HEALTH Is dairy affecting your skin?

Is dairy affecting your skin?


Skin specialist
Bernie Fahy

Irish diets are hugely based on dairy intake be it milk in our tea, eggs for breakfast, cheese in our sandwiches or yoghurts for dessert. These foods are good sources of protein, calcium, vitamin D and other essential nutrients. Over the past few decades, there has been a great deal of research on dairy foods that looks beyond their contribution of essential nutrients to explore potential roles in promoting health and preventing disease calcium, vitamin D and other essential nutrients.
Dairy, it turns out, is a common food allergy that can have a direct effect on the skin. Common skin problems linked to dairy consumption are milia, candida, acne, itchy skin, hives and eczema. Other symptoms may include sinus complications, asthma and digestive issues including bloating. One option to treat skin with these issues is to eliminate dairy products. Two of the main skin concerns I treat are milia and acne, and both are related to diary.

Milia
Milia shows as white pearly, rounded hard lumps under the skin, common on eyes and cheeks. These lumps are commonly referred to as ‘calcium deposits’. To help prevent milia occuring I simply recommend cutting back on dairy intake. Milia removal is one of my most popular treatments – its a fast, affordable and pain free procedure.

Acne
If you’re struggling with acne that seems pretty resistant to a lot of things, then you might have a problem with Candida, an overgrowth that’s preventing you from getting rid of your acne once and for all.
Candida is a naturally occurring type of yeast that lives in our bodies. It’s in all of us, but is kept in check and under control by the good/beneficial bacteria in our gut and digestive system. The balance between bacteria and yeast is very important, because if this balance becomes unbalanced (due to things like stress and diet etc) then the Candida is allowed to flourish and grow out of control making you sick. When this happens it’s called Candidiasis. If you suffer from either of this problems, seek help – a skin specialist will be able to recommend a suitable treatment.

THE SKIN SPECIALIST Bernie Fahy works in Ballinrobe, Westport and Galway. She can be contacted at 086 2220125 or info@bernietheskinspecialist.com. For more information, visit www.bernietheskinspecialist.com.