The Dr. Hyman Show - Your Skin’s Worst Enemy Isn't the Sun - It's Your Metabolism!

Starting point is 00:00:00 Can you naturally slow your skin aging and reduce skin sagging by improving your metabolic health? Well, the best anti-aging treatment for your skin isn't sitting on your bathroom counter. It's happening inside your cells. Most people think younger-looking skin comes from finding the perfect moisturizer, the best collagen powder, or the newest anti-aging treatment. Those things can certainly help, but they don't address the biology that's actually driving your skin aging. And here's the truth. Your skin doesn't age from the outside end.

Starting point is 00:00:27 ages from the inside out. Every wrinkle, every loss of elasticity, every bit of sagging, reflects changes happening deep inside your cells long before you ever notice them in the mirror. Today I'm going to show you five biggest things that accelerate skin aging and, more importantly, what you can actually do about them. We're going to talk about why some people develop loose skin after losing weight by blood sugar may be aging your skin faster than the sun. What's one of your body's most powerful cellular repair system and what a has to do with healthy aging. And we're talking about the simple daily habits that

Starting point is 00:01:01 help your skin stay stronger, healthier, and more resilient over time. Because healthy skin isn't something you apply. It's something your body builds, one healthy cell at a time. Here's the first thing most people don't realize. Your skin age isn't just reflecting your age. It's reflecting your health,

Starting point is 00:01:19 because your skin is much more than a surface. It's your body's largest organ, and like every other organ. This health depends on the health of your cells, which means if you want to have healthier looking skin, you have to start by building a healthier body. This episode was brought to by function. Get access to over 160 lactose annually at functionhealth.com slash mark. Most people don't think of skin as an organ, but it is. In fact, it's your body's the largest

Starting point is 00:01:43 organ. Its job simply isn't to make you look younger. It's protecting you every second of every day. It regulates temperature, supports immunity, cute bacteria out, produces vitamin D. And it's constantly repairing itself, which means the health your cells are, the healthy that your cells are, the healthy your skin becomes. And that brings us to the first thing that ages your skin. Chronic inflammation. The inflammation is wonderful when it's short lift. It's how your body heals. If you cut your finger, inflammation helps out the bleeding. It fights infection, helps rebuild healthy tissue. If you lift weights, a small amount of inflammation signals your muscles to repair and become stronger, that's exactly what it's supposed to do. The problem is in inflammation. The problem is when your

Starting point is 00:02:20 body never gets the message to turn it off. And that's what we call chronic low-grade inflammation. Now, unlike other inflammation, you notice after an injury, this kind of often is silent. You don't necessarily feel it, but over time, it begins damaging healthy tissues throughout the body, including your skin. Remember, your skin is constantly trying to repair itself. It's replacing millions of skin cells every day. Producing new collagen, repairing damage from sunlight, meaning a strong, healthier barrier. But chronic inflammation makes all of those jobs harder. It increases the breakdown of collagen.

Starting point is 00:02:53 It interferes with your skin's natural. repair process. It contributes to what we call oxidative stress, which damages healthy cells and accelerates visible signs of aging like wrinkles. Over time, that means, of course, more wrinkles. It means less elasticity. It means slower healing and skin that simply doesn't look as vibrant as it once did. So where does all that inflammation come from? Well, for many people, it's not one thing. It's not one dramatic debt. It's accumulation of everyday habits. It's a diet high and ultra-processed foods. It's poor sleep. It's chronic stress, it's too little movement, it's smoking, it's excess alcohol, even unmanaged blood sugar, each one adds a little more fuel to the fire and eventually your skin starts

Starting point is 00:03:34 reflecting on what's happening beneath the surface, which is why healthy skin isn't just about what you put on your body. It's also about what you put in your body. How will you sleep, how much you move, how will you manage stress? Every one of those choices influences inflammation. and inflammation influences how your skin ages. But inflammation isn't acting alone. It's another process that's going on that may be aging your skin every time you eat and has everything to do with your blood sugar,

Starting point is 00:04:03 blood sugar and glycation. This is one of the biggest drivers of skin age that almost nobody talks about. And most people think high blood sugar is only a problem if you have diabetes. But long before someone develops diabetes, repleted blood sugar spikes can begin affecting tissues throughout the whole body,

Starting point is 00:04:19 including your skin. And here's what happens. every time you eat, your blood sugar naturally rises. That's normal. The problem comes when your blood sugar is elevated too often or if it stays elevated for too long over time, some of that excess sugar, you can sticking to proteins in your body, especially collagen. Scientists call these compounds ages or advanced glycation in products or A-G-E-S, and they live up to their name because they literally accelerate the aging process. Think of collagen like a brand-new rubber band. When you're, When you're young, it's flexible, it's strong, a stretchy, it helps your skin bounce back.

Starting point is 00:04:55 Now, imagine putting that rubber band into a hot oven. It becomes stiff, brittle, much easier to crack. And that's a good way to think about what glycation does to collagen. It changes the structure of the protein itself. Instead of becoming flexible, it comes rigid. Instead of repairing easily, it becomes more fragile. The result, less elasticity, more fine lines, more wrinkles and skin that doesn't bounce back the way it used to. And this isn't just happening inside your skin.

Starting point is 00:05:23 The same exact process can affect your blood vessels, your eyes, your kidneys, even your brain, which is why I always say healthy skin is often a reflection of a healthy metabolism. Now, the good news is this is something you have a tremendous somatic control over, eating a diet rich in whole foods, building muscle, exercising regularly, sleeping well, and keeping your blood sugar steady well, doesn't just support your heart or reduce your risk of diabetes. It also helps protect one of the proteins your skin depends on most, collagen. But collagen isn't simply something we protect. It's something your body is constantly rebuilding. One of the most fascinating repair systems in all in biology. It's called autophagy,

Starting point is 00:06:02 or autophage, which means eating yourself. And one of the most fascinating discoveries in longevity science is this thing called autophagy. The word literally means self-eating. I know that sounds a little strange, but it actually is one of the smartest repair systems your body has. Think of every cell in your body as a home. Over time, things wear out. You branch your brakes, supplies to stop working, boxes pile up in the garage. If nobody ever cleans the house, well, eventually there's less and less room for the things that actually matter. Your cells face the same problem. Every day, they accumulate damaged proteins, worn out mitochondria, a broken cellular machinery.

Starting point is 00:06:37 If all that debris simply piled up, your cells would become less efficient, less resilient. And over time, they would begin functioning like older cells. And that's where autophagy comes in. Think of it as your body's housekeeping and recycling. department. It identifies damage or dysfunctional parts inside the cells. It breaks them down. It establishes the useful parts, clears away what no longer serves you, and instead of letting the cellular junk accumulate, your body creates a room for healthier, better functioning cells. It's one of the reasons scientists are so interested in autophagy is a hallmark of healthy aging because aging isn't just

Starting point is 00:07:11 about getting older. It's also about gradual accumulation of cellular damage, and autophagy helps your body manage some of that damage. Now, let's be clear about something. Autopogy is not a magic switch, it doesn't suddenly erase wrinkles, it doesn't instantly tighten the skin, it doesn't reverse decades of sun damage. Healthy skin still depends on collagen, healthy hormones, good nutrition, lung your control, and protecting your skin from ultraviolet light. But healthier cells are better equipped to repair themselves. And healthier repair over time can contribute to healthier aging, including healthier skin. Okay, so life isn't getting less stressful. Your calendar isn't suddenly going to clear up that a man's not going away. The real

Starting point is 00:07:50 question is how well is your body recovering from all of it? Because recovery isn't just about getting through the day. It's about how well your body bounces back from stress, how well you sleep, and how much energy you have left in the tank when life keeps asking for more. Most people don't notice their recovery is slipping until they hit a wall. But your body often leaves clues long before that happens with stress markers like cortisol and DHS. That's exactly why we built function. Function gives you access to 160 plus lab tests annually that measure signals in your blood, including nutrients, liver health, inflammation, and hormones. You can also complete your health baseline with an annual MRI that helps you see organs, tissues, and other changes. Check your health at

Starting point is 00:08:30 functionhealth.com slash mark. And if you're one of the first 1,000 people this week, use the code mark 266 for a $50 credit under $365 year membership. So naturally, the next question becomes, how do you support autophagy? The good news is many of the same habits that support longevity appear to support healthy cellular renewal, things like regular exercise, especially resistance training, and interval training, periods of time between meals, and for some people, appropriately supervised fasting, getting enough restorative sleep, managing blood sugar, reducing chronic inflammation, eating a nutrient-dense diet that gives yourselves the building blocks they need to repair themselves. Notice a pattern, these aren't expensive biohacks. They're the same habits that improve almost every

Starting point is 00:09:16 aspect of health, which brings us something incredibly important because even if your cells are doing an amazing job preparing themselves, they still need the raw materials to rebuild. One of the most overlooked AT aging tools has nothing to do with skincare at all. And that's where muscle comes in. This one surprises almost everyone. When people think about healthier skin, they usually think about collagen. Think about moisturizers, cosmetic procedures. But one of the best things you can do for your skin may actually be building muscle. Now, that might sound strange because muscle and skin seem like completely different things, but they're deeply connected. And here's why. For years, we thought that muscle's only job was helping us move. Today, we know that's not true. Muscle is actually one of

Starting point is 00:09:56 the most important longevity organs in the body. It's metabolically active. It's hormonally active. Every time you use it, it says powerful signals throughout your entire body. When you build muscle, you become insulin sensitive, you reduce chronic inflammation, improve your blood sugar, you support healthier hormone balance, and your muscles release compounds called myokines, these tiny chemical messengers that communicate with your brain, your immune system, and your bones, and many other organs right your body. Exercise isn't just changing your muscles. It's changing the conversation happening throughout your entire body. Muscles also helping improve circulation. It's helping deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues including your skin. Perhaps most importantly, muscle

Starting point is 00:10:35 provides a structural support underneath your skin. Think about what happens as we age. Beginning around 30, most of us gradually begin losing muscle if we don't act. work to preserve it. And that loss accelerates with each decade, especially after menopause. As the foundation underneath the skin becomes smaller, the skin has less support, and that's one reason skin can appear thinner, looser, less firm over time, which brings us to one of the biggest questions I hear today. What about loose skin after weight loss? Well, especially now that millions of people are losing significant amounts of weight with GLP1 medications. Here's what I want to people to understand. Lose skin is complicated. It depends on your age, your genetic,

Starting point is 00:11:15 how much weight you've lost, how quickly you lost it, whether you've been pregnant, how much sun damage your skin is accumulated over the years, and how much collagen and elastin your skin still has. So let's be realistic. No cream, no supplement, no fasting protocol, no single exercise, and guarantee you won't have loose skin. But there are absolutely things you can do to improve your odds. First, if possible, lose weight at a sustainable pace. Second, prioritized protein. Your body needs amino acids to build collagen, to repair tissues, to preserve muscle. Third, strain, train, throughout your weight loss journey. This is one of the biggest mistakes I see. People become completely focused on losing fat. They forget about preserving muscle. The goal isn't just to make the number of the scale smaller. The goal is to improve your body composition, to lose fat while maintaining or even building the muscle underneath

Starting point is 00:12:03 because that's what supports a healthier metabolism. Greater strength, greater balance, more independence as you age, and yeah, healthy, your skin. So if you're trying to improve your skin, don't just think about what's happening on the surface, think about the foundation underneath it. Because healthy skin, well, it's built on a healthy body, which brings me to the number one thing

Starting point is 00:12:22 that you age your skin faster than almost anything else, sun exposure. Now, before you think I'm about to tell you to avoid the sun completely, I'm definitely not. Sunlight is essential for life. It helps you regulate your circadian rhythm, support your mood, stimulates vitamin D production, and spending time outdoors has enormous benefits for overall health. The goal isn't avoiding the sun.

Starting point is 00:12:43 it's avoiding chronic over exposure and sunburns because while moderate sun exposure can be healthy, years of chronic, unprotected ultraviolet exposure tell a very different story. Ultraviolet light penetrates the skin and creates oxidative stress. It damages DNA. It breaks down collagen. It degrades elastin. It leads to this uneven pigmentation, fine lines, wrinkles, and over time, skin that loses strength and elasticity. In fact, dermatologists have a name for this, photo aging.

Starting point is 00:13:13 because much of what we think as quote normal aging is actually the cumulative effect of decades of sun damage. The encouraging news is this is one of the most preventable causes skin aging. If I could recommend just one anti-aging product, it wouldn't be an expensive cream. It would be a good, broad spectrum of sunscreen that you'll actually use every day. Think of sunscreen as protecting the collagen and the elastic that your body has worked so hard to build. Now, I know many people are concerned about the ingredients in conventional sunscreens, and I think it's a reasonable question to ask. The good news is there are many excellent options available today that use mineral ingredients like zinc oxide and are formulated to be general on both your body and the environment.

Starting point is 00:13:51 And one resource that I often use is the Environmental Working Group or EWG. Each year we publish a guide to sunscreens that reviews their products based on their ingredients, UV protection, other safety considerations, great place to start if you're looking for a cleaner, environmentally conscious option. And remember, sunscreen is only one part of sun protection, a hat. protective clothing, seeking shade during the strongest midday sun, those habits can go a long way to protect your skin for a lifetime. Because when you protect your skin today, you're protecting the collagen, the elastic cells you're relying on for years to come. Okay, we've covered the biggest factors that determine how your skin ages, but I know that probably brings up a few questions.

Starting point is 00:14:33 Questions like, should I take collagen? Can fasting actually tighten loose skin? Do expensive creams really work? Well, let's finish with a quick, rapid, fire around. Is collagen powder work? It may modestly improve elasticity and hydration. Can fasting tighten loose skin? Not directly. Can expensive creams replace healthy habits? Absolutely not. Think of topical skin care as supporting the foundation, not replacing it. What's the best daily anti-aging skin routine? With weights, eat enough protein, control your blood sugar, protect your skin from sun, sleep, the usual stuff. Here's what I hope you remember. Healthy skin is never just skin deep. It reflects the health of your metabolism, your hormones, your muscles, your

Starting point is 00:15:16 nutrition, your sleep, your daily habits. And yes, a great skincare routine can help, but no cream can replace what happens inside your body. Every workout, every protein-rich meal, every good night's sleep, every time you keep your blood sugar steady, every time you protect your skin from the sun, you're investing in your skin's future. So stop asking, what's the best ADHD cream? and start asking, how do I build healthier cells? Because healthy skin isn't something you buy. It's something you build. And when you build health from the inside out,

Starting point is 00:15:45 your skin often becomes one of the first place the world notices. If you love this podcast, please share it with someone else you think would also enjoy it. You can find me on all social media channels at Dr. Mark Hyman. Please reach out. I'd love to hear your comments and questions. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe to the Dr. Hyman show wherever you get your podcasts. And don't forget to check out my YouTube channel at Dr. Mark Hyman for Vombs. videos of this podcast and more.

Starting point is 00:16:09 Thank you so much again for tuning in. We'll see you next time on the Dr. Hyman Show. This podcast is separate from my clinical practice at the Ultra Wellness Center, my work at Cleveland Clinic, and Function Health, where I am chief medical officer. This podcast represents my opinions and my guest's opinions. Neither myself nor the podcast endorses the views or statements of my guests. This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional care by a doctor or other qualified medical professional.

Starting point is 00:16:34 This podcast is provided with the understanding that it does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. If you're looking for help in your journey, please seek out a qualified medical practitioner. And if you're looking for a functional medicine practitioner, visit my clinic, the Ultra Wellness Center at Ultra Wellness Center.com and request to become a patient. It's important to have someone in your corner who is a trained, licensed health care practitioner and can help you make changes, especially when it comes to your health. This podcast is free as part of my mission to bring practice.

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The Dr. Hyman Show - Your Skin’s Worst Enemy Isn't the Sun - It's Your Metabolism!

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