Dairy and acne—the iodine connection

Abstract

To the Editor: I read with interest the study in the February 2005 issue of the Journal by Adebamowo et al1 regarding dietary dairy intake and an increased risk of developing teenaged acne. The authors hypothesize that this association may be caused by the presence of hormones and bioactive molecules in milk. Another hypothesis to help explain this association is that the iodine content of milk may also be playing a role in the development of the acne. It is well established that iodine intake can exacerbate acne.