Dr. Murad and Joan Lunden Tell Us How to Become The Best You!

By Kat Ahn on February 19th, 2010

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You may remember our “Fall Skincare Tips with Dr. Murad” video interview where the ever knowledgeable Dr. Murad, the world-renowned dermatologist, pharmacist and Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA, and CEO of Murad Skincare Inc, informed us of ways we can combat skin aging and why you should EAT your water.  Well, we were lucky enough to sit down with both Dr. Murad and Joan Lunden, the infamous media personality, former Good Morning America anchor, host of Lifetime’s “Health Corner,” and DIRECTV’s “Hometown Heroes,” creator of Camp Reveille, a women’s wellness retreat, and the face of Murad’s Resurgence skincare line, about Murad’s Inclusive Health Philosophy and how to create the best you ever!

When Aysha and I walked into the pristine offices of Murad’s Inclusive Spa and Health center, complete with friendly, knowledgeable employees, pastel-hued paintings from Dr. Murad himself, and huge displays of all of their most popular skincare products, I immediately felt at peace.  We live in a stressful world filled with work issues, relationships, and the daily grind, so when you get the opportunity to take a few hours away from it all, its definitely a blessing.

As we toured the spa center, Dr. Murad was youthfully effervescent in showing us the various spa facilities including personalized consultations for facials, hair and body, and even nail care.  I asked him what his goal was in creating this spa health center, especially when he’s already achieved so much worldwide success with the Murad skincare line.  Smiling, Dr. Murad turned to me and simply answered,
“We talked about passion before and my passion isn’t only to have a large company, but to make a difference in the lives of everyone I touch. I want to make a difference and when people leave here (the Murad Inclusive Health Center), I want them to feel as though they were helped to become the best version of themselves because when you look better, you feel better. Finding ways to include the overall health of everybody, that’s what I want to do.

Love it.  So, Dr. Murad, tell us more about the Cellular water principle, which you’ve stated as the foundation of the Murad philosophy.
Regardless of what happens to you when you age, you lose water. With every decade of life, the water content in your cells decreases. Pollution, sun, sickness, dehydration, stress, all these things age you. Regardless of what causes disease or illness, the final common pathway is water loss. The Water Principle is a revolutionary approach to attracting water into cells and keeping it there. For example, if you look at a cancer cell under a microscope, you’ll see that it has less water than a healthy cell.  So, what is the answer? You must try to hydrate every cell in your body. And how is this done? Through nutrition, raw fruits and vegetables, minimizing free radicals, topical skincare, and reducing stress.

Well, what about the 8 glasses of water a day theory that we see in fitness magazines?  Is it a complete myth?
Eat your water through raw fruits and vegetables.  It’s much more effective.  If you’re drinking all that water, it’s going to go right through you. If you drink too much water, it can actually be harmful to you.  Why? Because you actually delete too many electrolytes and you become less healthy. Get yourselves as healthy as possible by eating raw fruits and vegetables, not by drinking massive amounts of water.

Thank you for clearing that up.  So, for someone who has never heard of Dr. Murad’s Inclusive Health Philosophy, what exactly is it?
The Inclusive Health Philosophy looks at the whole person and addresses that person’s entire health needs instead of only the specific problem. We focus on making the whole body healthy and looking at the whole person, which includes their nutrition, external skincare, stress reduction, etc…

And how do you keep yourself looking so youthful?
On any given day, I really try to eat based on the “pitcher of life,” food pyramid, raw fruits and vegetables, vitamins, topical skincare. If there’s one thing I try to do everyday, its ignoring the pettiness and I like to look at the positive rather than the negative. It works for me.

The best anti-aging regimen? And what is the best way to take care of your skin in harsh climate like the Southern California sun? Smile.  Very simple, but if you just put on a smile everyday, you will look beautiful.   As for sun skincare, know that only 20% of skin is the epidermis. 80% is the Dermis, which is improved by what you eat, raw fruits and veggies, antioxidants, and also topical sunscreen.   Apply sunscreens every 3 hours to your skin, but even then, if you put a vitamin C on your skin like those from our Essential-C brand, and then the sunscreen, you’ll get everything you need.

We wanted to spend more time with him, but Dr. Murad had to pick up his granddaughter. (Priorities!) Next up, Twirlit sat down with Joan Lunden, the current face of Murad’s Resurgence line that focuses on restoring firmness, hydration, and reducing wrinkles. We also asked her about how she stays looking so great, why she’s so invested in health knowledge, and advice to today’s working woman.

Joan, so great to meet with you and thanks for being with us. So, considering that you’re the current face of the Resurgence line, let’s start with skincare talk. With all your on-camera experience including a grueling work schedule, 3 AM call times, traveling to exotic locales, how did you manage take care of your skin?
Well, I grew up in California, would vacation in Hawaii and definitely spent a lot of time in the sun. It was also back in a time when there weren’t people telling us not to get sun damage. Instead, we would use baby oil, olive oil, whatever would make you get tanner. (laughs) Then I burned. Now, I’m educated so I know about skincare and that most of the skin damage is done before the age of 18.  So with that and 20 years of stage makeup on GMA. I will say one thing, I was diligent my entire life about taking off my makeup every night and moisturizing before bed. The most damaging thing for me was lack of sleep. Lack of sleep and the stress with a demanding job like being a GMA anchor, and being a mom, those factors were probably more damaging to my skin than just applying heavy stage makeup everyday.

When did you start focusing on overall health?
I made up my mind that I had to start investing in my health while doing an interview with a rep from the American Heart Association. The rep was listing all these factors of heart disease, aging, etc… and I was doing all the “Don’t do this” factors. I thought, “I don’t want to be standing on the sidelines 40 years from now? I want to be in the race.” So I changed my life, learned how to cook healthy, got a personal trainer, and put playfulness back into my life. I rediscovered my joy.  Very much of being healthy is attitude and choice.  I have women say to me, “I can’t do that.” WRONG. You can decide to change your life tomorrow and you’ve got to put yourself back to your to-do list.

Women will find a hundred ways not to take time for themselves. I think women age faster, suffer from chronic stress, disease and obesity because we usually put ourselves last. When I give speeches, I remind women that we have it in our power to change that. You have to put yourself into the mix.

You look amazing and glowy in your 50’s. You have 7 kids. 2 sets of twins, 3 in their 20’s? What is your secret?
Thank you. The secret, in general, I agree with Dr. Murad about smilng more, finding joy, staying engaged in life, and having a positive attitude. In terms of skin health, its not just topical solutions but its internal health. Things like what you’re eating, taking the right supplements, etc… have a huge impact on skin health. That’s how you address your cell health and people don’t realize that it goes a lot deeper. I will tell you this, something I noticed is that once I started using Murad 3 years ago, I’ve gotten so many compliments on my skin.

I get sent a ton of products, but I did some research on Dr. Murad and found out that he was a pioneer for skin health, is a pharmacist, dermatologist, and trusted that this guy knew what he was talking about. I decided to try it and then I saw results. After using the products for 2 years, I hear compliments everywhere I go. People say to me, “You have the most unbelievable skin. You have great skin.”  Whenever you sign on to do something, you want to 100% believe it, so I’m happy that this worked out. Plus, we all love compliments.

So true. You obviously use the aspects of Inclusive health. Tell us the specifics of how you incorporate those aspects into your own life.
We all want to look the best we can look. I’m not trying to look 20 again, but I want to look the best I can be right now. We all need to take i8ownership of our health.  We’re now told we’re living til 90 or older, so you might as well look great!

Agreed. And we’re going through a rough time right now in this country with the state of the workplace, the dismal Economy, changing work environment etc… What words of wisdom can you give to young women out there who are still trying to find their passion, the right job, or maybe even considering a different field?
A couple of things.  Opportunities are seldom labeled and you have to go find them.  People have a tendency to say, “Oh I couldn’t do that?” Well, who says you can’t do that?  Maybe you can, but you have to be open for opportunities. I have a motto which is “Just say yes, and then figure out how to do it.” Always say yes. You can’t sit around and wait for new things to come around.  When I first started, I knew that the news industry was looking for more women on TV and I called up a local news director and went in and interviewed him. I asked him, “What does this industry have to offer a bright, young woman like me?”  I made that happen. They weren’t going to come to discover me. I went it and made it happen.

I always say that if you want to get into any game, you have to put yourself on the playing field.  Take an internship for less money, get out on the playing field because you learn the nuances and channels of getting into it and who you need to talk to.  And then you have to persevere. I’ve interviewed many many people, people who’ve founded huge multi-billion dollar companies… the guy who founded Starbucks, Fed-Ex. They will all tell you that other people told them no. They almost had to have an unrealistic, suspended belief that they could achieve this end thing in order to hang in and stay in the game.  The guy who started Fed-Ex said he asked 97 banks to do his idea. They all said, no, but the 98th bank said yes! You just have to find out what your passion is.

So true.

Special thanks to Dr. Murad, Joan Lunden, and Paul Williams.

(Photos Via: Aysha Manori)