Dairy gets blamed for acne a lot.
Milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and other dairy foods can easily get grouped together, and women are sometimes told that if they have acne, dairy needs to go.
I do not think it is that simple.
I sometimes eat Greek yogurt, ice cream, and cheese myself, so I am certainly not going to tell you that every woman with acne-prone skin needs to remove every dairy food from her diet.
At the same time, I would not ignore the research showing a connection between cow’s milk and acne for some people.
So instead of putting every dairy food into the same category, I think it makes more sense to look at what the research says.
What Does the Research Say About Dairy and Acne?
There is research showing a connection between cow’s milk and acne.
Some studies have found that people who drink more milk are more likely to have acne, with some of the stronger associations seen with skim and low-fat milk.
Researchers have also looked at the way milk can affect insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1, and other hormonal signals that can influence oil production and what is happening inside the pore.
So I do think the connection is worth paying attention to, especially if milk is something you consume regularly and you are dealing with acne.
Not Every Dairy Food Is the Same
This is where I think the conversation around dairy and acne can get too broad.
Milk has been studied much more than foods such as yogurt and cheese, and the research has not shown the same consistent connection with every type of dairy food.
A woman who drinks several glasses of milk every day is not necessarily going to have the same experience as someone who eats Greek yogurt with breakfast or has cheese occasionally.
Should You Stop Eating Dairy If You Have Acne?
I do not think it is necessary to remove an entire food group just because you have acne.
If you eat dairy regularly and your skin is doing well, I do not see a reason to start taking foods out because someone online told you dairy is bad for acne.
But if you think a certain dairy food may be affecting your skin, look more closely at what you are actually eating.
Are you drinking milk every day?
Do you eat yogurt or cheese regularly?
Is dairy something you have occasionally, or is it a food choice you make several times throughout the day?
And most importantly, are you noticing the same thing happening with your skin repeatedly?
I would not eat ice cream one night, wake up with a blemish, and decide the ice cream caused it. Acne does not usually give us answers that quickly or that neatly.
I would pay more attention to what keeps happening.
A repeated pattern gives you much more useful information than one meal.
Do Not Look at Dairy by Itself
Dairy is only one part of your diet.
What you eat most often matters more to me than focusing on one food as the reason for your acne.
If your diet includes a lot of sweetened drinks, desserts, refined foods, or meals that do not give you much protein, fiber, or healthy fat, I would look at that entire picture too.
That does not mean you cannot enjoy dessert or a snack from time to time.
Sometimes we become so focused on removing one food that we stop looking at everything else we are eating day after day.
So Does Dairy Really Cause Acne?
Not for everyone.
Research has found a connection between cow’s milk and acne for some people, but the same relationship has not been shown consistently with every dairy food.
That is why I think it makes more sense to look at your usual eating habits and what your skin is doing than to treat all dairy as something you need to avoid.
