Does Patient Nutrition Affect Injectables Results?

A recent article published on Yahoo! Life suggests that nutrition can affect the longevity of injectables results.

As popularity increases, information surrounding medical aesthetics treatments is becoming a wider topic of conversation.

The article quotes Dr Saleena Zimri, MBChB, MRCGP, and PGDipDerm. MBChB Manchester. MRCGP. PGDip Dermatology. She is the founder of the Skin Doctor Clinics brand and a GP. Dr Saleena has been practising cosmetic medicine for almost 15 years.

Does what aesthetics patients eat before or after their injectable treatments affect longevity of results?

In the interview, she states, “When people have a sculpting treatment, they automatically think they can go back to their lifestyle and still keep up with the positive changes that their treatments have had.”

“However, proper nutrition is important to achieving and maintaining your face and body contouring goals”, she continues.

Dr Saleena suggests aesthetics patients limit foods that are high in sugar, such as some cereals and fizzy drinks. Additionally, she proposes avoiding fast foods and alcohol.

She recommends opting for a balanced diet of grains, oils, fatty fish, protein and dark-coloured vegetables, amongst others.

A nutritional expert’s response

We asked respected nutrition therapist and author Ian Marber for his take on these claims.

Known for his myth-busting, Marber told us, “The piece doesn’t say why such foods would make any difference and it’s pretty vague. Are they suggesting that eating X or Y immediately before or after a tweakment would make a difference? There is no evidence or suggestion that immediate nutritional changes make any difference.”

He adds, “As for skin and good nutrition, it's equally vague as it doesn't say why [certain foods help or hinder results]. There is a vast amount of evidence and research into skin and nutrition, but not this.”

Is there any truth to the story or is it just clickbait? we asked. Marber is firmly in the "it’s clickbait" camp. However, he does have one piece of nutritional advice for aesthetics practitioners to share with their patients.

“It’s important not to have omega 3 or 6 in supplement form for a couple of days before and after any invasive procedure, such as cosmetic injectables. This is because they deliver larger doses than one might get from food. They can thin the blood, leading to a greater potential for bleeding and bruising.”

Omega-rich foods include most fish, walnuts, chia seeds and soybeans.

An aesthetic practitioner's response

We caught up with Harley Academy’s Chief Marketing Officer, STORY Clinics co-founder and aesthetic medicine expert, Dr Marcus Mehta for his thoughts.

“Longevity of injectable treatments is not determined by what you eat” Dr Marcus explains. “However, it is important to note that obviously, if you have better skin quality your results will look better and may seem to last a bit longer”, he continues.

“We always recommend patients start with skin first, using things like a good quality retinol, a vitamin C and a daily SPF.

“Some things around injectable treatments that we recommend patients avoid having before and after treatments are things like aspirin, ibuprofen, and alcohol. Things that may thin your blood and slightly increase your risk of bruising, but nothing is actually going to make a difference to the longevity of those treatment results", Dr Marcus advises.

It’s crucial to ensure when providing aesthetics patients with advice, to offer evidence-based information. Your patients should view you as a trusted authority in the field of aesthetic medicine. This provides the best possible outcome of their injectables results and creates a relationship of trust between patient and practitioner.

All information correct at the time of publication