If you’ve ever wandered the supplement aisle of a health food store, you may have come across a skin, hair, and nails formula. Formulas like this often promise stronger nails, perfect skin, and lustrous hair— qualities many of us would love. Unfortunately, these alluring supplements usually contain minuscule amounts of beneficial ingredients alongside a host of unfavorable ones. Instead of being lured into buying products that won’t actually fix the appearance of your skin, hair, or nails, I am here to share with you the real reasons behind skin blemishes, damaged hair, and brittle nails. Once you know the truth about these issues you can begin to heal your body from the inside out and come away with not only stronger nails, shinier hair, and better skin, but a wellness that no single product could ever offer.
Skin
Do you have wrinkles, blemishes, or under eye circles? If these skin issues emerge, people typically search for various remedies and creams to try and improve the condition of their skin. Although certain practices can be somewhat helpful, usually people turn to ineffective fixes that don’t address the origins of their skin issues.
Creams & Tonics
Oftentimes people turn to lotions and tonics to help treat their skin, but these topical treatments will not offer the true healing people are after. There are some antiviral and anticancer skin salves that you can create to help support skin issues, and there are creams that will mildly soften and moisturize the skin, but these ointments can only offer so much support. To really tackle skin problems you must work on healing the underlying issues.
Below the Surface
When it comes to figuring out why we have loose skin, blemishes, liver spots, and other skin problems, we have to dive below the surface and assess what’s going on underneath the epidermis.
The Liver
The health of your liver plays a huge role in the health of your skin. The more toxic your liver is, the more likely you are to develop wrinkles and other skin problems that are typically associated with aging. Many people’s livers are burdened with toxins, and often people enter the world with toxins already built up in this organ from plastics, petrol oil, DDT, toxic heavy metals and other toxins that are passed onto us from our forefathers. I discuss this unknown truth and many others in my books Medical Medium, Life-Changing Foods, and Liver Rescue and also in my book Thyroid Healing. Cleaning out the toxins from your toxin-saturated liver is an essential part of addressing skin issues.
Many things are happening inside your liver. The tremendous amount of blood that floods into the liver not only contains oxygen and nutrients, but also has toxins that the liver must filter out. Once the liver cleanses and processes the blood, it then sends that blood to various areas of the body. If the liver directs blood that contains unfavorable material to the skin you may find that liver spots, wrinkles, flabby skin or other issues develop. Some people inherit incredibly toxic livers and as a result are forced to deal with major skin, hair, and nail issues, sometimes from early in life. Fortunately, regardless of your toxin load, there are measures you can take to clean up your liver and heal your skin!
Adrenaline
Adrenaline can create liver issues and negatively affect the health of your skin. If you’ve had to endure a number of acute stressors early on in life, it is likely that adrenaline has negatively impacted numerous organs, including your liver. When emotionally-charged situations occur, such as a the loss of a loved one, broken trust, or a financial hardship, corrosive adrenaline floods your system, hinders the liver, and can impact your skin. Working to support your adrenals through grazing and the use of certain supplements and nourishing foods is a key part of revitalizing your skin.
Support for Your Skin
There are a number of things you can do to aid your adrenals, cleanse your liver and offer your skin incredible support. Here are just a few things to be mindful of as you work to improve your skin and overall health.
While covering your eyes with cucumbers during a spa treatment may feel nice and relaxing, drinking 16oz of straight cucumber juice will actually do far more to support your skin. Sipping on plain cucumber juice once a day is a phenomenal practice for promoting both liver and skin health.
Avoid fried foods, eggs, and dairy, and try to keep your fat intake low. Your liver can be burdened by too much fat in the diet and the focus for skin health needs to be on supporting the liver. If you are a meat eater, try to reduce the amount of animal protein you consume by only including it once a day. Cut out pork and instead opt for pasture-raised chicken and turkey breast, 100% grass-fed beef and other lean meats that are organic and antibiotic-free. If you choose to include fish in your diet, some better choices include salmon, halibut, and haddock. If you are able to cut your animal protein consumption in half this will lower your overall fat intake and leave room in your diet for an abundance of liver-cleansing fruits, leafy greens and vegetables. People who notice improvements in their skin when they cut out pastries, packaged goods, fried foods, and unproductive oils, will likely note even greater developments once they reduce the amount of animal protein in their diets. If you eat a plant based diet, you can reduce your plant fats by 50% also. For example, you can minimize oils and reduce nuts and seeds to just a couple of tablespoons per day. Or if you’re eating a lot of avocadoes, you could reduce consumption to 1/2 to 1 avocado per day. It’s important to increase your fruits and veggies significantly no matter which fats you reduce to ensure you are still consuming enough calories. If you feel sluggish or low energy after you reduce animal protein or any kind of fats in your diet, it could very well be because you are not eating enough calories from fruits, leafy greens, vegetables and other healthy foods to make up for the caloric drop.
Reducing the fat in your diet will also make space to bring in more beta-carotene-rich foods. Beta-carotene is critical for healthy skin and is found in a number of fruits and vegetables. When you provide your body with carotenes, the liver is able to send carotene-rich blood through the subcutaneous fat up to the skin. The liver is also able to label and slightly alter the carotene so that it is capable of surviving the trip to the derma. The liver, a master at manipulating chemical compounds, allows for a completely different form of methylation than medical science and medical research are currently familiar with. When the liver knows carotenes are available to send to the skin, it fuels the delivery differently by making sure that there is ample oxygen in the blood that supplies the carotenes to the derma. Medical research and medical science have not yet discovered this incredible process. Foods high in beta-carotene include mangoes, papayas, mamey sapote, sweet potatoes, and leafy greens such as spinach. In addition, raspberries and colorful melon varieties are rich in beta-carotene. Whether you slice up a papaya for breakfast or munch on some mangoes before bed, your skin will appreciate whatever carotenes you are able to bring into your diet.
Eating foods that contain silica is important as well. It will be years before medical science and medical research discover that there are two different kinds of silica. One type of silica offers tremendous support for the boneswhile the other variety is particularly helpful for the skin. This second variety of silica can be found in vegetables such as asparagus and artichokes. The stems of kale also contain this silica. Horsetail and nettle possess both varieties of silica and when you ingest either herb, your liver separates out the two kinds of silica and delivers each to the area they best support. If you’re looking to have tight, healthy skin, bringing in the variety of silica that offers powerful skin support is essential. A high-quality silica supplement that focuses on supporting bone health can be beneficial as well. This supplement typically offers a number of extra benefits alongside bone health support.
Ridding your liver of pesticides, heavy metals, and other toxins can transform the health of your liver and skin. One great way to remove these toxins is by consuming the top five foods for detoxifying heavy metals from the body daily— wild blueberries, cilantro, spirulina, barley grass juice extract powder, and Atlantic dulse. Consistently including all of these components in your daily diet can be a powerful way to reclaim your health and support your skin. To learn more about the heavy metal detox check out my blog post on heavy metal detox.
You’ve probably heard about the importance of hydration when it comes to the health of your skin, and I want to highlight this fact. Hydration is essential. People who are chronically dehydrated can actually have skin that is deficient of water. Bringing lemon water and other healing liquids into your day like fresh fruit and vegetable juices can be a wonderful step towards better hydration and better skin.
Hair
Everyone wants strong, healthy hair, but more often than not people suffer from hair issues that leave them feeling confused and frustrated. Just like the health of your skin, the health of your hair is largely due to issues deep below the surface. In this section, you will discover some of the factors that play a role in creating your hair problems and steps you can take to transform the health of your locks.
Adrenaline & Emotional Stress
Adrenaline from emotional events and life stressors can have a major impact on the health of your hair. When you experience a painful situation or serious hardship, adrenaline floods your system and not only impacts the health of your liver and skin, but can negatively affect your hair as well. If you experience the loss of a loved one, go through a divorce or breakup, or suffer a terrible betrayal, your hair may develop a straw-like texture and fall out. These symptoms can occur after the hardship takes place and may continue for a period of time unless you provide your body with the nourishment and support it needs. A protein-packed hair care product is not going to give your hair the restoration you hope for. One of the best actions you can take to restore your hair is to support your adrenals. Your hair will be at its best when your adrenals are healthy. Learn more about adrenal fatigue in my first book, Medical Medium, and learn some of the best ways to start nourishing your adrenals here.
Alopecia
Medical experts incorrectly believe alopecia is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks the hair follicles that generate hair growth. This misinformation puts the blame on the patient when the truth is, medical research and medical science don’t actually know what triggers alopecia. Eventually the truth that I’ve brought to light will be discovered— that alopecia is an adrenal issue.
Medical research and science is unaware that adrenaline is made up of a complicated group of hormones that have not yet been identified. If someone has alopecia, his or her adrenals are lacking one of the undocumented hormones that make up part of the 56 different blends of adrenaline that I detail in my book Medical Medium. Ashwagandha can be a beneficial supplement for helping to restore a trace of the missing hormone. I’ve worked with people who had alopecia, and once they addressed the issues connected to their adrenal health, their hair was able to grow back.
Liver Health
Like your adrenals, the health of your liver impacts the health of your hair. If you have a toxic, overburdened liver, you are more likely to experience hair problems. In these instances, hair loss or issues such as dermatitis, eczema, or psoriasis on the scalp may arise.
Supportive Supplements & Teas
A skin, hair, and nails formula may have a minuscule amount of beneficial ingredients such as horsetail or nettle leaf, but it is also usually packed with fillers and other components that do not contribute to the health of your skin, hair, or nails. Whether you have alopecia or just want to better support your hair, try incorporating ashwagandha in your supplement protocol. This powerful herb can support your adrenals and transform the health of your hair. Nettle leaf tea or tincture and lemon balm tea or tincture are two other supplements that can help restore the hair. Milk thistle may be another supplement you want to include if you are looking to support your liver and revitalize your hair. A high-quality zinc sulfate is beneficial for a host of health issues, including hair, skin, and nail health. Your hair can also benefit from the addition of spirulina and barley grass juice extract powder in your diet. Check out high-quality supplement recommendations on the Medical Medium preferred supplements page.
Nails
The state of your nails can tell you a lot more about your overall health than you may realize. Although having divots or ridges in your nails may be annoying, they can actually be extremely helpful signs of internal issues that need to be addressed.
Zinc Deficiencies, Adrenaline, & Liver Issues
Do your nails have white spots, divots, ridges, pockets, bubbles, or vanishing half moons? A long-standing zinc deficiency is typically part of the reason for nail issues. The second part of the problem is usually liver-related. Often when you experience an emotionally-charged situation, whether it be falling in love for the first time or enduring the aftermath of a breakup for example, adrenaline surges through your system and can break down the body if proper adrenal support is not in place. The frequent occurrence of adrenaline rushes can harm the liver and lead to thin, brittle, unhealthy nails. Fortunately, there are a number of supportive supplements and foods you can incorporate to help restore the underlying issues that result in poor nail health.
Supportive Supplements
When it comes to restoring your nails, we often become focused on having a protein deficiency. Instead, shift your focus to providing your body with the key vitamins and minerals that can help truly revitalize your nails.
Zinc is a critical supplement to incorporate if you are working to restore your nails. Pumpkin seeds, which are often said to be high in zinc, contain some of this mineral and can be a great addition to your diet. However, when you are severely zinc deficient, a zinc supplement is essential. Selenium is another great supplement choice for supporting nail health. Ionic manganese free of citric acid can be beneficial as well. Other supplements to consider incorporating include molybdenum and silica. If you work with a practitioner to bring in these supplements and support your liver and adrenals through a fruit, leafy green and veggie-filled diet, you will begin to notice positive changes in your nails and overall health in time.
The Truth About Protein
Many medical professionals presently believe that increased protein consumption is the answer for better skin, hair, and nails, but this is not entirely true. High quality protein, which can easily be procured from spirulina, barley grass juice extract powder, and foods such as kale, spinach, lentils, black beans, and walnuts is valuable, but overloading the liver with large quantities of protein can actually tire out this organ and undermine the health of your skin, hair, and nails. Thousands of different compounds and chemical functions play a role in the health of your skin, hair, and nails, and it is detrimental to exclusively champion protein as the most important element for skin, hair and nail health. Be mindful of the amount of protein you incorporate in your diet and realize that too much protein can have negative effects on your liver and as a result, your skin, hair and nails. Try to move your focus from protein to the particular foods and supplements that can offer genuine support. You can also learn more on my Truth About Protein radio show.
The Truth About Fish Oil Supplements
Omega-3 fish oil has been widely promoted as a support for hair, skin, and nail health, but this information is misguided. The highly concentrated mercury found in krill and fish oil supplements only serves to harm the body. Even products that claims to be mercury-free still contain this toxic heavy metal. Regardless of the diet you choose to follow, switch out your fish oil supplement for a plant-based omega-3. This doesn’t mean you can’t eat certain fish you enjoy, like salmon, because a serving of fish has less mercury than concentrated fish oil. For more information on fish oil supplements check out the “What Not to Eat” chapter in Medical Medium.
Supportive Foods for the Skin, Hair, & Nails
The food choices you make can have an incredible impact on the health of your skin, hair, and nails. If you don’t want to include supplements in your healing protocol at this time, know that bringing the right foods into your diet will still help enormously. Because the liver and the adrenal glands play major roles in skin, hair, and nail health, choosing foods that support these parts of the body is critical. Try to incorporate lettuces such as red leaf and butter leaf which can provide your body with powerful omega-3s. You can also find wonderful omega-3s in hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and walnuts. Certain juices like celery and cucumber can offer invaluable liver support. Figs are wonderful for hair health, as well as skin health, nail health, and any issues a woman may have with her reproductive system. If you aren’t able to find fresh figs, try to bring a few organic dried figs into your diet. Wild blueberries offer the most powerful support for your liver of any food in existence. The being said, all different kinds of berries, including cherries, are good for your liver and can support hair, skin, and nail health. Figs, avocados, and bananas are three foods that are rich in potassium, an essential element for the skin. Bananas are fantastic at helping flush out the liver, cleanse the intestinal tract, and support hair, skin, and nail health. Papayas and mangoes are particularly helpful for supporting the skin. If you choose to sprout lentils, the lentil divides into a carbohydrate and is stored as glycogen in the body that offers incredible support for your skin, hair, and nails. Do you eat a protein-heavy diet? Try making space for some of the foods that will help you heal by substituting some of your protein-dense choices for more of these different fresh fruits and veggies that can offer your skin, hair, and nails some amazing benefits.
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