What’s one way to get healthy skin? According to tennis star Venus Williams, its to go vegan. She recently shared with Insider magazine that going vegan transformed her health, athletic performance and skin. 

Venus, who has been on a plant-based diet, for about a decade made the switch from a traditional diet because she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that affects her joints and makes her tired. She said in the article that going vegan made her skin “amazing.”

In another Insider magazine article, Dermatologist Papri Sarkar said vegan diets (which abstain from dairy products) help to reduce acne, bloating (of the face) and can brighten the skin if a vegan diet consists of vegetables and fruits. 

"Studies have shown that removing dairy from patients’ diets improves their acne," Sarkar said. "This relationship is especially strong with dairy and lower fat milks. In my experience, I've found that if patients go off dairy for a month, a significant number of them with mild to moderate acne see improvement."

A Glamour magazine article in 2019 also promoted the skin-boosting benefits of a vegan diet. It said several studies in the US, Italy and Malaysia have shown links between dairy and acne. Some propose that this is due to the hormones found in milk, others says it could be due to carbohydrates in milk and other dairy products which can affect insulin levels.

But the key to that “glow” effect means consuming more produce. 

"Generally, a diet that is high in fruits and vegetables and low in sugar and saturated fats is going to have a positive impact on the skin," explains Dr Rowland-Warmann in the Glamour article. "There are studies that actually show that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). This is because skin tumours are reduced by Vitamin C and E and selenium, which is found in fruit and vegetables. Green tea extract is also thought to have cancer-busting properties when it comes to skin cancers. On the flip-side, a diet high in meat and fat can increase SCC risk."

So the verdict is in … reducing or eliminating dairy can minimize acne and increasing fruits and veggies will give you brighter skin. 

You know what also doesn’t have dairy - all of Southern Roots’ baked goods! Make sure to indulge every now and then on one of our sweet and moist Lemon Drop donuts… and it actually does have lemons in it! 

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