Got Milk? Maybe that's why you Got zits!

Got Milk? Maybe that’s why you Got blemishes.

So, while I’m here eating my breakfast cereal with my organic cow’s milk, I’m going to tell you how milk may very well be the culprit of giving you acne. I swear I’m not trying to be a hypocrite; it’s just taking me some leisure time to finally come off of the cow and onto the almonds- almond milk that is.

Now what’s so wrong about drinking milk? I mean we have been drinking it since… ‘Land before time’? (90’s babies should know this). Except for the fact that we are the only species that drink milk from another animal, way after infancy, we’re pretty much normal. Nonetheless drinking milk might just be the reason we have unexplained breakouts.

Point #1:  Milk is full of cow hormones

Cow’s milk (even organic) is full of cow’s hormones and growth factors both of which survive pasteurization and homogenization. That means every time that we drink milk or eat any kind of dairy products we are ingesting and our bodies are absorbing the cows hormones which remain active in our bloodstream, which affect our skin and cause acne.  Ewww…

So what can you do?

Well, you can try and avoid full-fat milk and dairy products. I think this one will be the hardest for me to adapt too. If you know nothing about me, you know now that I loooove cheese. Did I tell you I love cheese?

Rule #1: Skip out on the full- fat milk and dairy products including:

Instant breakfast drinks, sherbet, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, cream cheese (noo!), and ice cream.

What if you can’t give it up?

If you find it extremely hard to give up the cow, you can drink unsweetened soy milk, almond milk and start using soy cheese. Try swapping out butter for non- dairy, trans- fat-free margarine. And if that’s too hard try at the very least, non-fat, skim, and organic milk and dairy products. Although, this will still increase androgens in your body, which will stimulate your oil glands.

Rule #2: Beware of hidden dairy products.

For example, processed luncheon meats are a common surprise dairy product as well as granola bars. Be sure to read the labels to avoid milk solids. Oh and be sure to stray away from ingredients that’s contain whey and casein.

Rule #3: Get your calcium elsewhere! We already know milk and dairy products are great intake for calcium, but it’s not the only way! In the next post I’ll show you what you can eat and drink to make sure you’re not missing out on an important nutrient to your health.