Rajani Katta, MD, clinical professor of dermatology at McGovern Medical School, University of Texas

Rajani Katta, MD

Given the increase in popularity of hair, skin, and nail supplements, Rajani Katta, MD, is urging those in the dermatology field to take a more evidence-based approach to conversations on supplement use before recommending such products to patients.

Katta, known for her role as an author, a dermatologist, and a clinical faculty member at Baylor College of Medicine and McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, spoke in an interview with 

. She discussed the key messages from her presentation, ‘Supplements in Dermatology: An Evidence-Based Approach,’ highlighting the marketing of various widely available supplements with limited oversight despite their carrying potentially significant safety risks.

Throughout her talk and subsequent interview, Katta explained why both clinicians and patients often misunderstand the possible harms to the skin linked with supplement use. She also speaks about a practical framework for dermatologists to assess products before recommending them and touches on why long-term safety deserves an increased level of attention. The following Q&A includes her responses to related 

You gave a talk here at SDPA titled ‘Supplements in dermatology: an evidence-based approach.’ Why did you feel this topic was so important for clinicians working in the dermatology field today?

When we're talking about skin, hair, and nail supplements, they have exploded. We did a research study where we just looked at the ingredients of skin, hair, and nail supplements available on our local grocery stores. There were so many, and certainly a lot of patients and even providers don't realize all of the risks that are potentially associated with supplements, ranging from an increased risk of cancer to a risk of birth defects. So you really have to be educated on every single supplement ingredient, especially if you're going to recommend that to your patients.

 It seems as though the lack of FDA review of supplements is a notable concern. Do you feel that patients who may be anti-supplements should stay away from all of them or simply be more aware of the data on supplements?

I think it's really important to be aware of the data, but you're absolutely right. That is the main issue, and one of the things I talked about in my talk was the fact that for some pharmaceutical medications, you have to prove efficacy, you have to prove safety, you have to prove quality before a medication can be released. Sometimes patients don't realize that when you're buying a supplement, it seems like it should be safe and that somebody has checked it out. It's not the case, you know. The manufacturer does not have to prove effectiveness or safety. so you really have to educate yourself as a patient and as a provider.

Do you hear from any providers that you know of who are really misguided with regard to supplements? Do you feel that patients are more misguided regarding supplement use and impacts of skin health?

 That's a really good question. I'm not sure, but I will say…there’s an ingredient called saw palmetto, it’s found in some hair loss supplements, and when I've given talks, I've realized that not everybody realizes that that causes birth defects. So if you are recommending this particular supplement, you need to be telling every single woman of childbearing potential that this causes birth defects. I don't know how often that's happening.

What do you feel are some of the other most notable takeaways from your session?

I have a mnemonic: it's ‘PPIES’; for every single supplement that you are going to recommend or consider recommending P for purity, P for potency, I for interactions, E for efficacy, and S for safety. If nobody has double-checked the supplement for you, you need to do your own analysis of PPIES for every single ingredient in that supplement. That's really one of the main takeaways.

The second takeaway is that, at least for purity and potency, there is a shortcut, which is that you can look for a marker from an independent third-party investigative laboratory that says that they have at least evaluated this particular supplement for purity and potency. That way at least you can feel good about that. So that's an example of something that can help as a shortcut. There are no shortcuts, though, for trying to evaluate efficacy and safety. Unfortunately, that requires some research on your part.

 Do you feel that right now, given the increasing awareness of supplements and their potential dangers or upsides or downsides, that we're on a good track? Or do we have a long way to go?

I think we have a long way to go. I just hear a lot of patients using supplements without questioning if there a potential for risk here. I think they might have questions about if this is going to be effective. But I don't think enough patients say, ‘Could this harm me?’ Unfortunately, there's not a lot of long-term safety data. For example, there was just a study that came out about glucosamine, that's not really used for skin, hair, and nails, it's used for joint symptoms.

But the recent study came out showing that it increased the risk of dementia in patients who had been taking it long term. I worry about this, because we've seen this also with high dose vitamins and minerals, even things like vitamin B6 or beta-carotene, that [there is data suggesting] over the long term they can increase your risk of cancer. I think there aren't enough patients, or providers for that matter, asking these questions about what the long-term safety risk is here.

Disclosures: Katta has reported serving on an advisory board for Vichy Laboratories and is the author of a book on diet and dermatology for the general public.

Katta R. Integrative Medicine Track: Supplements in dermatology: an evidence-based approach. Session presented at SDPA Summer 2026; June 10–14.

Katta R. What Clinicians Should Know About Diet and Skin Disease, With Rajani Katta, MD. HCPLive. July 7, 2026. Accessed July 9, 2026. 

https://www.hcplive.com/view/what-clinicians-should-know-about-diet-skin-disease-rajani-katta-md

Articles

Skin, hair, and nail supplement use is surging, yet products reach consumers without premarket proof of efficacy, safety, or quality. Clinicians and patients often overlook clinically meaningful harms, including teratogenicity (eg, saw palmetto) and potential long‑term risks such as cancer signals with high‑dose vitamins/minerals. A practical evaluation framework—PPIES (purity, potency, interactions, efficacy, safety)—supports systematic counseling. Third‑party certification may help with purity/potency, but assessing efficacy and safety still requires independent literature review and heightened attention to long‑term outcomes. Counseling should explicitly address reproductive risk in women of childbearing potential.

This Q&A interview highlights Katta's views on dietary and nutritional supplements' impact on skin health as well as their long-term effects.

What Are the Side Effects of Hair and Skin Supplements in Dermatology? With Rajani Katta, MD

Discussing Nutrition's Role in Psoriasis Management, With Rajani Katta, MD

, Rajani Katta, MD, author, board-certified dermatologist, and clinical faculty member at Baylor College of Medicine and McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, described highlights from her session and emphasized her view, suggesting dermatology clinicians should take a more active role in discussing diet with patients, including those living with 

, Katta highlighted that psoriasis extends beyond one’s skin. Patients are at increased risk for diabetes, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and other cardiovascular conditions. As a result, Katta believes discussions regarding lifestyle modification are a necessary component of ensuring comprehensive care.

"One of the biggest takeaways for psoriasis was that patients with psoriasis are at higher risk for comorbidities," Katta stated. She added that many patients may be unaware of such comorbidities, encouraging dermatology clinicians to initiate related conversations and ensure patient education related to nutrition changes designed to help diminish long-term cardiovascular risk.

Although Katta noted the necessity of successful lifestyle modifications to implement a multidisciplinary approach, potentially with collaboration between primary care and nutrition professionals, she also pointed to emerging data indicating direct effects of diet on psoriasis disease activity.

During her interview, she discussed some of the most promising areas of research, highlighting early research assessing anti-inflammatory dietary patterns, particularly the Mediterranean diet. While existing literature may remain limited, she described current data suggesting that dietary interventions will eventually become a meaningful adjunct to conventional psoriasis therapies.

Later, Katta also noted the link between body weight and psoriasis severity, adding that weight reduction has been connected with improvements in one’s level of skin disease in those with overweight or obesity. She further described a growing interest in glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, noting that their benefits may extend beyond weight management.

Overall, Katta challenged clinicians working in dermatology to become more comfortable discussing nutrition during routine clinical visits with their patients. Instead of the typical referrals of such conversations to other health care providers or nutritionists, she stated her belief in dermatologists’ ability to understand the fundamentals of diet-related skin health. Holding such discussions with patients can enable broader conversations about dietary triggers and the effects of eating patterns.

Katta R. Diet and dermatology: what to say when your patients ask. Presented at: SDPA Summer 2026; June 10-14, 2026; Denver, CO.

Katta R. What clinicians should know about diet and skin disease, with Rajani Katta, MD. HCPLive. July 7, 2026. Accessed July 8, 2026. 

Videos

This segment of Katta's SDPA interview highlights the association between dietary changes and skin disease.

What Clinicians Should Know About Diet and Skin Disease, With Rajani Katta, MD

, Rajani Katta, MD, board-certified dermatologist, clinical faculty member at Baylor College of Medicine and McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, spoke on the role of nutrition in the dermatologic care space at the 

SDPA 2026 Annual Summer Dermatology Conference

In her session, ‘Diet and Dermatology: What to Say When Your Patients Ask,’ Katta noted the value of equipping clinicians with evidence-based guidance as patient interest in diet and skin health continues to grow. According to Katta, questions surrounding nutrition have become increasingly common in dermatology practices, fueled in large part by social media and wellness influencers’ impact on society. Katta added that, while patients are eager to understand whether dietary changes can improve their skin health, clinicians must often help them to separate scientifically supported recommendations from misinformation.

Her goal, she explained, is to help providers confidently address these conversations using available evidence rather than anecdote. A central theme of Katta's talk was the importance of not oversimplifying the connection between diet and skin disease. There were 2 persistent misconceptions Katta highlighted which can arise during patient encounters: the belief in diet’s lack of effect on dermatologic conditions and the opposite assumption that diet is responsible for almost every skin condition.

In reality, Katta emphasized that nutrition may influence certain conditions, but it is rarely the sole cause of disease. She noted that this distinction is particularly important when counseling patients with psoriasis or parents of children with atopic dermatitis, many of whom may incorrectly attribute disease onset entirely to dietary habits.

In her conference session, Katta examined published data across several inflammatory and chronic skin conditions, some of which included rosacea, acne, urticaria, and psoriasis. She spoke about specific triggers in select patient populations with such diseases, though she emphasized that recommendations should remain individualized and grounded in facts and data.

Later in her discussion, Katta highlighted dietary supplements and their role in acne care, explaining that supplement implementatioj has become common enough that it should now be incorporated into routine patient histories. Additionally, several products linked with acne exacerbation were touched on by Katta, including whey protein powders, certain muscle-building supplements that may contain anabolic steroids, high-dose vitamin B6 and B12 supplements, and iodine-containing supplements.

Through routine inquiries about such products and through the provision of evidence-based nutritional counseling, Katta suggested clinicians can help patients in their practices to uncover modifiable contributors to disease. She noted they can do this while also helping them to develop realistic expectations regarding the role of diet as an adjunct for dermatologic treatment.

Katta R. Diet and Dermatology: What To Say When Your Patients Ask. Session presented at SDPA Summer 2026; June 10–14.

Rajani Katta, MD, an author and dermatologist, spoke regarding her SDPA session on diet and its connection to dermatology.

Diet and Dermatology: What to Say When Your Patients Ask

As social media continues to shape patient perceptions of health, dermatology clinicians are fielding more questions than ever about the role of diet in 

 Society of Dermatology Physician Assistants (SDPA) 2026 Annual Meeting

, Rajani Katta, MD, clinical professor of dermatology at McGovern Medical School, University of Texas, addressed how clinicians can respond to those questions with confidence and nuance.

"Our patients are constantly asking about it," Katta told 

. "With influencers and a lot of social media, patients have a lot of questions about [whether they] need to be changing their diet for their skin condition. I wanted to equip clinicians with evidence-based information they can actually explain to their patients."

Her talk opened by dismantling 2 opposing myths that she says bracket most patient misconceptions. Myth 1: Diet has no relationship to dermatology. Myth 2: Diet is the cause of all dermatology problems. Navigating between those extremes, she argued, is where the real clinical work lives.

That tension is particularly evident in conditions like psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. Parents of children with eczema often arrive convinced that diet is the primary driver, while patients with psoriasis may blame themselves for poor eating habits. Katta cautioned against both overcorrection and dismissal, framing dietary intervention as a potential adjunct rather than a root cause or cure.

Her session reviewed evidence across 8 skin conditions, including rosacea, acne, chronic urticaria, and psoriasis. In acne, she highlighted research linking high-glycemic diets to worsening disease, as well as specific supplements that can serve as triggers. Whey protein supplements, certain muscle-building products adulterated with undisclosed anabolic steroids, and high-dose vitamin B6 and B12 supplements were among those flagged. Iodine supplements also made the list.

"In the past I would never have asked a patient with acne, are you taking any supplements," she said. "But as supplements have become way more popular, it's really important to ask all our patients this."

For psoriasis, the discussion shifted toward comorbidity management. Patients with psoriasis carry elevated risk for obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, and Katta emphasized that dietary counseling in this population should address systemic risk alongside skin disease. She noted that emerging data on anti-inflammatory Mediterranean dietary patterns showed early promise for improving psoriasis itself, though she described the current research base as limited.

She also pointed to growing interest in GLP-1 receptor agonists, which may benefit psoriasis severity indirectly through weight loss.

Her core clinical pearl was a call for ownership. Rather than redirecting patients to nutritionists or primary care providers, she urged dermatology clinicians to learn the fundamentals and integrate dietary counseling into their own practice.

"I want us to be able to take ownership and learn the basics," she said, "so that you can either educate a patient on the triggers or potential helpers for their skin disease or refer to a provider who can."

Katta R. Integrative Medicine Track: Diet and Dermatology: What To Say When Your Patients Ask. Session presented at the 2026 SDPA Summer Dermatology Conference in Denver, Colorado, from June 10 – 14.

Perez-Bootello J, Berna-Rico E, Abbad-Jaime de Aragon C, et al. Mediterranean Diet and Patients With Psoriasis: The MEDIPSO Randomized Clinical Trial. 

. 2025;161(12):1215-1223. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2025.3410

Haran K, Johnson CE, Smith P, et al. Impact of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists on Psoriasis and Cardiovascular Comorbidities: A Narrative Review. 

. 2024;14:143-152. Published 2024 Nov 15. doi:10.2147/PTT.S485061

Rajani Katta, MD, on navigating the diet-skin connection: evidence, myths, and clinical ownership.