What are topical steroids? Often prescribed for chronic skin conditions, I’ll bet you’ve probably used them at some point during your treatment.

Sure, they work quickly, but are they without side effects? To answer that question, we need to talk about glucocorticoids, which are hormones naturally produced by the adrenal glands as part of the stress response.

Topical steroids fall under the glucocorticoids category, and due to those who’ve experienced something called topical steroid withdrawal, some people are described by physicians as “steroid phobic.”

While there are serious downsides, glucocorticoids can have some incredible anti-inflammatory effects on various health conditions. That’s why it’s crucial for us to have a nuanced conversation about this!

Dr. Luis Franco joins me to discuss everything you’ve wanted to know about topical steroids, types of glucocorticoids, and concerns about side effects from using topical steroids.

Dr. Luis Franco is a Tenure-Track Investigator at the National Institute of Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). He was born in Colombia and grew up between Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States. He attended medical school in Colombia before returning to the United States, initially as a postdoctoral fellow at Duke University. Dr. Franco attended Baylor College of Medicine for specialty training in internal medicine and medical genetics. In 2014, he moved to the National Institute of Health (NIH).

In This Episode:

• What are topical steroids versus glucocorticoids?
• Are topical steroids + glucocorticoids bad?
• Cortisone vs cortisol (and glucocorticoids examples by name)
• Side effects of glucocorticoids
• What is topical steroid withdrawal?
• How glucocorticoids modulate your immune system

Quotes

“Glucocorticoids exist naturally. They are hormones that are produced by our bodies. And they're produced by this very particular gland that's above our kidneys, that's called the adrenal gland or the suprarenal gland. And so our adrenal glands produce these chemicals called glucocorticoids. And those chemicals have many, many roles in biology and the one that is sort of best understood is that they are part of the stress response.”

“I think the side effects that are important to know for topical glucocorticoids are one, something called skin atrophy, which is kind of a thinning of the skin that people notice when they've been applying glucocorticoids for a long time. Some people also notice little, kind of red, blood vessels that come up. These are called telangiectasias. These are like reddish blood vessels that become very visible on the skin of people who have used topical glucocorticoids.”

Links

Find Dr. Franco online

Healthy Skin Show ep. 344: NEW RESEARCH On Topical Steroid Withdrawal Symptoms + TSW Red Skin Trigger

Topical Steroids Potency Chart

Immune regulation by glucocorticoids can be linked to cell type–dependent transcriptional responses

Glucocorticoid-induced eosinopenia results from CXCR4-dependent bone marrow migration

If you’ve wanted to start growing your own sprouts, this is for you! I learned how to grow sprouts after becoming fed up with the expensive packages from the store getting slimy a day or so after buying them.

I’ve continued to sprout different types of seeds and encourage clients to also do this, since sprouts (especially broccoli sprouts) are so good for your liver detoxification.

So if you think that sprouting is hard to learn – it’s not!

In fact, it’s so easy that my husband who doesn’t even eat sprouts helps me. It takes less than a minute to care for them, and they add so much nutritional value to your meals.

To help you learn more about how to grow sprouts in a jar, the difference between sprouts and microgreens, AND how to keep the mold and slime away, I’m joined by Doug Evans, who is considered to be an early pioneer in the natural food industry.

In 2002, he co-founded Organic Avenue, one of the first exclusively raw, organic, and plant-based retail chains in the country. He then founded Juicero, the first fresh, farm-to-glass automatic cold-press juicer. Doug is now the founder of The Sprouting Company and lives in the Mojave Desert at Wonder Valley Hot Springs. He wrote The Sprout Book to teach people about the power of sprouts and how to start sprouting.

So let’s dive in!

In This Episode:

• Why sprouts are so nutritious
• How to grow sprouts at home (to avoid the slimy store-bought ones)
• Difference between sprouts, shoots + microgreens
• Best method to grow sprouts (jar vs tray vs paper towel)
• Picking the right seeds to sprout to avoid glyphosate + low nutrients
• Food-borne illnesses + sprouts
• How to store sprouts so they last to avoid MOLD!
• Tips to add sprouts to your diet
• Beginner-friendly options to start your sprouting journey

Quotes

“For me, there's nothing better, fresher, healthier than consuming sprouts that you get to grow on your own.”

“So the sprouting seeds, you can have top shelf and bottom shelf. So just getting a seed from a bulk bin…in a grocery store. We don't know where it came from, we don't know how old it is, we don't know what it's been exposed to. So since we're using these seeds to grow food for you know ourselves and our family, we want to have the best.”

Links

Find Doug online | Instagram | Instagram | Tiktok

Get Doug’s book, The Sprout Book

Healthy Skin Show ep. 177: Liver Detox – Skin Rash Connection, PT 1

Ever heard of immunoglobulins? While colostrum is experiencing a renaissance, you should seriously weigh the immunoglobulin supplement versus colostrum benefits.

Partly because colostrum is a LOWER potency option, that sometimes isn’t even standardized (depending on the brand) to guarantee how helpful it will be.

That said, immunoglobulins (aka. IgGs) can be incredibly helpful for things like leaky gut (gut permeability), histamine intolerance, recovering from a stomach bug or food poisoning, and supporting your immune system during cold + flu season.

Plus, I’m going to share why I prefer immunoglobulin supplements over colostrum, what the difference is between the two, and how to use them.

Also, I want to how you how to avoid the fake, over-hyped colostrum + immunoglobulin supplements found online (even on Amazon)!

Let’s dive in!

In This Episode:

• How I learned about the amazing benefits of immunoglobulin supplement
• Why you should use immunoglobulins
• Difference between immunoglobulins and colostrum benefits
• How do immunoglobulins work?
• Benefits of immunoglobulins
• How to take an immunoglobulin supplement
• Best immunoglobulin supplement + where to get it

Quotes

“[Immunoglobulins] were traditionally used and still are actually for more diarrhea-dominant problems. So if you've got a lot of loose soft stools, diarrhea, or even something like inflammatory bowel disease.”

“IgGs can be found in the serum of your blood, and they also can be found in the serum of the blood of cows. And so historically, when people supplement with colostrum, that's derived from dairy, and it contains IgGs. So they are similar in that colostrum has IgGs and it's one of the major components that makes it so helpful, but it's not as potent.”

Links

GET REAL, VERIFIED IMMUNOGLOBULINS HERE

Healthy Skin Show ep. 188: Histamine Intolerance + Skin Rashes (PART 1)

Healthy Skin Show ep. 192: Histamine Intolerance + Skin Rashes, PART 2

If you’re over extreme diets or exercise (especially if you’re in perimenopause or menopause), metabolism-boosting foods such as higher protein intake with amino acids and creatine is a better way to go.

This is especially important if you’re currently struggling with hormonal or perimenopause weight gain that you just can’t seem to lose!

The shared challenge that many women face has a lot to do with confusing and mixed messaging you’ve been exposed to for decades – from counting calories and viewing “thinness” as your marker of being healthy to pretty extreme fitness routines that overtax your system and increase the risk of injury.

So how should you eat and move to best prioritize your health?

And what intelligent questions should you be asking about worthwhile changes

For example – Do fasting benefits that people rave about online apply to you (or could fasting make things worse)?

Are the benefits of creatine for women true or overblown?

We’re answering these questions and more today to help you decide which metabolism-boosting foods to add and ways to see your pursuit of your best health with Liz Wolfe. Liz helps women 35+ silence decades of diet and health confusion to bring balance and beauty back. She’s a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and Certified Personal Trainer; a best-selling author and podcast host; founder of the IdealAge brand of supplements; and creator of the Own Your Metabolism program and the Own Your Fitness app.

In This Episode:

• How your body changes as you enter your late 30s to early 40s
• Is it really harder to build muscle as you get older?
• How to think about metabolism + perimenopause weight gain
• Ways you can inadvertently mess up your metabolism
• Are there any fasting benefits for women?
• Carbs: Are they really bad for you?
• Critically important metabolism boosting foods
• Benefits of creatine
• Ditch the black-and-white thinking when it comes to perimenopause nutrition

Quotes

“It's very hard to build muscle because some of our key signaling factors that enable that easy building of muscle that we experienced in our 20s and probably early 30s, they're just not working as well.”

“Calories do come into play in certain ways, but metabolism is so much more than that and so much more important than that. It is the sum total of every chemical physiological reaction in your body that enables you to generate the energy that fuels everything that you do throughout the day.”

Links

Find Liz online | online | Instagram

Liz’s Daily Aminos Supplement

Healing Chronic Skin Issues with Clinical Nutritionist & Skin Expert Jennifer Fugo on Balanced Bites Podcast

STUDY about perimenopause weight gain

STUDY: Daily energy expenditure through the human life course

Healthy Skin Show ep. 314: Is A High Protein Diet SAFE? (Or Bad For Skin Problems?) w/ Dr. Gabrielle Lyon

Healthy Skin Show ep. 323: SNEAKY Perimenopause Symptoms + Signs (No One Talks About) w/ Dena Norton, RD

Healthy Skin Show ep. 345: Why Brain Symptoms of Perimeno

Gut parasites can be so frustratingly tricky to get a clear answer whether you have them or not.

The topic of and how they impact chronic skin issues is a fascinating once, especially since it’s entirely possible to have parasites, but have NO gut symptoms.

Additionally, it can be quite difficult to get accurate test results.

So yes, it’s worth exploring a parasite and skin rash connection, even if you live in what’s considered a “first world country”.

Certain skin symptoms (like hives) can be a significant clue, while other signs of gut parasites infection are sneakier (like certain nutrient deficiencies).

Joining me to discuss all things gut parasites testing related is Jennifer Brand, MS, MPH, CNS. She’s a clinical nutritionist who helps babies and children with chronic rashes navigate the journey to healthy skin so they can enjoy a childhood free from disruptive skin symptoms. As one of the most trusted pediatric skin-focused nutritionists, Jen is passionate about helping families get to the root causes of the problem through her unique method called Conquer Your Child’s Rashes™.

In This Episode:

• Are functional stool tests an effective parasite test?
• Is microscopic stool testing a better for gut parasites?
• Pros + cons of blood testing for parasites
• How to test for pinworms + are they contagious?
• Crazy relationship between allergen cross-reactivity + parasites
• How to know if you have parasites (these are surprising!)
• Do babies always have GI issues if they have gut parasites?
• Could adults have a parasite and skin rash but NO GI issues?
• Relationship between biofilms + gut parasites

Quotes

“Often, if there is an H. pylori finding and it doesn't necessarily have to be flagged as high, if it's even detected, I consider that a problem. H. pylori often comes along with something parasitic happening.” – Jennifer Brand, MS, MPH, CNS

“Parasites move. They don't necessarily all stay in one spot. Some do live in the GI tract and just hang out there, but others can go to other organ systems.” – Jennifer Fugo, MS, LDN, CNS

Links

Find Jennifer Brand online | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok

LISTEN TO PART 1 OF THIS CONVERSATION → Surprising Skin Signs Of A Hidden Parasites-Gut Problem w/ Jennifer Brand, MS, MPH, CNS

GOT RASHY KIDS? Register for Jennifer Brand’s free training – http://www.ConquerYourChildsRashes.com

Healthy Skin Show ep. 213: Stool Testing Do’s + Don’t’s For Skin Rashes

Healthy Skin Show ep. 306: Parasites, Worms + Skin Rashes w/ Robin Foroutan, RD

Healthy Skin Show ep. 337: New Research On Gut Trigger For Chronic Urticaria Hives (And What I See In Clients)

Healthy Skin Show ep. 329: Crazy Eye Rash Trigger! Demodex Mites Treatment + Triggers w/ Dr. Carly Rose

Thinking about how to change your mindset might bring on eye rolls, but shifting how you view your annoying (or debilitating) symptoms can have a huge impact on your quality of life.

No one is spared from things in life that cause suffering. And yes, living with chronic skin problems, including Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW), can seriously damage your confidence and self-worth.

I’ve often heard from clients that how their day will go is dictated by what their skin will decide to do. And while I understand the challenge inherent to the unpredictability of your skin, allowing external factors like your skin to have such enormous control over your mindset and daily experience sets you up for failure.

And with time, you likely will start to feel victimized by your skin (and other symptoms) and rather powerless.

Joining me to discuss mindset growth, healthier emotional habits, and more is Brad Bizjack. Brad is a personal development expert and a master mindset strategist who has a decade of experience in igniting human potential. His mission is to awaken individuals to their limitless possibilities and empower them to create the extraordinary success and freedom they deserve no matter their circumstances or health.

After working with 60,000 people, Brad is renowned for his ability to shatter mediocrity and inspire profound, lasting change. He excels in uncovering the limiting beliefs and toxic thoughts that lurk in the shadows of the mind, unlocking the doors to unprecedented achievement and fulfillment.

In This Episode:

• Stories you tell yourself that DESTROY your mindset growth
• What exactly is mindset?
• How to change your mindset (that’s more effective)
• When you allow your skin to dictate how you feel
• Strategies to create an open mindset aligned with healing
• The formula for happiness

Quotes

“You've had worthiness since the moment you were born. No skin condition, no amount of results, no success, no anything will ever make you more worthy than you already are. Never. And if you think that for some reason the way your skin looks makes you a better or worse person, or more enough or less enough, you're giving your personal power away to something that should not be dictating how you live your life.”

“There are gifts in every bit of negativity you could ever experience, because contrast creates clarity.”

Links

Find Brad Bizjack online | Instagram

JOIN ME → Sign up for the Success Accelerator challenge

Healthy Skin Show ep. 131: Mindset: What To Do When Nothing Seems To Help Your Rashes

If you’re on the hunt for steroid-free itchy scalp remedy options to end the embarrassment and discomfort of flaky, itchy scalp problems, this episode is for you.

From cradle cap in infants to itchy, crusty, flaky dandruff in adults, so many people feel like they’ve tried every dandruff treatment in the book. From medicated anti-dandruff shampoo to topical steroids and other medications, you know that eventually, the flaking, itching, and redness all return.

This is because those treatments don’t deal with the root of the issue, which is an imbalanced scalp microbiome, leading to an overgrowth of things like malassezia.

AND a compromised skin barrier, which can be a trigger for the atopic march (food allergies, dry skin, allergic rhinitis, eczema, and asthma).

Joining me to discuss how to get rid of dandruff, cradle cap removal, and her line of gentle scalp rebalancing products is return guest Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH. She is a Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Clinical Attending at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

Dr. Gupta has over 20 years of experience as a board-certified pediatrician and health researcher and currently serves as the founding director of the Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research (CFAAR).

She is world-renowned for her research on the epidemiology, economic impact, prevention, and management of allergic conditions, and strives to find answers and shape policies surrounding these conditions in order to reduce burden and improve health equity.


In This Episode:

• Why Dr. Gupta sought out an effective itchy scalp remedy
• What is cradle cap? (+ cradle cap removal options)
• Why scalp issues in babies could trigger food allergies
• Dandruff causes (+ how the scalp microbiome is involved)
• How Yobee hair products work
• Thoughts on hair products causing MORE scalp inflammation
• Who can use Yobee products? (Can you use it for beardruff + beard care?)

Quotes

“So for the scalp, typically your cells should regenerate every month. And what happens when you have dandruff, it's happening more frequently and that's where you're getting those white flakes. So it's happening almost weekly. And what's causing that? So many things. So we all use different hair products now and a lot of the hair products have chemicals in it. And so what are those chemicals doing to disrupt the microbiome? You have to think about that.”

“Eczema and the cradle cap and food allergies and allergic rhinitis and asthma, they're all connected. And so if you have one, you have a higher chance of having the rest. So those babies with eczema, just like my daughter, develop food allergies. But now we're seeing more and more, like a lot of the creams or, like you said, shampoos will have a food component and that could be causing that food allergy to start up because it's entering them through their skin.”

Links

Find Dr. Gupta online | Instagram | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook | Twitter | Twitter

Find Yobee online and on Instagram

Get Dr. Gupta’s book,

If you have discolored, yellow nails, you could be dealing with finger + toe nail psoriasis. Often, brittle, raised nails can be tricky to figure out what’s going on especially when you consider how similar nail psoriasis vs fungus nail infections can look.

Nail psoriasis actually forms under the nail bed and can be easy to miss! Eventually, though, the skin becomes red and inflamed, and the nail bed is damaged in the process.

And if you have psoriatic arthritis, your risk of developing finger + toe nail psoriasis is greater than 70%! So it’s crucial to know what the signs + symptoms of nail psoriasis as well as what nail psoriasis treatment options exist.

I’m excited to discuss this with returning guest Dr. Jenny Bennett, a naturopathic doctor, acupuncturist, and founder of Aria Integrative Medicine, an autoimmune specialty clinic in Seattle, WA. She utilizes treatments from both Eastern and Western medical practices to find the best approach for treating autoimmune diseases such as psoriatic arthritis, finger + toe nail psoriasis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Graves’ Disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and scleroderma.

In This Episode:

• What should a healthy nail look like?
• What is finger + toe nail psoriasis?
• Nail changes in eczema cases (How is this different?)
• Is nail psoriasis a psoriatic arthritis symptom?
• Finger + toe nail psoriasis vs Fungal nail infections
• Nail psoriasis treatment options
• Nutrients linked to healing nail psoriasis

Quotes

"You get this kind of inflammatory process, you don't always see it because it's under the nail. So it can be kind of red and inflamed, and it damages the nail bed. And then your body starts to just make all of these extra skin cells underneath the nail bed. And if you build up enough of them, it can cause damage to the nail, it can actually thin the nail or decrease it. But oftentimes it looks like it's thickening.”

“Any kind of microbial changes will increase your risk of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and psoriatic nail changes. So if you have a fungal infection, or even sometimes a bacterial infection, in the nail, it will increase the risk of psoriasis happening in that nail.”

Links

Find Dr. Bennett online | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok

Healthy Skin Show ep. 217: Health Concerns Linked to Psoriasis (You SHOULD Know About)

Healthy Skin Show ep. 336: Early Signs & Symptoms Of Psoriatic Arthritis (Don’t Ignore These!) w/ Dr. Jenny Bennett