Acne
Our evidence-based analysis on acne features 20 unique references to scientific papers.
Research analysis led by Kamal Patel.
All content reviewed by the Examine.com Team. Published: Jun 28, 2017
Last Updated:
All content reviewed by the Examine.com Team. Published: Jun 28, 2017
Last Updated:
Summary of Acne
Primary Information, Benefits, Effects, and Important Facts
Scientific Information on Acne
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Frequently Asked Questions about Acne
Does dairy cause acne?
Growth factors can cause acne, either androgens or anything acting on the insulin receptor (including IGF-1) that enhance androgen signaling. Dairy is currently weakly suspected to contribute via the above, but not enough evidence exists to support a strong relationship.
Human Effect Matrix
The Human Effect Matrix looks at human studies (it excludes animal and in vitro studies) to tell you what supplements affect acne
| Grade | Level of Evidence [show legend] |
|---|---|
|
Robust research conducted with repeated double-blind clinical trials |
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Multiple studies where at least two are double-blind and placebo controlled |
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Single double-blind study or multiple cohort studies |
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Uncontrolled or observational studies only |
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Level of Evidence
?
The amount of high quality evidence. The more
evidence, the more we can trust the results.
|
Outcome |
Magnitude of effect
?
The direction and size of the supplement's impact on
each outcome. Some supplements can have an increasing effect, others have a decreasing effect, and others have no effect.
|
Consistency of research results
?
Scientific research does not always agree. HIGH or
VERY HIGH means that most of the scientific research agrees.
|
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Notable
|
Very High See all 3 studies |
Topical application of 4% nicotinamide gel rivals 1% clindamycin gel in reducing acne severity and tends to work better than clindamycin in oily skin types.
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Minor
|
Very High See all 4 studies |
Orally supplemented zinc (in the dosage range of 30-130mg elemental zinc) appears to be effective in reducing symptoms of acne, although the effects are modest at best.
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- | - See study |
One study assessing the blinded intake of chocolate in subjects who reported to be acne prone found an increase in acne when chocolate was given relative to placebo.
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References
- ROBINSON HM. The acne problem. South Med J. (1949)
- Melnik BC. Evidence for acne-promoting effects of milk and other insulinotropic dairy products. Nestle Nutr Workshop Ser Pediatr Program. (2011)
- Deplewski D, Rosenfield RL. Growth hormone and insulin-like growth factors have different effects on sebaceous cell growth and differentiation. Endocrinology. (1999)
- Aizawa H, Niimura M. Elevated serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels in women with postadolescent acne. J Dermatol. (1995)
- Cappel M, Mauger D, Thiboutot D. Correlation between serum levels of insulin-like growth factor 1, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, and dihydrotestosterone and acne lesion counts in adult women. Arch Dermatol. (2005)
- Hoppe C, et al. High intakes of skimmed milk, but not meat, increase serum IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in eight-year-old boys. Eur J Clin Nutr. (2004)
- Salehi A, et al. The insulinogenic effect of whey protein is partially mediated by a direct effect of amino acids and GIP on β-cells. Nutr Metab (Lond). (2012)
- Melnik BC. FoxO1 - the key for the pathogenesis and therapy of acne. J Dtsch Dermatol Ges. (2010)
- Kim SJ, et al. Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) stimulation of pancreatic beta-cell survival is dependent upon phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (PKB) signalling, inactivation of the forkhead transcription factor Foxo1, and down-regulation of bax expression. J Biol Chem. (2005)
- Melnik BC. Is nuclear deficiency of FoxO1 due to increased growth factor/PI3K/Akt-signalling in acne vulgaris reversed by isotretinoin treatment. Br J Dermatol. (2010)
- Melnik BC. The role of transcription factor FoxO1 in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris and the mode of isotretinoin action. G Ital Dermatol Venereol. (2010)
- Makrantonaki E, Zouboulis CC. Testosterone metabolism to 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone and synthesis of sebaceous lipids is regulated by the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ligand linoleic acid in human sebocytes. Br J Dermatol. (2007)
- Smith TM, et al. IGF-1 induces SREBP-1 expression and lipogenesis in SEB-1 sebocytes via activation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway. J Invest Dermatol. (2008)
- Fan W, et al. Insulin-like growth factor 1/insulin signaling activates androgen signaling through direct interactions of Foxo1 with androgen receptor. J Biol Chem. (2007)
- Melnik B. {Acne vulgaris. Role of diet}. Hautarzt. (2010)
- Melnik BC, Schmitz G. Role of insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1, hyperglycaemic food and milk consumption in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris. Exp Dermatol. (2009)
- Bhate K, Williams HC. Epidemiology of acne vulgaris. Br J Dermatol. (2012)
- Danby FW. Acne and milk, the diet myth, and beyond. J Am Acad Dermatol. (2005)
- Adebamowo CA, et al. High school dietary dairy intake and teenage acne. J Am Acad Dermatol. (2005)
- Adebamowo CA, et al. Milk consumption and acne in teenaged boys. J Am Acad Dermatol. (2008)