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- [00:00]
A
Guys, I just wrapped up my episode with my friend Maria Marlowe. Mira Marlowe is a world renowned nutritionist who specializes in clearing skin from the inside out.
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B
I made it easy for you.
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A
Acne nutritionist. I've been trying to bring her on the show for a year because I
- [00:13]
B
had acne, really bad acne. For almost five years. My doctor prescribed Accutane. I filled the prescription and one of the side effects was severe depression that could lead to suicide.
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A
On the bottom, Accutane.
- [00:26]
B
Yes.
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A
Beauty has been such a big part of me building biohackets. We talked all about having how to mitigate acne, how to have better skin, how the gut plays a major role in how your skin actually looks, feels, and to prevent acne.
- [00:37]
B
When you address the root causes of acne, you can clear your skin in a matter of months. If you have acne and you're drinking whey protein, that's a red flag. If the probiotic is so delicate that it has to be sitting in the fridge, what's gonna happen when it goes inside your body?
- [00:55]
A
Is there any other supplements that you highly recommend that make incredible for like having beautiful skin? Yeah.
- [01:00]
B
Okay. Okay. So I would say the holy trinity of skin supplements.
- [01:03]
A
Okay, let's go. I'd love to hear back from you guys about what other topics you want me to dive deeper into. Comment below. And please remember to save, share and subscribe to our show and share it with your community so more people can discover biohacket and benefit from it. Thank you so much. And remember, curiosity. Hi guys and welcome back to another episode of biohackit. And today we're gonna talk about something that I know you guys are always asking me for, which is skin. So let's get into it. So if you've ever struggled with acne, you know, the routine, the expensive creams, the harsh prescriptions, and the dermatologists who tell you that your diet doesn't matter, they're lying to you. My guest today is here to tell you that the industry has it all backwards and I can vouch for that. Maria Marlowe is a world renowned nutritionist who specializes in clearing skin from the inside out, which is the only way it should be done, in my honest opinion. Today we are decoding the skin gut connection and the healthy foods that are secretly causing your breakouts and exactly what your face map is trying to tell you about your hormones, which is really important if you want to clear skin for good. This episode for you is here. And Maria, welcome to the show.
- [02:21]
B
Thank you so much for Having me,
- [02:22]
A
this has been a long time coming.
- [02:24]
B
I know. I've been looking forward to this.
- [02:27]
A
It was last year, this time in Dubai. They were like, maria, you gotta come on the show. We gotta talk about this.
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B
Yeah. And you had just started.
- [02:34]
A
Yes.
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B
You had just started.
- [02:35]
A
The podcast has just started, kind of. Yeah, it was like, I think the podcast was super new. And you know what's been really interesting for me starting the show is beauty has become a really big anchor for us. So whenever I do a beauty episode, whether it's with a plastic surgeon, it's with a nutritionist talking about skin health, it's with a dietician, it's with a, you know, a nurse practitioner, the episodes do so well because the community is like, we all want to feel and
- [02:58]
B
look beautiful, of course. I mean, who doesn't want to look good? Yeah.
- [03:02]
A
And we want tangible ways to do that. So I want to kick start right into it. Why does the skin journey, for anybody listening, start from the inside out? Why is it not the creams and the topicals and the expensive prescriptions that they get?
- [03:15]
B
Because our skin is a reflection of our internal health. And whenever we have skin conditions like acne, rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, even, these are all called inflammatory skin conditions. But where is that inflammation coming from? It's coming from chronic inflammation in the body, which starts in the gut. We also know that all of these conditions are linked to nutrient deficiencies, blood sugar, dysregulation issues, stress. And so really, when we have a skin issue, we need to start with the gut first and with our diet first, because that is ultimately where we're going to see the most improvement.
- [03:52]
A
How can somebody listening be like, wait, if it's not physically visible to them, how can they tell that they're inflamed?
- [03:59]
B
Oh, there are a lot of ways to tell if you're inflamed. I mean, if you're have. You have brain fog, that is probably one of the. The biggest red flags. If you have brain fog, you're. You're inflamed. Your brain is inflamed. And if you have not necessarily like breakouts and pimples, but like an, like acne, but you could have other sorts of just weird rashes maybe that come and go. You could have skin redness, you could be puffy. You're most likely going to be puffy. You're going to probably have. You may have some digestive issues you may have. And it could go either way. You could be constipated or you could have diarrhea. Right. So there, there are many different ways that are not necessarily visible.
- [04:41]
A
What about things like water retention?
- [04:43]
B
Water retention could absolutely be a sign that your, your body is inflamed.
- [04:47]
A
So did you personally struggle with having issues with your skin that drove you to diving deep and researching the gut skin connection?
- [04:56]
B
Sorry, yes. So the way that I got into this is I had acne, really bad acne for almost five years. And I had tried everything. I went the conventional route, I was going to the dermatologist all of the time, trying all the medications, and nothing seemed to work for my skin. Or it would work for a short period of time, but then the acne would ultimately come back. And it got to a point where I had tried just about everything. And this was back in the day when Accutane was the last, it was the last hurrah. It was like the last thing, you know, when everything else had failed. That's what you, you went to at the end. And my doctor prescribed Accutane. I filled the prescription and I happened to look at the paper staple to the front. That has the side effects. And, and one of the side effects was severe depression that could lead to suicide.
- [05:41]
A
On the bottle, Accutane?
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B
Yes, it's on the paper, it's on the side effects, yes. And so I remember this so vividly. And at that moment I was like, I'm already depressed about my skin. None of these other medications have worked. I'm not going to take this. Why am I going to take that risk?
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A
I wonder if they've changed their formulation at all or is that still on the bottle?
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B
It is most likely still on the bottle. So I believe Accutane has. Yeah, it's still, it's still, it's still there.
- [06:14]
A
Spring cleaning looks a little different in my house these days. It's not just about organizing my closets. It's about what I'm actually bringing into my space. Especially as someone who cares deeply about my metabolic health and lowering overall toxin burden load. I've been using Branch Basics for almost five years. And it's just one of those swaps that totally makes sense to me. I used to have a whole cabinet of different cleaners, all with ingredients I couldn't even pronounce. And the more I learned about hormonal health and environmental toxins, the more that started to bother me. So I switched. What I love is that everything is built around one powerful concentrate. I dilute it to clean my kitchen, bathrooms, laundry floors, even produce and makeup brushes, even. It's Plant based and mineral based, fragrance free and made safe certified, which means it's screened against known and suspected harmful chemicals that we do not want in our homes or in our bodies. It feels aligned with how I live. I'm not extreme about everything, but I am intentional. And this is one of those small shifts that adds up day in and day out. If you're doing a reset in your home, I really encourage you to look at what's under your sink too. Branch Basics is available at target.com, and target in store, Amazon and of course branch basics.com you can get 20% off at branch basics.com with code biohackit20 which is B I O H E C K I T20. After you purchase, make sure you tell them you heard about them from our show because a clean home should actually feel clean also for your body. You know what boggles my mind is that the amount of young and I was talking to somebody about this yesterday about GOP ones as well. The adverse reactions, side effects of things like Accutane or GLP1s is causing a higher risk of depression or let's say suicide in younger adults. Why are we in our right minds giving this to fragile young adults who are not even fully emotionally or mentally developed yet? Because your brain's still developing till you're 22, 23 years old. Why are we even allowed to give these medications versus talking about nutrition, fixing it through diet, sleep, lowering inflammation. Like I don't understand why our doctors are not trained to even consider that route before prescribing these really harmful drugs.
- [08:34]
B
It's not good for business. Clearing acne naturally is not good for business, unfortunately, because when I had acne, I was at the dermatologist's office and several different dermatologists office several times a year I was filling several prescriptions, right? And if I didn't have that acne,
- [08:51]
A
that's all gone out of business.
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B
So it's, it's not, it's not good for their business, but essentially keeping you breaking out. It's kind of like a cycle, right? People who have acne tend to have acne for years or even decades. We all know people who've had acne for decades. And the reality is when you address the root causes of acne, you can clear your skin in a matter of months. So I had acne for almost five years. When I was introduced this concept of the gut skin connection and food as medicine, my skin cleared up in three months.
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A
What were the foods? What did you remove from your diet? And what did you bring in?
- [09:28]
B
So I was. I was eating a completely standard American diet. It was all processed junk food.
- [09:35]
A
And this is when you lived in New York, right?
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B
I lived in New York, yes. So I grew up in New York. And we relied on a lot of convenience foods, a lot of packaged foods. McDonald's and, you know, frozen pizza and all of that kind of stuff. And Coca Cola. Right. So at that time, if you asked a dermatologist, does, does food affect my face? They would say, no.
- [09:57]
A
You know, how many years ago was this?
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B
So this had to be about 25 years ago. 20, 25 years ago? Yeah. Yeah, 25 probably.
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A
And to think that this is such a major contributor to how, you know, you look and feel and inflammation stuff. But the problem with the medical system is there's barely a course in nutrition that they teach you.
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B
Right.
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A
What you put into your body affects how you function, how you operate, how you feel, how you look, and it just blows my mind.
- [10:25]
B
Yeah. So I believe the statistic is something like the. The average doctor gets less than 24 hours of nutrition instruction during their entire time, and, you know, medical school and residency, which is absolutely insane. But what is interesting is it's. It's not going to shift all the way in the opposite direction to where it needs to go. But what is interesting, when I had first started and when I had acne,
- [10:47]
A
and
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B
what they would say is that, no, there's no connection between diet and your skin. Now, in the past, like, decade or so, they have acknowledged that there is a huge body of research connecting certain foods, particularly dairy and sugar, to acne. So they've acknowledged this body of evidence exists, but they kind of stop there. They say, yes, this exists, but go see your dermatologist for a prescription still. Yeah.
- [11:13]
A
And so when it came to your personal journey, that really healed you. What foods did you remove, the top foods that you removed? And what are the top foods that you added in and still continue to keep in your diet that have helped you have beautiful skin.
- [11:25]
B
The biggest thing that I removed was all the processed foods, all of the junk food. So, I mean, I was eating. The vast majority of foods I was eating was coming out of a box. And I will say my diet was particularly bad, but it doesn't have to be that bad to also be creating acne. You could still be eating a lot better than me, but still. Still have acne. So I got rid of all the processed and refined foods. I was eating a lot of sugar cookies, pastries. Like, I definitely had a sugar addiction. Starbucks, you know, I wasn't having, I was young, I was a teenager, so I wasn't having Starbucks at that time. I don't, I actually don't like coffee, I've never drank coffee. But for me I was eating like, it was like pastries and cookies and all that stuff. So I ate a lot of that. That went so basically was getting rid of all of that and adding in whole real foods, which at the time was. These were like foreign objects to me. I didn't know what all the vegetables were or, you know, the different types of fruit and all of that stuff. So going to the grocery store for the first time was like, oh my God, like, what is this? How do I use this? But I added in whole vegetables, added in fruit, I added in healthy protein. So wild salmon was a huge part of my healing journey. I'd never, I mean, I don't even know if I'd eaten fish at that point. Like when I'm like 18 years old, I actually don't. Unless it was maybe a fish stick or something, I don't know. So I, I added in wild salmon. So that was a big thing. I added in spices, like turmeric, you know, turmeric, cumin, all, all of these anti inflammatory spices. And I would say those were the main things that I added in seeds, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes. Right. It's just focusing on whole real foods. And when I did that, I can see the difference in the mirror every single morning. So when I woke up in the morning, I would check my skin, I would look in the mirror, and when I ate wild salmon and broccoli and brown rice for dinner, the inflammation on my skin went down, the bumps were smaller. You know, my face looked less angry. But if I went and I had a pizza and a Coca Cola, all of a sudden it was like the opposite effect. And so to see this in the mirror and connect the dots was really the light bulb moment for me. And when my skin finally cleared up at three months, I mean, this is how brainwashed I was. I was very skeptical that food could clear your skin. But I was really desperate at that point, so I said, I'll try anything. I didn't want to do the Accutane. So a friend had recommended, you know, trying to make some changes. So I did that. And I was so skeptical, I said, oh my God, my prayers have been answered, my skin is clear. I can go back to eating pizza and Coca Cola and all this stuff. So of course I did that. And my skin broke out and Then that's when I was like, oh my God. It's really the food. It's really my gut. Why isn't anyone teaching us this? I need to go back to school and I need to be the one to teach people this.
- [14:12]
A
And so that's what inspired your journey into nutrition?
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B
Yes.
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A
What is your take on bone broth?
- [14:17]
B
I love bone broth. It's amazing. It's amazing. It supports the gut lining rich source of collagen, which is so great for our skin. So protein. Protein, exactly. And it's. I love sneaking bone broth into things just to up the protein for the day. So for example, if you ever make rice or grain, you can use bone broth instead of water. And it makes it also we use a bone broth here that has like some herbs in it and it makes it taste like risotto.
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A
What is the bone broth here you're using?
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B
I use the happy broth.
- [14:43]
A
Is it the one that comes in a kind of like a sachet that you're pouring in? It's organic, it's local.
- [14:49]
B
Yeah. So it's organic, it's fresh made. So I get it like, you know, delivered on deliveroo.
- [14:53]
A
I think I had that a couple of days ago at a friend's house. I was like, it was delicious and it was thick.
- [14:59]
B
It was really nice. You can see when you put it in the fridge and it is like a, it becomes like a jelly comes.
- [15:05]
A
When I had really well done, it was delicious. It had the right amount of spices in it, which is also adds to it.
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B
Right.
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A
And you're getting in the anti inflammatory. So. Yeah, it was incredible. That one.
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B
Yeah, it's really tasty.
- [15:16]
A
So I want to talk to you a little bit about the acne blueprint. Right. So a lot of people don't understand that things like acne, cystic acne, which can be obviously hormonal and stuff as well, has a pattern with way it shows up on your face. And I thought another thing that was really interesting was this Chinese face mapping.
- [15:30]
B
Yes.
- [15:31]
A
So different. And what I love about Chinese medicine is they kind of like break certain things down. So different parts of your face obviously breaking out correlate to different organs. So recently I was getting a breakout on my chin and I wrote to my functional medicine practitioner, I was like, you know, John Kim, I'm having a breakout. And he's like, where's your breakout? Like kind of on the chin. And he's like, that's your reproductive system. It's an overdrive. You know, you're stressed out, whatever it is. So do you ever use this in your, in your practice?
- [15:54]
B
Yes. So I'm not an expert in tcm, but I love tcm and I think that the whole body of knowledge, it's just, first of all, it's thousands of years old, it's tried and tested. They really know what they're talking about. I'm always amazed when I go to a TCM practitioner. I sit down, I don't have to tell them anything. They just look at me, take the benefit. They're like, this is what you have. I'm like, how did you know? You know? So TCM is incredible. But yes. So TCM maps. I like to use it as a starting point or just as a visual. I think it's great for people to be able to see that and then start to connect the dots between their symptoms and their diet and lifestyle habits.
- [16:30]
A
And is that something you recommend? So when you're treated, somebody comes to you, you know, because you were actively seeing, you know, people before you developed your product, you were sitting down, you were seeing patients and consulting for them and putting them on protocols and stuff. Would TCM be part of the protocols you were putting together?
- [16:46]
B
It's, it's not directly a part. I do sometimes mention the face map because I like to use it as a starting point. And again, it just kind of, sometimes when you see things, you're like, oh, wow, that is me. And, and it just makes you more interested or more open to the change. So I just use it in that way to kind of show people as a starting point. Okay, this, it's happening here, here, and here. Okay, let's look at these areas of your diet and lifestyle. Ultimately, in my opinion, all acne starts in the gut. Whether it's hormonal acne, stress, acne, acne, acne, all acne starts in the gut. And so I think that's really the foundation. But then of course, there are other factors that are going to contribute to inflammation as well.
- [17:25]
A
You said that even for you, hormonal acne starts in the gut. Why would you say that?
- [17:31]
B
Well, hormones are just messengers. Right. So I always tell people, if you have a hormone imbalance, your hormones are not the problem, your diet and lifestyle are, because hormones are messengers. So they are just reacting to your diet and lifestyle and environment. Whatever inputs you, you give them, they're going to give you the correct output.
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A
Right? Right.
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B
So if we use, just as an example to illustrate this, the stress hormone cortisol. If you are sitting on a mountaintop, Meditating, you're in total blissful vibe. Your cortisol is going to be low, but then as soon as you hear a bear roar next to your ear, your cortisol is going to be high because you have to run away. Yeah. So whatever the imbalance is, don't blame your hormones. Don't think that your body is broken. I think that's the issue. A lot of times when women have hormonal imbalances, they think that there's something wrong with them internally and it's not the case. Your body is responding the way it's supposed to respond given the diet, lifestyle and environment inputs that you're giving it. So I just like to, you know, underscore that, that it is, it's, it's the diet and lifestyle, it's not you.
- [18:31]
A
So when it comes to clearing out your skin and many people, you know, you were seeing people and sitting down and consulting with them, do you do a 30, 60, 90 day plan that starts with nutrition, then goes into other things or how are you treating?
- [18:42]
B
You know, so what I like to do is first take a really in depth health history and understand what's going on not just with the skin, but also with other aspects of the person's health. Because those are also little clues and signals of. Very often when you have acne, you might have other issues too, like you might have pms, for example. You might have, you most likely have digestive issues. You don't always have to have digestive issues, but a lot of times people do. So I like to get a very big picture, a wide picture of what's going on. I like to also get a history because that matters as well. What you've done in the past, what's worked, what hasn't worked, that's also really important. So we look at that, but then we also look at the food diary. So that's really a key component of the first session with me is I make you fill out a food diary for a minimum of three days, you know, before you come. And that is going to give me an idea. Of course it's not perfect, but that is going to give me an idea of what nutrients you're taking in and which nutrients you're not taking in.
- [19:42]
A
Right.
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B
Because you know, it's. When you've been doing it this long, I don't necessarily need blood work to see what you're deficient in because I can see you're not eating it right,
- [19:52]
A
you're not taking it in.
- [19:53]
B
And then another clue would be if you are eating it, but you're showing signs that you don't have it. It's not being absorbed. Right. So it's kind of like putting all the pieces together and then coming up with a plan. So usually it starts, the foundation really is with the gut because we need to make sure that your gut is in a good place so that you're absorbing your nutrients so that you're regular. Right. We need to make sure your blood sugar is, is balanced. We need to make sure your stress is in check. So we kind of go through everything methodically, but we definitely start with the gut, with nutrients, with blood sugar balance and hormone balance.
- [20:27]
A
And how can somebody check besides like being like, okay, if they eat something and they get severe bloating, what other dead giveaways are there that they are having digestive issues?
- [20:37]
B
So bloating, pain, diarrhea, or constipation. So any of these could, could be a sign.
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A
Digestive issues.
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B
So all digestive issues, but it also doesn't have to be digestive issues. It could be something like when you eat something, you start sneezing or getting a runny nose.
- [20:53]
A
Oh, really?
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B
Yes. That can be a sure fire sign
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A
that you are having digestive issues.
- [20:57]
B
Well, that you're having a reaction to the food. And if you're having a reaction to the food, it's your gut's not going to like it either, you know, so it's. I, I always tell, tell my clients, be a food detector, be a body detective actually, because your body is always trying to tell you something. It's always communicating. Sometimes we don't understand it, but it's always talking to us.
- [21:19]
A
Right.
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B
So look at your symptoms.
- [21:21]
A
Look at the symptoms and kind of trace it back. Are there any foods that most people would consider a healthy food, but causes a lot of issues in people? I know some people are really sensitive to eggs. Thank God I'm not. But some people can be.
- [21:32]
B
Some people are sensitive. Exactly. Some people are. Some people are not. I would say a common one that sometimes like people think it's a wellness food or a wellness trend would be whey protein.
- [21:41]
A
Yeah.
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B
If you have acne and you're drinking whey protein, that's a red flag. Yeah.
- [21:47]
A
Terrible for you.
- [21:48]
B
Yes. Yes. So with whey protein and dairy in general, it tends to increase IGF1, which is a hormone that is really a driver of acne and increases oil production and skin cell turnover, which is recipe for clogged pores and breakouts. So I would say that is a big one.
- [22:06]
A
What about things like biotin. Because biotin can give a lot of people a lot of acne. People take it for their hair.
- [22:11]
B
Yeah, Biotin is a known. When you're having excessive amounts it can absolutely cause acne. So I would say that one I would avoid if you're acne prone and especially if you're saying, hey, I just started taking this and I'm breaking out. Well stop taking it because it's probably the issue causing it.
- [22:26]
A
Yeah, most women especially are. So they don't take any enough protein, right?
- [22:31]
B
Yeah.
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A
So what are you. Some of your favorite recommendations, especially in this acne space and people are breaking out that they should be taking in from whether it's smoothies or protein shakes. What should they be adding to it that doesn't have whey as a baseline?
- [22:43]
B
Oh, so there are so many other options in terms of protein powders. I would say I really love pumpkin seed protein for acne prone skin because it's a natural source of zinc and magnesium. So zinc is a very common nutrient deficiency amongst people with acne. And a serving of the pumpkin seed protein has about 50% of the recommended daily intake in just one serving. Also it's about 50 for magnesium as well, which most of us are depleted in. So I love pumpkin seed protein.
- [23:13]
A
Is there a brand that you really like and recommend?
- [23:15]
B
I love Sprout Living. Sprout Living is really good.
- [23:17]
A
It's over here available in the GCC and in the US.
- [23:19]
B
It's available in the US probably on higher iHerb. I love iHerbs.
- [23:24]
A
Yeah, iHerbs. Amazing.
- [23:26]
B
It's my savior over here all the time. So yeah, so that's. I like that. I do like collagen, collagen protein. So I personally when I make a smoothie I put pumpkin seed protein and I put a scoop of grass fed collagen and that makes like at least 30 grams of protein. Sometimes I'll also add. Well I usually add seeds as well. I love things like flaxseed chia seed because that's also going to be a source of Omega 3 and I would say those are probably my, my favorite go to's.
- [23:56]
A
You know for me, somebody who's like South Asian and I really struggle gaining muscle mass that's like, you know, from our part of the world. It's not the easiest. I have to start my day with 30 to 40 grams of protein and so I have to get animal based protein. I'm trying to stay away from whey though. But get animal based protein then add in the collagen then all this stuff, because just starting my day like that stabilizes my blood sugar glucose for the entire day, but also making sure that I get adequate amount to kickstart my day with. So I'm absorbing throughout the day from my meals because I don't get to hit, you know, 50, 60 gram per. Per meal.
- [24:28]
B
Yeah, it's, it's hard to do, especially if you're running around and you're eating out and things like that. Like, it, it does get hard. So if you can at least start with the morning and have a solid morning, it really sets the tone for the rest of the day.
- [24:40]
A
And then I wanted to talk a little bit about the gut microbiome. So that obviously plays a really big part in our skin health and who we are, but every single one of us, every individual in the world, their gut microbiome is super unique to them. So I looked up this study, which I found was really interesting, and I wanted to pull it up over here. So the study I looked up was a Zoe Predict study in natural medicine. You guys can look it up. It's from 2020, which is one of the largest studies of its kind. It's proved that even identical twins have completely different gut microbiomes and they respond differently to the exact same foods. So if people have these super different gut microbiomes, Ben, how do you treat these individuals without having to do an additional stool test and getting in there and dissecting, hey, your gut microbiome has an overgrowth of this or an undergrowth of that, and this is what I'm going to put you on.
- [25:33]
B
So the reality is, yes, no one has the same exact gut microbiome. Because the thing is, it's changing all the time. Every time you eat something, you're changing your gut microbiome. Every time you're stressed, it's, it's changing your microbiome. So it's constantly in flux. So it makes sense that nobody has the identical gut microbiome. That said, we know that a healthy gut microbiome has certain characteristics, while an unhealthy gut microbiome has other characteristics or other, you know, there's, there's more of certain bacteria more or less, you know, depending on, you know, whether it's a good, a good, healthy, balanced microbiome or not. And so I think the first step is always to start with a leaky gut and supporting the leaky gut, because the, the lining of your gut, it's basically a filter, right? And so if we have increased intestinal permeability, the stuff that's supposed to stay inside of our gut is now leaking into the bloodstream and creating inflammation. So in a normal, healthy, well functioning gut, the, the gut is going to keep in any undigested food particles. It's going to keep the toxins inside and it's going to let the nutrients into your bloodstream. But when you have a leaky gut that goes haywire, and not only are you not absorbing your nutrients properly, but now those undigested food particles and the toxins can leak into the bloodstream, your immune system is going to see those particles as an invader, an attack, and it's going to create inflammation. Now the inflammation is in your blood. Your blood is circulating throughout your body. That inflammation is eventually going to show up on your skin as acne. So we need to kind of heal and seal the gut lining first, I think. And then in terms of, we know that there are certain bacteria that are, you know, naturally found in the human gut that support our health, particularly the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria. And so we need to improve stores of those. And in terms of, you know, the bad bacteria, it depends on the person. Like, if someone is having chronic digestive issues, like having like a serious problem, then I do think a stool test is important to identify if there is a particular parasite or bacteria or something further going on. But if they just have acne, the reality is if you improve the microbial balance and you improve the gut barrier, those good bacteria are actually going to crowd out the bad bacteria so it comes into balance.
- [27:57]
A
My question to you about that was, is there ever a risk that growing more of this good bacteria can lead to also an overgrowth of Sibu or Candida or anything like that?
- [28:07]
B
If you're having good bacteria, it, it shouldn't, you know, so it's. Listen, the gut is very complicated and no two people are the same.
- [28:17]
A
It's a whole different organism.
- [28:18]
B
So yes, it really depends on the individual. There's so many factors at play, so it's hard to give you, like, a specific answer, but I would say the vast majority of people will benefit simply from adding probiotics into the diet, especially if they're exhibiting symptoms of lack of these good bacteria.
- [28:35]
A
Right.
- [28:35]
B
Because we have plenty of studies. Like even with acne, for example, we know that people with acne tend to lack certain strains of the Lactobacillus bacteria, and then adding them back in actually helps to, you know, reduce the acne. So I think in that case it's, it's worth a try before you go and spend thousands of dollars on testing. Sometimes it's as easy as that. However, if you have, you know, a severe like autoimmune condition or you have like a severe severe illness something then, then that of course it, you know, would be more prudent to actually do testing and, and choose a little bit more carefully. But I think for the average person, simply adding them back in makes sense. And that's actually I formulated a probiotic called Globe I am which is specifically for acne prone skin and it uses the clinically backed strains that we know support acne prone individuals and we know that are typically lacking in those individuals. And in an independent clinical trial on Globi itself, it was shown to reduce the frequency and severity of ACNE in just 12 weeks. So there is this huge gut skin connection. And I think that really, you know, for, for the average person, starting by replenishing the bacteria is great, but if you have something very serious, then being a little bit more thoughtical, doing the testing first before you start adding in makes sense.
- [29:53]
A
I looked up this other study because I was so interested in prebiotics and probiotics in people. And they said sometimes people. There's a study that said certain probiotics people are resistant to them. And it came up in a reference. And so the study references a famous Cell 2018 study which found that sometimes many people can be resistant to generic probiotics and are actually transient, meaning they just pass through the system without ever being colon or cultured. And it actually makes them feel worse when taking it. So if somebody's suffering from something that they're taking and they're like, well, I'm actually feeling worse taking this, what should they switch to then?
- [30:34]
B
Well, yeah, it's very individual. So every supplement can like one supplement can work for someone. Absolutely. And not for the other person. So that is really important. There is, you know, that individuality there. But what I will say is this the way that the strains that are chosen that makes a difference. So you were talking specifically about generic strains of proteins, but personally I wouldn't take a probiotic that has generic. Sorry, not probiotics, not proteins. I wouldn't take one that has generic probiotics. I'm always looking for probiotics that have the little letters and numbers at the end.
- [31:06]
A
Okay, why is that?
- [31:07]
B
So the ones that have the letters and numbers at the end, those are specific strains of the probiotic that have been clinically studied. So you can go on PubMed and you can see what Are the benefits or what are the actual results of using this probiotic? So, for example, lactobacillus rhamnosis, gg. This is one of the most studied probiotics and has, you know, decades of studies showing its support for gut health, for immune health, for women's health, for skin health. Right. So this is a probiotic that I feel comfortable taking because it has literally decades of research. Yeah.
- [31:38]
A
And are there any others that people should be looking up? So people are listening to this episode and they're like, let me go and see what probiotic I'm taking and turning around. So that's a really good one. Are there any others that are really good for different things?
- [31:50]
B
Yes. So L, L rhamnosis, sorry LS L acidophilus LA14 is also really good for, again for gut health and skin health. So that's another favorite of mine. And another important thing I would say to look at whenever you are are checking your probiotics is not just the strains, but more specifically the CFU count. And there's always going to be a little asterisk next to the CFU account. And if you go follow that asterisk to the fine print you want to see, does it say CFU count at time of manufacture or at time of expiry? Because probiotics are live organisms, and so during the manufacturing process, there's going to be some die off during the shipment and the storage before it gets to you, there's going to be die off. So if it says at time of manufacturer, if it says, let's just say 10 billion CFU on the front, by the time you get it, it might only be five.
- [32:46]
A
Right.
- [32:46]
B
But if you find a probiotic that says at time of expiry, then you're guaranteed to get that amount of CFU until time of expiry.
- [32:54]
A
And how long does a probiotic normally last on your shelf on your counter?
- [32:59]
B
That really comes all down to formulation. So it's completely different for every single probiotic. I do. You know, like, personally, what we do with globiome is we formulate it to be shelf stable for up to two years.
- [33:10]
A
Amazing.
- [33:10]
B
Yes. So it's that we get that shelf stability by choosing the right strains that can handle it, by also using the right packaging that's going to protect those probiotics. So we don't use plastic. Plastic's probably the worst for keeping air and moisture and, you know, light out. So we don't use plastic. We use glass. We use an amber glass bottle. And we also use, like a paper tube around it to further, you know, keep it dark in there while it's in storage. And, and so that is going to help keep the probiotics fresher a little bit longer.
- [33:43]
A
And a lot of people back in the day, I remember, were buying these probiotics that they had to put in the fridge and keep it at a certain temperature and stuff. Is that not the case anymore?
- [33:52]
B
Yes, that's a great question because back when I first started in nutrition, that was the case. You would say, do not take a probiotic that sits on the shelf.
- [33:58]
A
Correct.
- [33:59]
B
But there have been huge advancements in probiotic technology. So the reality is, imagine if the probiotic is so delicate that it has to be sitting in the fridge. What's going to happen when it goes inside your body?
- [34:11]
A
Right.
- [34:12]
B
And your temperature 98.6, you know, and it's going through your stomach acid, what's going to happen to it? So, yes, you can. Shelf stability. I think again, 10, 20 years ago, people were really scared of shelf stable probiotics, but now they're extremely effective.
- [34:28]
A
Do you think all the research that is being done just from a scientific aspect into the gut microbiome is helping us develop better products to target different skin conditions, health conditions. Do you think it's benefiting coming into when you're researching your brand?
- [34:42]
B
Yeah, for sure, because now we're, we're seeing like different strains are being researched for different things. So there's some probiotics that are called psychobiotics that are having an impact on brain health. There are certain ones that can help with for, for example, depression, anxiety, etc. There are certain probiotics that are being studied specifically for women's health, like the vaginal microbiome and how they impact there during pregnancy. You know, there are some studies to suggest that, you know, certain probiotics are more beneficial during pregnancy or even post birth. Right. So there we're kind of drilling down and trying, you know, trying to understand which specific strains are going to support us at different areas in our, in our life.
- [35:26]
A
So I was sitting yesterday with this incredible guy who's like a microbiome expert, and he told me the only time there's no point ever to even test your microbiome health is during when you're pregnant because it literally changes day after day. There's like no point in doing a gut microbiome test at that time. So there can be great probiotics and prebiotics for support you during your pregnancy, but doing an actual test there is useless because there's so much going on when you're carrying a child.
- [35:52]
B
Well, let me tell you something that's interesting. So my husband and I, we love testing all this stuff, right? And so we did an experiment where we got three different gut health stool tests, okay. And sent the same sample to three different companies. And the answers were all different. Okay. So there's some, there's some similarities, but it's different because the reality is it also depends where, you know, you take the little scoop from. Yeah, so, so, yeah, so listen, they, they definitely are helpful, you know, and they can give us an idea, a starting point, but they're not the be all and end all. And again, on top of that, if you take it on Monday, it's going to be different on Tuesday, you know, and so we, we do, like, I do think diagnostic testing, of course, is very helpful and beneficial, but it's not like the be all and end all. We need to look at the whole body holistically. We need to look at all the symptoms, we need to look at the diet, we need to look at everything, the stress. And then we need to, you know, see where the body is out of balance or the lifestyle is out of balance and work on that.
- [36:53]
A
What do you recommend for people that are very stressed out, that aren't very stressed out, that are.
- [36:58]
B
That are. I was going to say, do those people exist? Can you please find one person who doesn't have stress for people that are really stressed out?
- [37:06]
A
High cortisol people like myself. Yeah, case in point.
- [37:12]
B
So, you know, it's actually quite interesting. So there have been several studies that have looked at the connection between stress and acne and they have actually linked. When you have mental stress, it can cause breakouts and the mechanism is through the gut. So the stressful thoughts actually disrupt the gut microbiome. They can increase intestinal permeability and can wipe out some of the good bacteria, which allows the bad bacteria to grow a bit more. So if you are stressed out all the time, I do think probiotics are really important. So that's number one. Well, not number one. I think number one if you're stressed out is to try and work on your stress. And it's not necessarily actually, you know, doing the yoga and the meditation and the breath work, like, those things are amazing. Those are amazing practices that we should all build into our, our daily routines or weekly routines. But stress comes down to our mindset. And one of the game changers for me was reading this book called Loving what is by Byron Katie. And she basically Explains how, let's just say we both have a really nice sports car and both of our cars get scratched. One of us may go ballistic. Oh, my God, the car is stretched. I can't believe it. And the other person might be like, oh, it's just a car, just a scratch. I'll get it fixed. I don't care. It's the same event is happening. That's the same stressor, but two very different reactions. So stress is really our reaction to what's happening. So if you can understand that and you can kind of retrain your brain of how you think about things and your perspective on things, then all of a sudden your stress has actually lowered and significantly, significantly, without doing breath work or yoga or meditation, you know, I
- [38:50]
A
cannot tell you how much, how important that is. So I was being to somebody a couple weeks ago, a friend of mine, and he was like, you have gone through in the last six months or are going through some of the most stressful things. Somebody goes through getting divorced, moving, and, you know, essentially getting a divorce is like, almost like a death. Right. So all three things compound into one. And. And I said, I don't necessarily see it like that. Yes, I have a lot of stress in my life, but how I see it is I have the ability to be closer to family. I have the ability to go towards a relationship that might be more aligned with me. I have the ability and freedom of choice and to be able to have the ability to choose how I decide to show up in the world. So the same things are supposed to be super stressful to people. For me, I wake up in Dubai and I see my nephews, I see my, you know, my cousin, and I get to have breakfast with my family. I'm like, that for me, is a gift. So whereas rather than seeing this as like, oh, my God, everything's like falling apart. I don't see it like that. I see it like I'm in a moment of transition. But I'm so blessed to have so much love and support and community around me. Yeah.
- [39:52]
B
And that's the way to do it. That's the only way to do it. Because if you did it the other way, we probably wouldn't be sitting here. Right.
- [39:57]
A
You would be. Can't show up to the show today. Sorry.
- [40:01]
B
Yeah. And listen, it's not always easy when you first start. Start that. Because I think we are kind of wired to look at the negative all the time. I mean, I knew I grew up in a family where there was a lot of fear. Fear about Everything. When the doorbell rang, you head, you know, you know, like, it's just we're, we're kind of brought up to be scared of everything or everything's negative. But what if we, what if everything's positive? What if everything's good?
- [40:26]
A
You know, that's the other thing. And everyone asked me, they're like, you know, you're 42, you're gonna be 43 this year. Like, do you regret not having kids? I'm like, no, not at all. Because I think when I look at life, it's better to build that life with a partner. You see, longevity with and having a child is one of the most important decisions of your life. And I said, I've just left it to the universe. I said, whether I meet somebody who has a pre existing family, they become my kids, whether I am able to have a kid, maybe whether I have a kid through a surrogate, it does not matter to me because the outcome is for me to have family, how the family comes together. I'm not going to control that process. That's up to God in the universe. So that's where I think women drive themselves into these spirals. And of course there are days that you feel better or days that you feel worse. But generally when you realize what you said about the car analogy, that when you give up that control and say, it is what it is, I have to go with the motion that I'm in and move through it and let the best come to me, then the stressors get mitigated a little bit because you're not sitting there clenching your fist, being like, shit, what do I do now?
- [41:23]
B
Right. And because the reality is it's still going on.
- [41:25]
A
Yeah. Still have to change.
- [41:26]
B
Yeah. You can either be upset about it or you can, you know, accept it and move on.
- [41:31]
A
Right. And so I think that is the big piece that mitigating, you know, having high cortisol and stress, how to deal with that is changing your mindset.
- [41:39]
B
Changing your mindset.
- [41:40]
A
I look at a situation in a different way.
- [41:42]
B
Exactly. That's number one.
- [41:44]
A
I also want to talk about something called with estrogen dominance. So obviously, as we start hitting perimenopause and that starts coming in, estrogen dominance can start to start coming in and you get these hormonal flares, progesterone is dropping. What do you recommend for things like that? Because sometimes women have incredible skin and they hit perimenopause and they're like, shit, I have acne again.
- [42:03]
B
Yeah. So for estrogen dominance, there's a Few things that you can do that are, are helpful. One is making sure you're eating adequate cruciferous vegetables, because those are going to aid your liver's natural detoxification process. That's how we break down and process our hormones. So supporting our liver is really, really important. So cruciferous vegetables include things like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, anything that has that sulfury smell. Those are really good. If you want to support the liver even more, there's a herb called milk thistle, which is really nice. So there's that. I would also highly recommend keeping your blood sugar stable. You want to make sure that you are eating and living as healthy as possible so you're keeping your inflammation levels low, your nutrient stores high, and your body just as balanced as possible so it can deal with the storm.
- [42:53]
A
Right.
- [42:53]
B
Because the reality is if there is a little bit of imbalance, then it's just going to go more. Right. So you want to give yourself a good framework. So keeping your blood sugar stable is really important because blood sugar and hormones, like, they go hand in hand, and if one's imbalanced, you know, if your blood sugar is imbalanced, you know, it's just not good. So I would say that's really important. And then the third thing would be making sure you're eating adequate fiber.
- [43:16]
A
Okay.
- [43:17]
B
Because fiber, again, is also going to aid in, in hormone balance and it's going to help your body excrete the, the hormones that your, your liver has broken down. And so, yes, I would say those are really the big things.
- [43:29]
A
I also want to talk about supplements that people can take. Like, is there a skin stack of supplements? I know you mentioned zinc, magnesium, milk thistle.
- [43:38]
B
Yeah.
- [43:38]
A
Is there any other supplements that you highly recommend that make incredible for, like, having beautiful skin?
- [43:44]
B
Yes. Okay. So I would say the holy trinity of skin. Let's go. The holy trinity of skin supplements. One would be collagen. Because it's clinically studied. We know that it increases hydration. It's really great for keeping our skin looking youthful. Secondly would be probiotics like low biome, because that, again, is also clinically studied to improve skin clarity, hydration and, and oil balance. And the third thing would be Rosita cod liver oil, which is a natural source of vitamins A and D as well as Omega 3. So vitamin A is a very common deficiency amongst acne patients. Vitamin D also. But I also feel like vitamin D, like everyone's, you know, low in vitamin D, but in particular, vitamin A is a very common deficiency. For people with acne. So that. And then of course omega 3 is anti inflammatory which again most people are not getting enough omega 3 from their diet. So I would say those three are the holy trinity.
- [44:37]
A
And if you guys are listening, don't just rush to get your like this. Another thing about fish oils, right? Majority of the fish oils in the market are rancid. So be really clear about the source of your fish oils.
- [44:46]
B
Yes.
- [44:46]
A
Make sure you're sourcing from a incredible supplier of them. I personally love body bio has a resolve and it's caviar based.
- [44:54]
B
Yeah.
- [44:54]
A
Incredible. Shelf stable. You know it's not rancid. But I was so shocked. Ram and I discovered that 90, 95% of the fish oils and market a rancid. I'm like, yes, imagine all of us putting these rancid products in our body and what that does when it comes to inflammation in our bodies on a cellular level.
- [45:09]
B
Yes. Well actually I would actually love to try that. That sounds amazing. Such a super food. But what I would say is that, yeah, that Rosita is the only fish oil I would ever like. Cod liver oil I would ever take because most of them are rancid.
- [45:22]
A
Send you some body.
- [45:23]
B
But I need to try that.
- [45:24]
A
I also want to talk. My community keeps it on asking me about how to sync your cycle to having better skin health. So during, you know, women, obviously men are simple creatures. They only have a 24 hour cycle. Women are a lot more complicated. And so is there different times of the month that you recommend over like let's say four weeks based on the different hormone profiles that we go through? Adding certain foods in or taking certain foods out, I know that's complicating our lives a little bit, but yes, does that help?
- [45:55]
B
So what I'll say is this. Just because we have periods doesn't mean we need to have breakouts. And there has been this rise in popularity of seed cycling in particular, which is that recommends that you consume flaxseed and pumpkin seeds for the first two weeks of your cycle and then I believe it's sesame seeds and sunflower seeds the second half of your cycle. And that's supposed to help with the balance of your hormones and prevent PMS symptoms. That's great. It works for a lot of people. However, I've been doing this for over a decade and what I can tell you is that you don't need to stress about what part of the month you're having these seeds.
- [46:33]
A
As long as you eat on all of them.
- [46:35]
B
Yeah, as long as you're eating them all regularly, you're going to have the same results. So yeah, so actually flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, sesame seeds, like all of these are just a very common part of my diet and my anti acne diet because they are so also skin supportive.
- [46:51]
A
And I was also going to ask you about testosterone. So for men and women who are listening to this, who are optimizing their hormones through hrt, how do you prevent the androgen surge that sometimes taking testosterone topical or injected comes up on people?
- [47:07]
B
It would be similar to my earlier answer. Cruciferous vegetables are really important.
- [47:12]
A
Oh, the same thing for testosterone as well.
- [47:14]
B
Yes. Because again we need to support the liver, we need to support the liver, we need to support the digestion. So the cruciferous vegetables and things like milk thistle could be helpful for the liver. Fiber, fiber rich foods are going to be helpful to keep everything moving. Keeping your blood sugar balance again is going to be really, really important. Those are really the keys to, to, to hormone balance.
- [47:37]
A
And when it also comes to skin care, I want to talk about that for a second. You have beautiful skin. Is there certain brands or products that you stay away from completely knowing that you've had a history of acne and some things that you're like, you know what, these products are clean, clean, they're acne safe.
- [47:50]
B
So I think most people are surprised to learn that I use very few skincare products. Amazing. Very, very.
- [47:56]
A
I also have a simple routine. But yeah, sometimes people want to know everything.
- [47:59]
B
Everything. Yeah. So in terms of like what I stay away from, I mean personally I don't use any of like the acne. I don't have acne now. I haven't had it for a very long time. But if I had acne I wouldn't be necessarily using some of like benzoyl peroxide products. I don't think that's great for our skin. I would, I personally, I love probiotic skin care. It's not as well researched as probiotics that we use internally. However, from personal experience I feel like it's, it's very beneficial and I also love natural actives like tea tree oil. Tea tree oil was the thing that I used to use when I had acne. I would just dab that little tea tree oil.
- [48:39]
A
It burns like hell.
- [48:42]
B
I remember that. Yeah. So it is antimicrobial. So especially if you're picking, it will burn and, but it does help prevent infection. But what's also great about it is it's anti inflammatory and yeah, I guess things That I would also advise staying away from. Definitely tallow skin care for, for acne prone. Yeah.
- [49:01]
A
Because it creates too much oil.
- [49:03]
B
Yeah. It's just poor clogging. So I would, I would stay away from that. But in general my whole thing is skip the harsh products, skip the things that are making your peel, your skin peel, skip the things that you're scrubbing your skin away. Right. Just use gentle, calming ingredients that are going to keep your skin feeling calm. You don't want it to be tight because when you strip too much oil from your skin, what happens? Your body over compensates and produce more oil. So I'm a big fan of gentle natural skincare.
- [49:32]
A
Is there any brands that you particularly love and you like to use and you're like, their formulations are great, they're stable for, for you if you have acne.
- [49:41]
B
For acne prone, I do really like eminence.
- [49:44]
A
Okay.
- [49:44]
B
They have an amazing clear skin probiotic. Actually I don't know the exact name of it. I'm calling it clear skin probiotic cleanser. I'm not sure if it's actually caused that, but it's.
- [49:53]
A
I know which one.
- [49:53]
B
Yeah, yeah. So I really love that. For acne prone skin, I love, like I said, tea tree oil. For a makeup remover, I love using jojoba oil. I think that is just the best makeup remove oil. Sorry, the best makeup remover. And then in terms of moisturizers, I feel like you do have to be careful with acne prone skin because a
- [50:14]
A
lot of these things will break you out.
- [50:16]
B
Yeah, exactly. So it's kind of a, you know, test testing game.
- [50:21]
A
And then I was going to talk to you about a three day reset. So if somebody has a massive event or a shoot in 72 hours and a breakout just started, what is the emergency biohacket protocol to calm the inflammation from the inside out. That would work in 72 hours.
- [50:35]
B
So step one, step away from the mirror. Do not pick your face because if you start picking the pimple, I can't help you out.
- [50:42]
A
It's gonna make it.
- [50:44]
B
Yeah. Okay, so that's step one. Step two is go and get some ground flaxseed. Add one to two tablespoons of ground flaxseed to your meals every single day for 72 hours and you are going to see a difference in your skin. Flaxseed is such a powerful anti acne food because it attacks it on multiple fronts. One, it has the omega, three, secondly it has the fiber. So it's going to help with regularity. Third, it has lignans. It is basically just a skin skin superfood. And the third thing I would do, step three would be to have my five spice salmon recipe which is wild salmon with turmeric and other anti inflammatory spices and call me in the morning. That's what I always tell people. I actually have a three day emergency plan on my website. It's called the clear skin starter kit. It's totally free, it has the five spice salmon recipe in there and people send me their pictures and honestly, even I'm amazed sometimes. I'm like, wow, I didn't know it could work that well. Like it's, it's really amazing.
- [51:44]
A
And then what other recipes can people find that you've tried and tested you love? You're like, this is delicious and super effective and it's all on your website.
- [51:52]
B
Yes. So definitely anything with salmon is going to be really, really wild. Only wild caught only? Yes, wild caught 100%. I have like a clear skin, I call it a clear skin smoothie or a complexion, complexion perfection smoothie that's going to have all of those kind of the protein powder, the, the pumpkin seed protein. It's going to have flax, flaxseed in it. So the nice source of omega 3 going to have blueberries for our antioxidants and it's, and it's really tasty. What else I'm trying to think is really, really, really delicious. I don't know, there's so many on there and I haven't made, I have like, I haven't posted a recipe in so long though because I have such a backlog, you know, of them, of
- [52:34]
A
all of them kind of batched out. Is there something that you think besides salmon when it comes to other forms of protein that you think are extremely beneficial to skin health?
- [52:42]
B
Yeah. So other forms of Omega 3 rich fish that are also low mercury, I think that's also really important. So things like mackerel, cod is really good. Anchovies, sardines, those are great.
- [52:54]
A
Delicious.
- [52:54]
B
Yeah. I also love grass fed meat, you know, grass fed lamb, all of that stuff. I think all of the proteins, the one protein you have to be careful with is chicken because chicken is naturally very high in omega 6 fatty acids. Even, even if it's, you know, raised in the best possible way. Chicken is just naturally higher in Omega 6 compared to other animal proteins. So of course you could eat chicken, eat the highest quality, but you don't want to only eat chicken. You know, sometimes people get into a habit of having like chicken Every single day.
- [53:24]
A
Yeah.
- [53:24]
B
And. And it's just too much. Too much. Omega 6.
- [53:28]
A
When it comes to sourcing produce and food here in the US we obviously have a lot of different options because so many like small, smaller farms and stuff. Where do you shop in the UAE for? For my audience that's based here and they're like, Maria, where do we actually shop?
- [53:40]
B
Okay, so I. There used to be an organic farm here.
- [53:45]
A
Okay.
- [53:45]
B
That was amazing. It was run by this German woman who started it like 20 something years ago and basically she was growing over 200 varieties of organic vegetables and fruits in the desert. It was amazing. But long story short, it's closed. So it's gone. But where can you get. I like bio organic store. I like spinnies for certain things. They have certain organic produce. For meats, I like prime gourmet. That's really good. For seafood, for wild caught seafood. I like legastronome. And where else? I would say those are kind of my big top four. Yeah.
- [54:21]
A
And when it comes to. We've obviously gone over supplements and we've gone over whole foods. When it comes to somebody having a severe acne breakout and trying to get into balance, do you think whole foods would work faster than supplements or supplements at that time would work faster than whole foods? And over a longer duration of time, whole foods actually kick in?
- [54:41]
B
No, I would say whole foods are going to work quicker for sure. Because it's also just the volume. Right. You know, there's only so much a supplement can do, right? I mean, it depends. Like also if you, for example, if you take I would say the cod liver oil or like a fish oil that's very high in omega 3, that could be, you know, give you a very quick result. Quick result. But generally, especially something for probiotics, that's a long game. And collagen, that's a long game. The food is really what's. If you have that 72 hours, the food is going to make a massive.
- [55:11]
A
I also want to go over your ingredients, formulation. Actually, David, I printed out the ingredients that were so interesting to me. So I wanted to walk everybody through intentionally why you added these ingredients in and what they correlate back to to so people can learn more and educate themselves on why these specific things were picked. So you have. I don't even know how to pronounce some of this stuff. Lspi. I'll do the short term form of it. What does it actually mean?
- [55:38]
B
Wait, LSPI.
- [55:39]
A
LSPI is for.
- [55:41]
B
Yes. L rnosis. SP1. Yeah. Yes. Okay. I was like, you know, I was
- [55:48]
A
like, are you sure that's the LSP one, Maria? Let's redo that. So let's talk about the ingredients that you have in LSP1, because there's no way in hell I can pronounce that.
- [55:57]
B
Yes. So L. Ramnosis. L. Ramnosis SP1, that is a probiotic that has been specifically tested for acne and has been shown in clinical trials to reduce acne within 12 weeks. And that is actually one of the key signature strains in Glow Biome. And it is. Yeah, it's very, very highly effective for acne.
- [56:20]
A
Has it been researched for anything else when it comes to skin besides acne to benefit anything else?
- [56:24]
B
So this particular strain has been studied specifically for acne. But L. Rhamnosis in general is a very well researched probiotic and it's generally very good for immune health, for gut balance, for the gut lining and general health.
- [56:40]
A
And then we have LP15, which is LP15.
- [56:44]
B
L Planetarum. Yeah, yeah. So this is, this is again, going to be good for that gut lining, the gut lining support and overall gut health balance. And anything that's going to support the gut lining is also going to support the immune system. Because when we have the leaky gut, our immune system is constantly in overdrive. But when our, our gut is. Is sealed, so to speak, it's the, you know, gives that immune system a rest.
- [57:10]
A
And then you have B. Lactis.
- [57:12]
B
So that's a Bifidum bacteria. Bifida bacteria is really important for regularity. So that's, in other words, going to help you poop.
- [57:19]
A
Oh, really? And what if you have, what if you're not constipated? What if you have a runny stomach?
- [57:25]
B
So it's not going to, like, give it worse. Yeah, it's exactly. It's not going to make it worse. And it's not, it's not something like coffee, for example, if you take it and then you're, you know, running to the loot.
- [57:34]
A
Right.
- [57:34]
B
It's not like that. It's just helping with regularity to make you more regular. So a lot of times what these probiotics are doing is bringing you back into balance. So whether, no matter which side of the issue you're on, it kind of
- [57:46]
A
brings you back in. And then you have inulin. So I want to talk about inulin. And you have it from a specific root.
- [57:53]
B
Yeah, so from chicory roots. And so inulin is a prebiotic fiber. And the probiotics use the prebiotic fiber as fuel to grow. So that's why we add it is to help the, the, the probiotics better colonize in the gut and to, you know, better support growth.
- [58:11]
A
There were, am I being completely mistaken? But people who were just taking in by itself sometimes didn't have the best effects on them.
- [58:19]
B
Right? Yes, it can be problematic for people, especially if you have an issue with fodmaps.
- [58:24]
A
Okay.
- [58:24]
B
And it can cause some gas and bloating for certain people. But typically when you're taking a fiber supplement like that, it's a, it's a larger dose. So it's going to have a bigger impact when it's in something like a probiotic. Certain people still can't handle it. So we actually, down the line, we are considering making a version without the prebiotic for those very sensitive individuals. However, the vast majority of people are fine with prebiotics and people who are
- [58:49]
A
really sensitive to inulin. Why is that? For those odd, you know, small percentage markers.
- [58:56]
B
Yeah, it just comes down to the, to the health of the guts, you know, and certain people become more, more reactive. The gut is maybe a little bit more inflamed, a little bit more leaky, and it needs support first before it can go back to digesting that properly. So it's not that it's necessarily something that you can't have forever. It's a period of time until the gut is stabilized.
- [59:16]
A
And do you recommend taking your product and cycling it in and out or something you stay on? I mean, do you do it for 90 days and then take a break or do it 12 months of the year?
- [59:23]
B
So you can really do it either way? I Recommend at least 10, 3, 3 months. The longer that you do it, the longer you're going to see the benefits. But there is also benefit to cycling. So if there's something else, you know, and adding in different probiotics, you can also add in even at the same time, a probiotic that has a different type of probiotics. So for example, Bacillus coagulants is a soil based probiotic. So maybe you want to add that in, you know, as well at the same time. That's totally okay as well. So yeah, you could, you could definitely cycle, I would say, especially in periods of stress and in travel. Those are the times you want to be taking the probiotic, not the time that you're cycled off. But yeah, you can definitely cycle.
- [60:04]
A
And what other products do you think besides. We've gone over supplementation, we've gone over Whole foods, we talked about your ingredients list, which is incredible for Your product. What other things do you think people can be adding in to support their gut? Regulate support cortisol response in their body? Is there anything else that we've missed for gut health?
- [60:27]
B
I do think like other things that can support gut health, Definitely. Fermented foods, bone broth. I love aloe licorice tea, marshmallow tea. Those are all really supportive for the gut. I do think the stress. The stress aspect is really important. So there is one exercise that's super easy, 2x breathing. Have you ever done this?
- [60:46]
A
No.
- [60:47]
B
Is very simple. So you breathe in for a count of three and then out for a count of six. So you double the exhale. Whenever you double the exhale, it instantly relaxes and calms your, your body down and it kind of shifts you from that fight or flight state to the rest and digest state. So simply doing that, you can build it into your morning routine or your evening routine, or you can also use it or. And you can also use it when you're feeling particularly flustered or stressed and it will instantly calm you down.
- [61:16]
A
And how many minutes do you recommend somebody does that?
- [61:18]
B
Even just one minute. 1. You don't have to do it for. You can do it for as long as you want, but one minute is really all you need.
- [61:24]
A
And what is your take on things like red light for acne?
- [61:27]
B
So red light can be helpful. It is, it is actually quite interesting. It's definitely newer. Like when I first started, nobody was talking a red light. But now, now definitely people are. I don't like the masks because it's not good for your eyes.
- [61:37]
A
Okay.
- [61:38]
B
Yeah, so definitely. And people that are. I see everyone like walking around with the masks on and they're doing their chores and stuff like that. I'm like, your eyes, it's not, it's not great for the eyes. So don't do that. But you know, you can get a red light and you can black light. You know, those little goggles on. Sorry, it's not the black light. The black.
- [61:54]
A
Yeah.
- [61:56]
B
But yeah, I think it can be helpful. But I personally think that the heavy lifting is always going to be your
- [62:02]
A
diet and your gut and any other gadgets or technology that people like. Hyperbaric chambers are another one because it gets more oxygen flowing into your body.
- [62:11]
B
So I'm obsessed with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Not necessarily for acne, but just in general for general health and wellness. I think it is incredible because it forces the oxygen to all of the tissues. It's also really great for hair health. It's great for the skin. For anti aging. For the skin. So actually like I, I've actually I've been doing it recently. I did about 10 sessions and I feel like it's reversed my age for
- [62:38]
A
sure and gotten you more energy and stuff like that.
- [62:40]
B
It helps you sleep better. It's, it's really an amazing thing.
- [62:45]
A
And then I always think to myself, the air quality, the only thing I would say over here, the air quality is obviously not that great compared to the US not that the US is gold standard. However, the air quality in the UAE is not great. So what do you do to mitigate that? Cuz that can also like lead to like clogging your pores, giving you breakout things like that.
- [63:03]
B
The air quality is my biggest like pet peeve about Dubai and something I always talk about with my husband. So number one is you need to have air filters in every single room of your home.
- [63:12]
A
Which brand do you have down here?
- [63:14]
B
So in Dubai they don't have.
- [63:16]
A
Right, that's what I'm realizing.
- [63:17]
B
So I do like Intellipure at home. I know a lot of people like Air doctor but those aren't here. So we are using Dyson. Dyson. But I would say. And it's good, it's good enough. But I, I would prefer.
- [63:30]
A
Yeah.
- [63:30]
B
Something, something different personally. So. Yeah, so that's number one. Number two, actually, I had met Gary Breca a couple weeks ago and I asked him this question because he's also spending more time in Dubai now. And he said, your mattress, make sure that your mattress is a natural mattress and you're not on a foam mattress because you're sleeping on the mattress. You're spending, you know, a good portion of your, your night on that. And if it's off gassing chemicals, you know, that's not great for you. You can put plants. My house is filled with plants like the snake plant and other plants that help purify the air. And then another thing that I do is make sure I have a lot of chlorophyll. So broccoli sprouts are great. You can either grow your broccoli sprouts, which is a bit of a. It's a, it's a tedious process. It's a tedious process. Yeah. Or you can take a supplement like
- [64:16]
A
a brock shot or something.
- [64:17]
B
Exactly. Or even any sort of chlorophyll. Like I like liquid chlorophyll. All of that can help.
- [64:23]
A
I wonder if spirulina is another good source.
- [64:25]
B
Yeah, I also, I'm a huge fan of spirulina and chlorella, all of these things would be helpful.
- [64:30]
A
I've been taking this thing called energy bits that we get in the us. Probably can get it shipped over here in iherb. But I've been seeing, though, that's great. It's just your daily dose of what you need for spirulina. You take it, these mini capsules, chug it. I met the founder and had a really interesting conversation with her because not all algae is the same.
- [64:46]
B
Right.
- [64:46]
A
So the source of the algae, where it's grown really does matter. A lot of the algae that people are using is coming from China. And so the conditions are not, you know, the best. Right. And so I have to remember, but her source was coming from a different place and it's a specialized farm that she's found, and that's what sets it apart, is where it's grown.
- [65:05]
B
Yeah. I think with any supplement, with any food, always the sourcing is really the number one most important thing about it. So it sounds. Sounds pretty amazing.
- [65:14]
A
Samira, for our audience, if they had to start their skincare journey in one place, what would be that one tip that you want to leave them with? We've had so many incredible nuggets of information. We've done supplements, we've talked about the whole foods, we talked about your product, we talked all across the board. But if they had to start their journey in one place, what would that be?
- [65:30]
B
I would say the number one thing you can do if you're breaking out right now is add ground flaxseed to your diet. It's going to give you the most bang for your buck. It's going to give you the quickest, cheap, affordable, cheap. It's affordable, easy to get, and you're going to see a big difference in your skin.
- [65:43]
A
And does it matter if it's organic or not organic?
- [65:45]
B
Always organic. I'm an organic girly. Everything is organic.
- [65:48]
A
I just want to make sure I explain. People are like, well, she didn't say organic.
- [65:51]
B
Organic, organic, because why do you want the. The added, you know, pesticides? So I would say organic. And it also needs. It's ideally organic, sprouted. So easy, easier digestibility. And it unlocks the nutrients a bit more. And it's also ground, so you can't. The body's not going to properly digest the full seed. It will just pass through you undigested. So in order to unlock all the nutrients and everything you need, it needs to be ground.
- [66:16]
A
So organic, grounded flax seed.
- [66:19]
B
Yes.
- [66:19]
A
Yeah. Incredible. Maria, I've loved speaking to you. I know this was a long time coming, but just all the incredible information you have and how people can have beautiful external skin but also heal their gut in the meantime is amazing. So thank you for coming on to biohackit.
- [66:33]
B
Thank you so much for having me sa.