Category: Diet and Health

Eat Your Way to Healthy Skin this Holiday Season!

christmas-cherries-woman

Thinking about a diet around the holidays is probably a laughing matter for some. But there are ways to incorporate healthy foods while still enjoying the holiday treats. As many of you may know, you are what you eat and for great skin this holds the most truth! Try these useful tips within your eating routine and your skin will thank you for it!

Dr. Fiona Wright’s Tip

There’s nothing better than enjoying the holidays with loved ones, which usually involves lots of food. While it may be about two months of not watching your diet, you may want to strategically include foods that will not only be healthy, but promote great skin.

Eat more Protein. Eating proteins such as nuts, seeds, fish, grass-fed chicken or beef, will help balance your blood sugar levels and help cut out those sugar cravings.

Incorporate Good Fats. Extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocados and omegas found in fish, work the same way as proteins as it makes your stomach feeling full and balances your blood sugar as well as promoting healthy and radiant skin!

Avoid Liquid Sugars. Since high sugar intake is also one of the culprits for breakouts and dull skin, you can start off by avoiding liquid sugar, in other words, sodas and fizzy and fancy drinks. Recent studies have also shown that by drinking a 12 ounce can of sugar-laced soda a day could actually be adding 15 pounds more on the scale a year! You can see why sugars not only trigger problematic acne-prone skin, it also adds on unnecessary weight.

Try Dark Chocolate. To satisfy your sugar cravings while benefiting your skin, try dark chocolate with at least 70% cacao. It’s high in flavonoids and anti-oxidants which help your body and skin draw our toxins and promotes repair.

Enjoy Fresh Fruit. A healthy amount of fruits will also cut those cravings as well as build great skin! All you need is about a cup and a half to two cups daily. The color of the fruit indicates what your skin might need. Red Fruits like pomegranates, cherries, tomatoes, and strawberries are said to have certain types of minerals which help to make your skin glow and reduce blemishes and skin sensitivities. Blue and Purple Fruits like blueberries, concord grapes, plums etc. have the highest concentrations of antioxidants in the plant kingdom. Orange Fruits like tangerines, mangoes, apricots etc. have lots of beta-carotene, vitamin C which promotes and protects collagen.

So this enjoy this holiday season with some great and healthy foods!

If You have Dry Aging Skin – We have your Cure!

Does winter-dry skin make you want to hibernate this time of year? If so – you are not alone! The culprits may be winter wind, dry indoor air, or harsh soaps – but it can also be internal skin dehydration. At this time of year, the oral supplement Hyaluronic Acid (HA, Sodium Hyaluronate) which is naturally found in the body, has many benefits in securing moisture and creating more youthful and supple skin.

Our bodies roughly contain 15 grams of HA and it is found in virtually every part of the body. With such a widespread occurrence, it is logical that HA also has multiple functions. Scientific studies have shown that HA improves skin hydration, stimulates production of collagen in skin, works as an antioxidant and free radical scavenger, maintains skin elasticity, cushions joints and nerve tissues, has an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity and maintains the fluid in the eye tissues, which may help to protect against numerous possible eye concerns.

At Skin MD and Beyond, we carry a nutritional line of supplements from Pure Encapsulation, which offer only the best products and ingredient with no gluten or preservatives.  Read on to learn more on how Hyaluronic Acid Supplements can work for you!

Dr. Fiona Wright’s Tip

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: Drinking water helps your skin stay young looking. In fact, it’s a myth. Water is good for your overall health and “the skin of someone who is severely dehydrated will benefit from fluids.”  But for many people, “drinking A LOT of water” is hard to do during a busy work day!  This is where Hyaluronic Acid (HA) supplements come in to play!

As we age, HA drops significantly and skin moisture is harder to retain, which makes the skin lose elasticity and exposes the signs of aging on the skin. HA plays a critical role in skin health with its unique ability to hold in moisture. Hyaluronic acid is also a “smart nutrient” as it can adjust its moisture absorption rate based on the humidity—relative to the season and the climate.

Although you can gain HA from certain foods like root vegetables, soy, and animal joints and cartilage; HA supplements can also be of benefit. For skin cells, HA is essential for proper cell-to-cell communication, hydration, nutrient delivery, and waste and toxin elimination. It also appears to support the skin by promoting healthy turnover and renewal of keratinocytes (the main cell found in the skin), moderating the appearance of fine lines and age spots.

Interestingly, at any one time, one-third of our HA is being “turned over” (degraded and synthesized) every day. But as we age, the production will slow down. To help with this dilemma, Skin MD and Beyond carries medical-grade Pure Encapsulations low molecular weight HyaMax® sodium hyaluronate, which provides hyaluronic acid to support skin hydration for a healthy and more youthful appearance.

Join Skin MD and Beyond with these Simple New Year’s Resolutions!!!

It has been a great year at Skin MD and Beyond! As my staff and I ponder on how to make 2014 an even better year, our goal is to continue to provide you with the greatest care and most current technology.  We are humbled by the confidence you place in us and welcome you and your family to join us for a great 2014! Happy New Year !!!

My staff and I created a “to-do” list for our 2014 New Year’s Resolutions and we welcome you to join in on the fun!

EAT HEALTHY– Yes, this one is always on every year’s resolutions. After a long day of work, it’s tempting to throw a frozen dinner in the microwave and collapse on the couch. But prepackaged, overly processed foods contain high levels of chemicals, fat, calories and sodium. Remember … Healthy meals, happier life!

SMILE MORE– A smile can really brighten up anyone’s day… and it’s contagious! But… don’t forget to floss too! It’s tedious, time-consuming, awkward and uncomfortable. Excuses, excuses! This year, make flossing part of your daily routine. Studies have shown that flossing regularly, which helps fight periodontal disease and gingivitis, may reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory disease.

DRINK MORE WATER– Let’s face it, we don’t drink enough. If your skin is not getting the sufficient amount of water, the lack of hydration will present itself by turning your skin dry, tight and flaky. Dry skin has less resilience and is more prone to wrinkling. So drink up and enjoy a more youthful you!

GOOD DAY SUNSHINE – In a perfect world, we’d all have time to take an hour-long spinning class before heading into the office but, back here on planet earth, that’s not as easy as it sounds. So take a mere 10 minutes out of your daily routine, and take a brisk walk around the block before heading to work.

ALWAYS WEAR SUNSCREEN-The sun can cause some serious damage, and we see it every day! Basking in the warm glow of the Texas sun can make us feel good, and in the short term, make us look good.  But when your skin absorbs the sun’s rays, those rays actually damage the DNA in your skin’s cells placing your complexion at high risk for early wrinkling, age spots, and skin cancer!

Have a Brighter, Whiter Smile with Liquid Smile!

They say is a smile can brighten up a bad day – But you may not want to smile if you have dull, yellowing teeth. Whiter teeth can rejuvenate your look, taking years off your age. Skin MD and Beyond provides a revolutionary teeth whitening system that provides the same whitening results that you would achieve in a chair-side treatment at a dental office while doing it in the comfort of your own home.

Find out more about this professional strength LIQUID SMILE WHITENING PEN.

Dr. Fiona Wright’s Tip

While there is an array of in-home teeth whitening kits, I am pleased to offer my patients an award winning product, the LIQUID SMILE WHITENING PEN.  You may have seen other methods of whitening teeth one of them being a form of light. Lights can dehydrate teeth which can give exaggerated initial results and then cause teeth sensitivity. Liquid Smile seems to eliminate these problems and patients love that their teeth are not sensitive after use.

For best results it is best to use overnight as when using this product, it is important to avoid intake of food and beverage products that can stain teeth for 4-6 hours after the whitening procedure. Because your teeth are semi-permeable, the color molecules from food and beverages can seep into the enamel.

Sold only by dental and medical professionals, this whitening system proves to be safe and effective which is why I recommend it to my patients. Stop by and get one for a Christmas Gift and even one for yourself!

Eat Yourself to Ageless Skin.

To help deter signs of aging, protect your skin from free-radical damage by filling up on anti-oxidant rich foods and beverages. We have all heard the saying, “eating an apple a day keeps the doctor away”, while “more berries a day ward off the wrinkles”. Ingesting anti-oxidants combat the oxidant stress and damage done to cells by aging, stress, smoking and UV rays. Anti-oxidants work as a shield against free radicals which destroy healthy skin cells. However, they only stop one free-radical. As long as the body has an adequate supply of anti-oxidants, it will immediately fight back against the free radicals. Foods that are packed with anti-oxidants are strawberries, cherries, blueberries, red grapes, broccoli, tomatoes, garlic and green tea.

Dr. Wright’s Tip

Adding foods high in anti-oxidants to your daily diet will help fight against Father Time.  It will help decrease the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. Anti-oxidants do not have to be ingested to work. You can use daily skincare products that are formulated with anti-oxidants to help fight the signs of aging. Try our PREVIA REPLENISH & REBUILDING (Made exclusively for Women.)  This skin restructuring therapy dramatically restores vital elements lost to aging and hormonal changes.  With age-defying peptides and potent anti-oxidants, this therapeutic moisturizer was designed to penetrate deeply into the skin, rebuilding it from beneath and protecting it from further damage.

If you Smoke and have Acne, it is Time to Quit Now.

Smoking has been shown to make acne worse since it diminishes the delivery of oxygen to the skin and robs it of nutrients. The skin is thin, looks sallow, often has broken capillaries and is less able to repair itself because its nutrient supply has been cut off or diminished.

Dr. Wright’s Tip

Smoking causes skin to age prematurely and a smoker’s skin will eventually look shriveled, dull, heavily wrinkled and blotchy. Smokers also develop their own particular brand of wrinkles, like smoker lines that are around the lips. Don’t smoke. If you won’t quit for health reasons, maybe vanity will motivate you. I know trying to stop smoking can be hard but look on the bright side, you will feel better and look better. I know it is easier said than done, however there is help and resources to stop smoking. For additional information on trying to stop smoking go to www.smokefree.gov.

Skin Care Resolutions for the New Year

The holiday season has come and gone, and this means that we are focusing now on our New Year’s Resolutions. For many of us, what will be more disconcerting is waking up one morning in 2011, taking a glance in the mirror, and seeing what looks like “instant aging”, blemished and damaged skin that seemed to appear over night.

As a New Year resolution, think about your skin care as your health! There is many advancements in cosmetic medicine and now the power of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that can also give your skin a more radiant, healthy, and youthful glow. Radiant skin can be created from the inside out, by drinking plenty of water and taking vitamins.

Dr. Wright’s Tip

Start the New Year off right by making the journey toward a healthier you. Within six weeks, you will notice the difference, by taking vitamins and minerals, You will see an improvement in your skin, hair, and nails. Introducing a daily supplement like vitamin B and fish oil (omega-3) will improve skin texture and tone. We can apply topical creams all day, however, to ensure radiant skin and health, start within. A balanced diet is not enough to supply the body with the essential nutrients it needs. Therefore, I say, “An essential vitamin a day will keep the wrinkles away!”