Each month we pose questions from the Sun Coast Community to our resident health and skincare expert, Dr. Mark Rosenberg.

In this January edition of ‘Ask Me Anything’, Dr. Rosenberg discusses why collagen smoothies are ineffective on their own …

The #1 reason why most people struggle to lose weight in January… despite eating less and exercising more…

And if a leaky gut is to blame for saggier looking skin and aggressive wrinkling.

Question 1: “I’ve been drinking collagen smoothies for a month but seen no improvement. Do they even work?”

I recently got asked this question by a patient called Mary.

Mary had been drinking collagen smoothies each morning for weeks…

But she said her skin looked just as wrinkled, saggy, and crepey as before.

Mary was clearly disappointed.

Nobody likes wasting money on expensive powders that fail to live up to the hype.

And I had to disappoint her even more when I explained why drinking collagen smoothies hadn’t worked.

See, while it’s true that collagen is an essential protein for the structure of your skin cells, there’s another protein that’s even more important.

It’s called “elastin”.

And as its name suggests, its elastin that gives your skin its “elasticity”, its snappiness, and ability to maintain a smooth, firm complexion.

Well, I explained to Mary that without topping up her elastin levels collagen smoothies are a waste of money.

The good news is that I also explained how to do it…

And that’s with Sun Coast’s appropriately named ElastiVive formula.

ElastIVive features 3 key ingredients found on a volcanic island in the mediterranean… which support elastin levels up to 98%.

In fact, these ingredients explain why women living on the island enjoy tight, youthful complexions in their 60s, 70s, and beyond… despite hours of daily sun exposure.

You can find out more about ElastiVive and its three key volcanic ingredients in this video presentation.

Question 2: “I’ve tried diets and weekly fasts, but still can’t lose weight. Are my hormones to blame?”

It’s January, which means my inbox gets flooded with emails from people struggling to lose weight.

They’ve tried eating less, exercising more… but the scales just won't budge.

Maybe you’re facing this problem too?

Well, here’s what few dieticians will tell you…

The likely reason you can’t lose weight isn’t because you're lazy or lack willpower.

It's because your metabolism is stuck.

As you may know, your metabolism is your body’s process for converting food into energy.

And it’s your metabolism that determines how many calories you burn throughout the day.

But when your metabolism is sluggish and slow, you burn fewer calories and can’t lose weight.

The good news is that there are ways to speed up your metabolism, and without stepping foot in a gym:

• Eat more protein-rich snacks. Protein keeps you feeling full and satisfied for longer. Protein also increases your metabolism, as it takes more energy to digest. Some examples of protein-rich snacks include boiled eggs, a lump of cheese, or a handful of nuts with yogurt.

• Find time to relax and calm stress. Stress can wreak havoc to your metabolism, as stress increases your cortisol levels. Higher cortisol then causes you to overeat and store more undigested food as fat. To reduce stress, try breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, or massage.
  

• Try AMPAlive. I see lots of patients whose metabolisms have got so slow they’re practically “stuck”. And for those people I developed AMPAlive. AMPAlive is specially formulated to activate an enzyme that acts like your metabolism’s “ON” switch. It's called AMPK. And when AMPK gets turned “ON” your body gets told to burn sugars and carbs as energy.

AMPAlive has helped some of my patients lose as much as 30 lbs in a matter of weeks… and without rigid food restrictions or hours on a treadmill.

You can find out more about AMPAlive in this video presentation.

Question 3: “Does leaky gut cause wrinkles?”

You likely already knew about the link between your gut and your weight.

But did you know the health of your gut affects wrinkles and skin sagginess too?

Here’s why…

When your gut is healthy, it can absorb lots of nutrients your skin craves, such as vitamin A, collagen, elastin, and Omega-3 fatty acids.

But when your gut is unhealthy, the opposite happens…

Your gut can’t absorb nutrients properly… and your gut wall becomes “leaky”.

This then allows toxins to escape into your bloodstream… triggering inflammation, skin breakouts, and sagging.

The good news is there’s an easy way to restore your gut to peak health…

And that’s to eat a nutritious diet that’s rich in two key nutrients:

Probiotics - Probiotics replenish and restore your gut health. Probiotics are found in fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, and kombucha.

Prebiotics - Prebiotics feed and nourish the probiotics so they can spread and multiply. You can find prebiotics in garlic, onion, leek, asparagus, banana, apple, and oats.

By eating foods rich in probiotics and prebiotics, you can restore your gut’s ability to absorb nutrients. This then helps your skin look firm, hydrated, and youthful.

But, I totally get how tangy fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, and kefir aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.

For this reason I formulated Complete Package Complex.

Complete Package Complex is packed with the best science backed probiotics.

And it’s helped thousands of people to restore their gut health… and enjoy a more radiant complexion as a result.

Find out more about Complete Package Complex

Got Questions? We’ve Got Answers!

That wraps up another edition of ‘Ask Me Anything’.

As always, if you have any burning questions about health, beauty, longevity or anything you think Dr. Rosenberg could help with…

Please send us an email and we’ll let him know!

Dr. Rosenberg loves reading your questions and sharing his answers each month.

There are only so many patients he can see in his clinic.

But through this blog he can reach millions…

And help even more people on their path to feeling and looking their best at any age.