If you’re dealing with skin problems, it can seem impossible to get rid of acne. A bodybuilder who once suffered from severe pimples now says he cleared up his skin by going on a strict diet. In an Instagram post that’s gone viral, Brian Turner details how his acne started to resurface after he went off Accutane, an extreme acne medication. So, he decided to try a dairy-free diet.
“Since then, I have been 100 percent clear, except for the occasional small whitehead…that goes away in just a day or two now,” he says in the post. He went on to add that drinking a ton of water and eating a lot of vegetables also helped his skin immensely.
Turner isn’t the first person to say that going dairy-free fixed his skin issues. “For some people, dairy can trigger acne by boosting insulin levels, which increases the production of substances known as androgens that can lead to breakouts,” Karen Ansel, R.D.N., author of Healthy in a Hurry: Simple, Wholesome Recipes for Every Meal of the Day, tells SELF. “While a dairy-free diet doesn’t work for everyone’s acne, it’s definitely effective for some people.”
