06 Dec 3 Tips To Improve Your Skin with Calista Chammas, FNTP
Hey Friends, so excited to have Calista Chammas a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (FNTP) on The Modern Practitioner to talk 3 nutritional tips to improve your skin.
Without futher ado, meet Calista.
Hey Readers, this is Calista taking over for Whitney today. Excited to dive into the world of nutrition & skin with you.
Skin– it’s an organ I think about a lot as a holistic nutritionist, a female, and as someone who has struggled with my own skin. There is a lot of information out there that tries to sell you the silver bullet approach: use this balm, avoid dairy, cut out gluten, take this supplement, and any skin issue you have will just magically disappear. Oh, if it were only that easy! In my studies and working with clients, I have found that there truly is no magic food, tincture, or cleanser that will “cure” your skin stressors overnight. In fact, there is no quick fix for any chronic, inflammatory condition (whether on your skin or internal). It takes investigating, trial & error, and many consistent, small steps daily that will eventually add up to better & bigger healing.
The majority of my clients come to me wanting some support with their skin. In our initial consultation, I ask my clients, “If I had a magic wand and could erase 3-5 struggles for you right now, what would they be?”. I have yet to work with someone who does not mention their skin. I ask this question because I want to know where my clients are at physically and mentally.
Eat good fats with every meal
It’s no longer the 90’s & plus we know better now. The whole low-fat craze was propaganda for the companies promoting sugary foods and fat was wrongfully demonized. Good fats are essential for feeling and functioning your best. Your endocrine system (think adrenals, ovaries, thyroid) is all about hormones and hormones cannot be made without fat. If you are not consuming ample amounts of good fats with each meal, adequate amounts of these hormones cannot be made. We all know what can happen when our hormones are out of whack-cue breakouts!
I recommend two TBSP of healthy fats (grassfed butter, ghee, olive and avocado oil, oily fish, eggs, nuts and seeds) with each meal.
Stomach acid is your best friend
You did not read that wrong. Our stomachs are so acidic that if we took them out and threw them on the floor, they would burn a hole immediately. However, we want stomach acid because:
- it kills bad bacteria before making it to the intestinal tract
- helps to break down our food for easier digestion and absorption of nutrients
- sufficient stomach acid can help with acne and rosacea.
Skin issues on our body can be a reflection of gastrointestinal imbalances. When we suffer from skin problems, many doctors will give an oral antibiotic. These antibiotics enter our digestive tract killing off the bad bacteria and the good bacteria.
The Real Question is: How did the bad bacteria get in our intestines in the first place? Well, we can get an overgrowth of bad bacteria when our intestinal tract becomes too alkaline due to a lack of stomach acid. Stomach acid kills the bad guys so if we are blocking stomach acid production through tums, proton-pump inhibitors, antacids–then our intestinal tract becomes more alkaline and the perfect breeding ground for bad bacteria.
So what’s the moral of the story? Don’t Take antacids, focus on your pre and probiotic intake. We want stomach acid to kill the bad bacteria from making it through the stomach, but we also want to eat good bacteria to help line our intestines and strengthen our microbiome. Eat fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi, kombucha, and kvass which will introduce bacteria into your system.
To promote stomach acid production
- take 5 deep breaths before eating
- chew your food slowly
- eat in a calm and pacified state
- allow your stomach to do what it is innately meant to do: produce stomach acid to completely digest your food
Hydration, Yes Another Person Telling You To Drink More Water
Every single process that happens in your body (digestion, hormone production, cell to cell communication, breathing) cannot happen correctly without proper hydration.
What is proper hydration? It is drinking half your weight in ounces of water. But not just any water. Tap water can have chlorine and fluoride in it, both of which kill bacteria and therefore the good guys in your gut. Get a high-quality water filter like Berkey Filter or Zero Water. The more hydrated you are, the more hydrated your skin will be. When our skin becomes dehydrated, inflammation is actually more prevalent which leads to inflammatory skin conditions. Skin that is hydrated internally and externally is more likely to heal faster from skin inflammation and show less inflammation.
Meet Calista
As a (FNTP) Calista has clients remotely or in-person in the SF Bay Area. Literally, the definition of positivity, she is a yoga junkie and obviously is a killer cook. I asked Calista to share on The Modern Practitioner because of her passion. She supports her clients 100% and believes in the power of REAL food, proper movement, sunshine, and mental support to feel and function better than we ever thought possible!
I’ve known Whitney since I was 19 (we’re both in our early 30’s now). We met through our mutual best friend and earth angel of a mama, Kristen (the other half of the TGL Podcast and kgrace01). Whit and I bonded over eating healthy, loving a good sweat, and trashy television. But this year, we connected on a deeper level over our fertility struggles. She and I both were misdiagnosed with the same condition (hypothalamic amenorrhea), and then were diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). We suffer from inconsistent cycles, which are typically anovulatory, meaning we do not ovulate regularly on our own. Having PCOS, coupled with some medication for fertility, has caused some acne that I wish was not on my face. But it is. And it probably isn’t going anywhere as I go through treatment. But, this is where those “many consistent, small steps every single day that eventually adds up to better and bigger healing” come into play.
Calista has an ebook out now about how to navigate the holiday season without guilt or shame! Check out her website: www.nourishwithcalista.com and follow her on instagram: NourishwithCalista.
**Just a reminder you’ll never see me promote something I don’t believe in or use. And please remember The Modern Practitioner and the materials on here are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. All material is provided is for educational purposes only. Please seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions.
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