Naturopathic Beauty's Clear Skin Sessions
Clear skin and aging beautifully conversations, trainings and challenges by Dr. Stacey Shillington ND.
Naturopathic Beauty's Clear Skin Sessions
Unraveling the Alcohol-Acne Connection with Dr. Stacey Shillington ND
Alcohol might be the secret culprit behind your persistent acne, and in our latest episode, I, Dr. Stacey Shillington, promise to unravel this connection. As someone who has witnessed firsthand the dramatic impact of giving up alcohol, not just on my relationships and life but also on my skin, I share how removing this element from my life brought about remarkable clarity and balance. Join me as we critically examine how alcohol, once a significant part of my social life, was intertwined with turbulent times and the transformative journey that followed its removal.
We dive into the deeper science linking alcohol consumption to acne and broader health issues. Unpacking the complexities, we discuss how alcohol meddles with insulin regulation, taxes the gut, and hampers detoxification processes, each contributing to acne flare-ups. Moreover, I highlight how alcohol, often used as a stress reliever, can exacerbate anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances, conditions that directly affect skin health. Personal experiences, especially from my 30s, underscore the profound impact of alcohol on these areas, emphasizing the need for informed lifestyle choices.
In our final discussions, we tackle the broader implications of alcohol on aging, emphasizing the benefits of a personalized healing approach that may involve cutting out alcohol altogether. I offer practical strategies for minimizing alcohol's adverse effects and ways to navigate social situations alcohol-free, revealing the potential rewards of a life untethered from alcohol's negative influences. Whether you're looking for tips on different types of acne or seeking a community to support your journey, I invite you to connect with my team for personalized guidance. Join me as we explore the path to clear skin and a more vibrant, healthier life.
Check out my new FREE Training: Clear Skin Mastery, where I share the different types of acne and how to treat each one. Click here to watch it now.
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Hello, beauties, and welcome to Naturopathic Beauty's Clear Skin Sessions. I'm Dr Stacey Shillington. I'm a naturopathic doctor. For the last 20 years I've been helping women heal their acne by healing their body from the inside out. Acne is a symptom. It's not a diagnosis. Acne is a sign that there's something imbalanced within the body, and it is my mission to help you understand what's going on in your body and what you need to heal so that not only can you clear your skin, but you can attain optimal health. You can have more energy, more vitality, you know, and live your life more fully than ever before because you feel and look so fantastic. So this podcast is for you. This podcast is all about sharing my knowledge and wisdom to help you on your clear skin journey, to make clear skin happen quickly and efficiently so you can stop suffering. I suffered from acne for years and I would say it hijacked my life for about five years, and the truth is we know how to heal acne, we know the root causes and there's no reason why you should be suffering anymore. So today I'm going to teach you a little bit about the connection between acne and alcohol, because so many of my patients come to me and they're enjoying alcohol as a big part of their social life, but they don't always understand how alcohol is impacting their bodies and impacting their acne. And once they understand this and they cut acne out of their life for a period of time, they see some really big changes. But I want you to understand what you're doing and why you would cut alcohol out, so that when you do it, it's very meaningful for you and you get the best results properly. So if you're suffering with chronic acne, you are absolutely in the right place. The purpose of this podcast is to help you get clear skin quickly.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I want to tell you a little bit about my history with alcohol. So I come from a culture where drinking alcohol was pretty much a rite of passage. Growing up as a teen, you know, I drank alcohol with my friends. That was probably our main social activity. And even into my twenties I drank a lot of alcohol. Every time you went out with friends, when you went out for dinner. Alcohol was always a part of our activities.
Speaker 1:And you know, I was married prior to my current marriage and my husband was a musician. He drank a lot of alcohol. It was a big part of our lives. He was absolutely an alcoholic. I left him and I remarried my current husband, tim, who's also an alcoholic. He's been sober now for 11 years, but we had 10 years of a lot of many turbulent times because of alcohol.
Speaker 1:So I've dealt with alcohol a lot in my life and when my husband Tim decided to give it up, I stopped drinking at the very same time. I have not had a drink in 11 years and now I look back at that time on when I was drinking and gosh, I just shake my head because things are so different now. Everything's far more real and clear and I just see life with a different clarity than I did when I was drinking a lot. So that's where I'm coming from when I have this discussion about alcohol. So I am a little biased because I do know how alcohol affected me in my past and you know just how emotional it was for me and how much you know, I guess, trauma it caused for me.
Speaker 1:But the real question that I want to answer for you and I'm going to answer this for you as scientifically as possible is does drinking alcohol cause acne? And it may not directly cause acne, but it worsens the root causes of acne, the root causes of acne insulin dysregulation, poor detoxification, poor gut health, unmanaged stress and hormonal dysregulation. So let's talk about each of these root causes, one at a time, and how alcohol affects them, so that you understand what's going on in your body when you actually drink. So alcohol causes insulin dysregulation by disrupting insulin receptor signaling at the hypothalamus, so this is at the level of the brain. Alcohol is affecting how insulin reacts in your body, and alcohol also impairs glucose tolerance by reducing this insulin sensitivity and secretion. And alcohol is high in sugar. So when you're drinking a lot of alcohol, you're introducing a lot of sugars into your system, and when there's elevated insulin in the bloodstream, this leads to something called IGF-1, which leads directly to elevated androgens. It leads almost directly to acne. If you're susceptible to acne. Acne has been called diabetes of the skin for many decades now, because there's such a strong correlation between sugar and acne, and insulin dysregulation is the connecting piece there.
Speaker 1:So let's talk a little bit about alcohol and gut health. And this is where we see alcohol start to do some really severe damage in the body. So alcohol consumption leads to inflammation in the gut and this is leaky gut, this is bacterial overgrowth and this is mucosal changes in the gut and this is leaky gut. This is bacterial overgrowth and this is mucosal changes in the gut lining. When the microbiome is exposed to a lot of alcohol, we end up having a higher bacterial load in the gut. Alcohol also affects the gastric lining and this causes gastritis.
Speaker 1:This can lead to vomiting. It can be acute or chronic. It can lead to stomach ulcers, polyps and tumors, and we know this because if you drink too much alcohol, you may end up vomiting. And then we're having potential irritable bowel syndrome as well from alcohol. So this is cramping, bloating, diarrhea, constipation. This is because there's an overgrowth of yeast and bacteria and whenever we have an overgrowth of those microbes, that's what creates the gas that leads to bloating. And then, of course, alcohol also affects the pancreas. So when there's inflammation in the pancreas, this can lead to pancreatitis. This can lead to pancreatic cancer. We know that the pancreas is deeply affected by alcohol.
Speaker 1:There's a strong connection between the skin and the gut. That connection is the microbiome, and when the gut is in poor shape, the skin is going to be in poor shape, and absolutely one of the first things I do with all my acne patients is we heal the gut. So whenever there's a skin issue whether it's eczema, whether it's psoriasis, whether it's hives, even acne we have to take a look at the gut, and alcohol damages the gut so profoundly that when you remove it, you'll notice a big difference. Okay, let's talk about alcohol and detoxification. So alcohol is broken down immediately when it enters the body because it's so toxic, and it breaks down into an intermediary metabolite called acetyl aldehyde, and then it breaks down into something called acetic acid and this is removed from the body. But that intermediary, which is acetyl aldehyde. This is a very toxic compound. It's a carcinogen, which means it leads to cancer, and it can also damage DNA.
Speaker 1:Now, this is really important because acne patients are notoriously poor detoxifiers. In all my 18 years of treating acne patients, I can count on one hand the number of patients I've healed without supporting their detox processes, because detox always has to be addressed when acne is present and because we're poor detoxifiers, there's a potential. There's a greater potential that acetyl aldehyde is going to build up in our bodies and this creates all types of inflammation and and the other thing that happens is other things that need to be detoxified. They're basically put to the back of the line because alcohol needs to be detoxified preferentially. So we end up getting a toxic overload in our body and, as we know, when a toxic overload happens and our primary organs of detoxification can't handle it, our secondary organs of detoxification start to remove toxins from our body, and skin is one of those secondary organs of detoxification. So we're going to start to excrete toxins through our skin. This is going to aggravate acne. So successful detoxification it also requires adequate b vitamins, adequate zinc, adequate magnesium. I see these deficiencies all the time in my patients. We also need to have proper functioning of phase two detoxification pathways, and this is what is usually compromised in acne patients.
Speaker 1:So, as you can see, detox is a big deal when it comes to alcohol, especially with people that are prone to acne. So let's talk a little bit about alcohol and stress. So, when you drink a small amount of alcohol, it tends to stimulate GABA receptors, and when GABA receptors are stimulated, this is when we tend to feel calm and relaxed. However, when you drink greater amounts of alcohol, this tends to deplete GABA, and this is when you start to experience anxiety. You start to become a little bit more upset, and constant use of alcohol can lead to a rewiring of the brain so that you're more prone to experience anxiety. Alcohol is also a depressant. It disrupts chemicals in the brain, it leads to depression, it leads to anger and alcohol also disrupts sleep, which can lead to difficulties managing stress. And this is one of the biggest ways that alcohol affected me and in my.
Speaker 1:In my teens, my 20s, I did not feel the effect of alcohol at all, but my 30s were a disaster. I was in very poor health. My skin, it, was flared up like crazy. I had constant headaches. I was very constipated, no energy. I did not know what was going on with me because I had always been a very vital, very energetic person, but probably the one thing that stopped me in my tracks the most was my chronic insomnia. I could not sleep, and that was due to alcohol. So I would say from the time I was 28 until the time I was 41, I barely experienced any solid sleep for any length of time. I was exhausted. As soon as I stopped drinking alcohol, my sleep came back to me almost immediately. It shocked me. Even though I was a naturopathic doctor and I should have known this. I didn't realize how profound it was until I stopped drinking alcohol and I started sleeping again. So alcohol disrupts sleep and this leads to difficulties managing stress. It's like when I look at my life. It's like my life when I was drinking alcohol and then my life alcohol free, and it's like night and day. I feel so much better now. I look so much better, I have so much more energy. I'm so much happier.
Speaker 1:So let's talk a little bit about how alcohol affects our hormones. So our hormones definitely tend to become disrupted when alcohol is consumed. Menstrual cycle Women that drink a lot of alcohol. They tend to have worse period cramps, their periods are heavier and they also have a 5 to 15% increase in breast cancer risk and they also are at an increased risk of infertility. And this is all because alcohol can lead to hormonal changes. It does this by preventing efficient detoxification, by increasing inflammation in the body, through poor gut health and also insulin dysregulation.
Speaker 1:So I do find it to be so satisfying when a patient comes to me and they're definitely inflamed, their skin is not in great shape, they don't feel great at all, and we make a few simple changes, and one of the changes that we make is cutting out alcohol all. And we make a few simple changes, and one of the changes that we make is cutting out alcohol, and the results that we see from this one simple change are pretty amazing. You know it might not clear up the acne completely, but it gives us. It reduces inflammation enough that we're able to really make great headway in healing the body from its very root and helping that patient gain optimal health. It's pretty much a game changer. So many people ask me. So how much alcohol is okay? Is it okay if I have a little bit of alcohol, or do I have to cut it out completely? If your body is in the state of inflammation, if your skin is just really broken out, it's really not great.
Speaker 1:I really suggest that you cut alcohol out for the period of time while we're healing your body. This period of time is going to be different for everybody. If you've listened to some of my other podcasts, you know that if you have very simple root causes that are contributing to your acne, it's not going to take long to heal your skin. But if your acne is more complex, it's going to take longer to heal your skin. So, to be safe, six months and I know it sounds like a long time, but you've got to remember we are healing your body from the inside out. This is like the biggest before and after makeover that you could ever do on your body. But once we've healed your body, once everything is calm, the inflammation is down, your skin is clear, your energy is up, you've gotten rid of those headaches, you don't have any more menstrual cramps, your periods are regular, your sleep is great. Once you're at that place, then you can reintroduce the alcohol and you can see how it feels and you can see what your threshold tolerance is, and it's going to be a little bit different for everybody.
Speaker 1:So I can't say you know, one to three drinks a month is the magic number. It may not be. Somebody might be able to consume a little bit more than that and feel fantastic. Other people, like myself, they drink a little bit and they just feel like crap. So for me, nobody could pay me enough money to start drinking again. I just would not do it because I feel like I don't have the time in my life anymore to feel and look like shit. It's just, it's not going to be part of my life and I've just decided that. So people ask me how do you reduce the toxic load of alcohol? So if you are going to drink. Is there something that you can take to mitigate the toxic effects? And yes, there are, and I'm going to share these strategies with you right now.
Speaker 1:So, number one you want to support your liver and detoxification pathways, and this is the number one thing that you can do, because that intermediary alcohol metabolism, that acetyl aldehyde, is so toxic that we need to get that out of the body as soon as possible. That is what makes you feel like crap. That is what gives you a hangover. So supporting the liver and the detox pathways is the way to do it. And acetylcysteine that is a really great supplement. It's a precursor to glutathione. Glutathione is a very important detoxification pathway in the body. Also, milk thistle that's another really great herb to protect the liver. And prickly pear is often used to mitigate the toxic effects of alcohol as well. Also, make sure you're not deficient in key vitamins and minerals, so B vitamins, magnesium and zinc. These are nutrients that are used in metabolizing alcohol. If you're deficient in any of these, you are not going to be able to metabolize alcohol. You're going to feel like crap. It's going to make your acne worse.
Speaker 1:Number three drink electrolytes to rehydrate. So we all know that when you drink alcohol. It's very dehydrating for your body. You lose a lot of water, so you need to make sure to replenish those fluids. Often just drinking water is enough. You need to add electrolytes so that you have the minerals to allow the water to be absorbed into your bodies and your cells.
Speaker 1:There's another compound called DHM. It's an extract from herbs. It supports GABA and calms glutamate. And, as I mentioned earlier in the training, often alcohol, it's going to deplete GABA and so DHM it counteracts that action. It supports GABA, it calms glutamate. It negates that anxiety that can be experienced from alcohol. You can find this in a few popular supplements. And then the other thing that I suggest is to drink alcohol that's low in sugar vodka, gin, tequila, whiskey, rum because your body still has to deal with detoxifying the alcohol that hasn't changed. But if you can remove that additional task of dealing with blood, the high blood, glucose, sugar and insulin dysregulation, and then what about alcohol and supplements? So there's a lot of herbal tinctures, there's a lot of homeopathic drops, and alcohol is often the medium to deliver the medicines. Usually, for these medicines, the alcohol is in a very low amount, so it's usually fine. But if you're especially sensitive to alcohol, you can take these medicines, put them in some hot water, allow the alcohol to evaporate and then drink the water, and you will still get the same medicinal effect from these medicines.
Speaker 1:And let's talk about alcohol in social situations. And when I first stopped drinking, going out with our friends was a really big deal because for many years drinking was our social activity. We'd go out with our friends, we'd drink a lot, we'd laugh, we'd be silly, we'd have a great time, we'd do stupid things. That's what we did. And so to go out with our friends and not drink, it felt really, really weird at first. And you know, we had to change the social activities that we engaged in. And it was weird at first, but after a while it just became very natural and I realized that people don't care about about it as much as you think they care. So at first, when I was drinking my water, I was self-conscious. I'm like, yeah, I know I'm drinking water. What a loser. But then I was like you know what? Nobody's really caring, nobody's really asking. And I find that it's actually more popular and more acceptable now to not drink in social situations, thank goodness, thank goodness, I realized that people actually don't, you know, think about what I'm doing as much as I thought they did. Right, people are more concerned about their own circumstance and what's going on in their own situation. So what do I drink when I go out? I just have sparkling water with lemon and that's what I do, and I don't mess around with anything else anymore.
Speaker 1:For a while I was really into mocktails, trying different combinations and getting experimental, and then I found that I just started to find mocktails just too sweet. I didn't really find anything that I really enjoyed, so I just stuck with water and I also decided that if I'm going to consume something sweet, I'm gonna save it for dessert and I'm gonna have chocolate instead. That's like that's my treat. So you know, mocktails just did not do it for me. But there's a lot of really great recipes out there and if that's something that you're interested in but the sky's the limit for concocting creative, interesting, delicious drinks. And if you just Google mocktails, you know you will find there's so many different exciting, cool options out there.
Speaker 1:So, and I just want to share the number one aging beautifully secret with you before I sign off and I'm pretty sure this is not going to be a surprise for you but when you don't drink alcohol, you age so much better and, believe me, it becomes very apparent from about age 45 onwards who drinks and who does not drink. You see it right on the face, you see it in the quality of the skin. You see it the brightness of the skin, the musculature of the skin is different, the plumpness of the skin is different. It's it's a completely different look if you don't drink, and I quite like that look. I'm 50. I don't have any fillers. I don't have any Botox. This is completely natural. I don't wear any makeup and I have to say that I feel like my skin is better now, at age 50, than it was when I was 40. When I first stopped drinking, my skin was very dull. I had bags under my eyes. That's when I first started getting wrinkles and I would say my skin's far plumper now. So if you're serious about aging beautifully, stop drinking now. It's a decision you will never, ever regret. All right, guys.
Speaker 1:So I hope that you have learned something from this episode. If you have, please leave a review. This is the best way for me to reach other women that are suffering with acne so that I can teach them how to heal their body from the inside out so they don't have to suffer with acne. So next steps if you want to learn more about how I treat acne the five different types of acne then check out my show notes. There's a link to my free Clear Skin Masterclass. Check that out.
Speaker 1:I share so many great tips with you there. I talk about the different types of acne and what to do with each type of acne, because it's a little bit different. And if you want to book a free call with my team to learn more about my program and sign up and see if you know, just maybe just ask some questions to see if the program's a right fit for you. The link to book the call is in the show notes. So thank you so much for being with me in this training. I so appreciate you. I get to do what I love every single day and that's to help women heal from their acne, and if you were not listening to this, I would not be able to do that. So thank you, thank you, thank you. Have a beautiful day and I'll see you next week.