- Hey, everybody.
So you might be aware a plant-based diet can be
really healthy for a number of conditions,
but did you know it can also dramatically help your skin?
Well, one of the most inspirational transformations,
in my mind, is from my friends is Nina and Randa.
Here's their testimonial.
- So before the acne came, I was very confident.
I remember my first job was working with Justin Bieber
and that was so much fun,
and I was doing commercials with Randa
and I just kinda felt like I was on top of the world.
I was like, "Yeah, I could do this.
"I mean, I'm doing it now.
"I got my whole life ahead of me."
- I remember when my skin was at its worst.
I had an audition and I remember walking into
that audition room having no self-confidence,
and all I wanted to do was just slate my name
as fast as I could so I could get out of there.
And I remember I only read once,
and normally the casting directors have you do a few times,
but in my mind, I was like, "Oh, it's because of my acne."
And I just remember walking out of that audition
just looking at the ground
and feeling so just like horrible about myself.
- I would tell myself, "Okay, it's not that bad.
"It's not that bad.
"Like I can just cover it up with makeup."
But then when you go to a normal doctor
and they're like more worried about your acne
than your bronchitis,
that's when you're like, "Okay, this is really bad."
- I would look up online and I would see a bunch of stuff
about low carb, low-glycemic so I was like,
"Okay, this is the answer.
"This is what I'm gonna try."
So I would go and try and do it,
and it was almost impossible to do.
I would just always end up eating like fruit
or just, I don't know.
It wasn't satisfying that I would maybe even eat
more junk food.
- Because here's the thing, I would tell myself everyday,
like, "It's going to get better, you know.
"I'm gonna wake up and it's better."
And it wasn't getting better, it was getting worse.
So I was just like, "What do I do?"
- I remember very vividly me and Nina and my whole family,
we were driving up to San Francisco, talking about our acne.
That's pretty much all that we talked about at the time,
and my dad was like, "Maybe Dr. John McDougall has something
"about acne on his website."
So we were like, "Okay, like, well, we've looked up
"all over the internet.
"Might as well check this out as well."
And I remember he had a very short article
about how people in different cultures of the world,
where they eat this sort of plant-based diet,
don't get acne.
- And they eat like a low fat plant-centered diet.
And we were like, "Well, that's easy.
"Like I can eat potatoes, I can eat rice.
"Like I just have to get rid of, you know, higher fat foods,
"like whatever, I'll give it a try.
"That doesn't sound that hard."
And so literally that day we tried it
and we noticed that the zits were going, you know,
were less and less every day.
And it was the first time that we had seen improvement ever.
And so we were like, "Well, we gotta stick with this."
It was like my skin was far less inflamed and I was like,
"Okay, I think it's working."
But I remember at the back of my head, you know,
'cause I had tried antibiotics or some creams
and it would work, but then it wouldn't work.
So I was like, just hoping like,
"Oh, like I hope it actually sticks for good."
And then I remember the weeks would pass by and I was like,
"It's still getting better.
"Like it's working."
- It getting worse, it was getting better,
and I thought, "I have to stick with this."
And I loved the food.
It wasn't that much of a difference or a change for me.
- So for breakfast, I love my oatmeal with fruit,
frozen fruit, berries, a little bit of maple syrup.
For lunch, I love pasta with some vegetables.
And then of course, fruit for dessert.
And then for dinner, I love rice and beans.
Maybe sometimes put it in a burrito.
Just really hearty food.
- My typical favorite foods are beans, rice, tortillas.
I love Mexican food, Indian food,
oatmeal for breakfast, fruit.
- I've noticed that people online will comment,
"Oh, you guys eat the same thing every day.
"That must be so boring."
But actually people in my life, like my friends,
nobody ever says that
because I have them try the food and they're like,
"Oh wow, this is really good.
"Like I could eat this all the time."
- You've really got nothing to lose,
and if people wanna say, "Oh, you're weird.
"Like, why would you want to eat that style?"
Just do you.
Like do what feels right for you?
- There's a stigma when people eat vegan
that you need to worry about your protein,
every little vitamin, you need to keep track of it.
But when you're eating an unprocessed, a plant-based diet
with whole foods, you're getting more nutrients
than somebody eating the standard American diet.
So you don't need to worry about, you know,
getting enough protein, or this or that or whatever,
when you're eating healthy.
- We'd get comments and emails all the time saying,
"Wow, I took your advice.
"My skin is clear.
"Thank you so much."
- And I know there are some people who are like,
"Oh, well Accutane works, I wanna try that."
But it does come with consequences.
There are side effects.
I mean, I've had friends whose hair's fallen out
or they developed colitis,
and changing your diet,
the only side effect is becoming healthier.