The Power of Protein in Your Acne-Fighting Diet with Dr. Stacey Shillington ND

Struggling with acne can feel like a solo battle, but it's one I know all too well. My journey from clear to blemished skin and back again wasn't just about finding the right creams or potions; it was a holistic voyage that led me to a profound understanding of how diet and emotional health intertwine with our complexion. This week on Naturopathic Beauty's clear skin sessions, I'm inviting you to join me, Dr. Stacey Shillington ND, as we delve into the potent role protein plays in our diet and its integral part in the battle against acne. As we approach the climax of our eight-week clear skin challenge, it's time to reflect on the progress made and gear up for the final push towards understanding and adjusting the dietary and lifestyle habits that contribute to a radiant, acne-free face.

Ever considered the stark differences in protein sources and their impact on your health? Prepare to have your eyes opened to the intricacies of plant versus animal proteins and how to optimize your intake, especially if you're embracing a vegan lifestyle. We'll talk about the natural inhibitors in plant foods that can hinder nutrient absorption and discuss the most effective ways to prepare these proteins to maximize their benefits. No detail is spared as we cover the importance of a balanced diet for clear skin, complete with practical tips for meal tracking and proportioning. And for those eager to leap into action, you'll find an open door to my clear skin masterclass and the chance to book a call with my team to kickstart your tailored clear skin journey. So, let's empower ourselves with knowledge, foster self-love, and pave the way to not only clear skin but a more vibrant, confident version of ourselves.

Interested in my new Clear Skin Group Program? Click here to learn more!

Click here to watch my FREE Clear Skin Masterclass and learn more about the 4 pillars of clear skin and my top tips to heal acne for good.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to naturopathic beauty's clear skin sessions, where we heal your acne from the inside out. Welcome, beauties, to the latest episode of naturopathic beauty's clear skin sessions. I'm Dr Stacy Shillington. I'm a naturopathic doctor and I've been helping women heal their acne for over 18 years, so I've pretty much seen it all. I've done a ton of research, I've seen a lot of things that you don't want to do, a lot of things that you do want to do, and this podcast is devoted to helping you on your clear skin journey, to helping you implement some strategies that are going to help you clear your skin, and I understand what you're going through right now.

Speaker 1: 0:41

I went through acne myself and it was incredibly traumatic. It changed my personality. I went from being outgoing and pretty self-confident to being an introvert, not wanting to see anybody and feeling really you know, really not confident at all. So I saw that complete shift in my personality. Acne is powerful. It is traumatic. It's mentally traumatic, emotionally traumatic and physically traumatic. And the thing is, we know how to solve acne. The research is out there. We understand the root causes. We understand that it is actually a complex medical condition and many different organ systems are involved and healing acne it doesn't happen overnight, because we have to balance the body so beautifully, but, you know, it can happen, and that is what I want to teach you about, and that is the journey that I want to take you on. And it's a beautiful journey because not only is it about healing your physical body, but it's also about cultivating self-love. Often, when many of us are thrown into this acne journey, we don't love ourselves at all. We look in the mirror, we don't like what we see and, consequently, we reject ourselves and we don't feel a lot of love for ourselves. And learning how to love ourselves again is such a critical part of the clear skin journey, because learning how to love ourselves is actually how we learn to love our lives, it's actually how we learn to love other people and it's actually, you know, what I believe is our purpose here on earth. So I am so honored to help you on your clear skin journey.

Speaker 1: 2:27

Now this is week seven of our eight week clear skin challenge. So I'm introducing this podcast with an eight week clear skin challenge. It's been very specifically designed to go step by step through each step, and the purpose of this challenge is to eliminate inflammation in your body. That is what I want to do. When we eliminate inflammation in the body, what happens is we're able to clearly see what needs to be healed. Often, when there's so much inflammation in the body, there's many different things happening at once and we can't clearly see exactly what needs to be healed. So when we eliminate inflammation, number one, your acne is going to reduce significantly. For some people it might even disappear completely, and if that is the case for you, then I am incredibly happy for you. But if it doesn't completely disappear, then we know we need to dig deeper and we need to understand what's going on to really trigger your acne and heal it for good, so you can stop dealing with acne and you can stop letting acne control your life, because sadly, that's what happens.

Speaker 1: 3:39

Acne ends up determining when we go out, when we stay in, how we feel about ourselves, how we approach dating, how we approach our career, how we approach our relationships with other people. And we want to move beyond that, because life is so much more than that. So let's talk about the challenge and what we've been doing so far. So, first of all, if you haven't listened to the previous episodes, if you're just jumping in right now, go back and listen to my other podcast episodes because you want to do the steps of the clear skin challenge in sequence. So so far, we've eliminated dairy, we've found you your perfect breakfast that you love. We've talked about breathing to help reduce stress, we've talked about drainage, we've talked about quitting sugar, we've talked about eliminating constipation and we are ready to move on to the next step, and I am really excited about this step because it's including protein at every meal, and protein is essential for clear, healthy skin.

Speaker 1: 4:43

I've seen many, many patients over my career of 18 years and most of them are not eating enough protein and this is a huge miss. This is a huge blank spot in in our healthcare journey, because protein is the most important nutrient that we can consume. That is why it is so important for clear skin. So I'm just going to share a little bit about what protein does and you will see why it is the most important food that we consume. So, of course, protein is going to repair our body tissues, including the skin.

Speaker 1: 5:21

Protein also makes enzymes in our body and enzymes are responsible for every single cellular process that takes place. So if we don't have enough protein in our diet, we are not optimizing the function of our body. Protein also makes hormones. Protein is an important building block for bone, blood cartilage, muscles and skin. So if we don't have enough protein in our diet, we cannot have strong, healthy tissues.

Speaker 1: 5:51

Protein also balances blood sugar and insulin levels. I'm going to talk a little bit more about that in a minute, because it's so directly related to acne. Protein also stabilizes mood. It assists in energy metabolism and cellular function, and it's also the cornerstone of the immune system. So there's no other macronutrient that performs as many actions as protein. So when you think of protein as something that you can take or leave with a meal, I want you to start thinking about it differently, because protein is essential, especially as we get older, but especially as we're growing too. I don't think there's any stage in our life where we should not have enough protein in our diet. So when we talk about protein and acne directly, of course we're going to talk about insulin levels, because when our insulin is dysregulated, we are more prone to acne, and there is a lot of research that confirms this that eating adequate protein at each meal helps prevent insulin spikes throughout the day, and acne is related to insulin spikes. This is a crucial part of the clear skin journey is learning how to regulate your insulin levels. So how does insulin dysregulation happen so often?

Speaker 1: 7:14

When we eat a diet that's high in carbohydrates, the amount of blood glucose in our blood vessels is going to be elevated, and when this happens, the pancreas secretes insulin into the bloodstream, because insulin is key to allowing glucose to enter the cells of our body. Insulin opens up a channel in the cell. Glucose is able to enter the cell. This is very important. However, when there's a lot of glucose, what? There's going to be a lot of insulin secreted. And when there's too much insulin secreted, over time the receptors on the cell become sensitized and insulin no longer works as well. And so what happens? The pancreas is going to produce even more insulin, there's going to be more sensitization happening in the receptors and there's also going to be more blood glucose in the bloodstream. So we have a situation of high insulin and high glucose in the bloodstream and not enough glucose in the cells, not enough energy.

Speaker 1: 8:20

When we have too much insulin in the blood, high amounts of IGF-1 are going to be produced, and this is going to lead to high androgens and high androgens those are the hormones that increase oil production and that lead to hypercarotinization in the pore of the skin. This leads directly to acne. So, as you can see, insulin dysregulation and acne are very closely related, and it is essential to eat enough protein because protein is one of the magical things in your diet that is going to help you regulate your insulin and blood sugar levels and help you decrease inflammatory acne. So the other reason why it's so important to consume enough protein is because protein repairs the skin. These are the ways that protein helps the skin be healthy. So protein is involved in RNA and DNA synthesis, it's involved in collagen and elastin formation, it's involved in immune function, it's involved in epidermal growth and it's also involved in caritonization.

Speaker 1: 9:28

If there's any deficiency in protein, the skin is not going to be able to repair itself and it's not going to be able to look as beautiful as you want it to look. So the skin and protein go hand in hand. Without enough protein, the skin cannot heal, and I often see this people that have acne that does not heal properly, blemishes that stick around for a long period of time, or even when there's a lot of scarring going on. Often I find there's not enough protein in the diet. So let's be sure that you're eating enough protein. And of course, this is the question how much protein should you eat? And there is a formula. So, if you're going to eyeball it, 25% of each meal should be protein.

Speaker 1: 10:18

If you really want to do it right, let's take a look at this formula. So, first of all, you want to find your weight in kilograms. So if you know your weight in pounds, simply divide it by 2.2. So, for instance, if you're 125 pounds, divide that by 2.2, and you will get your weight in kilograms. And then you want to take your weight in kilograms, multiply it by 1.5. That's how much protein you should eat in a day. So if you're 56.8 kilograms, multiply that by 1.5. And the answer is 85 grams. You need to eat 85 grams of protein a day. Divide that by three, that's about 28 grams of protein per meal. So on average, you want to eat between 20 and 30 grams of protein at each meal.

Speaker 1: 11:05

Now, when you're starting out, that can seem like a lot. You may want to increase your protein intake gradually. For me it is a lot. I'm really happy with 20 grams of protein per day. I find that feels really good for me, but I need that at every meal. And if I don't get that protein at every meal. I feel it in my body, I experience it in my sleep, in my energy, in the way my skin looks, in the you know, in just my mood. You know, if I go a month without eating enough protein, I'll even see it in my hormonal cycle. So protein is so important. It has to be a consistent habit that you institute 20 to 30 grams of protein for each with each meal.

Speaker 1: 11:46

So, and then another question many people pose to me is can you eat too much protein? Yes, absolutely. You can eat too much protein. You can stress your kidneys. I do not advise that you eat more than 30 grams of protein with each meal, and I also don't advise that you eat too much protein without adequate fruit and vegetables, specifically vegetables. And that is because protein creates acidity, and we need to consume adequate vegetables, too to really oppose this acidity and keep your body at a proper pH.

Speaker 1: 12:23

So there is something called potential renal acid load and you can download an app. It's a chronometer app and you can follow your PRAAL score to ensure that you're eating enough alkaline foods so that the protein does not create too much acidity in your body. So this is important. You need to get adequate protein, but you need to balance your protein with enough vegetables to ensure that your acidity levels are not too high. So many of my patients they don't want to download apps. They don't want to follow that. That's okay.

Speaker 1: 13:00

You can look at your plate as a pie chart. 25% of your plate is protein. A full half of your plate is vegetables. If you go by this rule, you will likely be consuming enough vegetable to offset the protein acidity. But if you want to be very specific about it, there are some great apps out there that can help guide you. You can follow the chronometer app and you can chart your PRAAL score. This is a great way to do it. And you can also download an app called my Fitness Pal and this can help you determine how much protein you should be eating throughout the day.

Speaker 1: 13:36

You might be saying, well, what does 20 to 30 grams of protein even look like? And this is where the app is going to help you. It is going to tell you well, you know chicken breast, you know that weighs this much is going to give you this much protein. Two eggs is going to give you this much protein. So you will be able to understand even just charting for a week or two exactly what 20 to 30 grams of protein looks like and how to implement it in your diet so that you feel wonderful.

Speaker 1: 14:03

Okay, now I'm going to share some of my very best protein tips with you, and number one is quality over quantity. So if you are going to invest your money anywhere when it comes to your health, I would invest it in high quality protein each and every time, because protein you know, the protein that you eat determines what your body is made of. Protein is the building block of your body. The best quality protein sources are grass fed and finished beef, lamb, bison pasture, raised eggs and clean wild seafood. You can never go wrong by ensuring that you're eating high quality protein. You know I really want to drive this home. You don't want to eat substandard protein. As much as possible, as much as you can afford, this is the place to invest your money. I believe it's more important to put your money here than even putting your money in supplements, you know, or putting your money into even organic vegetables. Sometimes I would put it into high quality protein, although if you can afford to do both organic vegetables and high quality protein, I would definitely do that. But investing in high quality protein is a very worthwhile and important thing.

Speaker 1: 15:20

And I get this question so much animal protein or plant protein and animal protein is far more bioavailable than plant protein. It just is so plants you know, when you think of a plant growing in the wild, it has very little defense. You know somebody can just kick it over or eat it. You know it can't do anything, but it has developed a defensive system. It does have certain compounds within it that makes animals sick, that can make us sick, certain poisons. That's how a plant protects itself. And there are certain components of plants called saponins, phytates, tannins, polyphenolic compounds, proteins inhibitors, and these compounds actually prevent protein from being absorbed into your body. It can actually steal nutrients and make you weak. So if you are a vegan, if you're adopting a vegan diet, you can't just assume that you are readily absorbing the protein from plant protein, for instance, nuts and seeds, since nuts and seeds are coated with phytic acid and if you don't soak your nuts and seeds prior to consuming them, you are not going to be able to absorb the protein from these foods. And most vegans that I know they actually don't know that. They don't know they need to soak. So if you are a vegan, if you're devoted to a vegan lifestyle, you still need 20 to 30 grams of protein and you need to work with somebody that understands how to properly prepare vegan protein so that you can get the nutrients that you require.

Speaker 1: 17:00

So for me, I was a vegan for four years. I wanted to be a vegan so badly. I've been a yogi since 1995. I love the lifestyle. I love animals. I really put my best effort into being a vegan. It did not work for me. By the end of four years I was incredibly sick. My skin was flaring, I couldn't sleep by head, head aches, I had no energy, my hormones were a mess and starting to increase my animal protein was one of the key things that helped me recover. I personally need animal protein. I've read a lot and I follow the blood type diet in many instances with my patients and I find that blood type actually can determine what protein is best for you, and I find generally that people that have blood type O tend to do better With an animal based diet versus a vegan diet. So you know it's very interesting to talk about what types of proteins are best for us, what types of proteins are more bio available, and it's a really important discussion to have, because not many people know that vegan protein is not necessarily bio available. We have to be very careful about that and you know, in my practice over 18 years, I find people that do consume animal protein in general tend to be a lot healthier, unless they really understand how to do veganism properly.

Speaker 1: 18:31

Okay, you also need to balance muscle meat with collagen, so this is really interesting. So methionine is an amino acid that's found in muscle meat, and glycine is an amino acid found in collagen and organ meat. So when you have too much methionine and not enough glycine, this can accelerate aging, which is why it's important to balance your muscle meat intake with collagen, bone broth and organ meats. This is just a little tip I want to share for you with you, but it is important. So you can't just have chicken breasts all the time or you can't have you know, you know steak all the time. You also want to make sure you're having collagen bone broth, and I am a huge fan of beef liver. I can't even tell you the shifts that I see in patients when they start to implement beef liver. It's like it, it's the super food out there, okay, so I hope that this has really helped you put together your meals and, you know, amplify your health.

Speaker 1: 19:35

Protein is so important on the clear skin journey. It is essential for clearing your acne. It's going to be really hard to eat a protein deficient diet and have clear skin, regardless of whether you eat animal protein or plant protein. So stay tuned next week for week eight of the clear skin challenge. This week, I want you to download my fitness pal, which is an app. I want you to start tracking your protein intake to see if you can make it up to 20 grams of protein with each meal. You can also download the chronometer app check. Follow your prowl score to make sure you're eating enough vegetables to offset any acidity created by the protein. If this is too complicated, just use your plate as a pie chart 25% protein, half vegetables, and you will be good to go.

Speaker 1: 20:27

Okay, if you want to know more about my four pillars of clear skin and how I treat acne, check out my free clear skin masterclass. Link is in the show notes. I go into detail about testing, about the protocol that I've put together for my patients and if you just want to work with me and want to get started right away? Book a call. The link is in the show notes. You can talk to my team and they will tell you more about my clear skin strategy. I'm sending you all so much love on your clear skin journey. I know it is difficult, but keep going. Do this eight week clear skin challenge If you don't get the results you want with this. There's more answers out there and I'm gonna share them with you in this podcast. So I'm sending you my love and have a great week. Tell me what's the challenge.