Ep 130 – The Rogue Pharmacist: Alcohol and Skin Aging Effects

 

 

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[music] 

 

0:00:55.4 Tracy Donley: Welcome everybody to ASCP and The Rogue Pharmacist, Benjamin Knight Fuchs and each episode, we will explore how ingredients, chemicals and the environment can have a positive and negative effects on the skin. I am Tracy Donley, executive director of ASCP and joining me today in co-hosting is Maggie Staszcuk, our very own education manager. Hi, Maggie. 

 

0:01:20.1 Maggie Staszcuk: Hey, Tracy. 

 

0:01:21.0 TD: Well, I'm super-excited about this episode today. I need to know, have you been having a nice summer, Maggie?  

 

0:01:27.5 MS: It's been a great summer. 

 

0:01:29.0 TD: It has been. I know mine has been packed full of barbecues and entertaining. So, our topic today really, really hits home. Today, we are going to be discussing alcohol and the aging effect on the skin. And I'm not gonna lie to you, guys, I do love a good glass of red wine or three. [chuckle] Just kidding. And also do fancy a gin martini with a blue cheese-stuffed olive. 

 

0:01:58.2 MS: Oh. 

 

0:01:58.4 TD: I do. I do love those, Maggie, what's your go-to libation?  

 

0:02:02.2 MS: I have a lot... 

 

0:02:02.9 TD: Oh. 

 

0:02:04.4 MS: Of go-tos. 

 

[laughter] 

 

0:02:05.4 TD: So, then you're not very picky?  

 

0:02:07.1 MS: I won't lie. I won't lie. Love the red wine. 

 

0:02:08.8 TD: Yes. 

 

0:02:09.0 MS: Red wine helps me drink. 

 

0:02:10.6 TD: It helps you drink?  

 

[laughter] 

 

0:02:12.4 TD: That's a good one. Well, we're really getting off-track here, but I'm glad you brought up red wine. You hear so much about red wine even being good for you, but is it really good for your skin? That's the question. Are we just telling ourselves this lie? Good news though is because Ben is here to shed a little light on the subject. Welcome, Ben. 

 

0:02:35.3 Benjamin Knight Fuchs: Thank you so much. Nice to see you, Maggie and Tracy. 

 

0:02:38.0 TD: So, is alcohol beneficial or detrimental to our skin?  

 

0:02:43.1 BF: Well, that's kind of an interesting question. First of all, wine is a lot more than alcohol. 

 

0:02:47.2 TD: Okay. 

 

0:02:48.0 BF: Right? Wine contains molecules, alcohol-soluble molecules, medicinal molecules are in grapes, and grapes are incredibly therapeutic and medicinal. So, a lot of those compounds come out in wine. There's a very interesting phenomena with phytonutrients, with plant nutrients that is kind of something people don't realise, and that is that phytonutrients are toxins. 

 

0:03:07.8 TD: Right. 

 

0:03:08.9 BF: They're toxic. 

 

0:03:09.7 TD: We've talked about that. 

 

0:03:11.1 BF: Yeah. Right. And so small amounts of poison, as it turns out, are good for you. 

 

0:03:14.7 TD: Okay. 

 

0:03:15.3 BF: Right? And how has does that happened? Well, small amounts of poison stimulate the liver to make anti-poison... 

 

0:03:21.5 TD: Ah. 

 

0:03:22.2 BF: To make anti-aging compounds. But the key is the small amounts. 

 

[chuckle] 

 

0:03:25.2 TD: I hate that part. 

 

0:03:27.2 BF: And that means three glasses of wine may not qualify as being therapeutic and medicinal and helpful, because of the alcohol. Alcohol is a poison. There's no getting around it. And it's not... While small amounts of poison, as I say, can have a homeopathic kind of effect where they stimulate the good stuff, when you're drinking alcohol... When you're drinking wine, you're getting a bunch of alcohol. And if you're drinking martinis and other things, you're getting sugar. And also, you're getting sugar and wine too. So, it's probably not a great idea to drink a lot of wine strictly for the skin or for your health, but small amounts can have a positive stimulating anti-aging effect. 

 

0:04:02.3 TD: So, what is happening then when it is those larger amounts? Like what are the things that are happening... 

 

0:04:06.2 BF: Yeah. There's a lot of problems. 

 

0:04:08.4 TD: In the skin? Especially if it's chronic or... 

 

0:04:10.2 BF: Yes. Chronic is the big issue. Alcohol itself is a toxin, but even worse, alcohol is broken down into a substance called acetaldehyde. And acetaldehyde is really toxic. In fact, that's what accounts for the hangover. 

 

0:04:21.2 TD: Oh. 

 

0:04:21.8 BF: That's why you get the hangover the next morning because your body breaks down the alcohol into this acetaldehyde molecule and that's what really causes the problem. So, for one thing, there's a few problems associated with alcohol, but for one thing, it's the breakdown product, the acetaldehyde that causes issues. And acetaldehyde in large amounts is very pro-aging. It induces fibrosis, it's associated with liver disease. And the liver is important for detoxification. So acetaldehyde is a problem and that's the breakdown issue. But that's just one... 

 

0:04:54.9 TD: Okay. 

 

0:04:54.8 BF: One problem... 

 

0:04:54.9 TD: Okay. 

 

0:04:54.8 BF: So, alcohol is a poison, that's an issue. And you're actually ingesting a poison. And then the breakdown product is especially toxic and that's the acetaldehyde. The acetaldehyde also comes out through the skin and can affect the skin microbiome. 

 

0:05:09.2 TD: Ooh, okay. That's ____. 

 

0:05:10.4 BF: And so there's a negative effect on the skin microbiome. As you know, the skin has its own bacterial population and you could throw off the balance of... And this is with chronic alcohol. I'm not talking about with once in a while, but chronic ingestion of alcohol can throw off the microbiome. Alcohol is a diuretic, so it can cause water loss. Alcohol, by virtue of its diuretic effect, can cause deficiencies in water-soluble vitamins, especially vitamin C and the B complex. In order to detoxify alcohol, your body has to mobilise precious nutritional resources as part of the detoxification process. So, things like magnesium and zinc and copper, and again, this is with chronic ingestion, I'm not talking about just once in a while alcohol, but with chronic ingestion, you can become deficient in nutrients by virtue of the fact that these nutrients are being rerouted to detoxify the alcohol, on top of the fact that it's diuretic and you're losing water-soluble nutrients. And then alcohol can have a negative effect on blood sugar. 

 

0:06:07.0 BF: Alcohol can be used as energy and you can get a spike of energy or a spike of blood sugar, I should say, with alcohol, but then you get then insulin response and then you go into low blood sugar. So there's this high blood sugar, low blood sugar roller coaster effect that alcohol can cause. And then of course, as I said earlier, anything that has a negative effect on the liver is going to have a negative... Ultimately, is gonna have a negative effect on the lymphatic system and the skin via the lymphatic system, and also via liver toxicity. So, a little bit of alcohol can have a beneficial effect. There's also, and this is not to be underappreciated, there's the relaxing effect alcohol has. 

 

0:06:42.9 TD: That's a good point. Food for thought. 

 

0:06:43.0 BF: Right? So, if you're freaked out about life, if you have a lot of anxiety going on and you're traumatised or going through grief or whatever it is, alcohol can kind of take the edge off of it. Wine, especially, can kind of take the edge off of things. So you don't wanna underestimate the soporific relaxing kind of effect, mental relaxing kind of effect that alcohol has. 

 

0:07:05.9 BF: So long story short, there are some benefits, for sure, in terms of stimulating the liver, anti-aging compounds, the polyphenols and phytonutrients that are found in wine can be beneficial, but that's all necessitates small doses. And that doesn't happen because when we drink to catch a buzz, we get tolerance, so it takes more and more alcohol to get that same effect, and that's where you start to run into the negative effects, 'cause even though you're tolerant mentally, your body is still not tolerant to the negative effects and the nutrient loss and the blood sugar effects. The good news is, there are wonderful nutrients that you should be using if you're drinking alcohol that can help you process the alcohol, especially the B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, and... 

 

0:07:52.1 TD: So adding these into it. 

 

0:07:53.8 BF: Yes, exactly. And check this out, there's... I have a nutritional powder that I like to drink. It has a little bit of flavour to it. I don't know... 

 

0:08:01.3 TD: I love a hack. Here we go. 

 

0:08:02.6 BF: Yeah, yeah. And it's called... I don't know should I tell the name? I... 

 

0:08:05.3 TD: Oh, yeah. Go ahead. 

 

0:08:06.1 BF: It's called Beyond Tangy Tangerine. 

 

0:08:07.8 TD: Ooh, Beyond?  

 

0:08:08.1 BF: Yeah, and it's a wonderful nutritional powder and it has a great taste, and you could put it in your vodka. 

 

0:08:12.8 TD: Oh, you shouldn't tell me this fact. 

 

0:08:15.3 MS: It's like a little mixer?  

 

0:08:16.8 BF: Yes, like a little mixer. 

 

0:08:17.3 TD: It's like a martini. I'm gonna have that... 

 

0:08:19.7 MS: Nutritional mixer with your... 

 

[overlapping conversation] 

 

0:08:20.3 BF: Exactly. Or if you don't wanna do that, if you like your vodka straight or you don't want it... You don't like the flavour of it, do some Beyond Tangy Tangerine or some other nutritional powder after you have your... Enjoy your libation. In fact, when I was... I haven't drank in a while, but when I used to drink, I would have a little... A vial of B vitamins and an N-acetyl cysteine right by my bedside. So when I stumbled home and crashed in bed, I'd have it right there and I have a glass of water, I have it right there, and I could take it, or I would sometimes even carry it with me if I was gonna have a wild and crazy night... 

 

0:08:51.9 TD: Fun nights... 

 

0:08:52.5 BF: Yeah. 

 

0:08:52.6 TD: Back in the day. 

 

0:08:53.1 BF: And I would do B vitamins, thiamine especially, vitamin B1, especially, but all the B vitamins really. And then while I was drinking... 

 

0:09:00.8 TD: Wow. 

 

0:09:01.0 BF: To help the body process the alcohol. 

 

0:09:01.9 MS: And it's funny you say that because if I am ever hungover, which I'm never hungover... 

 

0:09:07.4 TD: Never. 

 

0:09:07.8 BF: No?  

 

0:09:08.6 TD: Never, never. 

 

0:09:08.6 MS: But I'll always have like an emergency or something like that, and it helps. 

 

0:09:13.8 BF: Absolutely, because a lot of the toxicity is from nutritional deficiency. And check this out. What do we do? And I shouldn't say everybody, but what I used to do when I was drinking at the end of the night, you'd go to some diner and have like pancakes and... 

 

0:09:26.8 TD: Oh, god. I hate that part. 

 

0:09:27.8 BF: Right? Yeah. 

 

0:09:28.1 TD: Some greasy something. 

 

0:09:29.1 BF: Yes, exactly. 

 

0:09:29.8 TD: And you are like, what am I doing?  

 

0:09:30.1 BF: Exactly, exactly. So it's not... The alcohol is a problem and especially if you do too much, but a lot of the problem is what we're doing with the alcohol associated with the alcohol. And alcoholics tend to have nutritional deficiencies secondary to the fact that they're drinking alcohol instead of eating well. 

 

0:09:45.5 TD: Oh yeah, because they starve... They're just... 

 

0:09:48.3 BF: When you're imbibing, you're not necessarily hungry, you're getting your cal and you have energy, so you're getting your calories and your energy from alcohol, so that nutritional deficiencies show up, but again, this is from chronic alcohol use. And if you are chronically ingesting alcohol, maybe psychologically, there's something going on that you're hiding and that you're masking, and that you might want to address. 

 

0:10:07.5 TD: For sure. Well, I wanna break it, go back a little bit to talking about... I think you had mentioned five different things that are happening when you're excessively drinking alcohol, and I want you to kind of explain maybe what the visible physical signs that we would see on the skin are, so like... 

 

0:10:25.5 BF: Well, throwing off the microbiome can cause things like eczema and barrier disruption issues, sensitive skin, skin sensitivities. There's a relationship between sebum secretion, excessive sebum secretion can be associated with alcohol, oily skin. Also, probably the most dramatic or the most noticeable effect on the skin of alcohol is vasodilation, and that's where a lot of rosacea patients... 

 

0:10:47.8 TD: Stop looking at my skin. I'm just kidding. 

 

0:10:50.0 BF: Well, you ever seen the WC Fields thing on the nose? The... 

 

0:10:53.1 TD: Yeah. 

 

0:10:53.5 BF: Yeah all of that, those are manifestations of excess alcohol ingestion, so a lot of it has to do with throwing off the balance, throwing off the balance of the microbiome, throwing the balance of... Throwing off the balance of blood sugar and insulin, throwing off the balance of sebum secretion and cortisol, and so you're kind of throwing off the balance... Because alcohol is a toxin. It's a poison. So it throws things off. Throws biochemistry off, but again, small amounts, tiny amounts, I keep saying that 'cause I don't want people to freak out if they're having a glass of wine. 

 

0:11:23.6 TD: And be like, "I don't like Ben." 

 

0:11:25.5 BF: Yeah, I know. I know. People are sensitive to their vices and I don't have a... I'm not gonna knock alcohol. I've been... 

 

0:11:33.0 TD: But figure out ways that you can enjoy your vice, if that's what you wanna call it. 

 

0:11:38.1 BF: Use supplements. 

 

0:11:39.0 TD: Using the supplements, I think is a great idea. Now, I would say, and I'll probably throw this question out to both Maggie and Ben, is that as an esthetician, if you are treating a client, let's say, that has really... That has rosacea that doesn't seem like it's getting better or acne, or just constantly dehydrated skin, how do you have those conversations? How do you treat it? I mean... 

 

0:12:07.0 BF: Well, you never wanna judge anybody... 

 

0:12:09.1 TD: Right. 

 

0:12:09.5 BF: And you never want... People are already, if they're drinking a lot, people are already a little bit sensitive to that, so you don't want... You wanna be careful, but you also wanna let people know that there's a connection between their health and their skin, and their vices and the things that they're doing. And it's just a question, the way I look at it, it's just a question of letting people know. People get to make their own decisions, but you don't wanna be preachy and you don't wanna be judgmental and... 

 

0:12:31.0 TD: And education. 

 

0:12:31.5 BF: And educational, right, exactly. 'Cause some folks may not realise that there's a relationship between alcohol ingestion and the microbiome, and acetaldehyde and fibrosis, for example, or alcohol and blood sugar issues, so you just wanna let people know. That's the way I look at it. 

 

0:12:46.2 TD: Yeah, so it's like... 

 

0:12:47.2 BF: We should be educators. 

 

0:12:47.3 TD: Not accusing and saying, "How many drinks do you have a day?" or any of that, but saying more along the lines of like, "Hey, did you know... Just like vitamin C is great for this and that and that, did you know too much of alcohol can cause these issues in the skin and make it harder... " 

 

0:13:02.6 BF: Yeah, there's a skin connection to alcohol, I think maybe people will realise that alcohol is a toxin and there's health issues that can be associated, but maybe not... They don't, may not realise that there are skin issues that can be associated with it as well. So you know what? Let your body be a laboratory, if that's you or if that's, if you're an esthetician, you wanna suggest to people, "Hey," say, "You got rosacea. See what happens if you go a week without off... A week without alcohol or if you have excess sebum production, see what happens if you go a week without alcohol, or if you're noticing any kinds of issues, health issues that are secondary to nutritional deficiencies, go without it for a little bit and see what happens, and let your body be a laboratory." 

 

0:13:39.6 TD: I always love that. It's like the whole fast for a bit, see what's really going... I suffer from rosacea flare-ups but like... 

 

0:13:48.6 BF: What do you notice they're associated with?  

 

0:13:50.3 TD: Well, definitely red wine really flares it up more than like vodka does. 

 

0:13:56.5 BF: One glass?  

 

0:13:57.5 TD: Yeah. Oh, yeah. 

 

0:13:57.9 BF: One glass. 

 

0:13:58.7 TD: I can have a sip and I feel it start, like just a sip. I can feel it start to flush. 

 

0:14:03.2 BF: That's a reaction, for sure. And that's not necessarily to alcohol, that's to all the components that are in the red wine. Like you say, vodka probably doesn't do it that much. 

 

0:14:10.8 TD: No. I don't flush from it. 

 

0:14:11.9 BF: Yeah. Vodka is pure alcohol and if you really want to get rid of the impure... You're having problems with the tannins and the phenols and all the components in there, vodka is about as pure as an alcohol as you're gonna get next to grain alcohol. I don't know if you have ever had grain alcohol. 

 

0:14:25.2 TD: No. I guess I probably have like... 

 

0:14:27.1 BF: Back in the day?  

 

0:14:28.5 TD: Back when I was a kid. Like "What do you got? Some Boone's Farm? I'll take it." [laughter] 

 

0:14:32.1 BF: The cleanest alcohol is gonna be just straight vodka. And then another problem is the martinis and the drinks, the mixed drinks 'cause the sugars in there can compound the problem. 

 

0:14:41.8 TD: Well, martini is just straight gin with a little splash of olive juice. 

 

0:14:45.2 BF: Is that what it... 

 

0:14:45.7 TD: That's all it is. 

 

0:14:46.6 BF: I don't even know what a martini... Are you being serious?  

 

0:14:48.0 TD: I am. 

 

0:14:48.7 BF: Okay. 

 

0:14:49.2 TD: It is literally just shaken. 

 

0:14:50.8 BF: That's all it is, is just... See, I don't know... 

 

0:14:53.3 TD: A little... Yeah, like a gin martini, maybe a little dry vermouth. 

 

0:14:56.5 BF: Gin and olive. 

 

0:14:57.6 TD: Mm-hmm. 

 

0:14:58.8 BF: Okay. Got you. 

 

0:15:01.1 TD: And vermouth is, there's no sugar in vermouth, ____ different than rum. 

 

[overlapping conversation] 

 

0:15:01.1 MS: You mentioned sugar... 

 

0:15:02.3 BF: Yeah. 

 

0:15:02.8 MS: That's one of the things that I always have associated with having that hangover the next day, just like feeling total crap and also seeing the effects of my skin. I've always felt like... 

 

0:15:11.5 BF: Drier?  

 

0:15:14.6 MS: Okay... Yeah. 

 

0:15:15.5 BF: Yeah. 

 

0:15:16.5 MS: I've always thought it's the sugar. Even if I am just having a martini because the sugar is... I mean because the alcohol is converting to sugar, and then I'm feeling like crap. 

 

0:15:25.2 BF: Yeah. Alcohol will throw off your blood sugar system, for sure. And the hypoglycemia will make you feel, like you say, it'll make you feel like crap. But there's ways around it. And that's where the nutritional supplementation comes in. And that's, to me nutritional supplements are such an important, I don't wanna say remedy, but balancer for a lot of the toxins that we indulge in, whether it's alcohol or whether it's food toxins. Food toxins and problem foods can be associated with health challenges that nutritional supplementation can help you bypass. And also, another thing is prescription drugs. People don't realise that the prescription drugs they take while they're prescriptions, they may need them for whatever health challenge they have, that's putting a stress on the liver. 

 

0:16:03.4 TD: I think that's so true. 

 

0:16:04.3 BF: And if you're doing prescription drugs, plus you're drinking alcohol, that puts an extra added load. And if you're doing prescription drugs plus alcohol, and you're not supplementing with N-acetyl cysteine and with copper and with magnesium and all the essential fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin A, etcetera, that are important for the liver, you're compounding the problem. So be a smart drinker. 

 

0:16:24.0 TD: So when you say about nutritional supplements, really you're saying, look at the ones that are supporting the liver because that is what is being taxed?  

 

0:16:34.1 BF: For... It's hard to isolate nutritional supplements and say, "These nutritional supplements are for the liver and these are for the bone and these are for the brain," etcetera. That being said, N-acetyl cysteine is amazingly important for the liver. Alpha-lipoic acid has some specificity for the liver. Vitamin E has some specificity for the liver, as do the B vitamins and vitamin A, and probably a copper and magnesium and zinc. So you don't wanna look at taking nutrients just for the liver, you wanna look at being well-rounded with what I call the mighty 90 essential nutrients that is all the nutrients that the body needs, essentially. That being said, there are some specific ones. And N-acetyl cysteine and I've been talking, I have probably talked about it every time I'm here... 

 

0:17:16.1 TD: How do you spell that?  

 

0:17:17.1 MS: I think we've... 

 

0:17:18.9 BF: NAC. 

 

0:17:19.6 MS: Sorry... We've talked about that for the gut, right? Healing the gut also. 

 

0:17:21.0 BF: Not necessarily for the gut, maybe via the liver. 

 

0:17:23.7 MS: Okay. 

 

0:17:24.3 BF: Because the liver is part of the digestive system. 

 

0:17:27.8 MS: Okay. 

 

0:17:28.7 BF: So via the liver, N-acetyl cysteine has some digestive benefits but not specifically for the intestine, but what I was gonna say is N-acetyl cysteine is so powerful for the liver that if you were to go to an emergency room with Tylenol poisoning or liver poisoning, they would go to their cabinet and get N-acetyl cysteine and put it right in your blood, the same N-acetyl cysteine that you get at the health food store that we all should be taking. 

 

0:17:49.1 TD: Didn't you say that they were talking about... 

 

0:17:51.1 BF: Yeah, they are. 

 

0:17:51.6 TD: Taking that off the market?  

 

0:17:52.4 BF: Because it's... 

 

0:17:53.5 TD: So hurry up and like buy some. 

 

0:17:54.2 BF: Well, it might be, yeah... That's not a bad idea. 

 

0:17:57.4 TD: Not to cause a run. 

 

0:18:00.1 BF: You'll be able to get it on a prescription. 

 

0:18:00.3 TD: I know but... 

 

0:18:00.9 BF: It'll be harder to get. 

 

0:18:02.3 TD: Then you have to get a prescription. I need to go get it. 

 

0:18:05.4 MS: So when we're talking about loading up on your supplements, either just for general health or because you are countering the effects of the drinking you just did, where do you draw the line and say, that's enough with the supplements? There's that healthy balance. 

 

0:18:18.2 BF: That's a great question. That's a great question. 

 

0:18:19.0 TD: And is it the same supplements every single day, too? That's the other thing. 

 

0:18:22.6 BF: That's a really good question. Supplements... There has to be a strategy behind supplements. You can't just willy-nilly throw supplements down and expect to get them to maximize the benefits from it. Some supplements are water-soluble, the B complex and vitamin C for example. And you could take those copiously. You don't have to worry about them. Other ones like vitamin A and vitamin E, those are stored in the body. Not that you're gonna kill yourself or cause any huge problems by taking high doses, but they're not necessary to take really high doses of the fat-soluble nutrients. The minerals, you gotta be a little bit more careful with, especially zinc and copper. And I don't know. I don't wanna get too geeky here, but if you look at the periodic table, there's a big chunk of the periodic table that are said to be transition metals and then they all kind of fall on the same line in the periodic table. There's selenium and there's zinc, and there's copper and there's iron, and there's nickel. And those have... You have to be careful with, 'cause you can overdose on those. Not that you're gonna kill yourself with an overdose, but you can have maybe a toxic effect if you take too much. 

 

0:19:24.8 TD: I did something like that with chromium. 

 

0:19:27.4 BF: Chromium is a lot... Yeah. 

 

0:19:28.9 TD: Chromium... I was like, "Hey, chromium is good for you?" Took a lot of it. 

 

0:19:30.7 BF: How much were you taking?  

 

0:19:31.4 TD: Like triple the amount I should take. 

 

0:19:34.0 BF: Yeah. Triple... Chromium is measured in micrograms, so you're not gonna do too much damage but you can... That's one of those metals, they call them transition metals, that you have to be a little careful with. So your points is well taken in the sense that you wanna be a little intelligent... Not a little, you wanna be intelligent about how you take your supplements. That being said, things like vitamin... The B complex and vitamin C are water-soluble, N-acetyl cysteine and alpha lipoic acid, and even these other fat-soluble ones have a very large therapeutic window. Have we talked about the therapeutic window?  

 

0:20:07.3 TD: No. 

 

0:20:07.7 BF: The therapeutic window is the relationship between how toxic something is and how beneficial it is, how therapeutic it is. So what you're looking for is a supplement or a substance when you're taking it for medicinal effect, that has a large therapeutic window. I mean, you can take a wide range of doses without having to run into toxicity or side effects. Drugs... Pharmaceuticals, I should say, have a very narrow therapeutic window. So if you were prescribed 10 milligrams of a beta blocker and you decide, "I'm gonna take 30 milligrams of a beta blocker," which is basically maybe like a couple of grains of salt or two grains of salt more, you can get into some serious toxicity. 

 

0:20:47.3 TD: Oh, gosh. 

 

0:20:52.7 BF: So nutrients have such a large therapeutic window, they're very forgiving when you take high doses or too much. That being said, you can have some toxic effects. You're not gonna kill yourself. It's very rare. Drugs, you can kill yourself if you take too much. It's almost impossible to have that kind of toxicity, but you can still have a toxic reaction if you take too much, so you wanna be intelligent about how you supplement, for sure. 

 

0:21:12.9 TD: Well, are there any last thoughts that you have for estheticians out there, as it relates to alcohol and just treating the skin?  

 

0:21:22.4 BF: Yeah, don't demonise the whole concept of alcohol. It's not... A small amount of alcohol is not the end of the world, the problem is when you become chronic with it. And then if you have a chronic issue, you're not necessarily dealing with toxicity from the alcohol as much as... Or you're, I should say, you are dealing with toxicity from the alcohol, but there's also the secondary deficiencies which happen after you have the alcohol, specifically nutritional deficiencies that are caused by mobilisation of those nutrients for detoxification or through the diuretic effect of alcohol. And be cognizant of that, and that's where a nutritional supplementation can go a long way towards mitigating some of the toxicity or the negative effects associated with alcohol. 

 

0:22:03.6 TD: Well... Thank you, Ben. I think that you did a great job because I'm still gonna drink. 

 

[laughter] 

 

0:22:10.0 BF: You can still drink, but take your N-acetyl cysteine. Don't forget your NAC. 

 

0:22:16.7 TD: [chuckle] I will. I mean, I have my little... It'll be in my side car. Anyhow, thank you so much for listening to the show today and as always, if you're not an ASCP member, please join. Join at ascpskincare.com/join. And if you liked this episode, subscribe today so you'll never miss it. Details from the show and what we discussed will be in the show notes, maybe even the Beyond Tangy Tangerine martini recipe will be in there, I'm not sure. And if you can't get enough of Ben Fuchs and who can't, our Rogue Pharmacist, please do check him out at thebrightside.com. Thank you, everybody and enjoy the rest of your day. 

 

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