Loading summary
Transcript11 lines
- [00:01]
Prime Originals Advertiser
This episode is brought to you by. Prime Obsession is in session and this summer Prime Originals have everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice off campus Elle every year after the Love Hypothesis, Sterling Point and more slow burns, second chances chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime.
- [00:31]
Home Depot Advertiser
Your summer starts now with Memorial Day deals at the Home Depot. It's time to fire up summer cookouts with the next grill 4 burner gas grill on special. Buy for only $199 and entertain all season with the Hampton bay West Grove seven piece outdoor dining set for only $499. This Memorial Day get low prices guaranteed at the Home Depot while supplies Last priced invalid May 14 through May 27 US only exclusion supplies. See homedepot.com Pricematch for details.
- [01:00]
Tessa Zolli
Foreign. Hello and welcome back to the Treatment Room Podcast. I'm so glad you're here. I'm your host, Tessa Zolli. I am a licensed esthetician, acne specialist and certified nutrition coach. So I was on a panel last week which was so much fun. It was, it was hosted by Pomp Beauty, which is a beauty tech company that I work with. They basically provide all of my retail to my clients. But they invited me to be on this panel which was so much fun. I think I want to do more public speaking in the aesthetic space because I I was shocked how much I was loving it. But I was asked, tess, how are you getting the results you're getting and how are you keeping your clients clear long term? And I love this question and I wanted to just break out a whole episode diving into nutrition more specifically because it is more impactful than I think we even realized. And I started out in the treatment room. I think there's such a need for facials and hands on. I have so many friends and mentors who successfully clear their clients in the treatment room. But I think there is this whole other demographic that, you know, just doesn't get facials. Maybe they're not interested in it. And I find with my audience they're so invested in root cause medicine, holistic health, they want to understand the, the everyday choices nutrition lifestyle. They want to understand how to take care of their their skin for the long term. So that's what I do in my business and it has been so life changing for thousands of clients that I have treated to learn more about how their nutrition choices are affecting their skin. So, so I wanted to dedicate a whole episode to it and hopefully some of my clients tune in and even learn a little bit more from this. But I wanted to start with talking about glycemic load, because I think this is the area that gets so overlooked. We're going to talk about acne triggers, and, you know, those are important. But glycemic load, I think we really want to understand the role that this plays in acne pathogenesis. So high glycemic load foods spike blood sugar quickly and significantly. The obvious ones would be foods like white bread or Wonder Bread. It could even be whole wheat bread, to be honest. Pastry, sugary cereals, candy, soda, donuts, cookies, bagels. And there is real science behind this. A clinical study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that diets high in glycemic load were associated with more acne lesions compared with lower glycemic load diets. People on controlled low glycemic load diets showed improvements in acne severity, inflammation, and oiliness compared to those eating higher glycemic load. Chromosomes, carbs, like refined sugars and flowers. But there is a distinction between glycemic index and glycemic load. So glycemic index tells us how fast a carbohydrate raises blood sugar. Glycemic load measures both speed and the amount of carbs that you're actually eating. That's important because something can have a low glycemic index and still have a high glycemic load if you eat too much of it. A perfect example of this is a single medjool date that might have a relatively low glycemic index. I actually noticed this the other day when I was in Sprouts. I bought these little cookie dough dates as a treat for myself. The ingredient deck was gorgeous. The only sweetener was coconut sugar in addition to the date itself, which I think a lot of people would see that and think, oh, this is healthy. This really can't have any effect on blood sugar. But we want to consider quantity, because two, three or more dates quickly can add up to a high glycemic load. And another sneaky one is coconut sugar. Like, it is a more natural sugar. It's not a refined sugar. But if you use too much, your glycemic load does go way up. So just because foods have natural sugars, this doesn't mean no sugar content. It doesn't mean lower calories, necessarily. So quantity absolutely matters. And a teaspoon of honey, for example, or a date or two, equals low glycemic. Load. But a cup of granola with maple syrup could equal a high glycemic load, even if it is marketed as healthy. And this is something I wanted to make sure I talked about because my audience, again, most of them are pretty. Most of my clients are pretty health conscious. You know, they're not going out to eat at fast food often. They're making most of their meals at home. They are buying groceries that mainly come from Whole Foods. But this is where it can get tricky because brands have gotten so good at, you know, maximizing and just really taking advantage of our obsession with wellness and health. So branding, packaging, it can be so cute, so trendy. I feel like sometimes you look at packaging and you just automatically assume like, oh, that's gonna be so healthy for me, just based on the packaging you are seeing. Another key distinction here is there is a difference between healthy for you. Generally, like, longevity wise, it could be fine to include in the diet, but if you have a specific health goal, such as acne clearing, this is more niche. This requires a more specific protocol. I always talk about the triangle of awareness with my clients, and I probably bore them, but it's my duty to make sure they understand that we're not just eating for general health. When we look at the triangle of awareness, there are three different points. There is a longevity point on one corner of the triangle, there's performance at the top of the triangle, and then there's aesthetic. If you have a goal of clearing acne, this falls into the aesthetic category. Every health goal deserves its own unique protocol. And we need to understand that eating for clearing your acne is not the same as eating to live a long, healthy life. It's not the same as eating to be the fittest or the strongest or the fastest you've ever been. There's actually a specific protocol for each of those goals. So we can't just look at packaging and assume this is healthy. It must be good for my skin. And brands are also using words like paleo or high protein or gluten free. And this used to get me. I used to just assume, because I saw those buzz words that the food was what it said. It was not always the case. And I would assume that it, you know, wouldn't have an effect on insulin or blood sugar the way that refined sweets and sugar would. I used to have a rule that was like, you know, no cane sugar, but if it's sweetened with one of these natural sugars, like, that's in the okay for me category. And the kicker on Top of that is I would think I could have as much as I want of those types of sweets because they are quote unquote healthy. And this is where I see a lot of my clients getting stuck in this blood sugar roller coaster and this vicious cycle of having sugar and craving more and more sugar, sugar, especially when they're starting their day after sleeping, they're in a fasted state, and they're having, you know, a espresso with milk and honey. And because you are in a fasted state and that is a high glycemic load food, you can be spiking your blood sugar first thing in the morning, then maybe you want to have a matcha later, but it's sweetened with maple syrup. So that's healthy, right? That's natural. After lunch, of course, you need a little sweet treat. You opt for, you know, several dates and you have your normal meals. But of course, later in the evening, you need your nightly dessert. That's like a little bowl or concoction of three to four natural but still high glycemic load types of foods or sugars. So what I find with my clients is although their overall diet might be based around whole foods, it might include a decent amount of protein, probably not enough. But there are a lot of micro moments of these high glycemic load foods. Even a food like white rice, which you wouldn't consider could have an impact on acne. So we want to understand that when we are eating for clear skin, it's not enough to just go for foods based on marketing or because it's a whole food. We want to understand that there is an ideal protocol and we want to keep the glycemic load more moderate. We also want to make sure that we are balancing our diet with enough protein, with enough healthy fats, with enough fiber. When we are focused on these types of macros and foods. I do find that you don't have as many constant cravings for sugar. Oftentimes clients ask, is there, like, a particular guideline I should look for if I am consuming foods that have some sugar, which, you know is normal? I'm not saying let's fear blood sugar spikes. I'm saying let's be educated and let's be aware. So I would say I tend to be conservative, especially when I'm first starting out with a client, because this is when their inflammation is at its peak. And usually this is when, you know, somebody's really mentally struggling enough so that they need to hire outside help. So I want to get that inflammation down. I would suggest aiming for less than 5 grams of added sugar per snack or serving. Try to keep total added sugar around 25 to 30 grams per day or less. Always pair your sugar with protein, healthy fats and fiber. That slows blood sugar absorption and keeps your glycemic load moderate. And in consuming enough of those high satiety foods, you will naturally crowd out a lot of the other foods like granola which for example, you know is not very filling because it is so high glycemic. You get that quick blood sugar spike and you're probably hungry a little while later. It's also so easy to eat a larger quantity of it without realizing how much sugar is packed in a sacrifice small little serving. Next, let's get into acne triggering foods and what the research says. So we talked about high glycemic load, carbs and sugars. Again, this is one of the best studied dietary acne links. High glycemic load foods raise insulin and IGF1, increasing oil production and inflammation, both central to acne development I'm not saying carbs are bad. I absolutely want my clients having some carbohydrate especially you know, based on their activity level, which I find can be such a range. Some people are a lot more sedentary and they're at a desk or computer all day. Others are getting, you know, 10 to 12 case steps and they're working out five to six times a week. So your carb needs can vary based on your activity level. Some carbs I love to recommend would be sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa beans, and of course fruits and veggies.
- [14:54]
Podcast Host / Sponsor Promoter
So I was talking with some of my girlfriends at a coffee shop the other weekend. They also happen to be estheticians and business owners and the number one thing we are all struggling with right now is the inability to grow our businesses and make more money because we get so bogged down with the day to day. I I'm missing out on client inquiries, rebooking, reminders, upsell opportunities, and so much more. This is even harder if you're piecing together booking payments, customer service and a clunky EMR across a bunch of different tools. That's why I personally love Gloss Genius, the system that does the work for you to get you more revenue and free up your time. It fills your calendar, keeps your clients coming back, grows your average ticket size, and puts your busy work on autopilot. They also have all the HIPAA compliant tools you need for charting consents and client records without the chaos you guys are always asking how I take client notes and how I keep things organized. I can't recommend Gloss Genius enough and now you can see for yourself. Use code treatmentlossgenius.com for 50% off your first two months of the gold or platinum plans. Gloss Genius. More revenue for your business, more time for everything else. Clients aren't just coming to the treatment room for maintenance anymore. They want results. And microneedling is probably already in their TikTok search history before they even book with you, most estheticians want to offer it. Microneedling is known for addressing fine lines, acne scarring, uneven texture, enlarged pores and hyperpigmentation. The hesitation is always the cost. That's exactly why I've been recommending jutsu pen. Each treatment only costs you $20 in consumables. $20. No more high startup costs eating into your margins before you've even booked your first client. You're offering one of the most in demand, results driven services out there and actually keeping your margins every single time you book. I never want to recommend anything to you that I don't personally use and love myself. Juve pen was so generous and actually stuck sent me a device and put me through their training so I could micro needle myself and get a feel for the device beyond the costume results. Joov Pen is cordless. It's lightweight, it is so quiet. It has adjustable needle depth and dual batteries. No interruptions, no cords, no need to stop mid treatment. If microneedling hasn't made business sense for you yet, Joov Pen is why it will use code TTRP200 at the link in the show notes and get 200 off your juve penalty.
- [17:33]
Tessa Zolli
Next on the list is dairy. And you know it's interesting because I think dairy has really come back in vogue. There's kind of been this rebellion against nut milks for being processed and a lot of people favoring I think just the nostalgia honestly of dairy, how great it tastes and you know, it being something that you know has protein and something that maybe you consumed when you were growing. And it is delicious. We'll absolutely recognize that. But multiple studies and meta analysis show a link between higher milk consumption and more frequent or more severe acne, especially skim milk. Why? Why does milk cause acne? So for one, hormones and hormone precursors including IGF1. Secondly, whey and casein proteins that stimulate insulin. These can increase sebum production and hormone
- [18:38]
Podcast Host / Sponsor Promoter
signaling linked to acne.
- [18:40]
Tessa Zolli
And so here is where we just want to again be informed by the data and not go off of just what your favorite influencer is drinking in their coffee, you know, or the high protein cottage cheese snacks you're seeing on TikTok or social media. We want to understand, like health is so personal. It's not that foods are good or bad. Dairy can be amazing for a specific protocol. Somebody who's trying to build muscle in the gym, like myself. I have reincorporated dairy and I do think it has benefits. I'm not saying it's bad, but we just want to consider the individual need and what is going to serve that person the best. And this is where it gets tricky. But you might have to decide what is my top priority for the next six to 12 months. Sometimes we can't have it all, but if you focus on one thing at a time, I think eventually you may be able to incorporate that food back and, and find your unique threshold with a food like dairy, for example. Now, eggs are one where I feel like we don't have enough research on this. I think when it comes to nutrition and acne, it is definitely lacking. And that may be an issue with funding, I'm not sure. But sometimes there are certain phenomenons that skin specialists see. Like I know a lot of my esthetician friends notice eggs can be a consistent link for our acne clients, but it's not always as validated in research. But here are the plausible mechanisms that we suspect might be the reasons eggs cause acne. So for one, albumin, egg white protein can be inflammatory in sensitive individuals. Eggs are rich in biotin, which we do know speeds up keratin production. Some people may also react to trace hormones in egg yolks. So this doesn't mean everyone will break out. But for some individuals, eggs can be a real problem and you may do better without them in your diet. Next is peanuts. Peanuts are high in omega 6 fats and biotin. An excess of omega 6 relative to omega 3 can drive inflammatory pathways linked to acne. While human studies specifically on peanuts and acne are limited, this inflammatory logic is pretty well accepted. And peanuts are one of the most prominent triggers that I see amongst my clients, especially peanut butter. I think because so many peanuts are used and concentrated into a small amount of peanut butter, it can really break people out. Next, we have seaweed. And I know this can make a lot of people sad. If they love sushi, that's usually where people are getting their seaweed. Unless you are having the seaweed snacks. By the way, great for thyroid health, just not great for acne. So this One surprises a lot of people because this is like a green plant. You would never think it would be a culprit. But seaweed, especially nori kelp and certain snacks with seaweed are very high in iodine. Iodine has been shown to trigger acne in some individuals because it can increase inflammation in the skin and it may over stimulate sebaceous oil glands. It can also alter how skin cells shed which becomes poor clogging over time. So this can lead to iodine induced acne which shows up as sudden breakouts or small inflamed pimples often around the face or jawline. And a simple hack for this like if you're going to sushi, what I would typically recommend is getting nigiri, getting brown rice with your fresh tuna, your fresh salmon on top or get a cucumber wrapped roll without the seaweed. Super easy swap. And I find it so delicious because you can just taste the fish more. Lastly, although these aren't foods per se, I find this is very important. Supplements, especially B vitamins and biotin are super overlooked. And they can in certain snack products, they can be in protein powders, they can be in sports drinks and energy drinks. So checking the label can be very helpful because these vitamins are sneaky. Biotin, which is vitamin B7 often is taken for hair, skin and nails. Although the research on that is also very inconclusive anyway. So in high doses it can trigger breakouts because biotin may compete with or disrupt absorption of vitamin B5, pantothenic acid. B5 helps regulate oil production and that imbalance translates to increased sebum and more breakouts. Lastly vitamin B12. So high doses have been shown in studies to to alter skin bacteria which is wild. The C acne bacteria gets altered, this can increase inflammation and trigger acne flares. The main culprits that I see are pre workouts, multivitamins, greens, powders. These often contain high doses of B vitamins. I have also noticed a trend of, you know, people working with functional doctors where you know, the doctor may not have acne as an expertise. Again they might be guiding you for another reason, something related to your overall health or longevity or an autoimmune condition or a gut issue. But they may not realize that it can have a severe impact on the skin. So more vitamins is not always better, especially for acne prone skin. I think you want to be super careful with the supplements you are adding into your routine based on what you need in your particular deficiencies. In closing, I just wanted to say Clear skin isn't just about avoiding junk food or fast food. It is really about understanding the nuance and about how your body responds to blood sugar, hormones and even nutrient doses. So because sometimes it's not the obvious triggers, it's the healthy foods. It's what you're seeing on Instagram, it's the sourdough, the cottage cheese, the dates, the honey. The health food sometimes can be the biggest drivers of acne. And again, it's not to demonize them. Obviously eating those kinds of foods are nutrient dense. They do offer value. Again, this is where it's tricky, but we just want to decide on what the priority goal is and then from there we can understand which foods are optimal for supporting your goals. So if you want to clear your skin, it is more than just eating healthy. It is more than just clean eating. It is about intentional eating and making sure your nutrition supports your goals. If you are looking for one on one guidance in this world of nutrition, if you're looking for help clearing your skin, I am taking on new clients. I'm always asked are you taking on new clients? And the answer is yes because I'm constantly clearing clients and once they get to maintenance they just don't need me as much. So yes, I am generally taking on a handful of new clients. I will put the link to book with me in the show notes or you can just visit tessaskin.com services also guys, I am working on my acne friendly recipe book. My ebook it is coming. I am just a perfectionist. I want to make it really really cute. So I'm bringing in some professional design helpers to just make sure it gets really polished and it's something you love opening and using every single day. So I'm so excited for that.
- [27:49]
Podcast Host / Sponsor Promoter
Thank you all for listening.
- [27:51]
Tessa Zolli
I would love to know if you like this episode. Share it on social media. Leave me a five star review.
- [27:58]
Podcast Host / Sponsor Promoter
Send it to a friend who's struggling with their skin.
- [28:01]
Tessa Zolli
I love you so much and I will be back for the next episode in two weeks.