Episode 69 Transform Your Skin Health with Nutrition
Jul 24, 2024Season 1Episode 69
Fiona Kane
This episode explores nutrition for healthy skin. Beauty really does come from the inside! Discover why your diet plays a pivotal role, and learn about the skin-loving nutrients like vitamin A, zinc, and vitamin C found in everyday foods. I also discuss what has an aging and detrimental effect on your skin and what skincare I use.
This episode explores nutrition for healthy skin. Beauty really does come from the inside! Discover why your diet plays a pivotal role, and learn about the skin-loving nutrients like vitamin A, zinc, and vitamin C found in everyday foods. I also discuss what has an aging and detrimental effect on your skin and what skincare I use.
Hello and welcome to the Wellness Connection podcast with Fiona Kane. I'm your host, Fiona Kane, and today I'm actually going to be giving you six tips to healthier skin. So it's something that I see in my clinic people coming in with skin issues. So I thought I'd give you some ideas of some things you can do to really support healthy skin, ideas of some things you can do to really support healthy skin. And before I even start with those, yes, skincare, I believe, is important.
Fiona Kane:
I use the brand my Essence, and I will put the link in the show notes for you so you can see the brand that I use. Essentially, I use my Essence. It's organic. It's really organic and beautiful, nourishing skin product that doesn't include all of the extra sort of alcohols and chemicals. And water's a chemical. So when I say chemicals, I mean nasty chemicals, because sometimes people say chemicals and it's like oh, lots of things are chemicals. They're not necessarily bad, but I mean the nasty ones, right? So essentially, it's a beautiful, beautiful products and I use those and I've been using those for many years now maybe 12 or 15 years or something Lovely. So I think a good skin regime is a good thing. However, you can't fix on the outside what you won't fix on the inside. So you really got to fix it on the inside first, or on the inside as well. You'll get more results, I believe, from getting the inside right than just about skin creams and things like that, although I think both are really useful. But yeah, one without the other. I think they need to go together. So the things I do that I know that are really supportive for skin health.
Fiona Kane:
The first one I would say is vitamin A, and vitamin A is the actual active form of vitaminA is in things like liver, fish, eggs and dairy. So you'll find it in things like cod liver oil. It's in the egg yolks, which are very healthy for you. Don't let anyone tell you that they're not healthy unless you're allergic to them. Then eggs and egg yolks are very, very healthy. Lots of nutrition. I eat loads of them. And also the sort of pro-vitamin A which is kind of before it actually turns into vitamin A officially is also in all of the colorful vegetables, so anything that's kind of orange and yellows and that kind of thing.
Fiona Kane:
But I believe it is important to have both pro-vitamin A and the actual vitamin A which is in, like I said, the liver, fish, eggs and dairy, because not everyone can convert the pro-vitamin A into active vitamin A. So I think it's good to have both and so if you're having problems with your skin, I'd always go straight to things like the cod liver oil or a vitamin A supplement. If you're not eating those foods or otherwise, get those foods into your diet. So again, before you do any supplementation, get the right advice. I don't just advise people just go out and do a supplement on their own without support, because you need to know what's safe for your medications and what's safe for you and what the right dosage is, etc.
Fiona Kane:
Anyway, the other thing so number two on my list is zinc, so eating plenty of zinc-rich foods. So zinc is really really important also for your skin health and your immune health, as same with vitamin A both skin and immune and many other things. So zinc and vitamin A are actually both very much involved in kind of wound healing and healing of the skin, so really important nutrient. Now, zinc is in things like nuts and seeds you know, so you've got, like your sunflower seeds and your pepitas, you know little pumpkin seeds. It's also in walnuts and almonds and it's also in things like red meat, pate, again the liver, oysters, eggs, chicken, turkey and mushrooms. So zinc is another one that's really, really important for healthy skin.
Fiona Kane:
So the next one is your vitamin C and bioflavonoids and they come together in nature's great package because that's what you will get in something like when I was talking before about the orange foods and the yellow foods. Well, pro-vitamin A would actually be classed as a bioflavonoid or in that sort of similar same category, right? So when you see something that's got vitamin C in it, like an orange also, that color would indicate there is flavonoids, bioflavonoids, in there, and bioflavonoids come in many colors. So it's what you see, sort of things like capsicum and berries and broccoli and all of the different colors of the rainbow essentially. So if you're eating vegetables and a little bit of fruit all the colors of the rainbow you're getting those bioflavonoids.
Fiona Kane:
They are also in red wine. Resveratrol is in red wine. But the alcohol can have a detrimental effect on your skin as well. So I'm really sensitive to grapes, so this is not a good idea for me and also, of course, just your liver dealing with it, all that sort of stuff. So in general, too much alcohol is actually very aging for the skin. But the occasional glass of red wine for most people would be beneficial. So depends on how much you're having. But alcohol generally is very, very aging. So just have an awareness around that you can do all these great things. But if every friday and saturday and sunday you're going out and uh and overdoing it with alcohol, it's really, really going to affect your skin and it goes without saying.
Fiona Kane:
But smoking, smoking, has an oxidative effect, right. So oxidation is kind of a breaking down and damaging, and so when you have a lot of things that do oxidative damage in your body, you age, besides all of the health issues, because what you're aging on the outside while you're aging on the inside as well, so what's happening to your skin might be happening to your arteries, et cetera. So when we talk about all of these things like vitamin C, which is an antioxidant, and bioflavonoids, that sort of thing that have an antioxidant effect, they are kind of stopping that aging and stopping that breaking down and that damage, right. So something like smoking causes a hell of a lot of oxidative stress, a hell of a lot of damage. You have to have a lot of nutrition to make up for that. So what we want to do is things that have antioxidant and supportive and nourishing, and not things that are sort of pro-damage and pro-oxidation right, things that are sort of pro-damage and pro-oxidation right.
Fiona Kane:
So the next thing is ensuring that we have enough of a good gut bacteria, the microbiome, because the microbiome is involved in a lot of support as far as absorbing nutrients, but also making nutrients. So that balance of gut bacteria really really will affect your health overall and your skin health. So it will affect how well your detoxification is happening. So how many of toxins get out of your system, how many toxins get out of your system, how easily and how well they get out of your system, how many toxins get out of your system, how easily and how well they get out of your system. But also it will affect, like I said, your nutrition. So what nutrition you make, what nutrition you absorb, and also if you are inflamed if your body is inflamed, then often your skin will be inflamed. So if your gut bacteria is out of whack and therefore you're inflamed, then it often will show up on your skin.
Fiona Kane:
The other thing, too, is when our gut bacteria is out of whack, we do tend to crave more sugar and more carbs, because the bacteria that causes issues, really craves those things, so it wants to multiply, so it encourages you to crave those foods and the more of the basically junk food that you eat and the sugar you eat, the more skin issues you're going to have. So it sort of becomes this self-fulfilling thing. So the kind of things that can help again, all of the foods I've already mentioned, anything, all the colors of the rainbow that's where you have all that lovely nutrition and all of those different fibers that will feed your microbiome. Also, things like yogurts, so live foods, so things like kimchi and yogurt and sauerkraut and some sort of fermented tofus and things so fermented foods and live and fermented foods also support your gut bacteria. So the next category we've got which is officially number five, but I added a few other things in there as well is healthy fats.
Fiona Kane:
So healthy fats are also really really important for a healthy skin and it's one of the things that can be quite aging for people, because what I find is a lot of people do these like really really low fat diets for a really really long time and they do end up with that sort of aging happening because the fats are required for so many reasons. But you actually need fats to absorb fat soluble vitamins, which includes vitamin A and vitamin D, of reasons. But you actually need fats to absorb fat-soluble vitamins, which includes vitamin A and vitamin D, of course. Vitamin A, d, e and K, they're your fat-soluble vitamins and essentially you need good fats for so many things. So, whether it be healthy skin, whether it be healthy brain cells, whether it be nerve cells, whether it be making hormones and all of our sex hormones are made from healthy fats Healthy fats are quite anti-inflammatory, so a good fish oil is like very anti-inflammatory, so it's calming down that inflammation and so really good healthy fats supporting hormones and supporting your skin and reducing inflammation are really really good for your skin.
Fiona Kane:
So, like I said, things like fish oil, so like the oily fish, like salmon, mackerel, your avocado, your cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, also like the herrings and sardines, so that Nordic kind of oily fish they know what they're talking about. They're eating the healthy foods and things like eggs again your egg yolk, so you've got the good fats in there, basically nuts and seeds, full fat, dairy, that kind of thing. So just making sure you're having plenty of the good fats, because they are really really supportive of healthy skin, of making lots of different things in your body reducing that inflammation, making the hormones, everything you need pretty much for healthy skin. So my official number six today is actually talking about hydration. Hydration is so important for health and so important for skin. So I've got the example here of you know, you know what a grape looks like when you remove the water content, right. So you've got the example here of you know, you know what a grape looks like when you remove the water content, right. So you've got a sultana there. So if you think about a sultana versus a grape, well that's what happens with your skin, right.
Fiona Kane:
So if you want to look more like a grape and less like a sultana, drink plenty of water. You know you can have too much, but generally for most people, two or three liters a day is fine, and you know more if you're sweating a lot and doing a lot of exercise and really hot weather, that kind of thing. But essentially that water is going to hydrate your skin, pump up your skin and it does so many other things. So you know, skin pump up your skin and it does so many other things. So energy and detoxification and keeping your bowels moving, which helps the detoxification right, keep everything moving. So if things aren't moving, then you're going to end up with more sort of stagnant stuff sitting around and stuff sitting around in your bowel and toxins and things being resorbed into your system rather than moving out of your system, right? So water is really really important for that. So it's kind of plumping up the skin cells, giving you that energy, clearing out your bowels, keeping everything moving. So water is important for just about everything, but particularly just think of the difference between a grape and between a sultana. That gives you an idea of why you want to make sure you're having water.
Fiona Kane:
Water and not all the sugary drinks and things. Sometimes people think, oh, but I'm having this juice or that juice or whatever. Look, as far as juices go, if you're having green juices, if you're having lovely green juices and there's a little bit of fruit in there, that's perfectly fine. But if you're having these really, really sugary juices, which is all fruit, then sometimes the sugar can cancel out the good effects of having all of that lovely nutrition. So you've got all those lovely antioxidants If they're still present in there. It depends on if it's a pre-made juice or how you make the juice or whatever. But you're losing a lot of things like the fiber and you're getting lots of sugar and that might have that sort of opposite effect where you get that inflammation. So just be aware of you want water, you want plenty of water and, yes, things like green juices or juices with things like carrots, because it's your vitamin A, that kind of thing that can be really useful. But just be aware of how much sugar you're having in juices. So when you're having fruit juice in your juices, just be aware of the percentage of fruit juice as opposed to vegetables. Make it more of a vegetable juice with a little bit of fruit as opposed to these really really pure, just fruit type juices. But lovely, green smoothies can be really, really useful and on that note, I'm going to give you actually a bonus tip.
Fiona Kane:
So, even though I've already given you all those lovely tips in regards to your skin, the next one won't surprise you. I don't think, not if you listened to me before. But I'm going to say protein. If you think of what your skin is, your skin is made from protein, right? So skin, muscles, bones, it's all made from protein. So if you're not eating protein, you won't have the essential amino acids that you need to build healthy skin. So when you have a low protein diet or you're not absorbing your protein foods very well because you've got gut issues, you'll often come up with skin issues. So please ensure you're eating protein.
Fiona Kane:
My favorite proteins are the kinds that come from animals. So whether that be the animal itself like the fish, chicken, beef, lamb come from animals. So whether that be the animal itself like the fish, chicken, beef, lamb, whatever it is or whether that be their products, such as eggs and dairy. Dairy is one of those ones. For some people it's good for their skin and some people it's not. Dairy is not good for my skin. I'm quite reactive, so it kind of will cause me to get that sort of um, like eczema sort of breakouts. So with dairy, you kind of have to. Just it can be good for your skin or not. The nutrients can be great, but if you're a bit reactive to dairy it can be a problem. But in general I love the lovely proteins from animal sources, but also you can get protein from nuts and seeds and tofu and from things like legumes, like your chickpeas and lentils and and those kinds of things.
Fiona Kane:
So, uh, so protein is really really vitally important for your skin, because it's what your skin, bone, muscle, all of that is made from so um, so just to sort of always. Always is the core principle with everything from a dietary point of view. I'm always going to say where's your protein? Make sure you add the protein. In start with the protein, and then you add all those lovely colorful vegetables with all of those antioxidants and bioflavonoids and things like fiber and something that sort of includes the fiber that's going to feed your microbiome, as well as the good fats, of course, avocado and avocado can be a great one to add into things like smoothies as well. So when you're having that green smoothie, adding that bit of avocado, when it's going to keep your blood sugar levels balanced, it's really good for reducing that inflammation, feeding the microbiome and all those good fats, for all that good nutrition as well and, like I said, those oily fish, those herring mackerel, that kind of thing.
Fiona Kane:
So a lot of us are really turned off by oils because we've been taught that oil is bad, but we actually do need oil. It's just a good quality oil. The kind of oils that are really really bad for your skin are those really really cheap vegetable oils that come in their clear plastic container. So, whether it's canola oil or margarine or cottonseed oil, and especially any oil that's been heated over and over again like in a deep fryer, those kind of oils are like pro-oxidant. They cause oxidative stress and damage and and when it comes to your skin, you want things that are antioxidant and that sort of calm things down and reduce inflammation, not things that cause and drive inflammation. So they're my tips for healthy skin, and along with that it would be all of the basic things like getting enough sleep, managing your stress. Those things will all, of course, affect your skin too. But anyway, I hope that was useful for you to learn about healthy skin and the things that you need for healthy skin.
Fiona Kane:
Oh, the other thing I would add and it's a protein-based thing as well, but something like bone broth. Bone broth is a really great supportive thing for your immune system, for your skin, for your bones, so many things. So I drink bone broth as well, and that's what it's got collagen in there, right? So when you're hearing about all the skin products and they're talking about collagen, that's what they're talking about and you can put that on your skin, but you're going to get a lot more benefit from having it from within. So just be having awareness for your skin. You want to start from the inside and, yes, you can use those great skincare routines, but it starts from the inside. So focus on the inside and then use your great skin routine as well. And, like always, I'm going to ask you to please like, subscribe, share, tell other people about this podcast so it can grow, and I really appreciate your support. I hope you have a great week and I'll talk to you next week. Thanks, bye.
