How to eat for clear skin without becoming afraid of food.

The Treatment Room

Host Tessa Zolle explores how to utilize nutrition as a strategic tool for acne clearing without developing an unhealthy relationship with f

Key takeaways

• Tessa Zolle introduces the 'Triangle of Awareness,' which categorizes nutritional goals into flexibility/longevity, aesthetics, and performance.
• The host advocates for 'periodization,' suggesting that restrictive protocols for acne should be temporary phases rather than permanent lifestyle changes.

Main topics

• Nutrition as an acne tool
• The Triangle of Awareness

Notable quotes

There's really no good or bad foods. But there are good or bad protocols for a specific goal.

Conclusion

The episode provides a framework for using structured nutrition to ach

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:01) Hello and welcome back to the Treatment Room Podcast with your host Tessa Zolle. I am a licensed esthetician, acne specialist, and nutrition coach. And today I want to talk about something that I think requires a lot more nuance than it gets online. And I feel like this is such an important yet unique topic. that I want to speak to. So we're going to talk about how to eat for acne clearing without becoming afraid of food. You know, I would say the pervasive concept I see on social media when it comes to food and nutrition is that everyone's approach and strategy with food needs to be about balance. And I want you to stay with me, especially through the episode. But what I want to shed light on is the reality that acne is this inherited... predisposition of the pore to break out. So we are essentially fighting against the body, fighting against genetics, and fighting against what the body and the pores want to do. So inherently, this points us in the direction of anti-inflammatory foods. It points us towards needing enough protein and healthy fats to support blood sugar and hormones, being mindful of the quantity, the type, and possibly the timing of your carbohydrates if possible. Speaker 1 (1:52) And so when we think about balance or think about a scale, balance is in the middle. It's really neither here nor there. And I talk about something called the triangle of awareness a lot. This has really helped me understand nutrition in a more specific way rather than just a vague understanding of what is healthy. And so the triangle of awareness really tells us there's three different types of goals. We can have a flexibility or longevity, you know, a quality of life type of goal. And then we can have a aesthetic goal. This might be something related to weight loss, muscle building, in our case, acne clearing for the purposes of this conversation. And then in the third corner of the triangle, you have performance, which would be related to competing in a marathon, if you're an athlete, or if your main goal is getting faster, getting stronger. And so understanding that we are fighting against the body, we want to understand that balance might not be enough to really drive this goal in the way that we want it to. And so something I'm so huge on is understanding that there's really no good or bad foods. But there are good or bad protocols for a specific goal. And we want to understand all of these types of goals have their own unique protocol. So I believe that nutrition can meaningfully impact acne. And, you know, I think there are a lot of professionals that don't agree and that's okay. Speaker 1 (3:56) Since I see the common discussion around nutrition only promoting balance, I'm okay being the one who, you know, speaking from experience I've worked on now, really? thousands of acne clients, so, so many. And because I see these themes recurring, from my perspective, I think it takes more than balance. And I do believe it really takes strategy. Oftentimes, just eating healthy, in quotes, is not necessarily enough. That also might mean many different things to different people. And healthy is a very broad, general term. And so, again, it's really not a matter of what's healthy or what's not, but it's a matter of what supports the goal of acne clearing. So I believe that there are times when temporarily eliminating certain foods can be helpful as opposed to this idea of balance, which I think promotes that, you know, everything is fine in moderation. But just from my realistic perspective, and if a client really wants optimal results, which is what I strive to deliver. Speaker 1 (5:24) I think that, again, it takes more than balance. And sometimes there is a time and place for eliminating certain foods. And I think that is something that is really perceived as a negative thing. I also think we want to understand the concept of periodization or phasing in nutrition, which means that, you know, the approach that you take to your goal may not be forever. In fact, It's really not intended to be. When we think about a very intentional protocol for acne clearing, I would say really dedicating anywhere from six months to a year, maybe more than that if you have a really, really challenging case. But when we have the understanding that we're following a protocol for a phase of time, I think it can be a lot more digestible. I also believe that when it comes to acne clearing, you may not have to take an extreme, extreme approach to this as long as you understand a few things. But, you know, I guess that depends on your definition of restriction, which is also something that I wanted to touch on. I think the true meaning of this word was really meant to talk about extreme state of possibly like starvation, really restricting calories. And that's not what I'm talking about when it comes to acne clearing. I think honestly, calorie maintenance is best and definitely making sure you're eating enough as a extreme calorie deficit is a stressor on the body. And so I really want my clients eating enough and More often than not, I'm adding more food to my client's nutrition to balance their blood sugar, their hormones, to help them hit their protein goals. And so when we talk about restriction, I think my perspective is that it's become a very loose term. And I think it is not always helpful to label it in that way. And I think there has to be an element of reality, taking a realistic perspective on what we are trying to do. And, you know, I think this could be different person to person. I think the question you really need to ask yourself is how important is this goal to you? Because who am I to say everyone needs to follow this approach? Speaker 1 (8:17) If you are somebody whose mental health and quality of life relationships are deeply, deeply impacted by your skin, as well as self-image, I think that's a huge part of how acne can affect a person, even if, you know, everyone else in your life is supportive. When you look in the mirror, do you like what you see? Like, let's go there. Because I know how deeply acne affects my clients personally. And so I think if it is, it is worth considering nutrition. And there are a lot of professionals that I've seen in the online space saying, you know, acne sufferers shouldn't have to worry so much about nutrition. And I've seen this come from dermatologists. I've seen it come from estheticians. And with all due respect, I think this comes from a place of not having enough understanding and education around nutrition. And I think it comes from a lens of I can always provide medication or just skincare. For most people, it's really important to consider nutrition and the internal component before medication is prescribed. I think, of course, there are circumstances in which that's not possible. Speaker 1 (9:52) For example, if you are in active recovery or recent recovery from an eating disorder, I agree. I think it's not the time to consider eliminating any foods because the priority goal is developing a healthy relationship with just eating again and eating enough. And at that time, there can be such a fragile view of good or bad foods, but I personally believe that education drives awareness and when you understand and learn more about food, you will understand. that you cannot gain weight from one specific food. It comes down to a calorie surplus. And so when we have that understanding and we know that no food carries moral value, whether you had broccoli or a cookie, neither makes you a good or bad person. And I think, you know, thoughts can come up, thoughts of guilt or shame around eating certain foods when you do have a goal and you are trying. And I think that is something to work on. I think diet adherence really is a skill when it comes down