“Yes,” says Canadian dermatologist Dr. F.W. Danby. Dr. Danby found the link between dairy and acne- hormones. Milk from pregnant cows are naturally infused with high levels of hormones during its menstrual cycle. Farmed cows are pregnant most of their lives to produce milk for the mass population, not to mention most of them are injected with additional recombinant bovine growth hormone – rBGH. Hence, cow milk is never free from hormones. Hormones in dairy products activates oil producing glands in human beings.
When the human body is being flooded by an excess secretion of hormones, the pores will be overloaded with surplus oil generated by the cells, causing a blockage at the pores, resulting in an acne inflammation. Sources of hormonal production include the sexual organs, adrenal or “stress” glands and lastly, the external diet derive source- dairy products.
Since everyone has a different threshold of hormone level that their pores can handle in terms of oil generation, excess consumption of dairy production on top of the pre-existing hormones that the body produces causes an over load of hormones in the body. The result is an hormonal imbalance and acne outbreak.
Young women generally will pass their normal hormonal threshold just before their monthly menstruation. Stress also causes an additional release of hormones into your bloodstream and a exceeding of this threshold.
Eliminating dairy from your diet will cut down on the hormones in your body so that you do not go beyond your personal hormonal level and break out from it. Your personal hormonal threshold is hereditary so if your ancestors and parents had acne, your chances of a lower hormonal threshold will be higher.
All dairy products are simulators of hormonal imbalances in humans, including “organic”, “lactose-free” milk and diary products as they all contain high levels of cow hormones. If you are suffering from acne, it is best to avoid anything with dairy in it including: cheese, ice cream, cream, sour cream, butter, pizza, cheeseburgers, cheese perogies, cheese cakes, whip cream, cakes, toffee and lattes. Milk is a concentration of hormones but nothing is worse than cheese as it takes a lot more milk to make an ounce of cheese than plain milk itself.
To ease the transition of starving off dairy products, try finding milk substitutes such as soy, nut and grain milk, soy cheeses, soy or grain ice cream and cream alternatives. Goat milk and goat cheese are not hormone-free but they then to be less concentrated so it is best to avoid them as well.
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