You are what you eat. How can growth occur without food? The food choices many of us make from rising first thing in the morning, through to going back to bed at night, are unhealthy and damaging. We bombard our bodies with so much garbage throughout the day.

Tell you what! Do this. Keep a written record of everything that passes through your lips for a 24 hour period. In short, you would be shocked! And probably ashamed as well. The march toward teen acne begins the minute our parents place that first glass of cow’s milk on the table before us; and when we chose to eat junk food.

Let’s face it, cow’s milk is meant for baby cows, not for our baby children. Let me dive right into the problem that I have with cow’s milk. My family does not drink cow’s milk. A few specifics why.

After pasteurization, regulations tell us that milk should contain no more than 20,000 bacteria per milliliter. In addition, it shouldn’t have anymore than 10 coli form bacteria in each milliliter. What this boils down to is that, a 12oz. glass of milk may contain 5 million bacteria and still be acceptable for human consumption.

This type of bacteria intake overpowers the gatekeepers to an adult immune system. Paving the way for the unchecked, free movement of other bacteria, acne and viruses that attack the body. Worst of all, if milk wages this type of assault on an adult body, what chance does a child stand or for that matter a teen with a developing immune system?

Let’s suppose that the bacteria in milk does not exist. I know, I know! Work with me, I’m only trying to highlight a point. Let’s jump ahead to coli form bacteria. This bacteria is found in the stool of a cow! Got that! The stool! Need I bang this home anymore? I didn’t think so. In a nutshell, these bacteria ravage the body. Then acne piggybacks, or gets an unhindered ride as a result.

Worse still, the regulatory body that sets these standards, anticipates the myriad contaminants in milk! Milk causes excess mucus in the system, thereby slowing things down.

It attacks and binds vital organs, unduly taxing them and stressing them out. Additionally, it does a good job in causing ‘dirty’ or ‘unclean’ blood. This type of ambush robs the system of its ability to attack invaders. Once forced into a defensive mode, the body becomes prone to the onslaught of acne and other diseases.

Fact is, the external appearance of acne in teens and acne in adults can be compared to a warning shot across the bow. It is truly indicative of an unclean interior. At this point, intervention must be the order of the day.

Recently I was in conversation with a friend who is a computer technician. I told him that computers made mistakes. He contends that the problem lies with the people operating the computers. He capped off the discussion by saying, “garbage in – garbage out."

Then it hit me, that’s how many of us are with our eating habits. We put garbage in, and when garbage comes out in the form of acne, we are mystified.

Hold that thought! This is going to surprise you. Chocolate cake (which I love), doesn’t cause acne. It doesn’t cause teen acne nor does it cause adult acne. Pizza and soft drinks do not cause acne. However, the cumulative result of years of putting this garbage in, eventually leads to garbage out and many times the garbage on the outside is in the form of teen acne and adult acne.

In sum, don’t point your finger at the trash foods. A written record may indeed shock us into action, and force us to get a grip on the stuff that passes through our lips; since we are what we eat.