When it comes to glowing, radiant skin, many of us focus on topical solutions and skincare routines. But did you know that true skin health starts from within? To dive deeper into this holistic approach, we sat down with Audrey Zona the integrative health and wellness coach from Zo Healthy. In this insightful conversation, she shares her expert advice on how to lose weight, achieve overall wellness, and make healthy lifestyle choices that not only transform your body but also enhance your skin's natural glow. Read on to discover how the right nutrition, self-care practices, and daily habits can lead to lasting, vibrant health—inside and out.
- Can you start by telling us a bit about your journey? How did you get into the field of health and wellness, specifically focusing on weight loss? I was a very overweight child, spent 3 summers at a diet camp where I fell in love with health, wellness and the power of the body to heal. As a young adult, I always helped friends and family with weight loss plans, etc. Then my son had many learning issues so I dove into health and wellness even more, as a way to help him. We eliminated sugars, gluten and many processed foods and found that many of his issues dissipated. I was hooked! Fast forward to 10 years ago, a functional medicine dr asked for me to coach his patients…and my business was born! Due to the fact that I’ve struggled with my weight for most of my life, including sugar addiction, I found my calling in helping people to not only lose weight but to live their most vibrant lives.
- What inspired you to specialize in the psychology behind weight loss? When thinking about what school to attend, I realized that most of my clients “knew what to do” but they weren’t able to do it. So, I decided it would be most beneficial for me to dive into the psychology of eating. There’s so much more to weight loss than what food to eat. I always say, “Your weight is a symptom of something so much larger and more profound” and that’s what I help my clients to uncover.
- Your program helps people from all ages ranging from adolescents to women in menopause, can you tell us more about it? My sweet spot is definitely the menopausal woman, but I do help men and women of all ages. I have helped from the ages of 18-82 and everything in between!
- There’s a lot of talk about the connection between gut health and skin health. Can you explain how a healthy gut contributes to healthy skin? The health of your gut determines so much of your overall health. If your gut bacteria are doing their job, they control how you feel on every level, including how beautiful and glowing your skin is. Like the lining of your gut, your skin is also very permeable and can manifest symptoms of inflammation and toxicity at the surface of the body. So, if your gut is not in a healthy place, there’s a good chance you’ll see breakouts and/or rashes on your skin. In addition, those with a healthy gut microbiome will often see more moisturized skin, better hydration and less fine lines.
- What are some common signs that someone’s gut health might be impacting their skin? Most commonly seen is breakouts, psoriasis, or other rashes.
- How important is it to eat whole foods diet for overall health & skin health specifically? Vegetables and fruits are not only great for overall health, but the “prebiotics” feed the good gut bacteria...so they are extremely important to include in our everyday diets. Steering clear of processed foods high in sugar, flour and inflammatory oils will help your skin to look its best! The more plants the better for glowing skin! And of course we cannot forget about hydration. Water water water!! One more thing that’s important to include are probiotic rich foods like Kimchi, raw sauerkraut, kefir, yogurt, apple cider vinegar. The “good bacteria” in these foods feed the gut microbiome in a very important way.
- We hear a lot about the importance of hormonal balance and its impact on weight and skin, In your experience, what are the most common signs of hormonal imbalance affecting weight and skin? If someone is dealing with a hormonal imbalance, it’s important to look at possible hormone disruptors like chemicals and toxins found in foods and skincare/makeup as well as home fragrances/candles/dryer sheets, etc. Depending upon where you are in your life, ie: menopause, we have to take a closer look at the foods that you’re eating to make sure that your diet is not too high on sugar, carbs, alcohol. As estrogen declines, our insulin rises, causing many women to develop insulin resistance…so paying close attention to the diet is of the utmost importance. As estrogen declines, our skin also takes a hit, as it gets dry and crepy, so we need to make sure that we support our skin as well during these hormonal changes. Many women can gain a good amount of weight during menopause as the body is searching for estrogen…it tends to put on belly fat.
- If I want to live healthy today, what is a good and simple way to start? I encourage my clients to follow what I call the “ZO healthy pillars of wellness” and they are: Sleep, Hydration, Movement, Fiber, Protein, and De-stress. All of these pillars will help you to achieve not only a beautiful body, but glowing skin and a very happy mindset. Stress is the #1 killer and you can see it on someone’s face if they are not taking care of themselves. Eating junk food with not enough fruits, veggies and lean protein will also yield a very unhealthy body. And movement is also critical for overall heart health and for your mind. If this is new to you, take baby steps and just try to incorporate one of these pillars every few weeks. Over time, they will become so routine.
- What are some simple swaps people can make to reduce their exposure to toxins in food and skincare? First off, try buying as much organic, hormone free and antibiotic free as much as possible. Delicate fruits like berries are so heavily sprayed with pesticides…so pay attention to the “dirty dozen” and always buy organic. This is a great way to begin. When you have this figured out, start looking at NON GMO products, paying attention to labeling. If possible, buy skin care and makeup that’s free of all harmful chemicals….like Scentual Aroma skincare :-) You can also start looking at your home cleaning products and purchasing “cleaner” products vs, the typical supermarket brands.
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