Question
I know the relationship between dairy products and acne has been discussed plenty of times and some people just aren't convinced there even is a connection. Maybe you or someone you know eats plenty of dairy products and never gets a pimple. Or maybe you've cut out all dairy from your diet but you still suffer from acne. But I think you need to ask yourself why do you even eat dairy products in the first place. First of all, cows today are fed grains, not their natural diet of grass. They're also pumped full of hormones and antiobiotics. So why would you want to put food that's highly contaminated into your body? Would you put contaminated gasoline in your car? Of course not. Second, is dairy something that's natural for adult humans to be eating? Why do mammals produce milk in the first place? To feed their young until they're old enough to eat the same food adults do. And yet here we are eating what's essentially food meant for babies. And if that weren't bad enough, we're not even eating the food meant for human babies. We're eating the stuff meant for cows. LOL. Can you imagine a cow feeding its offspring milk produced by a human? Also, if I knew someone whose body reacted badly to a certain food, that would raise a red flag. Even if it didn't have any noticeable effect on me, I'd still be a little cautious. What's more likely? That the food is harmful and maybe its effect on me is much more subtle and might take longer to manifest itself OR that I'm just lucky?

People like to think of the skin as just a container, but we now know it's more than that, much more. Skin is an organ and its state is a reflection of what's going on inside you. If you saw someone who was unusually pale or had a rash, you'd conclude that it wasn't just a skin problem, but that more likely something's going wrong inside them. So why wouldn't you conclude the same thing when you saw someone with acne? So if you're serious about treating and preventing acne, think carefully about what you eat. Ask yourself why you're eating it, what's in it, and whether it's something your body was meant to process. That goes for all food, not just dairy. I know that ever since I cut out processed food, including dairy, my skin is a lot better. Not only do I not get acne, my skin just looks healthier. But remember that detoxification takes a while. You have to be patient. You've probably been eating dairy and other processed foods for years. You can't expect to make up for the damage those foods may have caused in just a matter of weeks or even months.

Answer
I'm starting to agree with you about your posts regarding acne and diet. I've been eating really well lately and have notice some improvements. Hopefully, I can get off minocycline and some topicals i'm using, but scared to do so. Couple questions for you:
1. how bad was your acne? you ever get those cysts?
2. have you ever taken medication for it and what were the results when your quit?
3. have you ever tried digestive cleanse of somesort???
4. can you give us all an example of what you eat throughout the day.

Thanks!!

Answer
You have some good points, OTL. There are several testimonies on here that have shown that there is a connection between diet and acne. I have cut some things out of my diet, and my acne has improved to me being 98% clear. That's good for me!! But I will also say that dairy, mainly milk, has been consumed by humans for years. I think the correlation between acne and milk/dairy is valid, but it seems more like you're trying to convince people (in your first paragraph) of that the fact that milk is bad for them-period. Could please reserve that for the diet and nutrition forum? Yes, most milk has hormones and antibiotics in it. Did you know though that there are a few companies that make hormone-free/anitbiotic-free milk and other dairy products? I love milk. It does not affect my acne, nor do I feel bad for drinking it.

Answer
Quote: Hopefully, I can get off minocycline and some topicals i'm using, but scared to do so. Couple questions for you:
1. how bad was your acne? you ever get those cysts?
2. have you ever taken medication for it and what were the results when your quit?
3. have you ever tried digestive cleanse of somesort???
4. can you give us all an example of what you eat throughout the day.
1. My acne was never really bad because even as a teenager, I knew that my acne was the result of what I ate. It wasn't hard to notice the pattern. So if my skin broke out, I'd just avoid sugary foods. But then after a while, I'd cave and go eat junk food again and the cycle would repeat itself. The problem for me though was that, up until recently, I never thought to eliminate other foods like whole wheat bread or dairy cause, like a lot of people, I was convinced they were healthy.
2. I've never taken any medications or even been to a dermatologist. Like I said above, I never let my acne get that bad. At most, I used over-the-counter products which gave me mixed results at best.
3. I've never done a digestive cleanse. So far, it hasn't seemed necessary.
4. These days, I eat only whole foods. Fruits, vegetables, lean meat, fish, and nuts. I try to eat organic when I can, though for things like meat it's too expensive. I also avoid anything that's gone through substantial processing. You may have heard of The Caveman Diet, The Paleo Diet, Neanderthin, or Ultrametabolism. The premise behind all these diets is nothing new, but it's one that makes a lot of sense. Simply put, millions of years of evolution has conditioned our bodies to run on certain fuel and that genetically speaking, human beings aren't significantly different than ancient man. But we're eating foods that are very different than what ancient man ate. Ancient man didn't eat things like yogurt or bread and certainly didn't eat donuts or pizza. They wouldn't recognize them as food because they're things that we've manufactured. The theory is that most of today's leading health problems like heart disease, cancer, diabetes and even acne are the result of us eating processed foods, foods that we weren't designed to run on. It's analogous to putting diesel fuel in your car that requires unleaded gasoline.


Quote: But I will also say that dairy, mainly milk, has been consumed by humans for years. I think the correlation between acne and milk/dairy is valid, but it seems more like you're trying to convince people (in your first paragraph) of that the fact that milk is bad for them-period. Could please reserve that for the diet and nutrition forum? Yes, most milk has hormones and antibiotics in it. Did you know though that there are a few companies that make hormone-free/anitbiotic-free milk and other dairy products? I love milk. It does not affect my acne, nor do I feel bad for drinking it.
It may seem like humans have been drinking milk for years, but relatively speaking, it's a fairly new addition. Humans have been around for millions of years but the agricultural revolution happened in the last 1%. Also milk may not cause acne in everyone and you may not feel bad from drinking it, but just remember that it often takes a long time to feel the impact of something. Someone who smokes doesn't develop lung cancer overnight, but over time, it does add up. The same is true with a lot of the processed foods we eat. And the reason I posted this in this forum is because you can't separate acne from overall health. There's a tendency to look at health issues in isolation, but I think we need to take a more holistic approach. Smoking gives you lung cancer and heart disease. Sugar gives you acne along with tooth decay. If something gives you acne, chances are it's doing something else too.

Answer
I'm sure there is nothing-food wise-that is guaranteed to be 100% safe, including your own diet. But since there have been no reports (that I am aware of) of dairy causing toxic or extreme health problems in the general population b/c of their contents, I am more inclined to believe that dairy is not as harmful as you say-granted you consume it in moderation.

And remember, just b/c you eat only whole foods doesn't mean that you're body is benefiting 100% from them.

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