How to heal your skin from the inside out!
Hands up if you have spent more money than you would like to admit on trendy skin care products, facials and at-home skin care devices all to help calm, soothe and clear your unhappy skin. What if I were to tell you that the call may be coming from inside the house (and by house, I mean your gut!).
The gut really is the cornerstone of our health, and our gut health directly impacts every single system in our body including our skin. Our gut is where 70% of our immune system lives, it is where we metabolise hormones, absorb all our nutrients and detoxify waste products from our body. If these processes are not running smoothly, this can directly impact our skin health.
Our gut and our skin have a strong and constant connection that is known as the Gut-Skin Axis. These two systems are constantly communicating with each other via chemical signals from our gut microbes to our skin microbes and vice versa.
Our gut is home to trillions of microbes in the form of bacteria, viruses, fungi and yeasts, and as a collection is known as our gut microbiome. In a healthy gut, these microbes live harmoniously together in the right balance between the good/beneficial microbes and the bad/opportunistic microbes. If the balance between these microbes is disturbed, by stress, diet or medications, this can throw off the delicate balance in our gut. This is known as dysbiosis. Dysbiosis can lead to inflammation, leaky gut and unwanted gut symptoms such as bloating, constipation or diarrhoea. When this inflammation occurs in our gut, it's not too long before it starts to show in our skin and can lead to skin conditions such as acne, eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis and rosacea.
The gut-skin connection is no new concept, especially in the naturopathy world, however more and more research is now starting to back up what we have known for years and is showing very promising results when it comes to healing the gut for healthy, glowing skin.
Our skin is a direct reflection of what is going on in our gut. If your skin is red, inflamed, congested, or irritated, chances are the same this is happening in your gut (and you don’t need to have gut symptoms for this to be occurring!). The best thing to do to balance your gut microbiome and heal your gut of inflammation is by feeding your body lots of nourishing prebiotic and probiotic foods and minimising foods that further inflame your gut.
Here’s how to heal your gut for clear skin!
It is important to reduce foods that cause inflammation in the gut if we want any chance of healing it. If we continue putting fuel on the fire, no matter how many supplements or beneficial modifications you make to your diet and lifestyle, your gut will still be inflamed. This can often be the reason why you may not be seeing results with your skin health despite all your efforts.
Reduce inflammatory foods
Minimising inflammatory foods such as refined and processed carbohydrates (white bread and white pasta) and fried foods is essential to your gut healing journey. Sugar is also highly inflammatory to our gut and can directly contribute to acne through insulin spikes. Foods that you may be intolerant to can also cause inflammation in your gut. The most common foods are gluten-containing foods and dairy and if you suscept you may be reacting to these foods, this should be investigated further by your naturopath.
Focus on prebiotics!
When it comes to supporting the optimal balance between our gut microbes and reducing inflammation in the gut, prebiotic and probiotic foods are your friend! Prebiotics are fibres found in whole, plant foods. There are two types of prebiotic fibres and both work in different ways to support our gut health. Soluble fibres found in foods such as psyllium, oats, apples and potatoes help to soothe and nourish an irritated and inflamed gut. They also help to feed the beneficial bacteria in our gut to keep them happy and healthy. Insoluble fibres, found in the seeds and peels of fruits and veggies help to bulk up your stools to keep you regular. They help to clear your body of waste products so keeping the skin on your carrots and potatoes is key!
We love probiotics!
There is so much research coming out about the benefits of probiotics for skin conditions such as eczema and acne. Probiotics help to balance out your gut bacteria by increasing the number of beneficial microbes. The first step before adding in a probiotic supplement is to start consuming probiotics through your diet. Foods high in probiotics include fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, kombucha, coconut yoghurt and tempeh.
So before you go spending hundreds to thousands of dollars on expensive skincare, look within and start with the foundations. Minimise inflammatory foods and fill your diet with nourishing prebiotic fibres and fermented foods for some probiotic goodness. A healthy and happy gut is the first step to clear, glowing and healthy skin.
If you are looking for a naturopath for gut health or a hormone and acne specialist to help heal your skin, you have come to the right place! We are a naturopath clinic in Melbourne and love to support our clients with natural acne treatments that work from the inside out! If you are unsure of where to start or would like some more personalised support, book a Free 10 Minute Exploration Session and let’s have a chat about how I can help support your gut health to get you clear and glowing skin.