When you’re a teenager, self-conscious and unsure, acne can weigh on your self-esteem and make you feel like isolating yourself. You dream of a day when you’re older and zit-free, only to discover that acne does not necessarily ride off into the sunset on your 18th birthday. For up to 22% of adult women and 3 percent of adult men, acne is something that lingers well into your adult years.

You may have heard that milk is an inflammatory food that causes acne. But do you know why and that you can actually get back to drinking milk and having other dairy products while keeping your skin clear? As a functional medicine nutritional practitioner I never settle with telling people they can’t eat a specific food anymore.

Acne is not only annoying, but it also hurts. It influences your confidence, your freedom to go out without makeup, causes impulses to constantly check your face, and is sometimes itchy, painful, and out there where the whole world can see. Unfortunately, in our society, having acne is shameful and means that something is wrong with you. I disagree,…

Elevated cortisol means there is chronic overstimulation of stress on the body.

The stress could be from the food you eat (sugar), emotional stress, or immune stressors or triggers like…