BELTON, Mo. — It’s one of those billboards that makes you do a double take. PETA put it up near Belton High School off 71 and 58 highways. It plays off the “Got Milk” campaign.
The billboard reads, “Got Zits? Studies Show: Milk and Cheese Trigger Acne. Ditch Dairy.”
It’s PETA’s attempt to get people to quit drinking cow’s milk. So is it true? Does milk cause acne outbreaks? According to studies from the Harvard School of Medicine and the American Academy of Dermatology, yes.
The two separate studies followed thousands of teenaged boys and girls, and both concluded that those who drank more milk had more problems with acne. And both studies found that skim milk was worse than any other type of cow’s milk.
The reason?
Milk contains hormones linked to acne, and some scientists believe drinking cow’s milk triggers those hormones and causes acne breakouts. But the Dairy Council disagrees with these findings.
In a statement, dairy officials said the research is flawed because participants used a diary to recall their diet from their teenage years a decade earlier, without scientifically proving the link.
“Most experts believe that diet has little impact on acne and that other factors such as skin type, genetics, hormones, and exposure to environmental pollutants are more likely to be involved,” dairy officials said.
PETA is recommending teens and adults drink soy milk, almond milk, rice milk and nondairy ice cream instead of cow’s milk.
The billboard is expected to be up for at least the next few weeks.
