Back when I was in high school, I was such a huge fan of drinking milk every day. Maybe it was simply because our high school cafeteria offered milk each and every day for lunch, or maybe it was because we were taught at a young age that milk is good for you. Or maybe it was just because I liked the taste. But whatever it was, I almost never failed to drink milk each and every day of my childhood, either at school or at home.
If you are like me, then you probably have the same generally positive views towards milk as I do. However, milk along with all other dairy products can be very problematic as far as your skin is concerned.
The problem with milk is really a superficial one, but if you are like the millions of other women (and men) around the world who struggle with breakouts and generally poor skin, eliminating dairy from your diet can pay huge dividends. The reason being is that dairy can directly cause outbreaks, or at the very least irritate any acne that you may already have.
I realized this for the first time in my mid-twenties, when I was addicted to pre-packaged ice cream. Literally every day for a week, I would eat at least one ice cream cone, either after lunch, or after dinner, sometimes after both meals! And it was right around this time that I suddenly started having intense breakouts that seemingly came out of nowhere. In my mind, my skincare routine was on point and I was doing everything right, so why the sudden outbreaks?
Eventually I realized that eating all of that ice cream, which contains a lot of dairy (not to mention sugar) was the cause of my acne and I quickly put an end to my ice cream habit. Although it did take some time to “fix” all of the acne that did breakout, I basically stopped having any new breakouts overnight, and within a week or two I was back to my old self, to my relief and delight.
My diet now consists mostly of meaty proteins and vegetables, along with fruits on occasion (although fruits do have sugars that are not ideal in large amounts). I believe that having a healthy diet is a vital part to your skincare routine, but after my personal experiences, along with a bit of research, it is clear that dairy, and more specifically a lack thereof plays a very substantial role compared to the rest of your dietary choices.
Diet is such a huge part of not just your skincare routine, but your overall health as well. And while dairy isn’t necessarily a bad thing when looking at your overall health, it can be an absolute killer when it comes to the complexity of your skin. So if you have major concerns about your skin and how it looks, consider eliminating dairy from your diet if you haven’t done so already – you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results.