Superfoods for Your Skin:
The Top Nutrients for a Youthful Glow

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Welcome to the Skin Report. Today we are going to talk about superfoods that are trending in 2024 to give you a radiant, glowing complexion. And I said 2024 because it is a little different from what we have thought of earlier as a superfood for your skin. And I have my co-host with me, Shaheera, who is very passionate about how what you eat affects your skin.

Shaheera:
Yeah, absolutely. And I think the superfoods, it can be a variety of different categories. For today, of course we’re going to stick it with the skin-specific ones, what you can eat, how you should eat, but in a really easy, realistic, doable way that doesn’t stress you out.

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Yes. And also what our understanding of it is.

Shaheera:
Exactly.

Dr. Simran Sethi:
And maybe also, I think I would also like to go over what you should not eat, in moderation.

Shaheera:
Well, I think first and foremost, what are, from your clinical internist, which is important because from your medical aesthetics doctor, you’re also an internal medicine doctor, so you actually understand the body inside and out. So what in both of your experiences have you noticed are, “These are the key factors in food intake, body, I don’t know, digestion, that impact someone’s skin health”? And they may not even be realizing it, or maybe they may be too stubborn, or maybe not have accessibility to changing that. But what are the factors that you’ve noticed are like, “Hey, this is really affecting your skin”?

Dr. Simran Sethi:
First of all, there’s a lot of noise. There are a lot of things on TikTok, and it’s so funny because I will look at that and go, “Oh my God, who came up with this?” Like someone saying, “You should only eat blueberries every day, and this much, or blackberries and bananas,” and it’s all over the place. A lot of companies market skin being the goal for incorporating their food, because they know people care a lot about how they look versus how they feel, or how they feel is impacted by how they look. So it can be really messy and difficult. But generally, again, there are categories.

The one super food that I think is very, very ignored is fiber, which is in so many things, but we don’t think about it, and we don’t actually probably eat enough of it, especially if you don’t have a lot of vegetables and fruits in your diet. And when I say fruits, I mean whole fruits, not juices. I mean, I am vegetarian, so I am going to, again, be a little biased, but I also think that any diet that you have, as long as you’re incorporating fiber, which comes from vegetables, you are going to actually have all the benefits of fiber, which is essentially actually sugar reduction, glucose reduction in your bloodstream, that will lead to healthy skin.

Shaheera:
Eating your vitamins, eating your beauty ingredients, is actually, it’s really not that hard when you are… I don’t think you should feel like you’ll get a lot of hate for being a vegetarian, a lot of people are, but it’s just eating a lot of plants and eating your nutrients. Your body is absorbing it in a way that’s actually multi-beneficial. An added bonus is, you have a better complexion, you have a healthy skin renewal, and you are a healthier person. I mean, it’s affecting so many organs, but yes, yes, you don’t spend so much time actually digesting the food, so you have brain fog and so on and so on. Sugar is a huge component. Yes, there’s sugar, I mean, it’s certainly normal to have sugar in your body. You can get sugar from your fruits. What is a bad sugar?

Dr. Simran Sethi:
So of course table sugar, and eating excessive amounts of it. But something that a lot of people don’t realize is also, if you’re juicing with fruits, you are essentially taking all the sugar from the fruits, which yes, fruits have healthy sugar if you eat whole fruits, because they have healthy fiber in them, which counteracts the spike in our blood sugar levels. And so when we say fruits are healthy, they’re healthy if you eat them in their whole form, not when they’re juiced and the fiber is thrown away and all your left is with the sugar component.

So sugar has been shown to, the end products of sugar, have been shown to actually attach to our skin proteins, collagen and elastin, and interfere with the network that those skin proteins make. What that network does is of course makes our skin stronger and more resilient from laxity and fine lines and so forth. So sugar is a major culprit actually in skin aging, and actually, if you are on a diet that is heavy in sugars, if you just bring that down, that makes a huge difference in actually how your skin looks. Even without incorporating fiber, believe it.

Shaheera:
There’s a lot of sugars in what people think are fiber-heavy products, or foods like breads or however it’s marketed. When you actually look at the carbohydrates versus the sugars and the fiber, you’ll see a huge transparency.

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Yeah. Just because it’s not sweet doesn’t mean it doesn’t have sugar.

Shaheera:
Exactly. Alcohol, loaded with sugar, things like that. Now, when it comes to proteins, lean proteins, meats, things like that, I know that affects skin in a variety of ways, especially various skin concerns. It could totally emphasize things like acne. What’s some advice you have for somebody who’s like, “I like meat, I want to keep eating meat”?

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Meat, as long as you have a good balance of meat and fibrous vegetables, that’s perfectly fine. But also remember, a lot of our meat has hormones in it, they affect how… Our body is absorbing those antibiotics, and it affects how our skin looks. So it is something that overall, I think consumers should start looking at the source of their meat. But the one group where I think you have to have extra attention to what you’re eating is people with acne. Dairy has been linked to worsen acne, and there is a lot of dairy in protein powders, protein bars and so forth. So I think that if you do have acne, look for vegan powders, vegan bars and so forth. But I think that yes, protein, lean protein is fine, but look at the source so that you’re not taking in antibiotics and heavy metals and all these sorts of things that are not good for your health, and clearly not good for your skin.

Shaheera:
But before we finish today, one of the, I know you’re thinking, “Superfoods, that’s all she talked about, was fiber and no sugar, or things you should never eat.” Or you had things you should never-

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Never eat. Because some things… Yeah.

Shaheera:
There are some some fun things we can eat.

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Yeah, fun things you can eat. [inaudible 00:07:23] fun, but doing-

Shaheera:
Or and convenient, too, so it’s got-

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Do incorporate probiotics. Probiotics have become huge, and a lot of companies that market probiotics are also marketing it as skin health, which is true. But in general, we know that probiotics help multiple functions in our body. They help digestion of some important minerals and nutrition. They also help with attenuating some of our hormones and so forth. So if you’re not on a probiotic, consider it. There’s some probiotic-rich foods, which, in my opinion, don’t give you enough probiotic dose. So it’s still better to-

Shaheera:
Supplement it?

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Yeah.

Shaheera:
Do you have any other supplements that you, or supplemental products that you enjoy, that you feel are really effective for not only helping your skin, but actually the mechanics of your body?

Dr. Simran Sethi:
I like to supplement with a probiotic. I also supplement with something called Heliocare, which is a fern extract. It gives you internal sun protection, which we can talk about in another episode, because it is actually a very unique supplement, and very, very safe. It’s actually regulated by the FDA because it is a form of skin cancer prevention, and something that people with conditions like melasma, it’s very important for them to be on something like that. And it is very safe.
The one I hear a lot about is collagen powders, and collagen capsules, and all of that. I think that collagen powders can be good for your skin health. I think you should also remember that I feel they have more effect on your hair and nails. So if you’re a vegetarian-

Shaheera:
And joints.

Dr. Simran Sethi:
And joints. Now, if you’re a vegetarian, like I am, I don’t take a collagen powder, but I will say that I’m not missing out on a lot because the actually having a diet rich in fiber, and low in sugar actually is the most effective way to manage your diet. And we’ve done episodes where I’ve talked about diets like keto and juicing and all of that, and specifically how they affect your skin. But yeah, I would say, probiotics, something like Heliocare, even collagen powder, they’re all helpers.

Shaheera:
To summarize, really, eat your vitamins, and try to figure out a way to enjoy your whole foods, anything plant based. If people choose to have a scoop of a green powder or a multivitamin that has different fruits and veggies, that’s totally fine. That’s not the only thing you rely on. Much like skincare, you can’t have a one-product-fits-all outlook.

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Exactly.

Shaheera:
A lifestyle.

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Exactly.

Shaheera:
And just, I think keeping it simple is in itself an incredibly effective way to have really healthy skin, especially in the kitchen.

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Yes. Well, yeah.

Shaheera:
So know superfood number one, fiber, fiber, fiber.

Dr. Simran Sethi:
It takes [inaudible 00:10:40]-

Shaheera:
But not excessive, scary amount of fiber.

Dr. Simran Sethi:
That’s right. You can live in the bathroom, but yes, you’ll have very good skin at the end of it, I guess, but-

Shaheera:
There’s no sun damage happening in the bathroom, everyone. The added effects of fiber.

Dr. Simran Sethi:
And fruits are great in, they’re heavy and rich in antioxidants, but in their whole form, and whether you choose to incorporate collagen, it’s still healthy, but you’re not missing out on it, don’t worry about being plant based, and then incorporate a probiotic. And I think those are very easy ways, honestly, to get your skin superfoods in.

Shaheera:
What if people do not like vegetables or fruit?

Dr. Simran Sethi:
That is quite challenging. There are some athletic green type of [inaudible 00:11:31]. You would probably have to have a lot of them in your day. That’s all I can come up with.

Shaheera:
Well, if anyone does have, I mean, from your internal medicine perspective, if anyone has any questions actually about that inside-out skin health-

Dr. Simran Sethi:
They can ask us in the comments.

Shaheera:
Yeah.

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Well, thank you for being with us today. And if you enjoy this kind of content, please like, subscribe, and yes, ask us any questions in the comments.