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SKIN HEALTH GUIDE

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Your Skin Will Look its Best if You:• Preserve and build collagen

• Reduce inflammation

• Support telomeres and prevent DNA

damage

• Avoid skin damage

How: Food and lifestyle choices will help

keep your skin healthy. This handout

provides both general advice and

helpful lists. You can also call us or visit

for a free consultation. We provide

nutrition coaching and a wide variety of

complementary and medical services to

help optimize your health — inside and

out.

North County Natural Medicine includes

services for health optimization, medical

aesthetics, and biohacking. This guide is

just the beginning of what

we can do together.

1. Food:You can create optimal conditions for collagen growth by eating specific nutrient-rich foods. Choose foods with quality amino acids including eggs, beans and seeds. We’ve also seen results supplementing with collagen peptide powder (hydrolyzed collagen from bovine or fish sources).

Be sure to eat your antioxidants, because they protect your collagen from damage. Berries such as blueberries, raspberries, pomegranates and goji berries are great, as well as all the leafy greens and the cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, and the deeply-colored plant foods like carrots, tomatoes and beets. And don’t overlook other superfoods like kelp in the form of yummy seaweed salad.

Eat some good fats, especially Omega-3 fats (like from walnuts, flax and avocado).

Feed your microbiome by eating plenty of fiber from clean plant sources. It’s the center of your immune system and the main route into your body for both

nutrients and toxins — so help your digestive system maintain a healthy barrier.

SKIN HEALTH GUIDENORTHCOUNTYNATURALMEDICINE.COM

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2. The 4S Strategy:Follow the “Four S” strategy:

Sunscreen:UVA and UVB rays (aging and burning, respectively) do more than raise your cancer risk. Exposure triggers an enzymatic process that degrades the skin’s support system of collagen and elastin — making you look older. Use a sunscreen with UVA and UVB protection every day to avoid solar damage.

Sleep: We rebuild tissues while we sleep, so get your 7-9 hours of beauty rest every night.

Stress: Avoid it. Prolonged periods of stress release a cascade of hormones that ultimately trigger inflation and interfere with growth, renewal, and the immune response.

Selective: Be choosy about your lifestyle options. Avoid: pollution, cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, pesticides, other toxins and stressful situations.

3. Lifestyle Factors That Limit Oxidative Stress:Avoid Environmental Exposure:• Wear sunscreen and/or opt for natural

self-tanner. UV radiation from the sun contributes to 80-90% of skin aging

• Drink CLEAN WATER: reverse osmosis is known to do a great job at stripping harmful chemicals, but it also strips beneficial minerals (so be sure to replenish with supplemental minerals).

• Avoid smoking (both primary and secondary cigarette smoke)

• Avoid environmental pollution: car/plane/vehicle pollution

• Roll up windows on the interstate to avoid contact with traffic particulate matter

• Air filters and dehumidifiers within the home will help eliminate air pollutants and lower risk for mold, respectively

• Avoid ionizing radiation from x-rays

• Get your beauty rest. Avoid sleep deprivation, and be in bed before midnight.

(continues…)

SKIN HEALTH GUIDENORTHCOUNTYNATURALMEDICINE.COM

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Avoid Environmental Exposure (continued):• Avoid fungal exposure, including

molds in the household and on food

• Avoid stress

• Avoid chemicals within your hygiene and cleaning products. Choose organic and natural products when possible.

4. Avoid Common Sources of Free Radicals in Food:Fats/Oils:• Do not heat oils above their smoke

point

• Store oils in a tinted bottle, in a dark cool place, and away from the stove

• Be sure to check all fats for expiration date, and never use a fat that smells sour or rancid

• Avoid all deep-fried foods

• Avoid hydrogenated fats — AKA trans fats

Nuts:• Choose nuts that are raw and whole

• Store nuts in fridge or freezer

Meat:• Always buy organic, grass-fed meat

• Do not cook past medium or medium-rare

Fish:• Choose fish that are wild-caught and

low in mercury

• Avoid farm-raised fish which contain heavy metals and environmental toxins

Charbroiled Food:• AVOID IT: do not roast or grill your

meat or vegetables to a charred or blackened state

Indulgences:• Avoid excess dietary sugar

• Avoid alcohol

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5. Increasing your antioxidant stores and lowering oxidative burden:Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. These contain polyphenols, a natural source of antioxidants:

• Leafy green vegetables, Berries, Broccoli, Carrots, Tomatoes, Beets, Seeds and Nuts

Vitamin antioxidants:• Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin C,

Niacinamide, linoleic acid, vitamin D, vitamin C

Minerals that act as cofactors in free radical neutralization:• Selenium, Zinc, Magnesium, Copper

Other supplemental antioxidants:• Glutathione, NAC, ALA,

Coenzyme Q10

Polyphenols and plant extracts:• Anthocyanins, Carotenoids, EGCG,

Resveratrol, Pycnogenol, Lycopene

Whole Herbs:• Curcuma longa, Allium sativum,

Silymarin, Aloe vera, Centella asiatica, Camellia Sinensis

Fiber to feed your microbiome:• A plant-strong diet following the

above guidelines will help you keep your fiber in a healthy range

Optimal Hormone Regulation:• Estrogen suppresses free radical

production and stimulates antioxidant enzyme expression

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Thank you.We hope you find this guide helpful. If you’d like to take this to the next level, contact us to explore our many naturopathic, medical, nutritional, and complementary medicine services.

Contact Us:815 N Vulcan Ave Encinitas, CA (760) 385-8683hello@northcountynaturalmedicine.comwww.northcountynaturalmedicine.com

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