Is Oat Milk Causing My Acne?
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Like many coffee-drinking millennials, I’m a big fan of oat milk. It just hits in a way that other plant-based milks don’t, with a richness and creaminess that adds depth to every A.M. cup of coffee and midday iced latte. I’ve been exclusively using an oat milk creamer in my coffee since around 2019, but when I heard about a potential link between oat milk and acne, I started wondering if what I was pouring in my mug several times a day was actually the culprit behind my persistent zits.
Before we dive into all things oat milk, I need to give you a brief primer on my skin. I’ve struggled with acne most of my life, and found the combination of birth control and spironolactone to be my magic solution. I went off said combo in 2019 to get pregnant and have been battling with my skin ever since, save for a brief respite while I was pregnant and nursing. (Here’s the full story if you’re interested.)
That said, my skin is in a pretty good place at the moment. I replaced the prescriptions with a few simple over-the-counter serums and moisturizers, and my chin in particular has been fairly clear. However, I’m constantly fighting little red bumps around my nose that have so far been resistant to any kind of treatment, whether that’s a prescription topical, a light peel, or a scrub.
The potential oat milk and acne connection was brought to my attention by NYC-based esthetician Sofie Pavitt, who shared her theory on an episode of the podcast Gloss Angeles. Pavitt specializes in acne, so when she shares knowledge and insights, I pay attention. As Pavitt explained on the podcast, many popular oat milks contain seed oils, which can cause acne. The oat milk conversation has also circulated on TikTok, with users claiming it spikes your glucose, potentially causing everything from weight gain to increased sugar cravings to acne.
Meet the experts:
Sofie Pavitt is a New York City-based esthetician.
Lauren Penzi, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology in New York.
Caren Campbell, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist in San Francisco.
Jaclyn London is a registered dietician.
Matthew Landry, PhD, is a registered dietitian nutritionist and assistant professor of Population Health and Disease Prevention at the University of California, Irvine.
In this story:
My Experience Swapping Out Oat Milk
Intrigued by this theory, I decided to do a little science experiment. I swapped my usual oat milk creamer for a full dairy version for about two weeks to see if it made a difference in my skin… and it did. (For reference, I typically drink two to three cups of coffee per day, made at home, and rarely get coffee at a coffee shop.) There was a noticeable difference in the size and redness of those little bumps around my nose; they didn’t disappear completely, but there was marked improvement. A compelling result indeed!
Like any good scientist, I must point out the variables in my informal experiment. I didn’t change anything about my existing skin-care routine, just the oat milk, but the improvement could have been due to hormones, the weather, my stress levels… or pretty much anything else. (If you have acne, you get what I’m saying.) However, about five to seven days after I brought oat milk creamer back into my diet, the bumps were bigger and redder, back with a vengeance.
The Dairy-Acne Connection
“But wait!” you may be asking. “Aren’t people with acne supposed to stay away from dairy?” Many pros recommend ditching dairy if you’re dealing with persistent acne, and while I’ve never personally experienced a difference in my own skin, dairy products can cause problems for some.
“Studies have shown that there certainly is a link between dairy products and acne,” explains board-certified dermatologist Lauren Penzi, MD. “Dairy influences acne through hormonal mediators and by increasing plasma insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 levels and insulin levels, which are shown to contribute to inflammation and sebum production that both cause acne.”
“One of the suspected reasons dairy has been correlated with acne is that it activates pro-acne pathways via [amino acids] leucine and glutamine, which are [also] in oak milk, albeit at lower levels,” says Caren Campbell, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in San Francisco. Dr. Campbell tells her acne-prone patients to avoid dairy and whey or creatine supplements for this reason.
Why might oat milk cause acne?
I had to know more, so I gave Pavitt a call. “The reality is that food and diet really does have such a huge impact on the skin,” she told me. “When you're thinking about acne, it's an inflammatory skin condition, but it's also got a lot to do with dead skin cells, it's got a lot to do with bacteria.” According to Pavitt, your diet may cause an androgenic hormone response or a sugar spike, and “the thing with oat milk in particular is that it is extremely high on the glycemic index” and may cause an insulin spike in the body, increasing oil production and potentially leading to acne.
Androgens are sex hormones that are present in both males and females; testosterone is arguably the most well-known androgen. Androgens can increase sebum production, thus causing acne, though Dr. Penzi notes that an imbalance of estrogen and progesterone can also increase sebum production.
While some people definitely notice a direct correlation between what they eat and how their skin looks, the jury is still out as to how much of an impact diet plays in skin and acne. “I think [diet] has an impact,” says Dr. Penzi. “Do I think it’s the main component? No. It’s a piece of the puzzle, but it’s hard because some factors play a bigger role.” Things like hormones, genetics, and where you live can cause acne, as can good old-fashioned bacteria; these variables make it more difficult to do a thorough study on skin and diet.
That said, Dr. Penzi does acknowledge a potential connection between oat milk and acne, mostly due to where oat milk sits on the glycemic index. She cites clinical trials that suggest “high-glycemic index diets could be associated with worse glycemic control, higher postprandial insulin levels, and elevated insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels,” which may turn into a breakout. (The American Academy of Dermatology Association also cites several small studies that show a low-glycemic diet can be beneficial for people with acne.)
Oat milk itself could be contributing to my acne, but it’s likely not the oats that are to blame. Registered dietitian Jaclyn London instantly flagged one word in our conversation: creamer. Her specific concern was around the sugar in that creamer. It’s a little early to blame it all on the oat milk, she says. “From a research standpoint, we're not gonna see evidence at this stage that the oat milk specifically is causing any kind of issues, whether it's acne, dullness, or wrinkles,” she says. “The one thing that we do have actual evidence on is that diets that are generally higher in saturated fats and added sugars are linked to increased breakout risk.”
“In its most simple form, oat milk is just a mixture of oats and water, but what we typically find in the grocery store has been modified,” says Matthew Landry, PhD, a registered dietitian nutritionist and assistant professor of Population Health and Disease Prevention at the University of California, Irvine. “Manufacturers have added extra ingredients to give it a more desirable taste or a better texture.” Many popular oat milks (including the creamer I’ve been drinking) also contain seed oils like sunflower and canola, which give it that creamy, delicious texture and make it froth better for a barista.
“It could be that we found another hot ingredient with sneaky, stealthy sources of added sugar,” London says. (Or maybe not so sneaky: I buy vanilla-flavored oat milk specifically because it makes my coffee sweeter.) Even though plant-based milks are sometimes marketed as healthier options versus dairy, creamers and barista blends can be loaded with sugar, especially if you use a big glug or three. (Guilty.) “I think why we're seeing more people feeling like there are side effects of some of these plant-derived milks is because there's a lot more added sugar in that category on the whole,” London explains. (The label on the oat milk creamer I use says it contains four grams of added sugar. Regular old cow’s milk, by contrast, typically does not contain added sugar.)
Is oat milk spiking my glucose levels?
In a word: yes. But stay with me. According to London, if you have normal blood sugar, your glucose levels will go up and down throughout the day after you eat—that’s just how bodies work and, for most people, is nothing to worry about.
Glucose sounds like a scary word, but it’s just table sugar, says Dr. Landry, and it’s in a lot of what we eat. “It’s a perfectly fine thing at the end of the day,” she confirms. When you ingest glucose, your body releases insulin as a reaction. Typically, the body should release a proportional amount of insulin to the amount of glucose you’ve consumed, but that’s not always the case. “What happens in a negative situation [like eating a lot of sugary food at once] is that we have this big glucose spike and our body either doesn't release enough insulin or releases too much insulin to handle that spike or amount of sugar we’ve taken in,” Dr. Landry explains. This is why you might feel sluggish or crash after eating a sugary latte and pastry, or a bunch of candy, white bread sandwich, and a soda at lunch. London says frequent spikes like these could also increase sebum production.
According to Dr. Landry, “What we do know is that higher glycemic foods in general [like white bread, sugary cereals, French fries] can be associated with either some kind of hormonal fluctuation or inflammation itself. There are tons of things that we want to avoid because it makes our blood sugar spike really quickly,” he says. “Whereas things like fresh vegetables, beans, or even just steel cut oats in their natural form are lower in that glycemic index.”
So, should I stop drinking oat milk?
Both London and Pavitt recommend looking closely at the label of your chosen non-dairy milk or creamer, keeping an eye on the “Added Sugars” line in particular. Pavitt herself uses dairy milk and says not to be “scared” of it, but if you’re sensitive to dairy, she recommends almond or cashew milk instead of oat, as they rank lower on the glycemic index. London recommends prioritizing protein via unsweetened soy or pea milk, which will give you about seven and eight grams of protein per serving, respectively—a number similar to dairy milk. Dr. Landry’s pick is soy milk, which he says is closest to cow’s milk from a nutritional standpoint.
So is my love of oat milk causing my skin issues? The answer is … maybe. “While foods high in trans fats and high glycemic index foods have not been shown to be statistically significant in studies, they are correlated with acne, so there likely is some cause and effect, though we do need better studies,” says Dr. Campbell.
If you’ve been sipping on oat milk without any signs of skin struggles, keep sipping and enjoy it! After all, current science seems to indicate that oat milk is one of the least-worst milks for our planet. It's entirely possible that I just have a sensitivity to oat milk itself, the combo of oat milk and sugar, or some part of that delicious equation.
As with most foods, it’s all about moderation, and what impacts my skin may be totally smooth sailing for someone else. That said, it’s probably time for me to re-examine my relationship with both oat milk and sugar, given that I’ve struggled with acne (and sugar cravings!) for so long. I have since made the switch again to an unsweetened almond and coconut creamer in an effort to reduce my overall sugar consumption. “When traditional methods [of treating acne] do not work, it is a smart idea to better examine not just what is going on your skin, but also what is going on in your body,” says Dr. Penzi. “Diet plays a significant role in hormone regulation, and hormonal imbalances can contribute to skin problems like acne. A balanced diet rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants is essential for maintaining healthy skin.”
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