200-SYNCPodcast_PCOSAndSkinFINAL

[00:00:00] Jenny Swisher: Welcome friends to this episode of the Sync Your Life podcast. Today we’re diving into the topic of how PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome, affects your skin health. I’ve done previous episodes on the topic of PCOS, which I’ll make sure that I link up for you in the show notes as always. But for now, I want to direct the attention toward the impacts of hormone imbalance when it comes to our skin.

[00:01:19] Jenny Swisher: Recently, a dear friend of mine who is also a SYNC certified coach and health coach shared a testimonial that for her, Her biggest transformation and learning more about her hormones through my SYNC course came in the form of much improved skin. She shared her before and after photos of her face, and wow, her skin was drastically different.

[00:01:38] Jenny Swisher: What did she do to improve it? Well, she did what was unique to her based on her unique imbalances. Which is the point, my friends. Health is individual. For her, that meant bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, nutritional changes, and supplementation. I will be referring quite a bit in this podcast to an article shared by Dr.

[00:01:56] Jenny Swisher: Jolene Brighton, who is one of my mentors in this space of hormone health. I’ll make sure that I link it up for you in case you want to read more details, but I want to start this episode with my own personal story with skin blemishes, acne, and a lack of confidence in myself, because it started that way in my teen years.

[00:02:12] Jenny Swisher: From the moment that I entered puberty, my skin started to hate me. In fact, if you’ve listened to this podcast for any amount of time, You know that I was handed a pack of birth control pills at the age of 15 by my mother, but it was through her OBGYN. So I never actually saw the OBGYN, it was literally just handed to my mom as if it was candy.

[00:02:30] Jenny Swisher: And the reason that I started on it, the reason she wanted me to start it, was actually because of my acne. It wasn’t for birth control purposes. We had tried everything. Accutane, different dermatologists, different skin creams, and nothing was working. I had it along my chin, my forehead, my upper cheekbones, and I was even starting to deal with acne on my shoulders and upper back as well.

[00:02:52] Jenny Swisher: I hated it. And the way that it made me look, the way it made me feel, it was worst, it was the worst being in high school with acne. Of course, hindsight is 20 20, so I now know that the Doritos, pizza, the candy, and the garbage that I was eating on a daily basis in my teen years, That was probably not helping me.

[00:03:09] Jenny Swisher: But when I went on the birth control pill, my skin cleared up about 50%. So I also knew that hormones played somewhat of a role. Now, fast forward to my early 20s when I went off of birth control and my migraines spun out of control and my skin got worse all over again. My doctors wanted to try me again on Accutane, they wanted to try again with prescription creams, and yet, nothing worked.

[00:03:32] Jenny Swisher: In my late 20s, when I finally found a functional wellness journey with a functional medicine doctor, my And she diagnosed me with PCOS and low progesterone. We started to put the puzzle pieces together for my migraines, and in the process, my acne and my skin issues completely resolved. When you’re dealing with chronic daily migraine pain, the acne sort of becomes a secondary issue.

[00:03:53] Jenny Swisher: But through treating the migraine, my skin cleared up. USing bioidentical hormone replacement therapy progesterone, reducing my excess estrogen issues with supplementation, and changing my nutrition. These were all contributing factors that were unique to me.

[00:04:06] Jenny Swisher: For the next 10 or so years, skincare has now become very easy for me. I am a soap and water kind of girl. I don’t have like a 20 step skincare regimen. I just make sure that I’m using non estrogenic makeups, toxin free skincare and lotions. As we know our skin is our largest organ. So keeping it a priority is key.

[00:04:24] Jenny Swisher: Swapping out our makeup, body wash, lotions and the things we put on and around our bodies is so key and it’s the first step of getting better skin.

[00:04:33] Jenny Swisher: We’ve got to reduce these endocrine disruptors. I will link up for you in the show notes my favorite brands for skin care, but in my opinion, making these simple swaps really should be the first step. The next step is to do the proper testing needed to get to the root of any hormone imbalance issues. I teach this in my course and I’ve shared quite a bit on this topic here on the podcast as well.

[00:04:52] Jenny Swisher: Getting the plan that is unique to you as it pertains to supplementation and support, this is the next best step. So how exactly does PCOS affect our skin? Well, according to Jolene Brighton, quote, polycystic ovarian syndrome, PCOS, is a complex metabolic and endocrine hormone health condition that impacts up to 10 percent of women of reproductive age.

[00:05:13] Jenny Swisher: High androgens like testosterone, DHT, and DHEA that contribute to symptoms like irregular periods, weight gain, hair loss, infertility, and skin issues. issues.

[00:05:22] Jenny Swisher: Elevated levels of androgens lead to skin PCOS symptoms like acne, cystic acne, and hirsutism, which is of course thick and dark coarse hair growth on the face or body. In as many as 70 percent of cases, PCOS is also accompanied by insulin resistance. Insulin resistance means the body doesn’t respond to insulin as it should, so blood sugar and insulin levels remain high.

[00:05:43] Jenny Swisher: Insulin also can lead to excess androgens produced by the ovaries, so the two go hand in hand with PCOS, and both can cause problems with your skin. Now, this shouldn’t be too shocking to you as we talk a lot on this podcast about the four-legged hormone chair when one leg of the chair is affected. For example, our sex hormones.

[00:06:02] Jenny Swisher: Of course it would impact our blood sugar and the other legs of the chair, or vice versa. According to Brighton, quote, one study found that 78% of those living with PCOS and elevated androgens experienced excess hair growth on their face or body, and almost 50% had hormonal acne showing the close tie between hormones and your skin.

[00:06:21] Jenny Swisher: In layman’s terms, we know that elevated androgens are often the culprit to these skin issues and make the connection between PCOS and skin issues. So what can you do aside from swapping out your endocrine disruptors and deep diving into your unique hormone imbalances through testing? Well, here are some tips for you.

[00:06:38] Jenny Swisher: My best tip for you is to manage your blood sugar. We just talked about its importance here, right? But honestly, friends, blood sugar plays a role in 80 percent or more of hormone imbalance issues in women. When we under eat or when we don’t eat enough protein and fiber to satiate us throughout the or when we cave into those sugary junk foods too often.

[00:06:56] Jenny Swisher: Our skin is affected. We can’t keep riding the blood sugar rollercoaster. We’ve got to stabilize it. My next suggestion is to clean your face daily, preferably at the end of each day, and moisturize it with a clean, non toxic moisturizer. It doesn’t mean you need a 30 step process. It just means you need to keep the products clean and make it a routine.

[00:07:15] Jenny Swisher: Side note, don’t fall for just good marketing, right? There’s a lot of products out there that claim that they are clean and green, but I want you to go deeper and look at the ingredient label and research the science behind your products. Third party testing when it comes to these things is key. So these four things, swapping our disruptors for clean products, deep diving into your hormones via testing, managing your blood sugar and cleaning and moisturizing your face daily.

[00:07:39] Jenny Swisher: These things can make a huge difference when it comes to your skin. So what about significant skin problems? Are there specific supplements that can help for deeper issues? Well, Brighton recommends saw palmetto, inositol, Vitex and NAC, which is inositol cysteine as supplements to consider incorporating.

[00:07:58] Jenny Swisher: There is significant evidence based on inositol for PCOS for a variety of other reasons. So definitely check that out as well. The bottom line is this, there is much within our control when it comes to our health, especially pertaining to the lifestyle changes that we can make to support better hormone health.

[00:08:15] Jenny Swisher: PCOS isn’t just a diagnosis, it is a clue that we can use to lead us to making the changes necessary so we can limit our symptoms, skin or otherwise. As I enter the age of 40 this year, I am learning the importance of skin care. Now that my eyes are getting a little bit more wrinkly around the edges and my hands are starting to age.

[00:08:32] Jenny Swisher: Taking care of our skin is so much more than appearance. It’s nourishing our largest organ. I will, of course, make sure to link up my favorite products in the show notes, the research articles mentioned here, and more. Simply swipe up so that you can click directly on those to research more on your own.

[00:08:48] Jenny Swisher: But my friends, this is a really important topic. I know a lot of women out there, not just teenagers, women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s who are dealing with different skin issues, and a lot of it can be linked back to your internal health, your hormone health. And getting to the root causes of what’s going on for you and treating and adjusting lifestyle can make all the difference.

[00:09:06] Jenny Swisher: Thank you so much for tuning in, my friends. Share it out to those you know who might benefit. . If you had asked me two, three years ago if I would ever have 200 podcast episodes, I would have laughed at you. So, um, I’m, I’m so grateful to be here and to be able to be in your ear every single week.

[00:09:20] Jenny Swisher: sharing with you what I’m learning, sharing with you valuable tips and tricks and interviews that can help you along your own health journey. We’ve got a lot in store for 2024. So coming soon on the podcast, I’ll be announcing some pretty exciting updates and announcements that are becoming next year.

[00:09:34] Jenny Swisher: But until then, my friends take care and we’ll talk soon. Bye. Bye.