Wellness & Nutrition: Treating the whole person, not just the skin

Join Dr. Zain, Heather, and Courtney as they explore the intricate relationship between wellness, nutrition, and skin health in this episode of Skin Side Out. They explore the holistic approach to skincare, debunk common myths, and discuss the causes of inflammation and its effects on conditions like acne and psoriasis. They emphasize the importance of whole foods, hydration, sleep, exercise, and social connections, and how these factors contribute to overall wellbeing. They also address crucial topics, including the impact of stress, the benefits of antioxidants, and the role of the microbiome in skin and gut health.

00:00 Introduction to Skin Side Out
00:40 Understanding Holistic Health
01:38 Inflammation and Skin Health
06:11 Nutrition's Role in Skin Health
14:02 The Importance of Sleep
17:41 Hydration and Overall Wellness
18:49 Lifestyle and Longevity
19:44 The Stress Epidemic
20:14 Healthcare Workers' Struggles
21:27 The Convenience Trap
21:49 The Shortcut Culture
22:18 Changing Work Culture
24:52 The Smoking Dilemma
27:14 Exercise and Longevity
30:12 The Importance of Social Connections
32:48 Holistic Health Approach

Creators and Guests

Host

Courtney Carroll, LE

Courtney Carroll, LE is a licensed aesthetician with extensive experience performing non-invasive cosmetic treatments and customized skincare.

Host

Dr. Zain Husain, MD

Dr. Zain Husain, MD FAAD FACMS is a dual board-certified dermatologist and Mohs micrographic surgeon with fellowship training in cosmetic dermatology.

Host

Heather Murray, PA-C

Heather Murray, PA-C is a distinguished board-certified and fellowship-trained dermatology physician assistant specializing in medical and cosmetic dermatology.

What is Skinside Out?

Welcome to Skinside Out, where science meets beauty, the ultimate dermatology podcast! Dive deep into the fascinating world of skin health with expert insights, evidence-based discussions, and myth-busting truths. Each episode explores the medical, cosmetic, and surgical aspects of dermatology, while keeping you informed about trending skincare topics. Whether you’re a skincare enthusiast, medical professional, or just curious about how to achieve your best skin, Skinside Out is your go-to resource for staying informed and inspired.

23 Skinside Out
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[00:00:00]

Dr. Zane: Welcome to Skin Side Out where Science Meets Beauty. I'm your host, Dr. Zane, with Heather and Courtney. So today we're gonna be talking about wellness and nutrition and its intersection with skin health.

So I'm gonna start off with Heather. She's our holistic guru. Oh my gosh. Let's, let's break down that term. Holistic skincare, holistic health.

Heather: Don't get me started. I think so holistic just means treating the patient as a whole, and I think [00:01:00] people are taking that very differently these days. Mm-hmm. And so, um, I feel like there's almost this misinterpretation of what holistic is.

So really we're just trying to treat the patient by being mindful of anything and everything that can. Affect that condition or whatever the patient is struggling with. So in that, in my mind, that's what holistic kind of means or should mean. And I

Courtney: think what's difficult, especially in this day and age, is that people want.

To feel people are fix fixers by nature, but they wanna feel like they're fixing a problem. They, I keep hearing this, oh, I wanna get to the root cause of my acne, the root cause of my psoriasis. But what people don't understand is while there can be things that will get into such as foods and you know, different things that can affect.

The skin, there is just a basic factor of inflammation that is going on. Mm-hmm. And it may not necessarily have anything to do [00:02:00] with what you're eating. Mm-hmm. What you're putting into your body, the vitamins you're taking, it's just a inflammatory, it's just as, as simple as that. It's just an inflammatory response that we're trying to manage.

Dr. Zane: A corny, where does that inflammation come from? Yeah. Where,

Courtney: and again, it's, you get in the hamster wheel of it. Yeah. It's like you're spinning in circles. 'cause they, they wanna find why is that inflammation happening? A lot of times we don't know. We don't know. We know, we don't know.

Dr. Zane: And there's still a lot of research that needs to be done.

Mm-hmm. Um, however, we do know that there's an immune function response, um, where things are overactive. Mm-hmm. Underactive, and that can play a role in different organ systems. Hormones. Mm-hmm. I mean, everyone's like, oh, talking about balancing hormones, but what set them off in the first place? Mm-hmm. Like we do know some causes, but sometimes it does happen.

And why it happens sometimes we don't know.

Courtney: And there are comorbidities. You know, I think about Accutane for example. There was this whole like, um. Myth that people who [00:03:00] were on Accutane would get, um, IBS or irritable bowel syndrome mm-hmm. After Accutane. But I'm always, I'm a huge believer of correlation is not causation.

And especially in things like that, these people were found to just have a higher inflammatory response. And acne by nature is an inflammatory response. So it's not that the Accutane was giving these people IBS, but rather it was a comorbid, or I shouldn't even say comorbidity, but. It was just the higher immune response

Heather: and the Accutane is helping to calm the inflammatory response on the skin, but it's not really doing anything with the gut.

Exactly.

Dr. Zane: And you know, with it's actually inflammatory bowel disease, IBD, not IBS.

Courtney: Oh

Dr. Zane: yeah. So like Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and all that. And that's why, you know, when patients have this inflammation in the gut. They were having concomitant severe nodular cystic acne and gut issues.

Accutane cleared their skin issues, and then what are they focusing on? Yeah, the gut [00:04:00] inflammation, which they think is now worsened by the medication, but it was just. Happening at the same time. And you know, patients may have not been focusing just on those symptoms alone. And now since their acne cleared up, they're really focusing and more in tune with some of that gut health issue.

And it's, and we found that through meta-analyses, multiple studies has disproven that Accutane causes inflammatory bowel disease. Mm-hmm.

Heather: I think there's a lot of, there are a lot of people who, like you mentioned, wanna find the root cause of different things and. You know, it makes sense to why people want to find that, but I think healthcare is kind of like getting ahead of itself by like running like 400 different lab tests.

Mm-hmm. Oh, well, you know, this is off, but is that really, is that abnormality in the lab test? Mm-hmm. Really causing that? It might just. [00:05:00] Be, um, you know, an incidental finding. It might not be associated with what's going on,

Dr. Zane: and then it may kind of lead you into a path that is actually not relevant. Mm-hmm.

And it's, and you're trying to fix that issue causes other issues. So I really do think that you have to take it with a grain of salt. Um, we are looking at your general health and how it can intersect with other, you know. Aspects of your life, your mental health, your skin health. Um, and I do think that it can't be in a vacuum.

You have to kind of look at the whole picture. Mm-hmm. But you may not always know the reason why things are happening. And, you know, research is definitely advancing, but we may never know the answer. And you know, sometimes when patients ask me What is the root cause? I can say, I don't know.

Heather: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Zane: I really don't know.

For whatever reason, your body is responding this way. Your skin is responding in this way. So now that we've got that whole rant over over the term holistic, [00:06:00] um, I do think that there are treatment modalities that we have in our daily lives that can help improve not only our skin health, but our overall wellbeing.

So let's talk about nutrition first, because I do think that's such an important aspect of our lives. And food in my mind can be therapy or poison. So, Heather. Let's go with you.

Heather: Um, this is a big part about why I am a pa I think, I just think that nutrition plays such a big role in our health. If you haven't looked into the China study by um, t Colin Campbell, you really should look into it because it has so much research on diet and lifestyle, um, and our long-term health.

Um, I think there are definitely, like Dr. Zane mentioned, there are a lot of things we can ingest that can be harmful to our bodies, but there are also a lot of great things that can help support, [00:07:00] um, our bodies. And this goes, you know, there are so many medical conditions. I mean, we're just talking dermatology, but acne, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, rosacea.

Um, sometimes skin cancers can be influenced by nutrition, and so I think it can play a huge role. Not to say that like if your diet is completely per perfect, that you're not gonna get those different things, but I think it can help manage your health. In so many different ways.

Dr. Zane: Yeah. So what type of foods are we looking at that can help promote good health, good skin health?

Heather: Um, so the biggest thing is like Whole Foods. Mm-hmm. Um, so you are going to get more, um, benefits from eating a whole food diet. So trying to. Um, I like to say trying to shop on the perimeters of the grocery store versus on the, you know, down the aisles because a lot of those aisles [00:08:00] are gonna be processed foods.

Mm-hmm. Um, I can go into details, but like, as far as the differences, um, between whole foods and processed foods, the biggest thing is, um, ags, so advanced glycation end products. And I think that has a lot to do with. DNA, damage free radicals, oxidative stress. And this is not only going to affect your skin, but your overall health.

Dr. Zane: Yeah, and talking about oxidative damage, um, we really advocate for antioxidants in our diets. So they help to counteract the effects of free radicals, um, on virtually every organ in our body. So these are reactive oxygen species that can cause damage, um, to a variety of organs, including our skin. And antioxidants, um, are found in a lot of natural whole foods that we, we take, um, you know, a lot of citrus, fruits have vitamin C.

Mm-hmm. [00:09:00] That's a very common one. Um, you know, we're looking at, you know, a variety of others. Um. Glutathione, NAD, um, the vitamin Bs, a lot of these have antioxidant properties and they are helpful and kind of reverse some of the damage that is occurring. And some of them, they're like natural end products from cellular processes in our body.

Like free radicals are kind of a normal phenomenon, but they do damage so they can kind of help counteract that.

Heather: I think also, um, especially in the United States. There's a lot of, um, advertisement for supplements. I was just about to get into that. Yep. And I think there's a big difference between getting your antioxidants from a supplement versus getting it from Whole Foods.

Um, when you have it from Whole Foods, you will ingest and absorb those antioxidants. Properly. If [00:10:00] you are getting very high isolated doses of an antioxidant, it can actually be prooxidant, meaning that it's going to increase those free radicals and increase that oxidative stress. Yeah,

Dr. Zane: that's a great point.

Courtney: Yeah. And I was just gonna touch on the supplements. You know, a lot of people, um, you know, I think of collagen supplements, for example, and I get that question from almost every one of my cosmetic consults. Should I be taking collagen? And I tell them, you know, I think it's so important to look at the data and.

If there's not any studies really supporting like that oral ingestion of collagen, um, I think that's where, again, like diet's gonna play a role. Like you shouldn't really feel the need to take a supplement if you're getting those nutrients from your daily diet. Mm-hmm. Um, that should be your goal is to be getting enough.

And then yeah, you might look at things like, okay, um, for example, I know I'm very vitamin D deficient, probably all my sunscreen. Um, but then at that point, yeah, okay, maybe we'll look at adding in something like a vitamin D or calcium. Um, but you really want your food to be your foundation of where you're getting those from.

Yeah.

Dr. Zane: Absolutely. And [00:11:00] you know, there is a lot of crap in our foods. Our modern diet is filled, like there's preservatives, there's other ingredients that we don't even really know the full effects of that can have downstream effects like later on in life. Um, so I'm always weary about what I'm putting into my body, um, what I'm giving to my children.

Um, so, you know, I think that if you can avoid ingredients that. You know, aren't Whole Foods. Um, looking at those chemicals and preservatives, um, I think you're better off. It's probably better for. Your gut. It's better for overall, like those glycation products, avoiding those. Um, and I do think that, um, there is a cumulative effect of these harmful molecules in our body that will eventually lead to issues such as skin cancer, other types of cancer, um, cardiovascular [00:12:00] disease mm-hmm.

And a variety of other ailments that we're seeing a rise in. In recent years and that could be contributing.

Heather: I think it's also so important in relation to the skin because there, um, are a lot of studies showing the importance or the, um, I guess necessity to realize that there is a gut skin barrier almost.

And so the gut and the skin are very much correlated. So what you do put in your body is going to. Express itself on the skin.

Dr. Zane: Yeah. And the unique thing about these two organ systems, we kind of talk about the microbiome, right? Mm-hmm. So the skin has a unique microbiome with the bacteria and other microorganisms that naturally inhabit our skin.

But the gut also has a microbiome. And a lot of people don't realize that we have like these good bacteria, these good microorganisms. But we can also start accumulating bad ones. Mm-hmm. And that can lead to harm. [00:13:00] And I find it so interesting to see the interplay of inflammation with the populations of these microorganisms, what impact they have on our skin.

Um, there are actually skincare lines that actually incorporate mm-hmm. You know, bacteria and things to promote your microbiome a healthy one. We see a lot of studies with patients who have eczema, atopic dermatitis to restore that skin barrier, and it's really focusing on restoring that microbiome, those defenses, all these other molecules that really help with our barrier.

And similarly with our gut. You know, we are taking probiotics, prebiotics, foods that help to facilitate the growth of these normal and healthy bacteria to help and aid in our digestion. However, if we have accumulation of, you know, harmful bacteria, there's products that they produce that can lead to digestive issues, um, it can also lead to other molecules that can be harmful for our bodies.

Courtney: So some other parts [00:14:00] that kind of transcend just the, um, food aspect. But sleep, sleep is a big one and I feel like probably not enough people are getting a good night's rest. I think sleep is so. I'm probably the only person I know. Not to brag, I'm probably the only person I know that I sleep so well and so much, um, but also I don't have kids, so that probably helps.

Yeah, that's true. Um, but I think people really underestimate how sleep can really affect not only your mental wellbeing, um, but especially again, your physical wellbeing as far as even, um, you know. Sprinkling goes as far as, um, like cardiovascular health. I mean there, it's just a whole array of things that I think, um, people don't realize.

Heather: Yeah. Sleep is so restorative, I feel like. Um, but

Dr. Zane: people think of sleep as a passive period in the day, but it's actually not, it's a very dynamic Right. Time period where your body's restoring itself.

Heather: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Zane: Mm-hmm. Brain function, all those neurons, synapses are forming. Yeah. Um, [00:15:00] your skin is also restoring itself.

And other bodies sort of restoring itself. So, um, I always, you know, I always think of sleep as a very restorative but very active process. Mm-hmm. Um, thankfully we don't have to do much work, but our bodies are doing all that, so that's why it's important to get good sleep. Um, having good sleep hygiene so that we get.

Time to restore ourselves, to really restore those cellular processes. And a lot of people just don't get enough sleep. Yeah.

Courtney: Or they don't get restful sleep. Mm-hmm. Like I, my, if my sleep protocol is crazy, crazy, like I don't even have a TV in my room. Mm-hmm. I have to have every light off. I have to have the, like, temperature at like 67 degrees fan on.

Under the covers. I have my podcast on. Yeah. My sleep machine.

Dr. Zane: Wow. It's like a

Courtney: whole workup, but I do get very restful sleep. That's good. And, and it's worth it. I should, I should listen to you.

Dr. Zane: It is totally worth it. Yeah. Like good quality sleep, I feel. You [00:16:00] can't put a price on that. Yeah. Yeah. It, I invest it in a really expensive mattress, and it is worth every penny.

Courtney: Yeah.

Dr. Zane: Because, you know, by the end of the day, I'm tired. Mm-hmm. So, like, I'm, I'm up at five in the morning. Mm-hmm. Workout. Come back home, get ready. Mm-hmm. Get the kids ready, go off to work, see patients all day, come back, deal with the kids. Yeah. Put them to sleep, you know, have an hour or two. And then I'm back to sleep because I'm tired and if I don't get enough sleep, I can't be at my best.

Yeah. Yeah. Um, you know, I'm seeing patients, they rely on me being at my best mm-hmm. So that they can get the proper care that they need. My team needs me. My wife and kids need me. So I think the only way I can really bring my a game is if I have enough sleep.

Heather: My primary care got onto me recently about my sleep, and you know what she told me?

I, I mean, she's a great, um, doctor, but she. Said, I need to kick my dog out of my bed, and I just can't do it. I'll tell you, I sleep way better with my

Courtney: cat's out, but it's [00:17:00] hard. It's hard. Yeah. I, I,

Heather: I, I mean, he is nine years old. I, I can't kick him out and then he doesn't understand. He's slept in the bed for nine years.

I gotta sleep,

Dr. Zane: train him. I know. Just like with babies. Yeah.

Heather: I love cuddling with him though. Oh, I

Dr. Zane: know. But it's, it's definitely, um, I know from my. Friends who have young children.

Heather: Yeah.

Dr. Zane: The ones that co-sleep, which is a big no-no. Yeah. Um, you know, like they. They're like not sleeping. Yep. Their kids aren't sleeping.

I don't understand how they do it. Like Ana and I like after like, you know, like when they're like sleeping through the night they're gone and their own crib in their own room. Yeah. And you know, we can get back with our lives. So it's important. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so what about hydration? I think water is so important.

Water comprises most of our body. Um, and I do think that people often are dehydrated.

Heather: Yeah, very dehydrated.

Courtney: But I feel like all these seem like so redundant. Like people in your mind you're like, oh [00:18:00] duh. But like on the day to day, like, you know, like I've been guilty where there's like a day where I'm like, oh, I drank my two Ali Pops, but I didn't have a single cup of water.

Heather: Leave. Leave work. And you're, you Shug full? Yeah, still full

Dr. Zane: are me popping my Coke Zeros. I'm really trying hard to kind of limit my Coke. Zero intake. Um, it was a hard, hard week. Yeah. And, and

Courtney: to, to piggyback on that, even the caffeine intake too. Mm-hmm. I mean, people again, like, and I get it. I mean, I feel like in this world that.

America has created for itself. Um, you know, we just, it's like this whole focus on like work, work, work. Always busy. Like, and that's where we lack things. Mm-hmm. Like taking care of ourselves with sleep, taking care of ourselves with proper hydration, like things like that. Yeah. And so, you know, it's just, I think goes to show a little bit further on where we lack in wellness.

And

Dr. Zane: you bring up a great point. I feel like if you study those blue zones mm-hmm. In the world where people are living like past a hundred, like, you know, people are living healthier. [00:19:00] Like in Japan, um, Italy.

Heather: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Zane: You know, we are seeing not only do they eat a better diet mm-hmm. Um, low in processed foods rich in antioxidants and plants.

They're active. They're active. Yeah. They're walking. Um, they're not sedentary and. In general, they're, they have less stress in their lives. Mm-hmm. I feel like in America as well as other westernized nations, we are constantly working and especially the US. Yeah. I mean us compared to Europe, I feel like we're always working, we're always stressed.

Um, we're always onto the next thing. Yeah. Always about, you know, making more money. We don't have universal healthcare. There's

Heather: always

Dr. Zane: and can't afford the doctor. Yeah. It's, it's a sad situation for such an affluent nation. Mm-hmm. How the majority of us are just running on this hamster wheel. Yeah. And it doesn't end.

And the amount of. Damage stress can have on our bodies.

Joe Woolworth: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Zane: What happens when you have [00:20:00] stress? Cortisol levels increase. What does cortisol do? A lot of bad things.

Joe Woolworth: Yeah.

Dr. Zane: So it's our, you know, fight or flight mm-hmm. Kind of response where, you know, cortisol is constantly in that, you know, that stressed state and we constantly are living in that.

Um, being in healthcare, it's hard. Mm-hmm. Like not only are we treating, you know, patients. Difficult, um, with all the access issues, um, a system that is essentially broken, but, you know, oftentimes we're taking care of our patients, but oftentimes not really taking care of ourselves. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And sometimes, you know, we're some of the worst at, you know, being able to self-diagnose and kind of really have introspection on how we should be living our lives.

Mm-hmm. Um, so that we can. Best take care of our patients.

Heather: I think that is one of the most important things, especially like you were saying, like in America, we are constantly looking for that next thing to do. We're not [00:21:00] taking the appropriate time to rest and recover and relieve that stress. And like you said, stress can do so many different things on the body.

So I think we need to listen to our ancestors and we weren't built for this. Mm-hmm. We weren't built to. Be this

Courtney: busy. I mean, I wasn't built to spend two hours on the phone with insurance companies trying to get my patients covered. No. Yeah. It makes a huge

Heather: difference.

Courtney: And I think that's why all these like supplements and like these essentially like easy way, I mean like even just the fast food and the convenience items and like, that's why people have gravitated towards those things.

Um, because of that convenience factor. What's the quickest way, what's the easiest way, um, you know, to obtain wellness, but. Again, all of them are essentially shortcuts and you're really, um, not benefiting yourself.

Dr. Zane: I mean, let's talk about the GLP ones. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I mean, you know, people are taking them with great success for weight loss.

Mm-hmm. But it's a shortcut.

Courtney: Yeah. Yeah. Right. I mean,

Dr. Zane: for patients who aren't necessarily. You know, [00:22:00] diagnosed with like diabetes or, um, morbid obesity. Mm-hmm. I mean, people are just kind of taking it as like a, a little shortcut, maybe avoiding exercise or Right. Dietary changes and I think that is a detriment.

Mm-hmm. I do think that has negative consequences, so I really do think that we should really try. Change the culture, um, of, you know, our work environments, our, you know, general lifestyles. Um, something that I've been toying with is in our office, having a yoga hour nap time,

Courtney: wait a minute, nap

Dr. Zane: red light therapy, full bed candle and misuse that comes in one month. Just kidding. Oh. But it would be nice, right? Yes, it would be

Courtney: nice. I think we should have like a puppy playroom and it would be very healing for myself and probably the rest of the staff. Yeah, and we can just go in there when we have a bad day and play with puppies and we could get them adopted.

It's a win-win really. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Dr. Zane: Or an [00:23:00] antioxidant T bar that we can accept. Ooh.

Heather: See, now we're talking. I do think we are headed in the right direction. I think there are a lot of people on board as far as like there's this, you know, surge of corporate America and you know, work, work, work. And I think we are definitely coming to realize that like that is not.

Why we're here. We're here to live. People are getting burnt out. Yeah.

Dr. Zane: They're physically becoming safe. It's not sustainable. It's not sustainable. In order for us to have a viable workforce for the future, we need to have a healthy population. Mm-hmm. Otherwise, like, you know, I, I, I'm really scared about what's gonna happen with the next generations.

People are more sedentary.

Heather: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Zane: People are on social media, they don't even talk to people anymore. So I think there's gonna be a social component to this. And in general, like people are just very isolated and they're like work, work, work. Um, and I don't think it's sustainable.

Courtney: Mm-hmm. Reminds me of the movie Wally, when they're all [00:24:00] like.

Fat, but they are all, I think, happy in that movie. I don't know, I didn't really watch the rest of the movie. It's very dystopian

Heather: and I feel like dystopian it could easily Yeah. Turn into that. Just like with artificial dopamine. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And just the easy way out. I think it's, we. We like to be lazy.

Courtney: Even ai, I mean you think about ai, what was that, the per, I mean, to make easier, I mean, are people gonna go to school

Dr. Zane: anymore? Like

Courtney: No. I know someone themselves who said they don't wanna go to school 'cause they think AI's gonna take over everything. So I think

Dr. Zane: it's, it's crazy. But I think we have to be a model for our patients.

Yeah. And really empower them to make these healthy decisions. And, you know, as a physician, as other healthcare providers, um, you know, I think that our patients can really benefit from seeing us as an example. Yeah. And living those truths.

Courtney: Yeah. And lastly, I did wanna touch on smoking too, 'cause that's such a big one.

Mm-hmm. I have so many patients that drop, that still smoke that, that still smoke. They're dropping [00:25:00] thousands in skincare and in um, procedures. Then there's smoking and it just, it kills my soul. It kills it. Um, and I get it. It's highly addictive. Um, I think there's so many new alternatives now. Um, not that the vapes are really probably any better at all, but, you know, just, I think if you weigh the risk versus the benefit, what's the benefit?

Like a little nicotine buzz for a few seconds. I don't, it's just so bad for your skin so bad. And your health

Dr. Zane: and teeth, yeah. Lungs

Heather: and just not just. Aesthetic skin in general, but medically like hidradenitis suppurativa. Mm-hmm. If you're smoking, you know, I, you're conditioned probably won't get adequately controlled healing after surgery.

It perpetuates inflammation. Yeah, that's what

Dr. Zane: it does. And constricts blood vessels. Not enough oxygen's getting to. To your skin. So there's a lot of issues with smoking, similarly with excessive alcohol intake. Mm-hmm. I mean, studies have really shown, studies have really shown there's really no [00:26:00] benefits.

Yeah. Like, I know like people used to talk about like, oh, the resol and it has some antiox improvement, one or two drinks. But actually it's been shown that actually no alcohol. Yeah,

Courtney: I saw that too.

Dr. Zane: Um, is you, I can't. I know, but you know, you gotta live, you gotta, you know, have your own, um. You know, well, but it, it is something that, you know, you have to be mindful of.

Yeah. Um, and, you know, other, other vices, like other drugs, like, you know, not just alcohol and like nicotine, but you know, all these other illicit drugs. I mean, cannabis is now much more available and accessible now. It's legalized in many states. But there are a lot of downsides to it too. People are also like, you know, driving impaired and, you know, having other health consequences, although there has not been a link with cannabis causing any health issues, um, from studies.

Mm-hmm. Um, so I found that interesting.

Courtney: Yeah. You know, I see many different studies 'cause, but I think sometimes too, there. Again, going back to the correlation and the [00:27:00] causation. You know, sometimes they'll, they'll link certain stuff like, oh, they found these patients are more obese, and then mm-hmm. But it's like, oh, do they just have the munchies?

Or, you know? Yeah.

Heather: Or is it

Courtney: actually like the true cannabis causing obesity, you know? Yeah. It's like some of that too. So,

Dr. Zane: and let's talk about exercise. So that is also an important part of your lifestyle. Because you know, like we had mentioned, we weren't meant to be sedentary.

Courtney: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Zane: You know, originally we were like hunter gatherers.

We were out there active. Mm-hmm. Farmers out there active and now we're suddenly sedentary. Just all the

Courtney: remote jobs now.

Dr. Zane: Yeah. I mean people lemme get outta their outta pajamas.

Heather: Yeah, I know. I think going back to the Blue zones, one thing that they all have in common. Is that they are very, um, there's a very dynamic elevation.

Most of these people are living on the side of a hill. Interesting. So they're walking, walking up and down these hills to get what they need. And I think [00:28:00] it, we. Use our cars way too much here. I think we are not bicycle friendly. I will say that till the day I die. Um, we are not pedestrian friendly. Yeah. I mean there are so many roads.

It's so frustrating. But there's a bike lane and then all of a sudden it just ends like, how are we supposed. To, yeah, be active and like ride our bike to the grocery store. People just don't do that here. Yeah.

Dr. Zane: But I have to say we are pretty lucky here, like in Cary, like the Greenway system. Okay. Yeah.

Kerry is great, is phenomenal. Yes. Like it is awesome. Yeah. And like the tobacco trail and everything. Yes. So we are lucky compared to most parts of the country. But I do agree, like there is very little access to safe exercise and walking and trails and things like that, so I totally agree with you. Um, but exercise, I mean, it encompasses a lot of different things.

Um, you know, resistance training that helps with your muscles and bone health. However, um, you know. You can just be stretching, doing [00:29:00] yoga. Mm-hmm. There's a lot of benefits to that. Mm-hmm. Being mobile and flexible that can help. Running cardiovascular, um, you know, health, all of these things can help in whatever capacity.

The, the big thing is just moving. Mm-hmm.

Courtney: You

Dr. Zane: know, they're finding

Courtney: muscle mass to be very important. Oh, in longevity of life. Oh yeah. I mean, um, and again, you know, going back to the LPs, it's like if you're mm-hmm. You're actually losing some of that muscle along with the fat is the problem. So it's so important to, um, exercise.

Dr. Zane: Have enough, and you have to have enough protein in your diet. You have to do, um, resistance training. Yeah. You have to do strength training, um, to maintain that muscle mass. Otherwise you're gonna get sarcopenia or muscle loss.

Heather: Yeah.

Dr. Zane: Um, so that's important. And I think that. The link between longevity and, you know, weight training and things like that is because weight training puts stress on your muscles and your bones.

Yeah. And we know that if your bones are weak and you fall, there is high morbidity and mortality, like five year mortality spikes up after you break a bone, um, like a hip or you know, a leg or [00:30:00] whatever. So it is something that definitely has been tied with how long you're gonna live.

Heather: Yeah. Definitely

Dr. Zane: refuse, use drink water.

See, this was such an important episode, you guys. It's um, and then just the last component I wanna touch on is the social connection aspect.

Joe Woolworth: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Zane: And a lot of people don't think about this, but it is so crucial. Those blue zones, they have a high. Sense of family, community, connectedness. Mm-hmm. Neighbors, you know, they look after each other.

There is that connection. There's no loneliness. Mm-hmm. Like we experience here a lot in these modern societies like. Isolation is very low in those areas. So I think that's also playing a role. Mm-hmm.

Courtney: It's like that study, and I can't remember the name of it, but I just remember in sociology learning, um, it's like the, they took these monkeys, these baby monkeys, and in one, um, cage, they would give 'em.

Just a doll. Not even like their mom monkey, but like just a doll, and then also water and like they kept going for the doll like they were [00:31:00] neglecting water, which is like a necessity of life. Mm-hmm. To go for love and comfort, which I just think speaks volumes. Yeah. I

Dr. Zane: mean, psychologists have shown, I mean, we are social creatures.

Mm-hmm. We need that social interaction. Otherwise we actually, I mean the show's like Baby is Failure to Thrive. Mm-hmm. Like if they don't have that social interaction like with their mother, um, or some caregiver.

Heather: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Zane: So that's so important.

Heather: I think also America is, has gotten away from that too. Like even to the point of like, um, you know, bye bye bye.

We need to buy everything. And I think like for instance, we needed a till for our garden and instead of like. I was like, let's just go buy one. And my husband was like, no, our neighbor has one. We've got that social connection. He would easily mm-hmm. Love to let us borrow it and

Joe Woolworth: save money, I think.

Heather: Yeah.

And save money. But I think that social connection of just having mm-hmm. A community around you and working [00:32:00] together. Yeah. We don. Everybody doesn't need a till. We can all share one in the community. Yeah. Whatever happened to like asking your neighbor for eggs, you know? Yeah, exactly. We did that growing up.

Yeah. I always, my mom would set me down like, can we get a little butter? Yeah. But nobody does that anymore.

Dr. Zane: Yeah. I feel like the isolation is really having an impact. I think COVID accelerated that. Yeah. Um, so I'm hoping that people take note of that and try to reverse that trend. Mm-hmm. Because it is going to have a significant impact on mental health.

Mm-hmm. And that also subsequently trickles down to the rest of our health. Definitely. So, um, you know, I'm just worried about the future.

Heather: Yeah. We can make a change. Let's cheat. Yes.

Dr. Zane: With our powers combined. Yeah.

All right. So I mean, I think that this was a unique discussion, um, not just on skin health, but you know, lifestyle and wellness and how it can have impacts on [00:33:00] various facets of our life. So we've talked about how nutrition. Um, hydration, exercise, stress, um, and social connection can really have positive and negative effects on our health.

So it is really important to invest time, adopt certain strategies and habits that will enhance the quality of your life. And, you know, as a dermatologist. We're always looking at ways to help improve your skin health, but I'm also looking at it from a physician standpoint. I wanna help with your overall health.

Mm-hmm. We do talk about it, like I had a patient today. Yep. We had a big discussion on mental health with him. Mm-hmm. And it was very emotional for the patient and I feel like he needed to hear it. Mm-hmm. And it was therapeutic in a way. Mm-hmm. Um, and also pointing him towards resources that can help him.

So, um, you know, there is a lot. Of different avenues we can take to treat our patients. And we wear multiple hats and it's [00:34:00] really a privilege to be able to interact with patients, um, in a variety of different ways to help them not only in their skin health, but their overall health. So, um, yeah, I think that this was hopefully a very, um, enlightening issue, um, episode for you guys.

Um, hopefully you enjoyed it as well. Please like follow and subscribe, but until next time, skin side out, out.

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