Teens with acne might consider cutting back on milk and other dairy products. Foods with a high-glycemic index (carbohydrates affecting blood sugar levels) are the leading causes of acne at all ages, according to a meta-review of studies and clinical trials published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Now, researchers at New York University say milk’s natural hormones may additionally stimulate the acne-producing hormones present at puberty.
“Milk is designed to grow things—namely babies—and in the case of cows’ milk, calves,” comments Dr. Mark Hyman, author of The Blood Sugar Solution. “It’s naturally full of muscle-building anabolic hormones… which [also] cause bad acne.” Hyman considers cows’ milk “nature’s perfect food only if you are a calf,” and warns of “60-some hormones in the average glass of milk; even organic, raw and bovine growth-hormone-free milk.”