Transcript
A (0:06)
Okay, welcome back to the Biohacking Beauty Podcast and welcome to Dr. Doris Day. It's such a pleasure having you on.
B (0:15)
So great to be on with you. Thanks for having me.
A (0:17)
Yeah. You know, I want to start with your approach, and that's kind of what. What drew me to have this conversation because you, you blend traditional dermatology and the art of, you know, the science of dermatology and the art of health optimization, wellness internal optimization. So I'm interested as far as, like, what drew you or what realizations you had that set you on the path of balancing the two. Because as I shared with you off air in our first conversation, this is something that I was a little bit shocked that isn't the norm when I came to the United States.
B (0:59)
I totally agree with you. I think for me, it's in my blood. I grew up with it. My dad, I think, was the OG holistic doctor. He practiced anesthesiology, but he was really an all round great physician. And even before he would hypnotize, even before he would anesthetize his patients, he would hypnotize them and he found that he needed less anesthesia. But he really lived this life where he used to tell me, even as a little girl, he would say we should all die young at an old age. And when I was little, it didn't mean anything to me. I thought, what a silly thing to say. But as I got older, I understood it better. And he really lived that way. He would say, you exercise for your health and you eat for your weight. So you don't try to eat to lose weight. You don't try to exercise to lose weight. It doesn't work. You exercise for health, and it helps maintain your weight in many ways. But you have to watch what you put in your mouth as well. And they're two completely different things. And every fall, we would go to all the farmers markets and we would collect all the harvest food and he would make amazing harvest stew and really paid attention to spices and supplements and overall nutrition and fruits and vegetables that were in season. So we always ate very healthy and we always ate as a family. So we had the social part of it, we had the health part of it, the exercise part of it, even the intermittent fasting. He would always say, you know, after dinner you don't eat anymore. And we always ate an early dinner. So he had all these things incorporated but never put words to it. And he always cared about appearance even into his 90s. He would care about how he looked and wanted to make sure that when he would go to the hospital to see his patients before he retired, he always wore a suit. He said, the scrubs are for the or. When you see your patients, you have to look appropriate and they have to have confidence in you. And that goes with your attire. So he understood all the different layers. And he didn't so much tell me things as in, this is what I've learned. He practiced it and he lived it, and he taught me by example. And even he would say, you study the textbooks and you have to know what they know now. But that's not how you treat the patient. You have the patient in front of you and they're not a textbook. You have to have confidence. They have to have confidence in you, and you have to understand them if you're really going to help them. And he had such an impact on so many of his patients. I met many of them. I did his billing and his secretarial work when I was in high school. So I really did learn from him in ways, sort of just by hearing his stories about his patients. Him teaching me like we would go to the fish market in the summer, buy fish, and he would dissect it and teach me all the organs. And in the car, we would play car games, we would do the circulatory system. So his idea of fun was medicine. And I just kind of absorbed it through him. And then as I went along in my career, I realized, having done internal medicine before dermatology, that if I told somebody, don't smoke because emphysema and lung cancer, they feel fine now, what do they care? But if you say, don't smoke because your skin will look better, you'll have less lines and your tone will be better, you'll age better, they all quit smoking. When I said, don't eat salt because you'll have a stroke or high blood pressure later, they're like, meh, whatever. But if you say you'll have less puffiness around the eyes, easy peasy, they give up salt or they lower their salt intake. So the advice I give to my patients that will help their skin has such a powerful impact. But then I learned that not only does your skin reflect your health and well being, it affects it. So when I help somebody have healthier skin, I'm also helping them have healthier entire body, healthier mind, healthier body, healthier organs, and a longer lifespan. So the skin to me is such an important, powerful organ, not just for vanity and for appearance, but it tells so many stories and the impact it has on your health and longevity and well being is really powerful.
