What to Eat for HEALTHY Skin: Nutrition & Supplements

Hi, everyone. It's Dr. Ozzy here. Welcome to the more than a pretty face podcast. Hi, everyone. I'm Dr. Azadeh Shirazi, a board certified dermatologist and host of the more than a pretty face podcast. And I'm here today with my co host Nurse Lacey. Hi, everyone. Hi, Lacey. How are you? Good. How is it going? It's going a little slow this morning. I have to be honest. You know, I wasn't gonna say anything. It's Monday and the weather feels really heavy, because it's hot and humid. And we're not used to this. We're very spoiled in California. So yes, Remy did not want to get out of bed. Yeah. Okay, you guys today we are talking everything skin and nutrition. Yes, I'm so excited about this podcast. One of my favorite topics, nutrition and skin because I feel like a lot of even physicians will sort of blow this off and want to like prescribe something or when in fact, they should really be looking at the person as a whole. What are they eating? What are they putting into their bodies? What's their lifestyle like? Because I really honestly do believe that what you put into your body reflects on your skin. And so I'm excited. Let's get started. Yes. What do you want to start with? Well, do you have a beauty blemish? Of course I do. Okay, what's your beauty? Um, so did you know the office started taking shrooms at work? What? Wait, you're you're telling me my staff is getting high on shrooms? No, no, not like the magic kind. Not the magic kind. Okay, shrooms. When you say shrooms, I can only think of one thing. You're like you're freaking me out here. I have a very wholesome team. No, you really do. They're all they started supplements. Mushroom supplements. Okay, mushroom. I could not get in it because I just did not like the flavor of it at all. So it's shrooms, but like manufactured and put in a capsule? Yes. So kind of reminds me of the Jetsons, you know, back in the day when they would like some of you probably too young to remember the Jetsons, but the futuristic things were like, instead of like a meal, they would just take a capsule. Yes. It's kind of like what we're doing. We're almost there. Almost. Okay, so they're, they're taking shroom supplements. They're really into nutrition too. Yes. So they actually have like the powder meal supplement that's like shroom soup or whatever. That I just couldn't, it smelled disgusting. So mushrooms are classified as adaptogens and they work at the cellular level. At the molecular level, they help bring balance to cells, all the cells in our body to help regulate their function. So they're really kind of important, these adaptogens. And as with anything good, as we age, our bodies, you know, reservoir of adaptogens can diminish. So mushroom extracts are thought to not only be rich in adaptogens, but they're also antioxidants and they're anti-inflammatory. And antioxidants are really important for aging because they go around, they're like Pac-Man, you know, they go around and they scavenge all these free radicals that cause harm and damage to our cells and our bodies. And by being anti-inflammatory, they also help calm and soothe inflammation because we know how bad inflammation is for aging and just our skin, our bodies, all of it. Yeah. So another good thing is for just like energy and focus. So one of the supplements is like Lion's Mane, I think is what the girls called it. And that helps really focus during the day. So instead of coffee, which, you know, not me, I need my coffee. I need my double espresso every day. We're going to talk about coffee because, you know, coffee may be making you appear younger, maybe helping with your aging journey. We'll get into that. As well as different kinds of mushrooms, because, you know, I'm not sure exactly what type of mushrooms you have, but there are, you know, all different kinds and they all have different properties and nutrients. And so in skincare, like our Dermabrite pads are derived from mushrooms. They are rich in kojic acid, which is a known skin brightener and lightener. And so they've been used in skincare to treat hyperpigmentation, you know, for a long time as a natural acid. I don't think also. Yeah. Yeah. And also natural shiitake, which is found in mushrooms, particularly shiitake mushrooms, they inhibit an enzyme called elastase. And elastase goes around and chews up or degrades our elastin, which is what gives our skin that bouncy kind of, you know, firm texture to the skin. That's what we lose as we get older. So shiitake complexes help inhibit this elastase mushroom so it doesn't go around and remove our elastin. Oh, okay. That's good. I thought you were saying it does remove it. I'm like, well, then we want to avoid those mushrooms. Yeah. So shiitake, you know, is great for stimulating the whole renewal process, calming inflammation, and it can benefit all skin types. So I'm a big fan of mushrooms and skincare. Well, good. I'll start on that next. No, I do love the Dermabrite pad. So I'm, I guess I'm, I'm already doing mushroom skincare and didn't know it. Well, I'm going to give some suggestions about some products that are, you know, have mushrooms and skincare later on in the show, but do you have a blemish? I do. Yeah. Okay. So a patient brought in a bottle of wine. And I love wine. Red or white? It was red and it was corked. So it was the cork kind of bottle. Old school. Old school, but you know, it degrades faster. Like it goes bad faster with the cork. I didn't realize it. I went to try it. No good. It was no good. It was like vinegar. Yeah. It was so, oh, my husband thought he was being smart. He said, well, isn't it anti-aging? Can't you just take a bath in it? I was like, well, I'm going to talk about this on the podcast. Let me, let me tell you a story about wine. So I'm from Shiraz. I was born in Shiraz and the city is known for wine, music, and poetry. And when the Islamic government took over in 1978, they forbid all alcohol. Oh no. So my family growing up, we used to make our own wine because you couldn't buy it. It was illegal because they forbid it. So we used to harvest the grapes. We used to literally put them in the bathtub. And I remember as a kid, like stomping on grapes in the bathtub. Maybe that's why, you know, I feel like that preserved my skin. I don't know. But wine is very rich in resveratrol, which is a very powerful antioxidant that helps again, with fighting the effects of these free radicals that damage our cells. It also helps protect ourselves from damage from, you know, stressors in the environment, UV, all of these things. And some proponents actually suggest, actually, there's some studies in mice that show taking some resveratrol as a supplement will help with reversing, potentially reversing aging. So you may have heard of the skincare brand Caudalie. Yeah. Yeah. So their whole skincare line is founded and based on resveratrol. They actually have this trademarked phenotherapy, and it's a specialty spa bath that essentially adds red vine leaf extract and post wine making grape crud or whatnot to clean warm water. So if you didn't want to use that bottle of wine, you could also look at some of Caudalie's stuff because they have a lot of resveratrol in almost all of their products. It's sort of their signature. I feel like the red wine would stain my skin like it does my teeth. Oh, no. Well, red wine is, is more, you know, has more resveratrol than white wine. So that's why I prefer if I'm going to drink wine to drink red because it's rich in resveratrol. But so do grapes. Actually, I love sour grape juice. Have you ever had that? No. Tell me more. We use it in Shirazi salad. Like there's a thing, there's a salad called Shirazi salad. Okay. I'm not even Shirazi everything. I'm not even making this up. Okay. Tell me more. But Shirazi salad, we use sour grape juice and it is my favorite. I could drink like three ounces of that every day. Is it like a... It's really sour. Dressing? How do you make it? It's like sour wine, but without the alcohol, which is hard to explain. Okay. Well, how about you? Do you have a beauty? Oh, okay. My beauty is that I'm going to the Taylor Swift concert. Oh, my gosh. Well, it's my beauty because I mean, I love Taylor Swift and I'm a fan, but my daughter has been listening to her since she was a kid. Actually, I found this video of her when she was like at her fifth birthday and she's just rocking, jamming out with her friends to Taylor Swift. So she's been so excited for months. She's been like, let's pick out our outfits and let me tell you, I'm excited because she's a teenager and she never wants to hang out with me anymore, right? Because mom is like not cool, even though I think I'm the coolest mom. But anyway, I'm really excited that she's looking forward to doing an event with me because I really have to enjoy those moments. I don't get them as often now that she's a teenager. So that would be my beauty. I can't wait to see pictures of your matching outfit. Well, we're not matching. Don't go that far. Okay. So we're doing different eras. So you have to check out the photos guys and tell me what era you think we are dressed as. She's a different era than I am. You know about the eras? You know, the eras tour. Yes. She's all her albums, you know, whether it's like retro, well no, reputation, reputation or 1989 or I don't know. Yes. All the eras. That will be exciting. Yeah. And then my blemish is that I had to have my breast implants taken out. So yeah. And that was a big surgery. I had to have them removed because so tense. So I've always had larger breasts. And when I had my two kids, I was like, what is going on? Like the things that your body as a woman goes through and your kids and all the changes and so forth. So I was like, I can't, I can't, I have to like go in and, and I sort of regret that decision. I didn't realize, well, I should have known, right? Because I'm a doctor, but you don't really think about these things when you're younger, that when you have breast implants, there are real risks and you have to have them, you know, removed or whatnot every 10 years or so. So that's a lot of surgeries to look at. So I think people who are considering it really have to think about that. And mine were silicone and unfortunately my right side had a leak. And with silicone in the body, I mean, sort of like the breast implant illness and so forth. So my blemishes, I'm still recovering. Yeah. Wow. That was rough. Yeah. What, I've heard of the silicone, like sickness or whatever. What, like, how did you find out? What were you experiencing? Well, they can catch it on MRI. So if you do those high resolution MRIs, they can detect leaks, which they do recommend you start getting some of these MRIs starting at about five years after your implant replacement, which I didn't really do. I really honestly was shocked that it leaked. I had no idea that, you know, I mean, I knew it was a risk, but they make it so that it's not a risk. But if the silicone does leak, it is encapsulated, meaning that capsule that forms around the implant doesn't allow it to go to other areas. But I highly encourage you guys to tune in to other podcasts we've had about breast implants with some of the plastic surgeons on this podcast, like Dr. J, as well as the TikTok doc, you may have heard of Dr. Brown. It's a great podcast. So if you guys are thinking about having breast implants or plastic surgery on the body, listen to this podcast. Yeah, that's scary. I'm glad that you're okay. But I'm recovering slowly but surely. Yes. Surgery and then right back to seeing patients. I know. I think that's why I'm a little slow too. All right. So should we jump in? We're going to answer some questions. Yes. But before we jump into your questions, because I love hearing from you guys, I love answering your questions. As a reminder, the seasons are changing, so your skincare might be changing too. If you need a refresh, we have you covered on ozmdskincare.com. We have developed targeted skincare regimens that have everything you need based on your skin concern and your skin type. No more complicated routines or confusing products. Our simplified skincare regimens will get you back to the basics, helping you achieve radiant skin effortlessly. Visit ozmdskincare.com and click on the skincare regimens tab or scroll down to the skincare quiz to get started. All right, you guys. Ready for Ask Dr. Ozzie segment where we answer all of your questions. All right, you guys. The first question, they write in, Hi, Dr. Ozzie, I saw a photo on social media that shows that if you have breakouts around your chin, that it could be caused by dairy and that sugar gives your forehead wrinkles. Is this true? And should we stop eating dairy and sugar? That's a great question. Well, as much as I'm into nutrition, it's not necessarily the cause of skin conditions, but it does trigger skin conditions. So there's a difference because acne is very complex and a lot of acne is linked to your hormonal climate. And what I mean by your hormonal climate is how your hormones actually play on the skin. Not necessarily that your hormones are abnormal, but the climate of them, the balance of them and how your skin receives that. So yes, too much dairy has been shown to make acne worse, but not necessarily the cause of acne. It's interesting because the studies are pointing to skim milk, particularly cow's skim milk being the most common trigger for acne. So if you're really drinking a ton of that, then yes, it could potentially make the breakouts worse, but it's not necessarily the cause. Now, sugar is also bad because there's a process called glycation that happens. When you consume a lot of sugar, it can take your collagen and elastin molecules and sort of disrupt them and make them weaker. And it could affect how your body produces collagen and elastin. So from that perspective, it could contribute to skin aging, per se. It's consuming a lot of...what's that? Just in your forehead, though? Well, not just in your forehead, I guess. Wrinkles in general. Forehead wrinkles, they're caused mostly from contraction of muscles in the upper third of the face. So when you raise your brows, every time you raise them, you crease that skin. Now, if you're as healthy as possible, certainly those creases can bounce back better, or maybe it wouldn't cause the wrinkles as significantly if you were not...you're consuming a lot of sugar, for example, because you're not glycating your collagen and elastin. So really, it's that spike in insulin that is the problem with high sugar diets that can then lead to this process of affecting your skin molecules. What about face mapping? You know how we always talk in all previous episodes with acne, the different areas that you break out and what contributes to that? Yeah, I have an entire YouTube video on this, but quickly I'll go through some of it. Generally, acne in the chin and along the jawline, the neck area is considered hormonal. Now, if you have acne, particularly little red dots like on the forehead and sides of the face, that could be due to yeast overgrowth on your skin. If you have acne primarily on the cheeks, that could be from your pillowcases or your phone, if you tend to talk on your phone like this, anything that sort of touches that area. Actually, our phones are quite dirty. So they say that the phones really contribute to us, you know, harboring a lot of bacteria. And you think about, you know, you take the phone everywhere, you make sure you have to wipe it down regularly every day with alcohol. But that just kind of gives you an idea of face mapping. And sometimes there are acne-like conditions that come up around your mouth around your eyes. And that's called perioral dermatitis. I also have a YouTube video on that. So check it out. But yeah, acne is so complicated. And it's something that you should see a dermatologist for and have an evaluation. If some of the over-the-counter regimens are not really working for you, it could be linked to many different factors. So my takeaway is to have sugar, have dairy, but all in moderation. Yes. I always say it's not the poison, it's the dose. You know, a little bit of dark chocolate can actually be really great for you. But if you're sitting, you know, and having half a box of Oreos every day, that definitely is not good. And then recently, did you hear about Diet Coke and aspartame? No. So a lot of people just think it's sugar, but it's also the artificial sugars have the same effect. So just because it says sugar-free, those, you know, chemical, fake sugar compounds like aspartame can spike your blood sugars the same way it could spike your insulin, it could cause glycation, all of those things applies to artificial sweeteners. So I would definitely stay away from that. And if you are acne prone, be cautious of whey protein. That's another one that's been shown. So those are some things to keep in mind when you're curating a diet. So, you know, you mentioned coffee earlier in the show. Yes. So that's a big controversy. Some people say no coffee ages your skin. Some people say no, it actually, you know, reverses your age. So this is a hot, heavy debate right now. Well, I personally think one or two cups of coffee and the science behind it shows that if you consume coffee without dairy or sugar, that it has the most potent effect because coffee is very rich in antioxidants, particularly polyphenols. And these polyphenols really help with scavenging through radicals, protecting, repairing your skin. And in some studies, they also suggest that they may help lengthen your telomeres. A what? You know what a telomere is? No. Are you talking nerdy to us now? Well, yeah, sure. Tell us what it is. If your if your love language is aging. Yes. So telomeres are what are at the ends of our genetic or DNA. You can think of them, these little spaghetti straps, right? And as we age, they get shorter and shorter and shorter. And when they shorten, you know, you lose some of those that regenerative power that your genetics has. That's why, like, I look at my kids, they get injured. They're like Wolverine. They recover and bounce back so quick. Like when we do surgery on little kids, like their scar is like, boom, they just just they just disappear. They feel so well. And that's because they have long telomeres. Unlike you and I, our telomeres have shortened over decades. So the magic to living forever and ever and ever is to be able to lengthen the telomeres as we age and keep them as long as possible. So two cups of black coffee. Well, I just say two cups. But, you know, there's a lot of animal studies, you know, on this. And so there's some studies that suggest that coffee helps lengthen and keep the telomeres long and strong, which will help with anti-aging. Now, the downside to coffee is if you do put a lot of cream and sugar, I see you guys at Starbucks with those frappuccinos and those mocha pinos, whatever they are, they're like full of sugar and cream. That is not going to help you with the aging. You've got to have it black, you know, stirred, not shaken kind of coffee. And I say two because I feel like if you do over consume coffee, then it can dehydrate you and dehydration will take away the plumpness and, you know, the hydration in your skin, which can make your wrinkles worse and all sorts of things. So that's the only downside. So asking for a friend is espressos count? Like, yeah, you just have a straight espresso. Yeah, that's good, too. Yeah. Good, good. It's actually, you know, more potent. Did you know that in the U.S., coffee is the number one source for antioxidants in American diets? I believe it. So everyone drinks coffee. We love our coffee. Yeah. It's doing something for us. Getting us through our work days. Plus it makes you focus. It can, you know, help with mood and give you energy and all those things, which is great, you know, for anti-aging, too. Yeah, I love it. All right. Question number two. Hi, Dr. Ozzie, can you recommend a skincare supplement stack that would help me be glowing and clear? There are so many products on the market. I'm overwhelmed. So some of the vitamins that are really important in terms of our hair and our skin are the B vitamins as well as vitamin D, which a lot of people now are low in vitamin D. So I highly recommend you have your vitamin D tested because as we age, our body isn't as good about making vitamin D. So, you know, our cells just don't produce it, even if you are getting a lot of sun. Plus, as we are older, a lot of us spend more time indoors than we did when we were younger. And so all of those contribute to low vitamin D levels. So that's an important one, as well as vitamin E, zinc, certainly biotin and iron are really important for hair. And you always have to make sure that you're consuming enough protein because proteins and peptides are the building blocks for collagen. And I know that, you know, it's talked about collagen and how, you know, do we really know if it makes it to the skin? Well, proteins and peptides are the building blocks. So you can make sure that your body is Now, there's all these things about, you know, fish oil, vitamin C and supplements like nicotinamide, or niacinamide, go by either name, because a lot of people are talking about NAD. Have you heard about this? Yeah, where people are going in for NAD infusions and, you know, all these things. What's that? Those infusions scare me. Well, the problem is we don't have a lot of data on it doesn't necessarily mean that it's not doing anything good. But you also hear about supplements and things that seem great on paper, but in real life, after years and years and years of studying it, they actually end up aging us worse. So that's what scares me about some of these IV therapies is yes, NAD in our bodies do diminish with time. And so we'll talk more about this in our regenerative medicine episode that's coming up. But I'm not sure about these NADs. I think what I would do is take a nicotinamide supplement, because that is the precursor to NAD. NAD can only be useful if it's given via IV or injection. Also, you know, vitamin C, again, another antioxidant is important. So those are some of the supplements I recommend. Now, I like no brainers. So actually, one of my good friends has worked so hard to come up with a vitamin called skintamin. And I love that you can have so many essential nutrients built into one little capsule going back to the Jetsons. So let's call her up. I want to talk to her and hear more about her product. Because I've been taking it, it sort of takes the guesswork out, I don't have to sit and think about, okay, am I getting all these things in? And I take resveratrol as a supplement, as well as nicotinamide, 500 milligrams, twice a day, because if you do have sun damage and skin cancer, nicotinamide actually helps with those skin cancers and sun damage. That's some really good data behind that. But I digress. So let's call her up and see what she has to say. All right, I'm going back to work. You guys have fun. Bye.