This Is What You Should Eat

  • Posted on: May 2 2019
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Keto. Paleo. Vegetarian. Vegan. Mediterranean.

There is a lot of debate among nutritionists, dieticians, and physicians about which diet is best for your health. Should you eat meat? What about bread? Is dairy bad for you? What types of fat should you eat?

Like the vast majority of doctors, I wasn’t taught anything about nutrition in medical school, residency or fellowship. But now that I’ve been a successful plastic surgeon for nearly twenty years, I’ve come to realize that the key to true beauty and youth lies in a holistic approach. This holistic approach starts with what’s on your plate.

With that in mind, I’ve compiled 10 simple tips for what to eat to look your best. If you follow these rules, I predict that within just a couple of weeks you’ll see major changes in your skin—more radiance, less inflammation, and fewer fine lines.

1. Stop Drinking Soda Pop. Sugar is the greatest ager of our skin, causing chronic inflammation and deforming collagen through the process of glycation. Soda pop is full of sugar (or, even worse, high fructose corn syrup) and is one of the worst things you can drink.

2. Eat the Rainbow. Our moms were right. We should all eat our fruits and veggies. These foods are filled with free radical-fighting antioxidants. Interestingly, the antioxidants take the form of pigment. Therefore, eating a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables will give your body a plethora of different antioxidants.

3. Eat Healthy Fats. Monounsaturated fats, such as those found in walnuts, and omega-3 fatty acids, like those found in cold water fish, are soothing and moisturizing to the skin. They also fight inflammation from the inside out.

4. Choose Natural Oils. Not all oils are the same. Choose less processed oils like organic avocado oil and extra virgin olive oil. Both are filled with healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Vegetable oils, such as corn oil and soybean oil, are über processed, causing them to contain high amounts of inflammation-causing omega-6 fatty acids. When heated, these oils can generate free radicals. No good!

5. Eat Fermented Foods. Other than yogurt, the standard American diet is devoid of probiotic-rich fermented foods. Probiotics (which can be ingested via fermented foods and/or supplements) are necessary for a healthy microbiome. Some fermented foods I recommend are kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, kombucha, and miso.

6. Limit Your Gluten Intake. Even if you don’t have celiac disease, gluten-containing foods like bread and pasta could be wreaking havoc on your skin. Gluten can cause inflammation in the skin and the delicate gut mucosa, and it’s known to be a major cause of “leaky gut.” If you’ve never cut out gluten, I encourage you to remove it from your diet for just two weeks. I bet you’ll find that you look and feel much better!

7. Ditch the Dairy. Like gluten, milk products can cause inflammation in the skin. The dairy industry has spent a ton of money promoting the idea that milk is good for you: it isn’t. It’s filled with hormones, reactive proteins, and even antibiotics. Milk is the perfect food… if you’re a growing calf!

8. Choose High-Quality Meats. Grass-fed beef has more healthy omega-3 fatty acids and fewer unhealthy omega-6 fatty acids than conventional beef. Organic eggs from free-range chickens are healthier than conventional eggs. Farm-raised fish from other countries may have been frozen, thawed, and refrozen several times prior to making it to your grocery store. When it comes to meat, choose quality over quantity.

9. Drink Green Smoothies. Filled with fiber and antioxidants, green smoothies just might be the perfect drink. These are different than fruit juices, which are basically water, sugar, and vitamins. Even better, add a little almond butter to your green smoothie for some good protein and fat.

10. Drink Red Wine. A glass of red wine and a square of dark chocolate are the perfect dessert. Choose organic chocolate with greater than 70% cacao for the most antioxidants and the least added sugar. Pair it with one glass (not more) of red wine, which is full of the powerful antioxidant resveratrol. I also encourage you to look into Dry Farm Wines, the only wines that get my stamp of approval. Their wines are organic, sugar-free, clean, and produce no hangover. Seriously! Check them out HERE.

I hope you’ve found these 10 food tips helpful in your quest for health and youth. If you follow these rules, I predict you’ll see great changes in your skin.


What should you use if your skin can’t tolerate retinoids?

I recently created a YouTube video answering this question. You can watch it by clicking HERE.

The short answer, though, is PEPTIDES. Peptides are cellular signal agents that stimulate the skin cells to rejuvenate.

So if you develop too much redness, dryness, and flaking from retinoids (like Retin-A), try an anti-aging cream with peptides. I recommend my YOUN Beauty Ultra Night Lift. This moisturizing cream contains peptides, hyaluronic acid, and CoQ10, making it a perfect substitution or addition to retinoids!

For a limited time, we are offering a FREE full size YOUN Beauty Brightening Cream with any purchase of skin care products at our online store. Click HERE to check it out!


Here are the latest episodes of my podcast, The Holistic Plastic Surgery Show. Please SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a single information-packed show!

Episode #135– The Holistic Beauty Blacklist – Avoid These Cosmetic Treatments with Dr. Anthony Youn – It seems every day I read a new story about popular cosmetic procedures that we used to believe were safe and effective, only to realize that they have complications we hadn’t known about. There are also cosmetic treatments being touted as the newest, best thing, but in reality just don’t work.

So, for this podcast I’ve compiled a list of seven popular cosmetic treatments that I highly recommend you avoid. These seven are part of my Holistic Beauty Blacklist. They are among the most popular cosmetic treatments today, but I do not recommend them due to their risks of death, disfigurement, or the fact that they just don’t work.

Yet, shockingly, they are being performed every day all over the country, often by inexperienced hands. This is a scary episode, but one that should be listened to by anyone considering going under the knife of needle. 

To learn more, listen HERE with Apple devices or HERE with Android phones. 


Episode #134 – Minimally-Invasive Treatments: Look Younger Without Going Under the Knife with Dr. Lara Devgan – Did you know that you can reshape your nose without having surgery? Or that you can get rid of a banana roll of the thighs using simple injections? Or have you heard that Sculptra injections are a reasonable alternative to fat transfer to the buttocks?

These are just a few of the minimally-invasive cosmetic treatments that are super popular today. These injectable options are taking the place of invasive surgery as a realistic and effective alternative for thousands of men and women.

On this episode, I’m joined by one the leaders of the minimally-invasive trend in cosmetic medicine. We will discuss these procedures and a whole lot more, including which injectable fillers she and I recommend, and those which we warn you to stay away from.

Listen HERE on Apple devices or HERE on Android.

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