Book Review: 28 Days to Younger Skin

A few weeks ago, I got to review the cookbook / nutrition guide 28 Days to Younger Skin. It is a fast-track program designed for people who have a special occasion coming up; so if you have a wedding, holiday, or any date by which you really want to look your best, this is for you. It can be used in conjunction with your current beauty routine or, the author suggests using the diet for before and after a cosmetic procedure (surgery) to optimize results and speed recovery. I say this: food can have a massive influence on the appearance of your skin. Therefore, if you have skin, and you care at all what it looks like, this is a great book for you.

Why 28 days, you might ask? Well, it takes that long for the body to produce new cells in the deeper skin layers, and for those new cells to travel to the surface of your skin. So by day 28, it’s literally a new you! To be honest, I didn’t have the motivation of an upcoming important date, or any serious skin issues. So, I didn’t do the full 28-day program. But, the book states that the program is flexible (phew!) and I did follow the first 3-day detox pretty closely, so I will tell you all about it. I even include a before and after closeup below (* cringes * … you’re welcome!). (Here is a really good, much more comprehensive trial of the book and whole diet.)

A little bit about the author, first: Karen Fisher lives in Australia and is an award-winning author, nutritionist, and former model. She includes so many fascinating scientific explanations in her book, such as why do women have more cellulite than men? (It’s because women have more fat cells for childbearing, and a thinner outer layer of skin; these two characteristics combine to cause cellulite, which is when fat cells are visible through the outer skin layer.)

She also introduces the concept of AGE’s (Advanced Glycation End Products), foods that age your skin. I had never heard of these, and it was interesting to see her lists of high-AGE foods, with low-AGE alternatives. Karen covers the best and worst foods for your skin, how much you should eat, age considerations, etc. It is very comprehensive but also clear and straightforward, which is perfect for everyone, but especially if you’re new to nutrition. I can’t possibly include everything here, but other sections cover topics such as alkalizing beverages; makeup for younger skin; antioxidants; and more. There are also 50 recipes, which is the best part! Even if you don’t want to (or have the drive to!) follow the full 28-day plan, you can at least incorporate some of these recipes into your regular diet. Every day throughout the plan, you should exercise, drink plenty of water, and enjoy a few alkalizing drinks.

First thing in the morning on day 1

First thing in the morning after 3 full days

I took a before and after photo for the 3-day alkalizing cleanse (bed head and all!), but the book clearly states that if you are 25 years old (which I am) you won’t have dramatic results. “However, the program will teach you how to care for your skin and body so that it looks its best for many years to come.” I do have to say I learned so much from this book! Plus, I never gave my skin much thought, but it is our largest organ and protects our entire body. It deserves some love! And as the author states, healthy skin is a symptom of a healthy inner body. I don’t see much of a difference here, but my skin does look a bit healthier afterwards, don’t you think?

An important part of the diet is exercise, because exercise helps the body remove toxins and waste and it “flushes the skin with lysozyme-rich sweat, which kills microbes that can cause skin inflammation.” It also helps pump blood, carrying fresh oxygen, to the skin. Luckily, I already exercise most days, sometimes twice a day, so I didn’t add any more and consequently did not experience any differences or improvements in that regard.

3-Day Alkalizing Cleanse

1. To read the full first day of the alkalizing cleanse diet, see this WIAW post. I cheated a little, but worked pretty hard to buy all the right ingredients and prep meals in advance.

2. The second morning, I woke up with more energy than usual and I drank the leftover green juice, with flax-seed oil mixed in, before yoga. At yoga I felt very present and strong. Afterwards my teacher even commented that I seem ready to push my practice to the next level! After yoga I had a small apple banana and some water. I picked up bread to go with dinner that night (and I snuck a bite!) but otherwise, I wasn’t even too hungry most of the day, which for me, is extremely unusual. I drank lemon-ginger tea and snacked (blueberries, raspberries and half a blood orange) during the day.

We made the recipe for lentil and sweet potato soup for dinner, and ate the rest of the loaf of bread.

Yes, bread was an option during the cleanse! Can you believe it? I don’t think we were supposed to eat a whole loaf, but the diet isn’t very strict in terms of portions; it just said “serve with bread,” so we did. I didn’t even crave sugar after dinner… and I ALWAYS crave sugar after dinner! By the end of day two I was like, this is going great!

3. On Day three, we started with three beverages including purple juice (ginger, purple and orange carrots, red apples, lemon… I was supposed to add sprouts and celery instead of ginger and lemon but mixed up my ingredients, whoops!). I like starting my day out with juice for quick energy and nutrients, but I find it hard to plan enough time for juicing in the morning. I will post a full WIAW for this day, so check back this Wednesday to see what the other two drinks were, etc.

I packed half a papaya with lime for a snack for work, as well as a quinoa veggie burger. This brown food is most definitely not recommended for the diet, but I didn’t make enough food to last through day 3 (don’t forget, Kiyo was eating this same diet with me. I doubled the recipes but apparently that still wasn’t enough). I  think that here it’s important to note that with any diet, it’s important to try your best and put in real effort, but you also have to make it fit around your life and schedule, and whatever obstacles come up! I also drank skin detox tea (this tea isn’t in the book, but I figured it would be a great complement and I already had it at home).

We had my dad over for dinner: more soup, and a sourdough baguette. That was all in the diet meal-plan… here’s what we added that wasn’t in the book: sparkling water with lime, local pickled carrots, roasted green beans and wine.

I know, I know… during a measly 3-day cleanse I couldn’t stay away from cookies and wine! But, I only had the smallest ever cookie on day one, and antioxidant flavonoids in wine are good for the skin, so doesn’t that cancel out the negative effects of the alcohol? That would be my question for the author if I could pick her brain!

I averaged about 1,500 calories per day on the 3-day cleanse, so depending on your current weight, activity levels, and weight goal, you may want to eat a little bit more or less. I weighed 133 before the cleanse, and 131 the morning after. As I said, I continued my regular exercise routine. I drank plenty of fluids during those three days, so I’m sure that two pounds of weight loss wasn’t due to dehydration, but it still isn’t significant. It could be that I really lost two pounds in three days, or it could just be normal weight fluctuation, I’m not sure.

The biggest easy-to-remember takeaway for me is that you should almost always avoid brown foods (syrups, fried foods, etc.) and should choose whole, natural foods in rich colors (i.e. red quinoa, red lentils, purple cabbage, blood orange, red bell pepper, beets, kale, red onion, sweet potato, red guava, etc.). The book includes a shopping list for the 28-day diet, but it could be used as a general grocery-store guide. The “diet” is intended as a lead-up to a special occasion, but it takes 21 days to form a new habit, so if you do the diet, you will likely continue to incorporate some of the principles and recipes from the diet into your regular life afterwards.

I learned that quinoa porridge, which just doesn’t sound appealing to me, is actually a fantastic, filling and delicious breakfast that you can easily modify to fit your taste. Some ideas: almond milk, coconut milk, fresh berries, bee pollen, chia seeds, peanut butter… pretty much anything that you might eat on oatmeal. What would you try it with?

In conclusion, I definitely recommend this book for anyone, really, since we all have skin! I doubt most people feel fully satisfied with the current condition of their skin. Of course, we all know that sun and smoking harm our skin, but do we really know which specific foods are good for it? I think that for the average person, probably not. So, if you’re interested, check it out!