Q&A: Health Trends I Think Are BS, Advice I’d Give My 20-Something Self, Love Languages, & More

[00:00:00] LM: Hello, friends, and welcome to the Liz Moody podcast, where every week we’re sharing real science, real stories, and realistic tools that actually level up every part of your life. I’m your host, Liz Moody, and I’m a best selling author and long time journalist. Let’s dive in. One super quick note, I know that 50 percent of you listening to this episode do not follow the podcast.

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[00:00:41] All right, let’s get right into the episode. We’re going to do a little Q& A today. I asked you to submit questions, and you really came through. We have a wide diversity of questions here. So let’s just dive in question one. What is your love language? So I do not think that people have [00:01:00] just one love language and I do not think there are only five love languages.

[00:01:04] We talk about this in the episode with Drs. John and Julie Gottman that there are Literally hundreds, thousands even, of love languages, and it’s almost narrowing to just focus on the fact that there’s five. So I don’t believe in the five love languages, but I do believe that there are ways that we show love to our partners and that there are ways that we are more prone to be able to notice when our partners are showing us love.

[00:01:30] So I have a bunch of love languages. My number one one is probably knowing that Zach is thinking about me when I’m not around or knowing that anybody is thinking about me when I’m not around. So this can show up in a few ways. If you go to the grocery store, And you bring me home a little treat, that is a love language for me.

[00:01:49] Like if you’re like, oh, I saw this kombucha flavor and I thought of you. I know it’s one of your favorites. I brought you grapes. I love grapes. I love grapes so much. So just seeing something when you’re [00:02:00] out and about shopping and picking up a little thing because you were thinking of me when you were out and about.

[00:02:05] Also just a little text message when you’re at work or If I have friends that live far away from me or when Zach goes on business trips, hey, I was just thinking of you. That goes a really long way for me. And I do think a big truth about the love languages is that we tend to show love in the ways that we like to receive love.

[00:02:24] So that’s a big way that I’ll show love too. I’m a big little treat. Person. So whenever I’m at the grocery store, I’m always looking. Is there a gluten free and a beer that I can grab for Zach? There’s usually not very many. We’re high in constraints in our beers at this moment. Or if I’m thinking of a friend, I will always send them a little text and say, Hey, I was thinking of you.

[00:02:46] I was just remembering this really fun thing that we did together. I love that just like being thought of when you’re not around the person vibe, huge love language for me. Also, I don’t know if this counts as a love language, but the feeling [00:03:00] that somebody has my back and that I’m not in it alone. So if I’m having a really hard day, sometimes Zach will bring me a matcha and say, hey, is there anything that I can do to help?

[00:03:08] Or you know what? He’ll actually just do something without me even asking and be like, oh, hey, I folded the laundry cause that’s my chore. It’s my one chore. I talk about this too much. I’m very bad at doing it, but he’ll be like, I know you’re really underwater at work and you’re not going to have time to get to that today.

[00:03:22] Or he’ll bring me lunch and be like, oh, I just made you lunch so that I could take that off your plate. I love feeling taken care of. That’s a really big love language for me. I’m also, you know, if we’re going to the classic love languages, words of affirmation, love them, could not get. enough compliments.

[00:03:39] I don’t know if that’s a Leo thing, but huge words of affirmation person as well. Okay, what’s one product or supplement that you wish you’d started in your 20s and one that you would recommend that no one in their 20s do? I’ll give you three to do’s. Wear sunscreen. If I could go back and [00:04:00] slather sunscreen on my 20 year old self’s face, I would give anything to be able to do that.

[00:04:07] Also wash your face at night. I did not wash my face at night until I was in my thirties. I can’t believe I’m saying that, but it makes such a huge difference. If you are spending money on skincare and you are not wearing sunscreen during the day and washing your face at night, You are wasting that money.

[00:04:27] Those two things make the biggest difference. They also kind of go hand in hand because going to sleep with sunscreen on your face just sounds awful and is very hard to do. So wear sunscreen. Wash your face at night. I would also say floss. This is a vanity thing. Your teeth will look better. Your breath will smell better.

[00:04:46] But also our dental health is so important for the rest of the health of our body, for our cardiovascular health, for our brain health. And I spent my entire twenties getting cavity after cavity after [00:05:00] cavity, all because I could not take the one to two minutes out of my day that it takes to floss. So quickly floss, wear sunscreen, wash your face at night.

[00:05:10] The one thing that I would recommend that nobody in their 20s do is Botox. If you are in your 20s, you do not need Botox. You were just targeted by people who wanted to make more money, and so they’re just trying to go back and back and back in age to have more people to market to. I promise you, you do not need Botox.

[00:05:30] Nobody needs Botox, but people in their 20s, It’s not even doing anything. Botox is for when you have lines when your face is at rest, not when people like raise their forehead and then they see lines there. That’s not the function of Botox. If you’re doing it for medical reasons, great. That’s between you and your doctor.

[00:05:49] I support you making the best choices for your body. But if you’re doing it because you think you need it aesthetically, I would just strongly encourage you to Wait until later in your life. [00:06:00] It’s so expensive and you just don’t need that much for your skin and your face. And a huge fear I have is that social media is convincing people that they should be doing all of this stuff to their face.

[00:06:12] Younger and younger and younger and younger people are getting more plastic surgery. So, um, People are doing more fillers, people are doing more Botox, people are spending so much more money on skin care, and it’s all this created market by people on social media who need you to watch their videos, who need you to buy the products that they’re selling.

[00:06:31] And it’s not good for us to think that we need all of these things to be beautiful. It’s not good for our wallets, it’s not good for our self esteem, and I just don’t like it. Also, while we’re talking about skin care. Don’t use harsh acids, like don’t be piling on the glycolic acid with the retinol, with the other exfoliators until you’re just stripping your skin’s barrier layer.

[00:06:53] The best thing that you can do is protect the skin that you have. That is the thing that is going to make your [00:07:00] skin look the best. So when you’re stripping it with all of these harsh exfoliants, you’re working against your long term goals. What are your favorite places you’ve ever traveled to for me number one has to be Syria?

[00:07:16] I feel bad saying it it is so Devastating what has happened in Syria, but it is absolutely one of my favorite places that I’ve ever been I ended up going there because my dad and I went to Eastern Turkey We are Armenian, and we wanted to go to the part of the world that our family was from, which is Lake Van, which is now in Eastern Turkey.

[00:07:37] And so we did a trip to Eastern Turkey. We went to Van, and then we kind of bust back from Van. So we went to Cappadocia, and we went to St. Leorfa, and we went to all these amazing places along the way. And I just, I I absolutely fell in love with the culture in that area of the world and I wanted to go back to the Middle East to explore more.

[00:07:57] So when I graduated from college, [00:08:00] my dad and I planned this trip to the Middle East. So we flew into Egypt and then we went over to Jordan and then we went up to Syria. And, to Lebanon. And then we ended with Israel, which we went into through Jordan. And you want to end with Israel because once you go to Israel, you can’t go back to any of those other countries.

[00:08:19] At least that was how it was at the time. Obviously the whole situation in that area of the world, it’s very, very, very different now. So we went in 2009. which was the fall before Arab spring. So we went like six months before everything changed in that entire area of the world. And I feel so, so, so, so lucky that we did.

[00:08:46] The whole. area is so rich in history. It’s rich in culture. The people are phenomenal. They’re always inviting you in for tea. We got invited to so many strangers houses to have tea and to look at pictures. [00:09:00] And so many of them didn’t speak any English and we didn’t speak their language. And we just would kind of sit there and smile and listen to music.

[00:09:06] And they were so hospitable and amazing and lovely. And. Particularly Syria, I love because first of all, the markets are incredible. One of the biggest markets in the world is in Aleppo, and it was just such a sight to see. And there’s these sounds and smells of the spices, and it was really, really wonderful.

[00:09:27] And then also the history there is just mind blowing. You’re looking at buildings that are Thousands of years old and then the structure of the cities themselves. So Damascus is a walled city and the streets are cobblestone and all of the buildings are built around these courtyards that have like fragrant orange trees and lemon trees and lime trees.

[00:09:48] And it smells so good. And you’re walking down the cobblestone streets and there’s plants draping around you and it just was paradise. I hope so, so much that I can go back [00:10:00] someday and take the people that I love back. And I hope so much that it can be a safe place for the people who live there and for people who travel there once again.

[00:10:09] Other places I love, Iceland. I haven’t done the ring road. I really want to do the ring road, but we stayed in the part of Iceland that a lot of the food is grown in, in greenhouses. And so it’s really cool. We’d go to these like farmer’s markets that were in greenhouses. We do. The most beautiful hikes that I have ever done in my life.

[00:10:26] And then you hot pot, which is just looking for hot springs. And there’s these teeny tiny little ones that you can go to that nobody else’s in. And you’re watching the wind blow over the grass and you’re watching the sheep in the meadow. And you’re sitting there in this warm water. We also did a hike to a hot Spring River, which was really, really cool.

[00:10:46] We went to a hot spring swimming pool that was out in the middle of a mountain, like carved into the mountain in nature, and that was phenomenal. So I love Iceland and I want to go back and I wanna do the whole ring road, and then I’ll just say one more. I’ll say [00:11:00] Paris. I had to go to Paris a bunch of times to fall in love with it.

[00:11:03] But once I fell for Paris, I fell really hard. I spent an entire summer there one year and I lived with a family and that was really what tipped me over to Paris to kind of see it through their eyes. And now when I go to Paris, it’s just one of those places I walk around the city streets and it makes my chest physically hurt because it is so beautiful and so rich in history and I absolutely love it.

[00:11:30] Okay. Can you share more about your hair extensions? I’ve been debating getting them for years. What are the pros and cons? Do they damage your hair? I also debated them for years. This is one of those things that I debated for years and then once I did it, I was like, wait, why did I debate that for so long?

[00:11:46] I love my hair extensions. I love them so much. I have the Great Lengths Keratin Extensions. You cannot see them. Even when people come really close, they cannot see them. They’re just tiny pieces of hair that are bonded [00:12:00] on to a Other small pieces of hair and they’re below the top layer of my hair So you cannot see them at all.

[00:12:06] I can wear my hair in a ponytail You cannot see them then you can feel them for sure So if you try to run your fingers through my hair, you will feel them But I haven’t found that to be a problem at all and you can still brush your hair normally I like this one because it is the least damaging type and I actually have found that my hair has gotten a lot better less damaged overall.

[00:12:26] It’s in better condition than before I had extensions, probably because I have to use less heat on it and I wash it less often. The number one thing that I will say about extensions is you want to go to somebody with a lot of experience to get them. This is not something that you want to get a group on, you want to go to a random place without checking their reviews, because if you go to somebody with less experience, they can you.

[00:12:49] Really damage your hair in addition to just having them look weird extensions are really hard to cut So that they don’t look kind of chunky and piecey at the bottom to kind of blend it in with the rest of your hair So [00:13:00] you really want to go to somebody with a ton of experience? If you’re in the bay area, honestly Even if you’re willing to come in from somewhere else like plan a trip to the bay area I go to pursuit salon.

[00:13:09] I go see claire there. She is incredible She makes extensions look so so natural and I cannot recommend her enough What are other questions people ask about extensions? I can wash my hair normally. I just use my normal shampoo and conditioner. I use the Evolve H shampoo. And then I use the Acton Acre deep conditioner every other time I shampoo.

[00:13:31] And I use K 18, which you don’t use conditioner with. Every other time, like, I alternate the Acton Acre and the K18. I don’t know what other questions people have. The con is the price. Extensions are really, really, really expensive. Is it worth it? I cannot say. Obviously, people have to make these types of financial decisions for themselves, but I love it.

[00:13:53] It makes me feel so confident and good every single day. It makes it so easy for me to do [00:14:00] my hair. So, I Could not recommend my experience enough, but definitely the biggest con is 100 percent the price. It is very, very, very expensive, but I only get them done every five to six months. So it’s like a twice a year expense, which definitely helps.

[00:14:21] Are there any popular health trends that you think don’t have science behind them or aren’t as good as advertised? Number one, colonics. I will not shut up about this. They’re really not good for your microbiome. I’ve had so many doctors and registered dieticians on this podcast and they’re like, would not recommend.

[00:14:38] It has a more detrimental effect than a positive effect. There are so many other ways to help with constipation. And, I would say this is another thing I don’t like generally, is there’s so many things that are marketed under the guise of wellness, under the guise of health, but they’re really just kind of soft selling looking a certain way, essentially being thin [00:15:00] and having a flatter stomach.

[00:15:01] And I think that colonics are one of those things. I also think that lymphatic massages are one of those things. Which really annoys me because moving your lymph is incredibly important for your health. But when you see lymphatic massages on Instagram, it’s just people showing like their stomach before and their stomach after.

[00:15:19] And also, you don’t need a lymphatic massage to move your lymph. Walking is one of the best ways to move lymph. Swimming, also great. Dancing, bouncing on a trampoline, all incredible for moving lymph. But walking, best way. Hands down. So go for a walk. You don’t need a lymphatic massage. Can you share more about your friendships?

[00:15:39] Who are your best friends? How often do you see them? My friends are really spread out. I still have some really good friends in New York. I have some really good friends in the Bay Area, although less than I would like to. And then I have some really good friends in LA. And I would say my best friends are MindBodyGreen.[00:16:00]

[00:16:00] My boss, who was the executive editor, she hired this editorial team that were just the most incredible people. We used to joke all the time that she essentially hired us all friends for each other, which was very kind of her. And I’m still incredibly good friends with those people to this day. One of my best friends in San Francisco is somebody that I met at My Buddy Green.

[00:16:21] And I just got really lucky that she got a job that brought her out here. So now I get to see her all the time here. And then I met another one of my closest friends. through her and we have a very robust group chat and they’re two of my favorite people to hang out with. And they live in the Bay area, which is really, really wonderful.

[00:16:36] And I get to see them, I would say a few times a month, they’re friends that I have a lot of recurring plans with, which is something that I’m. Always recommending on this podcast, but that’s because it really, really works. So we have a standing game night once a month, we do a game night and our partners all come to that too.

[00:16:55] So we have a little group of us, there’s six of us and whoever’s hosting gets to choose the game [00:17:00] and that’s really fun. And we just know that’s going to happen every single month. And then we also are members of the same book club, which I started in the Bay Area and it is amazing. My greatest pride and joy, I love my book club so much in New York, and that’s also a place where a lot of my friends come from, so I wanted to start one in the Bay, and I did, and it’s so fun, and I’m so proud of that.

[00:17:18] So that also meets once a month, and it’s just nice, because even if we can’t make other plans, because people are so busy these days, we know that we at least have those things. And then I’m also trying to see them often on the weekend, we’ll go for hikes, we’ll go swim in the ocean, things like that. And then my friend who is my maid of honor actually just recently moved back to the Bay Area.

[00:17:37] So that’s really fun and special too. We had a falling out for a little bit actually, but now we’re back and better than ever. And I only mentioned that because I do think it’s important to acknowledge that friendships can go through seasons. And sometimes when you’re in more of a down moment for your friendship, it can be helpful to know that, and you can evolve [00:18:00] and grow separately and then meet as adults.

[00:18:03] After that and it can be better than ever. So I find that really comforting. And then I have a lot of quite good friends from my job doing content creation from podcast hosting and from Instagram. I am not like, uh, let’s collaborate and get followers from each other person. I feel like there’s a lot of those people on Instagram and when they you.

[00:18:26] want to do stuff together. I’m like, love that for you. That’s not the kind of thing that I’m interested in. But what I do love is using the platform to make genuine friends with people. I’m kind of like, these are my coworkers now. And there’s so much research around how our coworkers impact our happiness at work more than even the job itself.

[00:18:46] So I’m like, I gotta befriend my coworker. So I have some Really incredible friends, like friends I take trips with, friends I call when I’m feeling sad, friends that I reveal my biggest secrets to, that I have met literally [00:19:00] from content creation, and then we’ve met up in real life, and we’ve formed a really special friendship, and those mean a lot to me too.

[00:19:07] So, I’d say my biggest complaint about my friendships right now is that they are really spread out, so if I was gonna have a birthday party in the Bay Area, it would not be Huge, because I don’t have that many close friends here, but if I added in my friends from LA and my friends from New York and my friends from London, it would be more of like a normal party size, so that’s frustrating, because sometimes I don’t feel like I have the bandwidth to add in new friends, because I have so many friends, but then when I want to hang out with people in the place that I live, I actually don’t have that many people, so that’s something that I’m It’s working on navigating.

[00:19:46] Okay, I think that’s good for our little mini Q& A today. Definitely keep an eye out on Instagram at Liz Moody. I’ll be posting tons of question boxes to do little mini Q& As in the future, or you can always send any questions in to liz at lizmoody. [00:20:00] com or DM me. Also DM me your answers, like what would you tell 20 year old you?

[00:20:05] What’s your favorite place you’ve ever traveled? I would love to know. Thank you so much for listening and have a beautiful rest of your day. That’s all for this episode of the Liz Moody Podcast. If you loved this episode, one of the best ways that you can support the pod is by sending a link to your friends, your family, your partner, your co workers, you name it.

[00:20:24] You’re helping grow the podcast and you’re helping the people you love change their lives. If you’re new to the podcast, welcome. I’m so glad that you’re here. Make sure that you’re following the podcast on whatever platform you like to listen on. You’re going to go to the main podcast page. That’s the one that lists all of the Liz Moody podcast episodes, and you will see the word follow under the logo on Spotify.

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[00:21:06] Oh, just one more thing. It’s the legal language. This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, a psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional.