A Holistic Plastic Surgeon's Top 3 Nutrition Tips For Skin Longevity

Raise your hand if you want younger-looking skin in 2024! It's the perfect time to start building strong habits for skin longevity, and holistic plastic surgeon Anthony Youn, M.D., has the coveted tips you need. After all, Youn is considered one of the nation's best-known experts in looking younger (with or without surgery), which he discusses at length both in his new book, Younger for Life, and on this episode of the mindbodygreen podcast. 

"The No. 1 cause of chronic inflammation of our bodies is excess sugar," declares Youn. And chronic inflammation, we know, does a number on your skin health. 

But sugar consumption can damage your skin in a sinister way, Young says. See, "Sugar molecules can bind to the collagen fibers and the elastin fibers in our skin," he explains. Your collagen naturally diminishes as you grow older (though collagen supplements can help!), but when sugar binds to those fibers, it "causes those collagen fibers to become even more kinked," he notes. "These collagen-sugar hybrids are called advanced glycation end products, otherwise known as AGEs1. And AGEs are damaging to our skin2." 

Intermittent fasting for younger skin? It's a thing, says Youn, assuming a time-restricted eating schedule works for your body. (It's not for everyone—please see a health care professional before embarking on an IF plan!) 

It's all because of autophagy, he explains. "Inside our cells, there can be a buildup of cellular waste products, like proteins, used organelles, and even discarded, old mitochondria that aren't functioning so well," Youn says. "They can actually build up and cause our cells to function less efficiently—essentially, as if you were older." 

Here's where autophagy comes into play: Autophagy is a cellular recycling process that uses these waste products as fuel in the absence of other forms of fuel (like food). "By removing this from the cell, it causes the cell to function more efficiently, and essentially, more youthfully," notes Youn. "That's where intermittent fasting can really come into play." Now, there is some debate about what hour of fasting autophagy kicks in (most experts believe it happens around the 17-hour mark), but even a daily 12-hour fast has health benefits. 

Not everyone is sensitive to gluten, but according to Youn, gluten intolerance can manifest in sneaky ways—like inflamed skin. 

"We know that 1% of the [U.S.] population has celiac disease," he says. "I think that there is a fairly high percentage of the population—a lot more than we may think, maybe 10%—who are really sensitive to the effects of gluten… It can be inflammatory for their skin. They may find that their skin looks inflamed, but they have no idea unless they go off of it." 

That's not to say everyone must quit gluten. Everyone's bodies are different! Even Youn himself eats gluten from time to time. "I limit it because I know that if I eat too much of it I feel crummy," he adds. 

We repeat: Everyone's body is different, and what's magic for one person's skin may not work for your complexion. It may take some trial and error to figure out your own skin-supporting menu, but according to Youn, you can never go wrong with whole, balanced, antioxidant-rich staples "[Eating] nutrient-dense foods is a big thing you can do to help slow down and even reverse the aging process," he declares. Take it as a sign to introduce some skin foods in 2024!