← Biohacking Beauty: The Anti-Aging Skincare Podcast
Biohacking Beauty: The Anti-Aging Skincare Podcast
Dani Conway: The Gut-Liver Detox Connection & How Gut Issues Show Up As Skin Issues
00:57:37
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- [00:05]
A
Welcome to Biohacking Beauty, the podcast where we decode the real science of aging well, from your hormones to your mitochondria to the way your skin shows it all.
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B
We're your host, Anastasia, and I'm Itay, founders of Yungoos Skincare. And on this show we cut through trends, detox teas and surface level skincare advice to bring you the biology behind youthful skin.
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A
Because if your metabolism is sluggish, your liver is overloaded, your gut is inflamed, or your hormones are out of balance,
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B
you should see a doctor. No?
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A
Your skin will tell the story.
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B
Today's episode is a powerful one. Before we're going to get to that, we are going to do what we do best, which is read therapy.
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A
And today it's a short one. The title is perfect for the beauty obsessed and the body of the review is so informative. I love how the information is broken down and easy to understand. Thank you so much, IG Rib Paris.
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B
Thank you, Ygrib.
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A
So thank you so much for your review. And once again, guys, your reviews really speed up the growth of this podcast and we're so grateful for the growth and for your reviews. And as a way to give back. If we read the review, you get the product, the person who wrote the review. So if you haven't already left the review, please go and leave a review and maybe we will read your review next and you'll get the product.
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B
How do you get a product? It magically appears in your mailbox because you're going to, you know, if you read your. If we read your review, email us@serviceyoungus.com or DM us on Instagram. Tell us, hey, you read my review and we're going to send you your free product.
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A
Okay, without further ado, who are we talking with?
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B
So we're joined today by Danny Conway, who's a board certified functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner. That's a mouthful. And one of the leading voices in metabolic and hormone optimization for women over 40.
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She's the founder of the Fat Burn formula for women over 40 and has spent nearly two decades challenging the conventional eat less, move more narrative that has left so many women feel frustrated, fatigued and stuck.
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After navigating her own 65 pound weight loss journey and healing severe hormones, hormone and gut dysfunction, Dani built a true root cause methodology built around one philosophy test. Don't guess.
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Through advanced lab testing, personalized nutrition protocols, peptide integration, and functional blood work analysis, she helps women rebalance their bodies from the inside out. Not through restriction, but through restoration.
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B
So in this conversation, we're going to go deep into the detox skin connection. How poor detoxification shows up on your face and in your body, how a sluggish liver can literally age your skin faster, and why different skin conditions often have nothing to do with your skincare routine and everything to do with your gut.
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A
We will also unpack the real gut skin aging connection. How imbalanced hormones quietly drive skin issues in midlife, the biggest detox mistakes women make, and why women over 40 gain weight even when they're doing everything right.
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B
Yeah. Also whether metabolic damage can actually be reversed. And hot takes like the one lab test Dani believes every woman over 40 should be running.
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A
Okay. This episode is especially important if you're investing in in high level skincare like Yanggoos, but feel like something internally is still off because no cream can outwork chronic inflammation, cortisol dysregulation, or poor liver clearance.
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If you've ever felt like your metabolism is broken, your hormones are betraying you, or your skin suddenly changed in your 40s, this one is going to connect the dots in a big way.
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A
Let's get into it.
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B
Okay, Danny, welcome to Biohacking Beauty Podcast. Long time coming.
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C
Hi, guys. It's great to see you. I'm excited to be here. Thank you.
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A
It's really great seeing you. And as I was saying off camera, we always love seeing you in person. It's been a minute, so, so glad to recollect.
- [04:53]
C
Absolutely. I'm excited to chat.
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B
Yeah. So I want to jump right in because I think this is a very interesting subject that we have not covered well enough. Enough. I think, as this podcast progresses and we have new listeners. And so I'm excited to jump right in and I think where I would like to start is just asking a simple question, which is a short question. I don't know about simple. It's like, how does poor detoxification show up in people's skin?
- [05:28]
C
Yeah. So poor detox shows up in people's skin in various different ways from complexion to, you know, like complexion, meaning how bright or dull is somebody's skin to the coloration under their eyes, to acne or rashes, things like that. And it doesn't always have to be on the face. It can be on the body. It can also show up via conditions, as we all know, as eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, things of that nature. So there are. Those are just some of the ways that porn detox can show up on the skin.
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B
Yeah.
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A
And I think as a. As a natural follow up to that listeners always, you know, once we present the problem, we try to present some of the solution. So if. And I know that people return to you, you have many patients that you help with issues like, so, so just globally, I know, I'm sure the care is very personalized, but are there any kind of, like, key actions that people can take? Should they have one of those symptoms that you mentioned?
- [06:36]
C
Yeah, absolutely. I love that question. So one size never fits all, of course. And I'm very much into a customized approach with clients. But that being said, everything from the nutrition and the food that we consume to optimizing our detox pathways. So whether it's eliminating processed foods, making sure the balance of proteins, fats, and carbs that they're getting is correct for their body and metabolism, when I say, you know, making sure that their digestion is working optimally, you want to make sure that you're. And I talk about this every day in my practice, but pooping daily, Right. Supporting the lymphatic system, making sure that we're eliminating toxins, and those types of things are the things that are going to help and people can do on their own. When I say supporting the lymphatic system, things like Epsom salt baths, dry brushing, walking, vibration plate, some of these things that might sound a little bit woo woo, but in all reality, it's the sum total of what we do on an overall basis. So if someone can make sure that they're eating right. So food is the foundation for everything that we do. That's what I've practiced for the last almost 20 years. And, and then building on that, depending on the person. So looking at their gut, looking at their bowel habits, looking at their detoxification and those strategies, the dry brushing, the Epsom salt bath, the walking, the lymphatic drainage, all of those things are things that can support our detox process and help things move through the body as opposed to the detox pathways being backed up. And then those toxins start to want to come out through the skin because they take the path of least resistance.
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B
Yeah.
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A
And, you know, in this case, I feel like finally Instagram can offer something useful because I think I've seen every single person biohacker and not. So it's outside of, you know, the wellness crowd with the vibration plate, every mainstream influencer, just somebody who is just doing beauty routines, maybe even promoting makeup, they're starting the day with a vibration plate. And I'm like, oh, my God, I've seen these guys for like 15 years at conferences, they finally have their big moment.
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B
Their moment.
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A
And I'm happy for them. But. Yeah. And then some of the other things you were saying, like dry brushing, it used to be just like the ayurvedic medicine, you know, not like mainstream, but it also has become mainstream. And now there's one company that made this breakthrough brush for their face. It's very gentle. Yeah, yeah. It's very natural. And now, unfortunately, there are knockoffs of this brush.
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B
By the way, shout out to Flo Presso.
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A
Well, Flopresso, our friends with the lymphatic drainage suits, they also made. It's not a brush. They made like a device that helps with that as well. So then again, I mean, if somebody's listening to that and they're wondering, like, okay, lymphatic drainage, where do I start? Thankfully, there's so much they can do from just jumping and do it manually without investing in tools to find, like, supportive tools of various budget. But it's out there.
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B
You know, it's definitely a field you want to really jump right into. But I think the first question, you know, when we talk about lymphatics, it's like, let's just talk a little bit about what's going on there because, you know, I'll let you reply, but it's a very interesting system since we could equate it to our blood flow or vasal system. Just, it's really heartless as a system. Right. So let's talk a little bit about the lymphatic. Yeah. So many puns flying.
- [10:15]
C
Yeah. I think, you know, we get exposed to toxins on a daily basis in our everyday lives. And I think over time, I mean, my. My client pop. My client population is women over 40. You know, hormonal issues, digestive issues, detox issues. And a lot of people think that I'm. You know, a lot of people think that, oh, my hormones are broken. Let me fix my hormones. But I have a different approach, and I look at gut health and detoxification first. So opening up those lymphatic drainage pathways, making sure that things are literally moving through their system as a way to improve their hormone balance. Now, that doesn't mean that we never work on their hormones, so to speak, but there's so much that happens when, again, we're exposed to toxins on a daily basis. Life happens. You know, some clients have, you know, hepatols toxin, mycotoxin exposure, things like that. And just over time, these things just back up in the system. Combine that with, you know, a Lot of us have a history of eating processed foods. I have, you know, myself. That's how I got into this line of work years ago when I was 65 pounds overweight and struggling. So I think that when it comes to toxins, you know, we get exposed a lot. And if we can optimize some of these natural processes that our body does, that might just need a little support, there's so much that can happen on the other side as far as results go.
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B
Yeah, yeah. And with microplastics these days, you know, it's, you're exposed, you're not. I mean, you're, you're. Even if you are doing your best to try to limit exposure to them, you are going to have, you know, way more than what our ancestors had as far as, like microplastics in our body.
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C
Yeah, 100%. I mean, in skincare. Right. Like now I feel like looking at the quality of the products that we put on our skin is mainstream. But, you know, 10, 15 years ago, no one really was paying attention to that outside of a very small wellness space, as you guys well know. Right. So for years, women are applying 250plus chemicals to their skin before they leave the house. And they don't even realize it through name brand products that are supposed to be good and yet they end up causing hormone disruption years later.
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A
Yeah. And what concerns me these days is like the passive hormone disruption, like, you know, the one like, like the passive smoker. Thankfully now, like, there are laws and people have to, like, if they need to smoke, they go like far. And you don't normally smell it unless you're in Vegas. So but the perfumes and some of the other things, like sometimes we get inside the elevator and I'm like, this should be illegal. Or the other day we, we traveled and the hotel lobby, the strength of the artificial scent was so strong, I had to cover my nose and walk through the lobby and practice holding my breath because it's just crazy. And then if you already detoxed. I haven't since getting pregnant and being postpartum that now over three years that I haven't used any kind of perfumes, which, you know, before I was using like something a little bit more of a natural side and stuff. Like now having it out of my system, I feel like you react to it stronger. And then again, like, you sometimes come to like friends houses and, you know, not everybody has every single friend to be a biohacker. And then you smell their cleaning supplies that, you know, the list goes on.
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B
The worst is if they hug our son.
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A
Yeah. We actually had to put rules, like, for friends and family. Like, if you come in with a perfume, you can't hold a baby, or now he's a toddler. And, you know, and it. And it can be hard. We had some people get offended. We had some cool friends that jumped in the shower in our home because they couldn't wait to hold the baby. They were like, okay, where is.
- [14:08]
B
I don't know about any of that. You know, that's. Anastasia's making them do it before I noticed. But no, sometimes you get into it. Sometimes you get into an elevator. Like, hmm, Brain fog number five. I'm recognizing that.
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A
You know, on that topic, we actually had someone come in and explain to us that there is so certain viral scents, I think rouge, something by Baccarat, to people that haven't detoxed their system. It smells pleasant, but for people with detox systems, it smells like cat's puke. And this is literally how it smells to us. And we're like, who in their right mind would think it smells. Smells good? But apparently you even have, like, different receptors. You know, that's.
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C
Yeah, that's true. As far as the detox goes, I mean, more people should be aware of, like you said with your son and. And how. Because really, if you think about, you know, the level of metabolic unhealth that's happening in our society with children now that was never even present years ago, and things like toxins in our environment, perfumes, you know, all of these chemicals, all of these things, if we could get a handle on that much earlier in life, so to speak, a lot of these kids wouldn't end up with a lot of these metabolic issues they're having at such an early age.
- [15:30]
B
Yeah, yeah, I agree. Well, you did mention. I want to go back to something you did mention. The effect kind of the relationship between the gut and our skin or health in general. And that's a big part of what you do in your practice. Address the gut. And so let's talk a little bit about, you know, just the gut health connection as a whole, and more specifically, the gut skin connection, which I feel like is getting out there. People start. Are starting to hear more about it. Yeah. So why is. Why is the gut so important as far as our health and our skin health?
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C
Yeah. So of course, our digestion and our gut are processing everything that we consume. And so when there's underlying bacterial imbalances, pathogens, you know, symptoms such as that would show up as symptoms such as, you Know, bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, those are the obvious ones. But fatigue, low mood, depression, anxiety, all of those things are gut symptoms. So if we can't process our food properly, if we're dealing with some type of a leaky gut scenario, then that's where we need to work on the digestion rebalance all of the gut microbiome. And as a result, of course, there's a direct connection with the liver detoxification. So keeping things moving and keeping things more balanced. And of course, again, like, like we were talking about earlier, that's going to show up as complexion and rashes and eczema and that whole, like, you were just talking about the skin. You know, everyone's maybe heard of at this point the, you know, brain gut connection, but there's a huge skin gut axis as well. And we don't typically think about, you know, the gut when it comes to skin. Everyone goes to the dermatologist and they get a steroid cream and they put it on. And maybe it works for a short period of time, but typically something comes back. It might come back in the same spot or it might come back in a different spot. So that's when things aren't addressed at the true root cause. It's just a band aid to, okay, let's fix the rash and go on your way. But it's not really addressing what's actually happening under the surface.
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B
Yeah. You know, we just recorded an episode about nad.
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C
Oh, yeah.
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B
And we, I think for the first time, I think Anastasia has been, you know, obviously talking about it for a very long time, but I think for the first time we really delved deep into CD38. So if you want to kind of give a, you know, give a short explanation about CD38, but CD30 is kind of the villain in the story of NAD. And there is a strong correlation between exposure to E. Coli and increased levels of CD38, which is a negative thing. I don't know if you want to explain shortly about CD38.
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A
Well, CD38 shortly, it's like a Pacman to our NAD Plus. It just really consumes it. And then when we have any kind of bacterial infection, the release of macrophages, you know, further stimulates CD38 and it becomes kind of like a cycle and sort of a loop as well, because in order to deal with the bacterial infection, you anyway need to pull more resources of NAD plus, which is, it's, it's an energy carrier molecule that's kind of like fuels all of the repair processes and calming inflammation. And then since the bacterial infection also increases the enzyme CD38 that breaks down the NAD use just. It's a lose, lose situation. You're losing NAD two ways.
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B
Words of Michael Scott. It's a lose, lose, lose situation.
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A
Yes. Shout out to office. And that also explains a little bit that if you do have gut problems, you will literally be starved of energy. That fatigue, it comes in many forms, but on a cellular level it's actually like of NAD as well. So. Yeah. And the gut skin connection, I feel like like you said, some people think don't think about it and others that do, sometimes you can, it's, it's really rare that you can see a person with really dialed in gut having skin issues. That's kind of rare. But then sometimes you can have a person that, you know, seems to be eating whatever they want and have poor health. Their skin is okay because for the time being, as you said, they're using maybe, you know, topicals that help fix the symptoms, mask, mask the symptoms. But it's a ticking clock. It's not going to last forever. And once, once they're kind of like hit the tolerance of that topical is that the most the topicals can do and suddenly they will stop working, which happens again and again and again. To people that like I mentioned, don't take care of their gut and just address the topical way that is going to become much, much harder because they, they have to do like there's no elevator to the, the good skin. You know, you have to take the steps. So it's like the steps is addressing the, the, the gut health as well. It's like major part of the process.
- [20:48]
C
Well, you bring up, you bring up really good points. And I just wanted to comment because a lot of people will go to let me just try using NAD or let me just try this supplement or this peptide and they don't get results or they're like, I don't feel anything. Well, if you don't address the root causes first, that those things, they're not going to work properly. So I'm very adamant about looking at what's going on from a root cause perspective and using those things as tools for sure. But for people, you know, a lot of people come to me and they're like, well I tried this peptide protocol that I saw on social media and it didn't really work. I'm like, peptides never don't work. They only don't work in the context of how you use them. If you're Using them incorrectly, if the foundation isn't dialed in first, if you're not supporting your cellular health under the surface, if your gut is messed up, you know, they can be tools as part of a protocol, but it has to be strategic. It has to be based on what's going on for that individual person. And, you know, all of this is what I practice with clients and what I have been practicing for many years. But this is where, you know, certain things get a bad rap because people do. And you know, in their defense, they're struggling and they're trying to fix things. And I think that's how they. With the band aid approach. That again, doesn't work in the long term.
- [22:03]
B
I'll even add to that. You are correct even to the degree that we talked about detoxification, right? There are things, for example, like, for example, like infrared saunas that if you're really not detoxing well and you're pushing toxins more towards your skin, obviously you could actually have an adverse effect, right? We're starting to see this conversation revolve around peptides as well. If it's like mitochondrial peptides, like SS31 or Moth C, using them without, you know, and burning through kind of resources for mitochondrial function like PQQ, CoQ10, et cetera, and not replenishing it, there is a. And this is something that. And obviously like GLP1 agonists that don't work well for certain people. Like, I think there are. There's not enough discussion or there's discussion is starting to happen where peptides who are now, because they're in kind of the zeitgeist, right? They're now viewed as this fixer to anyone's issues. Soon we're gonna start. We're gonna start having the real tough conversations of like, you still gotta take the stairs, you know, right? There's no peptide that's gonna fix or that's gonna over, you know, fix you even though you have a leaky gut. There are peptides who fix leaky gut. That's why I kind of was trying to rephrase myself. But, like, there's no peptide that's gonna, you know, fix poor sleep, right? Like. Or that's gonna help you if you have. If you're not taking care of your sleep or if you're not taking care of your gut health, or if you're not taking care of, you know, your general pillars of health, right?
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C
I always say, like, you can't out peptide a bad diet, right? So, like, you can't go On a glp, eat poorly and expect results. Do I think that they can cycled and stacked and used correctly in, you know, use case scenarios? Absolutely. And that goes for cellular health and gut health and all of the classes of peptides. But again, it's that foundation, it's all of those pillars. It's looking to see what an individual has going on for their body, their metabolism. You know, peptides don't fix hormones. But can they work together because they're signaling molecules with hormones that are chemical messengers? Yes, absolutely. When they're, you know, I think if we're kind of saying the same thing in circles, but ultimately when they're used and you know, addressed in the right way, in the right, you know, strategy.
- [24:30]
B
Yeah.
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A
And you know, talking about fixing hormones in your experience, like if, if somebody came and their hormones are just really like all over the place, is it something that you can actually fix or is it something that you help manage or is it age dependent? I'm just here really curious to hear.
- [24:50]
C
Yeah, I love that question. So it's, it's, it's all of the above. And the reason I say that is because almost all the women that come to me initially have hormone imbalances. And I actually, you know, I've been in practice almost 20 years and when I first was in practice, I always addressed the hormones first. But about 10, 10 or 15 years ago, I started seeing some women were not getting better, so to speak, with that approach. So I flipped the script and I started approaching their rebalancing their gut and their detoxification first. And when I did that, I started to see improvements in their hormone balance without ever technically working on the hormones first. So that just goes to you, what a connection digestion and detoxification has with hormones. And then subsequent to that, to answer your question, there are some women that based on their stage of life, you know, we're going to do things are going to be way more balanced. Are they going to always have to be on some type of a hormone support? It's very possible. Are there other women that can get to a place where we can work on rebalancing their system through the strategic protocols that we do and they don't need to stay on anything forever? Yes, absolutely. It just depends on their health background, you know, honestly, their dieting history. So that has a huge correlation with their thyroid health, their adrenal health, their weight, their metabolism. So it's a little bit of a opening a can of worms. But I think that, you know, there are scenarios that Some women can get to a place where they're not taking things and they're completely balanced. And other women are taking more of like a maintenance approach after they go through their initial protocols.
- [26:30]
B
Yeah.
- [26:32]
A
And I, I just had a follow up question, if you don't mind. One of the top questions that we get asked, and I know it's a tricky one to ask, why the name Young Goose. No.
- [26:42]
B
Okay.
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A
No. Is like, what is the best type of diet for your skin? It's like a question we get over and over. What's your take on that?
- [26:52]
C
I love that. So, first of all, when it comes to nutrition and diet, I do not believe that one size fits all. What I do believe is a one size fits all, of course, is processed food.
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B
Yeah.
- [27:05]
C
Inflammatory foods like that. That's kind of without saying as far as the right diet. It's the right diet that someone is going to stick to. It's going to work for them, give them energy, have them feel balanced. So for some people it's going to be higher protein and fat. For other people it's going to be a balance of carbs. Some people tolerate fiber foods much better. Other people don't tolerate fibrous foods. So there's a balance, of course, fixing the gut somewhere in between there. But I think, you know, the best diet is of course, the one that we're going to stick to. Right. So that has to be a big key. When someone looks at what they should be following and then addressing like how it affects their metabolism in a good way, their energy, their mood, their weight loss, their fat loss, all the things that they're trying to achieve. Ultimately coming back to, of course, skin as well. Because the women over 40 that I work with, not only do they want all those things I just listed, but of course they want good skin that are complex, looking in the mirror, feeling confident about themselves. And it's from the inside and the outside.
- [28:07]
A
Yeah.
- [28:07]
C
And.
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A
And have one more question before Matt gets asked his. Sorry.
- [28:13]
B
Of my life.
- [28:14]
A
So, you know, if I think about my circle of friends, we are all on a slightly different diet because certain things, they're not universally inflammatory. Like for example, I have this one friend that she had to do elimination diet. She moved to United States from Ukraine and in Ukraine she just had amazing skin. She moved to the States and she, for the first time in her life, she was in her early 20s, started getting bad acne and she literally had to eliminate food groups one by one until she realized for her it's gluten. So like as soon as she went gluten free, you know, her skin went improved without, you know, the help of Accutane and etc. And then I have some other friends. Like, I personally do very well with gluten. Like, I. I actually don't get tired. I, like, I don't know, just the way I evolved, I guess. Although we, her and I, we have similar background. Like, I just, I can have. I literally eat bread every single day. I opt for sourdough, but like, it doesn't show up on my skin anything like that dairy, though it's tricky for me. Like a 2 dairy in moderate concentrations, I can, if I had like, I don't know, I just overindulged in like cheeses that are like, I don't know, not what were supposed to be. I. I start to get like really bad dermatitis. Like, uh. So that's what's triggered for me. So for her, she can do dairy, but she cannot do gluten. For me, I can do dairy. Sorry. I can do gluten, but I cannot do the dairy. And list goes on. Right. So there. So my question, I kind of did a long, you know, prelude to the question, how would a person figure this out without having to go the long route of eliminating food groups? Because that's kind of takes a lot of time.
- [30:10]
C
Yeah. So it's a trick. It's a definitely. It's a tricky question. It's a tricky answer. And the reason for that is because there are multiple different types of food sensitivities, number one. So there's multiple different testing for food sensitivities, and someone could have one type of food sensitivity come back positive and the same food on a different test come back negative. So with that being said, the other thing about food sensitivities is they're not always the root cause to the leaky gut or whatever's happening that's causing the response. So I do think that food sensitivity testing has its place. That said, you know, that would be the other. I'm gonna, you know, say, like, easier way. But in the long run, you might end up doing multiple tests to figure that out. So I do think in some scenarios, if you set up an elimination diet where you're, you know, very conscious of what you're eliminating, you're watching your responses, keeping a journal. So we don't often remember the things that happen to us on a daily basis, like, oh, I ate this food and this happens. So keeping a journal to kind of see what types of responses we have. Sometimes responses also are based on the quantity of the food that we eat. So has one piece of cheese, they might feel nothing. But if they have 5 ounces of cheese, they might get constipation, bloating gas or diarrhea or, you know, a skin breakout or something. So there's multiple levels and ways, I think, that, you know, elimination diets and foods can be addressed as far as sensitivities go.
- [31:43]
B
And with that, let me guess, you have another question.
- [31:45]
A
No, I just want to be practical for. For the. For the. That question. So. So for. For the elimination of the food. Like you mentioned journaling. But if someone is listening now and they're like, you know what? I think I want to try the elimination diet to figure out if there is a food group that really sensitizes my skin. First of all, maybe there are a couple of food groups that you can name and they can start trying to eliminate those that, you know are the most triggering in terms of godskin connection. And second, for how long should they eliminate it? Like, two weeks and see, a month and see. What do you think?
- [32:24]
C
Okay, so first, now, of course, seed oils, processed foods, processed carbohydrates, all of that. I feel like I always have to say that because then otherwise someone's going to say, you know, oh, you didn't mention this.
- [32:35]
B
So that being said, it's the canola that you spread on the bread sometimes,
- [32:42]
C
or the margarine. Right. Oh, my gosh. So anyways, I think that as far as food groups, number one, grains, they tend to be very inflammatory, especially here in the US So you had mentioned you're a friend, you know, from another country. And then she came here, she started reacting to gluten. That's very common. So grains first, I think dairy. I think nuts and seeds, all of those things. You know, nuts and seeds. I like to say they can poke holes in the gut. And if your gut's already leaking, that's going to be problematic. And then from there, eggs tend to be a big one as well. And, you know, sometimes it can be fibrous foods, too. And I know this is going to sound crazy to many people out there, um, but I do work a lot with clients on, you know, dare I use the term carnivore diet, because it's very controversial. But I think that for some people, they do need to go to that level of elimination and get to a point where they rebalance their. Their gut, their immune system, you know, their skin, and then they can start adding foods back in, and then they can start to See, okay, what causes a response and what doesn't? So to answer your question, I think in all reality, honestly, I believe a minimum of 30 days, and I think as much as maybe 90 days or more for some people that might be significantly inflamed or have had significant gut problems for a long time. Many people get used to being bloated. They get used to, you know, pooping twice a week. They get used to some of these symptoms that they don't really realize any that they're symptoms anymore because it's just how their bodies have been.
- [34:17]
A
I think that's their metabolism, like, that's the unique thing about them. Maybe they don't know it's unique.
- [34:24]
B
Yeah, I'm just a two time a month pooper.
- [34:27]
C
Right. So we have to look at all those things and then be realistic about the time frame. You know, if something's been going on for you for 10 years, you can't eliminate a food for four days and expect a change. And I. Sounds crazy, but there are people that have those expectations. So I think, you know, starting with grains, like we were talking about seed oils, for sure, nuts and seeds, and then looking at fibrous foods and then kind of going from there in terms of, you know, other fat sources and, you know, seeing what's reactive and how they feel along the way and all of that. So, you know, I think that those are definitely things that people can do on their own. And it can be overwhelming, for sure. Like some people just get to a point where they're like, oh my gosh, I can't keep track of all of this. So I get a lot of those types of people that are like, I just want to do some lab work and I want to know what's actually happening. Because this guessing thing is like, you know, they're at the end of the rope, so to speak, with their guesswork.
- [35:26]
B
So what I'm hearing is, first of all, I'm hearing two things here. One is obviously the lab testing, and I understand the complexity here. What I also heard from what you're saying, which is something that I think is really, really under discussed as far as like common lore and knowledge, is the fact that you could have a food sensitivity that is, you know, kind of hinged upon a completely different set of processes that make you sensitive to food, to a specific food. And then when you take care of that basic, you know, it could be a gut imbalance, it could be leaky gut. It could even be like, there are people that can't eat meat because they Got bitten by a tick. Okay. Like there are many things that can happen. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, but all I'm saying is that it could be. It doesn't have to be that you are a person that, you know, cannot process gluten, for that matter. That's the first thing I heard. But also what I've heard is that if someone has a real issue that could be that you believe that could be traced back to a food sensitivity, something that affects them tremendously. It seems to me that it's easier for you to eliminate, to dial back the amount that the, you know, as many of those sensitizers as you can at once and then reintroduce, reset, basically get the skin or the body to a much more healthy state and then reintroduce things one by one rather than trying to keep track of what you know, what you've eliminated and how you're feeling.
- [37:07]
C
I love what you just shared because the big picture of all of this is the immune system. So if our immunity is compromised, our gut's gonna be compromised. And that's where a lot of these reactions are coming from. So with that being said, when you remove the sensitive foods, whatever they are, you're giving your immune system a break, hopefully healing and rebalancing the immune system. And that's why when we add foods back in at point, some people might experience no reaction or some people might actually experience a more significant response. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. That's a sign that your immune system is actually working better than it was when you started. So the bigger picture is the immune system. I think that's get. That gets lost a lot too, as far as like, you know, looking in the tunnel vision of gut health or skin health. Again, it's immune system and how our body's responding overall.
- [38:02]
B
Yeah. To throw some gas on the fire here. And that's something we've. We've talked about a little bit before, even though we. We tend to just not talk a lot about acne because that's overshooting a little bit the attention, the focus or the age group that, that we normally talk about and with. However, the paradigm around acne is changing as well because of a few studies showing that people that have basically the spoiler alert. It's about your immune system reacting to the bacteria. So showing that people who have an overreactive immune system to p. Acne bacteria, which is the. Or a acne. The bacterias that cause acne. The example is you could have someone that doesn't have acne normally and you smear about like a thousand times more acne bacteria on them, acne causing bacteria on them. And they don't react as much as people that are highly reactive. Their immune system is highly reactive and you lower the amount by that much. So it is not as much about the prevalence of bacteria, is it how we respond to a certain bacteria? And obviously that could be extrapolated to many different things.
- [39:19]
C
Yeah, absolutely. And that's where people, I think, are misinformed about the immune system. And many times when I am implementing a, you know, a strategic protocol for a client based on their lab work and whatever else we're doing is the focus. The 60,000 foot view is the immune system. So strengthening that immune system first. And that's where, you know, using different. Making sure their diet is on point and making sure that, you know the protocol and whatever supplements we're using and, you know, peptides and things like that. But again, it all has to have a strategy and it all has to be. You can't just throw everything you know at once and expect it to work. The body will get very confused and will not respond in the way that someone is expecting to.
- [40:03]
B
Yeah, hot take, I think. What did I say last podcast? I wanted to. I once say honest take and I said hot take, but hot take, I think mitochondria is getting its moment. Do its moment right now.
- [40:18]
C
One of my favorite topics because I address mitochondria and cellular health before we can.
- [40:25]
B
Yeah.
- [40:25]
C
You know, before I even address weight loss and fat loss. Because if someone's doing better from a cellular health perspective, they're going to naturally have better results metabolically with their weight loss, fat loss and body recomposition. Obviously a lot of women are coming to me for that. So I think that the cellular health. I'm so happy to see that it's like so such. It's just becoming such a discussion these days because it really is the foundation underneath. You can't expect a metabolism to be fixed for fat loss if somebody has no energy and they're struggling with fatigue all day long because you're not absorbing your nutrients and they have a bunch of deficiencies and everything's broken under the surface.
- [41:04]
B
How can you even make, how can you even make good decisions when you're fatigued and you can't. But, but what I. But to that point, and again, obviously, as a board member of a nonprofit that deals with mitochondrial health, obviously, we're so happy to see that. I believe my hot take is that I think Immune optimization. Immune system optimization is the next mitochondria. As far as hype.
- [41:35]
A
Yes.
- [41:38]
B
Yeah.
- [41:38]
A
Do you have any more, like, other hot takes before we get to the rap?
- [41:43]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I do. I do. I have two things to hotly ask you. Okay. Number one is, you know, something that doesn't get enough, is not addressed enough, or is not linked enough, is continuous glucose monitoring, aka CGMs and wrinkles, basically, and skin health as far as it relates to aging because of the relationship between advanced lycation, end products, ages, sugar and collagen degradation. So my question is, how quickly are you putting people on CGMs, and then what are you seeing when people do indeed balance their relationship with insulin or are cognizant of how different foods spike insulin, as far as how then they then have a transformation in their skin?
- [42:37]
C
So you're going to be surprised at my answer to this.
- [42:40]
A
First and foremost, I don't use CGM.
- [42:42]
B
CGM.
- [42:43]
C
So I actually don't recommend CGMs a lot of the time. And the reason for that is because most of the women that have come to me have done it all. They've worn a cgm. They've, you know, tried to fix their diet for the last two years. They've done a lot of biohacking things that have not worked. So, again, I don't feel like, you know, I get comprehensive blood work and I look at their insulin, I look at their glucose and all of that. Most of them have a, you know, home monitor that they're looking at their fasting glucose every morning. So I actually have to pull them back from focusing so much and being so obsessed with the data and kind of reintroduce them to, okay, how can we look at this in a more. In a more effective and healthier way, not being so obsessed about it? So that's the first thing.
- [43:32]
B
No, I love it.
- [43:33]
C
I think CGMs are a great tool. I've worn one before for multiple times. I think it gives great data. But again, I think women tend to get a little obsessive with that. And I will tell you that the blood sugar and even insulin, which is my second surprise that I'm about to share with you, is not always the whole picture. And here's why I say that. Number two, with the fasting insulin. So optimal fasting insulin that I look for on blood work is a very tight range. It's four to six. Keep in mind the lab range, the normal range, is 2 to 25. Okay, so that's excessive. I think that's crazy.
- [44:09]
B
Yeah.
- [44:09]
C
Now, here's the thing. The women coming to me for their weight loss and fat loss stalls, that they cannot get past over 40, 95% of them have perfect fasting insulin scores. Yet science says that you cannot be on a low, lower carb diet and have perfect fasting insulin and have a weight loss stall. And I will tell you that I clinically see this 95% of the time every single week almost. You know, I've run hundreds and thousands of blood work on, you know, clients. So the insulin and the glucose don't always tell the whole picture. Which is why I love to look at the gut, the detoxification, getting all of the immune system, getting all those systems functioning properly, and then, of course, looking at patterns within those systems when it comes to lab work. Because one marker doesn't always tell the whole picture. That doesn't mean that high glucose can't cause, you know, the wrinkles and the, you know, glycation and all the things that we're talking about. But again, I think that everyone puts too many eggs in one basket and they miss a lot of other things happening.
- [45:19]
B
Amazing. Okay, last, last hot take, and then we're going to go to the questions. Okay, we talked a little bit about GLP1s. What do you think is the major determinants as far as getting a result which basically, which looks good at the end of the day, you know, how can you save people from ozempic butt, ozempic face, ozempic arms, ozempic noses, whatever that is. How do we keep this very, very powerful intervention, but keep our face and butts as well in the process?
- [45:55]
C
I love this question because it's such a controversial topic. So first and foremost is the foundation. So my approach with women is eat more, way less. Not eat less, weigh less. So making sure that we work on their metabolism and their digestion because a lot of them have slow motility as it is, before even embarking on any type of GLP peptide therapy. Now, that being said, I think that the other key factor is the microdosing. So the amount that they're using not to exceed a microdose on a weekly and multiple time a week basis based on however it's cycled, excuse me, however it's used, and then the cycling of the compounds. So again, I think that, you know, looking at all of the foundational pieces, making sure that they're not reliant on the glp, and it's used for a, as a therapy as opposed to a crutch and making sure that they are all the things we've been talking about, pooping regularly before they start using it, eating what they're supposed to be eating, doing their resistance training, doing all the things their protein, you know, eating more to weigh less, not eating less to weigh less. Another big thing with that is I just talked about this on my social media the other day, is that I'm a big proponent of the phrase appetite balance versus appetite suppression. The moment someone is getting their appetite suppressed and they're phasing into that nausea that happens, they are a hundred percent on a dose that's too high because they can't. They get to the point where they can't eat. So that's where they're going to avoid the hair loss, those big face Ozempic, but all the things you were just talking about and how they're going to get to a place where they can utilize it correctly as a, as a tool as opposed to a crutch.
- [47:42]
B
I love that answer. Yeah, yeah. Alongside, you know, everything else that we've mentioned. You know, sleep, you know, exercise, movement.
- [47:51]
C
Yes.
- [47:52]
B
You know, covering the base. I love it. Yeah. Okay.
- [47:55]
A
Okay. So now we made it to the round of rapid fire questions.
- [48:01]
B
We made it.
- [48:04]
A
Those make great for, like, you know, short answers.
- [48:10]
B
Yeah.
- [48:11]
A
Okay. What's the biggest lie women over 40 have been told about their metabolism?
- [48:16]
C
That they need to eat less to weigh less instead of eat more to weigh less.
- [48:21]
A
Love that.
- [48:23]
B
Yeah. Can you actually reverse metabolic damage or are we stuck with it with our broken hormones?
- [48:31]
C
It's a great one. We are definitely not stuck with it, but it has to be addressed correctly and from a metabolic healing, rebalancing place. So we are definitely not stuck with it, no matter what people are told when they're over 40. And it is definitely fixable.
- [48:47]
A
Great. How does a sluggish liver literally age your face faster?
- [48:52]
C
So a sluggish liver is going to back up toxins in our body, for lack of a scientific term. And so as toxins get recirculated, your complexion is going to get more dull, you're going to have more breakouts, you're going to have, you know, a lot of symptoms as a byproduct of those toxins recirculating, not to mention fatigue, low energy, low mood, et cetera.
- [49:15]
B
Yeah. What's the one lab test every woman over 40 should run, but no one talks about or one lab test that
- [49:23]
C
every woman over 40 should run? Well, fasting insulin we talked about. I would, I'm going to say leptin because leptin resistance, which is our satiety hormone, sometimes actually precedes insulin resistance. And with what I talked about earlier, with seeing a perfect fasting insulin score on many women who are still stalled with their weight loss and fat loss, a lot of times their leptin is out of balance. And if I could just add. The problem is that the ranges that the labs give are kind of like bmi. So if you're a heavier weight, it gives you a higher range for your leptin. So it's ultimately saying that your leptin is normal at any point if you're overweight, but that's not actually the case. Optimal leptin should be about 7 to 9, which is a pretty tight range. But I'm also really picky when it comes to optimization and optimal ranges.
- [50:14]
B
Yeah, no, I mean, I agree. I think. I think, yeah, I think it should be talked about more. Okay. What's the connection between gut health and rosacea? That. That you kind of mentioned it a little bit, but that even dermatologists don't go over.
- [50:34]
C
So I think the bottom line is that a dermatologist isn't looking for the root cause of what's actually happening. So when it comes to gut health, we have to look for the underlying bacterial imbalances, pathogens, leaky gut, what's causing all of that? Calming the gut, the food sensitivities. And a dermatologist is just going to give a steroid cream and a band aid, as we were talking about earlier. It's going mask their symptoms. It's not going to solve them.
- [51:00]
A
Yeah. Final question. What's one supplement you wish you could ban from the wellness industry?
- [51:07]
C
This is going to be a crystal myth.
- [51:09]
B
No, I'm kidding. Go ahead.
- [51:10]
C
I'm probably going to make a lot of people mad, but honestly, I'm going to say berberine.
- [51:15]
B
Wow.
- [51:16]
A
Wow. Tell. Do tell. You can. You can expand on this one. It's also the last one.
- [51:21]
C
Here's why. Because a lot of the women I see especially that are over 40, they're not just having an issue with high blood glucose, they're having an issue with low blood glucose, especially overnight. So something like berberine, all it's going to do is drop glucose. So if they take it at the wrong time of day, they're going to go hypo. However, I like supplements that have more of an adaptogenic type effect, which means it's going to help modulate the blood glucose. When it's high, it's going to help it lower, and when it's low, it might help it come up. But the reality is, you know, a lot of the blood glucose balance, we can do that with food and was looking at other things because liver and detoxification have a huge role with blood glucose. So my issue with berberine is that berberine, while it can be helpful short term for some people, if they absolutely know they're wearing a cgm, they know their glucose is high all day long, et cetera, again, they become reliant on that and they don't actually fix the underlying problem. So I see too many people relying on berberine for that as well as talking about berberine as a natural glp. And I've never seen berberine work the way a GLP works, aside from not only for just glucose and insulin resistance, but inflammation, autoimmune type things and the other benefits that people can get from using a glp. Unpopular opinion,
- [52:50]
B
honestly, Honestly, maybe aside from bidders, which I would get. I granted that's basically like the way to communicate with your own GLP production. I think anyone who equates a product to GLP probably has some bias around that. Right. Like usually your ears should perk a little bit. You should be suspicious if someone presents something as a GLP alternative. I do have one more rapid fire.
- [53:27]
A
We can't get enough of it.
- [53:28]
B
I know we talked a little bit about peptides. Peptides are very, very, are going to get more and more popular right now. I believe one peptide that you wish people talked about less and one peptide you wish people talked about more.
- [53:44]
C
Oh, let's see. So from an immune standpoint, I think thymos and alpha one definitely people need to look at more because it goes with the whole modulating the immune system that we were talking about earlier. And I think that there's a lot of power with modulating the immune system, even for weight loss and fat loss as far as peptides that they should talk about less. Gosh, you're putting me on the spot there.
- [54:12]
B
The peptide counselor is gonna, gonna be
- [54:14]
C
upset now they're coming after me. Here's what I think and maybe why I can't answer that question is because I feel like they need to be used. And this is just my approach. So I'm a little bit biased, but in context of the person and what's happening for the person. So I don't necessarily like there might be a peptide that doesn't work as well on someone or in general, but if they're used properly, then that's a whole different story. And so like I'm about to start a whole series on vitality reset series on peptides in my own private community. And I think that it's so important to look at the context of the individual person and make a choice for using something that way as opposed to, oh, this social media influencer said that I should do this protocol. And they're like, well, that didn't work. Well, yeah, no, duh, that didn't work.
- [55:08]
A
Yeah, absolutely. I actually that's what I was going to say. You can pivot and answer, you know, why you that the straight answer doesn't come to your head. And I think that really makes sense. Well, I think it was a really great conversation. Thank you so much for coming and making the time to share your wisdom with our community. In the show notes, we will have links to your Instagram. Are there any other ways our listeners can start following you, connect with you?
- [55:38]
C
Yeah, absolutely. So my Instagram is@danny conwayofficial. I do a lot of Q and A and I like to debunk a lot of misinformation that's out there. I have a wellness community, the Wellness Collective. So I love going beyond diet, helping women really dial in what they need as far as hormones and gut health and peptides and all the things. So that's a private community. Off of social media. I also have a weight loss accelerator program that I run quarterly. My website, Nutrition the Natural way dot com. I do work with clients one on one and those are just some of the ways that women can. And I do work with men too, but most of my clients are women. Yeah, great.
- [56:19]
A
Well, Gary, I mean if, if any of the takeaways that I got from this, from talking to you today, also that it's really hard to do it alone. It's really hard to. So a, you know, like step one could be great for them to turn your community so they are not alone and I'm sure they can benefit a lot. But then definitely if they can, if it's accessible to them, working one on one with an expert will really help eliminating that guesswork we talked a lot about today.
- [56:51]
C
So.
- [56:52]
A
Yeah, thank you so much again.
- [56:54]
C
Yeah, thanks for having me.
- [56:55]
B
My takeaway is you shouldn't order takeaway. Probably not good for you. Anyway, Danny, you're amazing as a person off screen and on screen as well. We appreciate you coming today and we hope to see you soon in person.
- [57:11]
C
Thanks as well. Great being here.
- [57:14]
B
Bye bye everyone.
- [57:15]
A
Bye Bye,
- [57:23]
C
Sam.