Studies linking the consumption of dairy to breakouts date back to the 1960s. In fact, doctors used to treat acne by recommending patients give up milk, says Alan Dattner, MD, a holistic dermatologist who practices in New York and a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). But then, as medication to treat pimples became more effective and available, Dattner says, there was less of a focus on preventing breakouts through dietary changes. That didn’t stop the evidence (and the anecdotes) from piling up over the years, and in 2010, an influential research review published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatologyfound an association between dairy consumption and acne. Now the AAD suggests that acne sufferers talk to their dermatologist about limiting dairy to see if that helps.
Try this: Consider cutting back on skim milk, Dattner says, which has shown the strongest link with skin flare-ups. (Yogurt seems to have the weakest effect.)
Read the news and you’d think invasive surgery and high-octane chemicals were the only avenues to beauty. But holistic wisdom says otherwise. “People are becoming more aware of the connection between health in our internal systems and the outward glow that results,” says dermatologist Dr. Alan Dattner, who has a private practice in New Rochelle, New York, and also serves as president of holisticdermatology.com. “With natural beauty therapies, you’re enhancing your total well-being along with your appearance.” In search of beauty that’s natural and vibrant, we enlisted integrative doctors, holistic aestheticians, and innovative beauty experts to reveal their key practices and techniques for looking your best without going under the knife. What we found is that with only a few changes — whether tried-and-true or more unexpected — you can radiate vitality in bright, smooth skin, eyes that shine, and hair that bounces. This three-part plan shows you how.
Check your average medicine cabinet, and you’re bound to find a jar of Vaseline. But is your trusty petroleum jelly really a “cure-all”? More importantly, is it as harmless as you think? We enlisted New York-based dermatologist Dr. Alan Dattner, founder of HolisticDermatology.com, and celebrity makeup artist Katey Denno to help us take a closer look.
What Is Petroleum Jelly?
Petroleum jelly, the main ingredient in Vaseline, is a derivative of oil refining. Originally found coating the bottom of oil rigs in the mid-1800s, it’s a byproduct of the oil industry and therefore an unsustainable resource (read: not eco-friendly). It’s commonly used topically to cure everything from dehydrated, flakey skin to diaper rash…
Amid the recent blitz of scientific studies on the effectiveness of herbal treatments, Dr. Alan M. Dattner, a Westchester County dermatologist, stepped back to take a look at several herbal preparations that have sometimes been used to treat common dermatological problems.
In the November issue of Archives of Dermatology, he and his co-author, Dr. Donald J. Brown, a New Jersey-based naturopathic physician and editor of The Quarterly Review of Natural Medicine, noted that many doctors offered both prescription medicines and herbal preparations to their patients.
”It’s a question of a fuller palette of treatment,” Dr. Dattner said.
The two doctors from different traditions do not claim to break any new ground in this paper. ”We discuss some common herbal preparations historically used for dermatological conditions and recent studies that support their use,” the doctors wrote in their review.
”The traditional practice of topically treating dermatological conditions with plant-derived medicines predates the cultures of ancient Egypt and remains vital today in the United States and Europe.”…
Those famous old wives tales warning that foods like pizza and chocolate can cause acne may be true according to recent research, despite the fact that many derms traditionally denied such ties. But new links between our age-old skin battles and diet may be equally illuminating.
In a recent meta-analysis published in Cutis, authors Nanette B. Silverberg M.D. and Whitney B. Veith M.S. reviewed the literature on diet and acne and asserted that the type of dietary factors that promote insulin resistance may also promote acne, even going so far as to suggest that derms should potentially screen for it when treating patients.
Insulin resistance, which occurs when the body isn’t processing insulin effectively, causes blood sugar and fat levels to rise. This condition not only puts you at risk for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, but also — surprise, surprise — it’s highly associated with obesity and eating high-glycemic load foods.
Dr. Alan Dattner, a holistic dermatologist based in New York, concurs. “There is clearly an association with diet and acne,” he agrees. “And if someone is obese and they have increased insulin activity and they are eating sugar and driving sugar levels up, certainly there will likely be acne. But if someone is trying to paint a clear picture of a direct link between obesity and acne, well, it just doesn’t work that way. With acne, you’re looking at multiple factors like hormones, etc. There are too many pathways.” In other words, let’s not jump to conclusions…
Enjoy these easy food fixes for your most beautiful complexion ever
The path to beautiful skin just might be through your stomach. “When the body is out of balance, one of the first places it reveals itself is the skin,” says Ruthie Harper, MD, a board-certified internist in Austin, TX, who specializes in nutritional medicine. “If you’re not getting the right nutrients, skin gets cheated out of what it needs for optimal health and beauty.” Learn to make the most of your body’s skin-stomach connection with these 10 food fixes that give you a healthy, glowing complexion while warding off a host of skin conditions.
1. Power up with probiotics
When the stomach’s natural flora gets out of whack because of stress, infection, or a course of antibiotics, you may experience digestive ills and skin problems such as acne, psoriasis, and eczema, as well as dullness and wrinkles. “If your gut’s bacteria balance is unfavorable, the toxic bacteria can leak through microscopic holes in the wall of your gastrointestinal tract and travel throughout your body, including to your skin, causing inflammation that prevents the skin from functioning properly,” says Frank Lipman, MD, an integrative physician and director of Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in New York City. The best way is to take a probiotic supplement (available at most health-food stores) or consume fermented foods such as kefir, yogurt, buttermilk, miso, kimchi, and sauerkraut…
The path to beautiful skin just might be through your stomach. “When the body is out of balance, one of the first places it reveals itself is the skin,” says Dr. Ruthie Harper, a board-certified internist in Austin, Texas, who specializes in nutritional medicine. “If you’re not getting the right nutrients, skin gets cheated out of what it needs for optimal health and beauty.” Learn to make the most of your body’s skin-stomach connection with these 10 food fixes that give you a healthy, glowing complexion while warding off a host of skin conditions.
Power Up With Probiotics
When the stomach’s natural flora gets out of whack because of stress, infection, or a course of antibiotics, you may experience digestive ills and skin problems such as acne, psoriasis, and eczema, as well as dullness and wrinkles. “If your gut’s bacteria balance is unfavorable, the toxic bacteria can leak through microscopic holes in the wall of your gastrointestinal tract and travel throughout your body, including to your skin, causing inflammation that prevents the skin from functioning properly,” says Dr. Frank Lipman, an integrative physician and director of Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in New York City. The best way is to take a probiotic supplement (available at most health-food stores) or consume fermented foods such as kefir, yogurt, buttermilk, miso, kimchi, and sauerkraut. Wake Up to Better Skin
Explore Prebiotics
Pre-biotics are undigestible nutrients that stimulate the growth of good bacteria in your gut…
Whether it’s time on your mat, a bushwalk or a swim, regular exercise can brighten your complexion and improve the health of your skin. Movement stimulates the lymphatic system, which carries away waste products from your cells, says Dr Alan Dattner, a holistic dermatologist. And exercise increases microcirculation in your face, nourishing your cells. Dr Dattner recommends yoga, in particular, because inversions such as Handstand and Headstand increase blood flow to the face and enhance lymphatic drainage.
Is your favorite skin remedy BAD for you? How petroleum jelly can ‘suffocate pores, aggravate acne and cause pneumonia’
Petroleum jelly is widely considered a bathroom cabinet essential for its skin-soothing properties, but one New York dermatologist warns that it could be doing more bad than good.
Dr. Alan Dattner, founder of HolisticDermatology.com told the Huffington Post that the ointment – a by-product of the oil industry – can suffocate pores, aggravate acne and even cause a rare form of pneumonia if inhaled…
Q: Every night I use a name brand of petroleum jelly (quite a bit) to take off my mascara. Do I understand we don’t know how pure this product really is?
Thank you for your common sense column. You are great.
A: Thank you.
The primary ingredient in the brand you mention that I have intentionally omitted is petroleum jelly, a derivative of oil refining. It is commonly used topically to cure almost anything – from dry skin to diaper rash. In October 2013 the Huffington Post covered the topic following enlisting a New York based dermatologist Dr. Alan Dattner who is the founder of HolisticDermatology.com.
The article indicated that though generally regarded as safe, the components that are removed from the oil during the refining process of petroleum jelly are carcinogenic IN SOME CASES. The physician pointed out that different grades of purity can be found in petroleum jelly, so we don’t always know how non-toxic products with this base really are. Keep in mind, however, the article went on to indicate the brand to which you refer is highly refined, triple purified and is regarded as non-carcinogenic…
Believe it or not, your diet can seriously affect the health of your skin!
Your skin is just another organ, equally affected by our diet as any other part of us… except this is one organ everyone sees!
A doctor who specializes in nutritional medicine said:
“When the body is out of balance, one of the first places it reveals itself is the skin. If you’re not getting the right nutrients, skin gets cheated out of what it needs for optimal health and beauty.”
So it’s a good thing we’ve got these ten tips for eating for your skin!
Power Up With Probiotics
When the stomach’s natural flora gets out of whack because of stress, infection, or a course of antibiotics, you may experience digestive ills and skin problems such as acne, psoriasis, and eczema, as well as dullness and wrinkles.
“If your gut’s bacteria balance is unfavorable, the toxic bacteria can leak through microscopic holes in the wall of your gastrointestinal tract and travel throughout your body, including to your skin, causing inflammation that prevents the skin from functioning properly,” says Dr. Frank Lipman, an integrative physician and director of Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in New York City.
The best way is to take a probiotic supplement (available at most health-food stores) or consume fermented foods such as kefir, yogurt, buttermilk, miso, kimchi, and sauerkraut…
Is it just us, or does talk about hormones seem to be creeping up in every aspect of our health these days?
On a recent show Captain Charles Moore talked about how plastics in our ocean are disrupting and distorting hormones in fish leading to big health hazards for humans. Then, Dr. Michael Aziz came on the show to address how our food choices can wreak hormonal havoc on our bodies—causing obesity, diabetes and cancer.
And most recently, Dr. Alan Dattner, a holistic dermatologist, talked to Kathleen about how hormones contribute to wrinkles, brown spots and acne that appear on our aging faces. Fun.
So what can we do to keep our aging skin looking healthy? Dr. Dattner offers safe, holistic remedies to help make your skin look its best.
http://safeforhumans.info/home/tag/cosmetics
Cosmetics are known to contain numerous chemicals, and the Daily Green points our that it is especially important to find non-toxic eye creams. “You should be very careful about what you’re putting in the eye area, as the skin is much thinner there, and it absorbs substances 40-times more rapidly than elsewhere” says New York City-based holistic dermatologist Dr. Alan Dattner.
It is always nice to find some alternatives. Check out The Daily Green for some tips.
We all like to think that deep down, our hearts, our souls, even our very beings are sensitive. But what happens when all that sensitivity erupts on our faces, resulting in red, itchy, flaking skin?
We try to get rid of it. But as every person who has tried one too many times to soothe inflamed skin also knows, it can be impossible to combat that sensitivity. Too often, people with sensitive skin have cabinets crammed with once-used lotions, cleansers, exfoliants, facial masks and toners that left their skin shrieking. But they keep coming back for more products, hoping to find that magical soap or scrub that will protect their vulnerable skin.
As a naturals-store owner or employee, you have a built-in advantage when it comes to sensitive-skin care. As more information becomes available about how chemical additives, harsh preservatives and artificial fragrances and colors in personal-care products can damage sensitive skin, consumers, researchers, dermatologists and manufacturers are increasingly recognizing the soothing properties of natural ingredients. But there are only a few natural or organic personal-care lines designed specifically for sensitive skin. By knowing which ingredients and types of products work best for sensitive skin, you can guide your customers toward formulations that will soothe and smooth their delicate outer shell…
From the beach to the sun to the fresh fruit, the third season of the year is one packed with good vibes and refreshing waters. But along with the good comes a few unfortunate summer skin mishaps. We’re talking poison ivy, sunburn, and bug bites and stings. Keep your summer healthy by following these preventive steps and natural treatments from Alan Dattner, MD, a holistic dermatologist in New York.
Poison Ivy: Poison ivy (or poison oak and sumac) blooms in the warmer months after a wet spring. Exposure to the oils of the plants can result in rashes and pustules. The best way to avoid poison ivy is to know what the plant looks like. Look for plants with clusters of three leaves that have a slightly reddish tint and may be shiny.
Treat It: Depending on how allergic you are, your reaction to exposure will vary. The best way to stop and limit a reaction is to wash as soon as possible after exposure, Dr. Dattner says. Use any kind of soap and take a full shower, using cool water, and launder any clothes you were wearing. Make sure to wash your dog or other pets you may have touched or who may have been exposed. Showering and washing immediately after exposure should stop a reaction for people with a normal tolerance, although if you experience extreme symptoms, or they sustain for more than a week, go see a doctor…
These secret habits have to do with the condition that plagues so many women, especially young women: acne. They know that sugar is likely to aggravate their condition, so they sneak their candy or chocolate, or gorge on cake, cookies, and junk food on special occasions or extra-stressful workdays. Or, since it’s natural, they eat a lot of fruit on a regular basis. Or maybe they can’t stay away from pasta and other refined starches.
Some women can’t stand to have a new bump on their face, so they’re constantly checking for bumps with their fingers when no one is around, until they finally discover (or cause) one. Then, when they do find a pimple or cyst, they squeeze it to make it flatter, only to find later that their strategy has backfired. Squeezing a cyst can make it burst under the skin and grow even bigger, leading to more inflammation and resulting in a dark spot that stays far longer than the acne would have if it had been left alone—glaring evidence of their secret habit…
First things first: You should know that I’m a bona fide beauty daredevil at heart. No product, treatment, or concoction is odd enough for me to refuse (although the jury’s still out on those semen facials). In fact, these days I travel around the world to test out bizarre beauty ingredients as the editorial director of Around the World Beauty, a startup company dedicated to discovering the world’s best-kept beauty secrets. So, it’s my job to try it all.On a recent trip to Bali, I was looking forward to getting my hands on a batch of Kopi Luwak, a type of coffee with a particularly funky story. Before being roasted, Arabica and robusta beans are fed to a civet, a tree cat native to parts of Asia and Africa. That’s right; before any human has a sip of the brew the civet gets a taste. Coffee farmers will then sift through the kitty litter to uncover the magic beans and send them on their way to your coffee cup. (Jack Nicholson breaks it down best in the 2007 film The Bucket List.)…
The Natural Nurse and Dr. Z – Radiant Skin from the Inside Out! With Dr. Allan Dattner, MD, Integrative Dermatologist
Alan M. Dattner, MD has been a pioneer for over 30 years in integrating nutrition, dermatology, Applied Kinesiology, and Holistic Medicine into the practice of dermatology. He is a founding member of the American Academy of Dermatology’s groundbreaking Task Force for Nutrition and Evaluation of Alternative Medicine, and is a board-certified dermatologist. Dr. Dattner has written a number of scientific articles on nutrition and herbal medicine in dermatology. He has lectured locally, nationally and internationally to both dermatology and CAM organizations, and has been quoted in numerous popular magazines and The New York Times. He has a strong background in research methodology and 47 years of experience in the science of cellular immunology. More specifically… [Listen to the show]
So BYM was super excited when holistic dermatologist Dr. Allan Dattner agreed to chat with us. Dr. Dattner is one of our favorite and most admired skincare heroes and our Creative Director has referred numerous clients and professionals to work with him. His professional insights have been featured on the pages of Elle and Harpers Bazaar and online on Oprah.com and the Huffington Post. He is a leading voice in the field of holistic dermatology and has nearly 4 decades of evolving study and practice in the field. In his new book Radiant Skin from the Inside Out Dr. Dattner shares all about natural skincare, integrative dermatology, and how to clear skin conditions naturally. When we asked him to share a few insights for our esthetics community Dr. Dattner didn’t hesitate to provide a few pieces of useful information here’s a look at some of the thoughts he shared.
#1 Antioxidants Can Inhibit an Immune Attack on a Cancer System
Everyone gets super excited about antioxidants and if a person doesn’t have cancer, antioxidants can help them. However if they have cancer,even if they have not been diagnosed yet antioxidants can be harmful… [Continue reading the article]
3 Reasons to Ditch Cow’s Milk Dairy (Aside From Gas)
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the average American consumed 250 pounds of cow-derived dairy products in 2014. That’s a whole lot of milk, cheese and yogurt—and probably a lot of bubbly stomachs! But what if cow’s milk is furtively causing problems inside your body in ways that are less obvious than common symptoms like bloating and gas? Here are three unexpected health woes that might be intensified by your daily dairy intake.
Joint Pain
While dairy doesn’t cause rheumatoid arthritis or other joint pain, it can certainly aggravate it. “Dairy is an ‘acidic,’ or inflammatory, food and may contribute to chronic inflammation within the body, which can exacerbate pain or symptoms,” says nutritional therapist Darshi Shah, INHC, CNT, author of the upcoming book Recover Immune and Gut Health Through Diet for Autoimmunity.
Inflammation, in the form of redness, swelling, pain or loss of function, is the immune system’s response to an irritant such as a virus, bacteria or foreign object. While it was previously thought that diet couldn’t impact the body’s inflammation levels, Shah believes otherwise, specifically because certain foods, like conventional cow’s milk, can cause leaky gut syndrome, which then triggers inflammation…. [Continue reading the article]
Why Marshmallow Extract Is Our Newest Beauty-Ingredient Obsession (Aside From Gas)
It’s well after Thanksgiving and yet, we’ve still got marshmallows on the brain. No, not the gooey kind that bubbled over our sweet potato casseroles and floated in our cups of hot cocoa, rather, an extract that’s cropping up in many of the latest hair and skin care products. Though its beauty benefits are pretty sweet, consider marshmallow extract the guilt-free version of its sugary namesake. Here’s why.
Marshmallow extract is the essence of the Althaea plant native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. According to New York-based holistic dermatologist Alan M. Dattner, M.D. of Holistic Dermatology & Integrative Medicine, the extract is a substance with various health benefits. “Marshmallow extract is antimicrobial and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties,” says Dr. Dattner, author of Radiant Skin from the Inside Out ($20, amazon.com). “What I like about it is that it’s very mild. You don’t smell the essential oils and almost no [skin type] gets irritated by it—though, if you have very oily skin, you may not need it. As a polysaccharide, it acts as a humectant, which helps hydrate the skin.”… [Continue reading the article]
There are many signs you aren’t moisturizing enough besides the obvious — if you’ve ever called into question your moisturizer OR your moisturizing skills, then you are not alone. Dry skin occurs in all skin types, at all ages, and most of us are quick to point the finger at our moisturizing method or product. While many of us are concerned with over-moisturizing to avoid breakouts, clogged pores, and oily skin, the answer may be a smarter moisturizer instead of skipping out on moisturizing after cleansing.
Since there are many signs of dehydrated skin, I sat down to chat with Alan M. Dattner, MD who provides holistic dermatology in Manhattan and New Rochelle, NY. Alan is the author of Radiant Skin from the Inside Out and dropped a world of knowledge of the subject of dry skin… [Continue reading the article]
Why Your Skin Gets Dry In The Winter + How To Heal It: A Holistic Dermatologist Explains
Dry skin can be an annoying and persistent problem, especially during the winter months when the temperature drops outside and the humidity in the heated air inside decreases. As a holistic dermatologist, I consider the whole body and look for any underlying conditions that could be preventing you from having hydrated, radiant skin.
I typically treat dry skin using natural oils applied to wet skin and a diet that includes anti-inflammatory foods and oils. If you are suffering from dry skin this winter season, here are eight important things… [Continue reading the article]
Want smooth, gorgeous skin? Change your diet. “Skin is the body’s largest organ,” says Lauren Ott, R.D., a dietitian in Denver. “Just as you eat for heart and brain health, you can eat for skin health.” And when you do, the results are often fast and dramatic. So when you want to get your glow on, don’t reach for the latest lotion or potion. Head to your kitchen!
You put cream on your face every day, but you should be moisturizing from the inside, too. “We have toxins in our bodies that lead to oxidative stress, which can show up as blotchy skin and premature aging,” says Susan Blum, M.D., a New York physician who specializes in how food affects the body. Drinking water helps move those toxins out—and fast: Blood flow to the skin increases within 30 minutes of drinking two cups of water, a University of Missouri study found. Aim to guzzle enough daily that your urine is almost clear and odorless… [Continue reading the article]
Everything You Need to Know About Vitamin D Deficiency
Dry skin can be an annoying and persistent problem, especially during the winter months when the temperature drops outside and the humidity in the heated air inside decreases. As a holistic dermatologist, I consider the whole body and look for any underlying conditions that could be preventing you from having hydrated, radiant skin.
I typically treat dry skin using natural oils applied to wet skin and a diet that includes anti-inflammatory foods and oils. If you are suffering from dry skin this winter season, here are eight important things. [Continue Reading Article…]
Dr. Alan Dattner, one of America’s foremost integrative dermatologists, is the author of “Radiant Skin From the Inside Out: The Holistic Dermatologist’s Guide to Healing Your Skin Naturally.” He answers questions about eczema, psoriasis, itchy or dry skin, and acne. Even challenging conditions like vitiligo, scleroderma, morphea and cutaneous lymphoma are amenable to natural approaches. Dr. Dattner discusses the role of essential fatty acids, vitamin D, topical herb formulations and zinc. He emphasizes diet modification and correction of leaky gut and dysbiosis… [Continue reading the article]
Medical Doctor Alan M. Dattner, a 35-year pioneer in the field of holistic dermatology, faithfully follows nature’s principles in supporting skin health. His book Radiant Skin from the Inside Out: The Holistic Dermatologist’s Guide to Healing Your Skin Naturally maps out how skin reflects the body’s healthy or unhealthy organs and systems….[Continue Reading Article…]
Holistic dermatology focuses on treating the underlying causes of an individual’s skin problem using the least invasive means first. It focuses on environmental and nutritional factors, gut microbiome and function, and history of exposures to chemicals, organisms and stresses as potential sources of inflammation or modification of the body’s ability to deal with potential antigens setting off inflammatory processes. [Continue Reading Article…]
I Chose Holistic Dermatology Over Accutane To Treat My Acne, And This Is What Happened
Accutane may be right for some women, and that’s valid—acne is miserable. The prospect of getting rid of it in three months sounds like a dream. But I didn’t want to put my body in harm’s way for any period of time. So I turned to holistic dermatology. [Continue Reading Article…]
Summer’s increased humidity can cause even the most cool, calm and collected among us to perspire more excessively than usual. But when does sweating cross the line from manageable to miserable? And what can you do about it? [Continue Reading Article…]
If you have a skin problem and go to a conventional dermatologist, you’re likely to get a diagnosis and a prescription for medication that in actuality may only help keep your symptoms in check. [Continue Reading Article…]
Connecting The Dots Between Seborrheic Dermatitis And Candida with Dr. Alan Dattner
Seborrheic Dermatitis is an embarrassing, frustrating, persistent skin condition. My guest today is here to shed some light on seborrhea and how yeast plays a large role in the condition. [Continue Reading Article…]