makes milk an important cause of acne is that milk increases insulin levels. Several researches by the dairy industry themselves state that drinking milk can increase the levels of insulin considerably. An increased level of insulin in the body is equivalent to increased acne.
So, does this imply that you should stop drinking milk altogether to get rid of acne? Not really. There are several individuals who drink milk on a daily basis and yet have not dealt with an acne breakout ever. Despite numerous factors, there is no concrete evidence to prove that milk causes acne.
In such a case, a hit and trial method would be the best solution to the problem. Try to opt for a no milk and no dairy diet for about a week. If you experience improvement in your acne condition, you might as well give up milk. However, if your acne does not improve you can continue drinking milk and not deprive yourself of the essential nutrients present in it.
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