The headline is broadly defensible, but the qualifications matter. Effect sizes vary by population, the strongest claims rest on shorter trials, and credible voices push back on how it's typically framed.
Whey protein has been evaluated for its tendency to increase acne in some people. And it seems to be related to leucine, which again, is quite present in whey protein, and leucine's ability to increase certain components of the cell growth pathway involving mTOR, mammalian Target of Rapamycin, there's a whole discussion to have about mTOR, but we don't have time to get into right now.
Every Sunday: the week’s new conflicts and verdict changes — and nothing else.
Native comments, Twitter mentions, and Reddit threads about this claim — surfaced together so the conversation isn't fragmented across platforms.
Bookmarking — the dossier-vs-overview split is the right call. Most of the time I want overview; sometimes I want receipts.
Would love a "what would change this verdict" RSS feed. Sign me up if it exists.
What seems to be the case here is that the high leucine content, and probably other things in whey protein, that are effective in increasing insulin lead to increases in mTOR, which, in turn, lead to changes in the skin that sometimes show up as increased acne.