Photograph by Ellen Silverman
Daphne Oz has beautiful skin and silky hair. What else would you expect from the daughter of Dr. Mehmet Oz? After all, if you believe that beauty comes from within, then it only makes sense that someone raised in a household with healthy living in the DNA is going to figure out how to take good care of herself.
But there is a glow—a sort of energy halo—that radiates from Oz. She has been fortunate in achieving good health, career success, and personal happiness. It shows. And with two best-selling books and a daily television show as her platform, she wants to help everyone else achieve that good fortune, too. “I don’t know everything, I only know what works for me,” says Oz. “And if I can help you, so much the better.”
Oz’s first book, The Dorm Room Diet, came out when she was a sophomore at Princeton. It offers a plan for avoiding the “Freshman 15,” along with advice on healthy eating. “Unbelievable as it sounds, as the daughter of Dr. Oz, I was overweight as a kid,” says Oz. With help from her father, grandfather and grandmother, a nutritional advisor, Oz devised a way to lose 30 pounds, then decided to share it with the world. “I’d never set myself up as an expert in a vacuum,” says Oz. “I wrote the book because I was looking for this advice in my own life.”
The idea for her new book, Relish, percolated over dinner with friends one night, when they were just a couple of years out of college. “We didn’t know how to gauge our own lives or know what makes us happy or successful,” she says. “It dawned on me that we all had to make meaningful choices to get there.”
A guide to bringing purpose and pleasure into your life—with chapters on beauty, fitness and health—Relish is loaded with clever ideas and delicious recipes for healthy eating (try the Watermelon-Jalapeno Gazpacho or Kale Salad with Hemp Seeds & Parmesan). Co-hosting The Chew offers Oz another opportunity to share her food philosophy: “The best way we can get out of our healthcare crisis in this country is to make healthy food affordable and accessible,” she says.
When it comes to beauty, Oz swears by a daily cod liver oil shot—one tablespoon in a glass of orange juice. (Flax seed oil is a vegan option.) “The oil moisturizes from the inside out and it’s good for skin, hair and nails,” she says. “It is also loaded with vitamin D, which is different from fish oil. I’m a fan of getting my supplements in as natural a form as possible; I try to eat most of my vitamins.” That includes organic Greek yogurt for healthy digestion, which she makes herself, and limiting sugar. “But coconut oil changed my life,” she says. Searching for an alternative to harsh cleansers, she uses Fair Trade, unfiltered, untreated, organic coconut oil to “cleanse, moisturize and tone my skin.” Twice a week, she whips up a Coconut Oil Hair Mask: brush coconut oil through the hair, leave it on for an hour or two or overnight. Shampoo.
The oldest of four children raised by Dr. Mehmet and Lisa Oz, Daphne comes across as the big sister we wish we all had: warm, friendly, supportive, nurturing—and fun. So what was it like growing up with Dr. Oz?
“My dad is ‘Dr. Oz,’ and he’s in people’s living rooms every day,” says Daphne. “But for us, he’s dad.” Apparently he gave his kids great advice growing up. “My dad is an athlete, and he always tried to teach us life lessons through sports, like ‘You can’t catch the ball if you’re not standing on the field.’ It makes such a difference to get in there, do something you love and try to be your best at it.”
Good advice. It certainly worked for Daphne. And if her track record is any indication, that means it will probably work for you, too.