Certain foods may cause acne problems, as CNN's Judy Fortin reports in this Health Minute.

Jessica Ravinski has battled acne for nearly a decade. She’s found that she is able to control the condition by taking medication, washing her face regularly and watching her diet. Dermatologist Jeffrey Dover says there can sometimes be a link between certain foods and flare-ups.

Well, we used to say that diet didn’t play a role in acne, but we always ask our patients and if they say, these two foods, like if I eat greasy foods, and if I eat chocolate, my acne flares. The first thing we do is say why don’t you avoid those?

Dover also points to a study by the Harvard School of Public Health that indicates eating a lot of dairy products may aggravate acne.

And then we have some young men and women who have diets, which are very rich in milk and milk products, yogurt, cheese, if they are willing, we ask them to go on a milk exclusion diet for a while to just see if excluding those will actually help their acne.

Dover reports sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. He admits when it comes to treating acne, it often takes a multipronged approach, including medication and laser treatment to find relief.

For today’s Health Minute, I’m Judy Fortin.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. Dermatologist : n-count

A dermatologist is a doctor who specializes in the study of skin and the treatment of skin diseases.

2. flare-up : n-count

If there is a flare-up of violence or of an illness, it suddenly starts or gets worse.

3. -pronged : comb in adj

A two-pronged or three-pronged attack, plan, or approach has two or three parts.

eg: a two-pronged attack on the recession