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What Your Skin Says About Your Gut Health

What Your Skin Says About Your Gut Health

Are you often frustrated by your skin’s appearance and catch yourself dreaming about a blemish-free complexion?

You might already be aware that pollution, your hormone levels, lifestyle, and skincare routine can all affect the health of your skin.

But that’s not all.

Research has shown that your gut microbiome directly impacts your organs, including your skin.

One of the main symptoms of poor gut health is skin irritation and therefore, nurturing your gut is critical if you want your skin to heal, repair and rejuvenate. 

Got you intrigued?

In this post, we’ll explain in detail the relationship between the gut and skin and provide you with some tips on how to nurture your gut bacteria for long-term healthy skin.

 

The Connection Between Gut Health and Skin Conditions

‘’People suffering from acne and rosacea are ten times more likely to have gut health issues.’’

Before diving into the connection between gut health and skin conditions (also called the gut-skin axis), let’s define the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome refers to the trillions of microbial cells, including viruses, fungi, and bacteria, that live in your intestinal tract. These bacteria play a critical role in helping your body absorb nutrients, digest food, and stay healthy.

However, not all microbial cells are good. And too many bad microbial cells in your body can lead to an imbalance in your gut microbiome, causing your immune system to respond and fight. This, in turn, leads to inflammation in your body and can cause skin conditions. 

Indeed, there’s growing evidence that an imbalance in gut bacteria can cause inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema, acne, rosacea, psoriasis, and dermatitis. For instance, a recent study showed that individuals suffering from rosacea had significantly higher levels of Helicobacter pylori, a bacteria found in the small intestine.

 

Therefore, restoring the natural balance in your gut is essential to improving your skin health.

What Causes an Imbalance in Gut Bacteria?

Many factors can contribute to an imbalance in gut bacteria. The most common ones include:

 

A Poor Diet

Many studies have revealed the importance of a healthy diet for a healthy gut. For instance, eating artificial sweeteners and foods high in sugar has been shown to cause gut dysbiosis (imbalance in gut bacteria). Also, having a diet low in fiber, fruit, and vegetables can negatively impact gut health.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are used to prevent or treat bacterial infections. Even though they’re sometimes necessary, antibiotics can’t distinguish between good and bad bacteria. This means that they’re designed to eliminate both, inevitably leading to gut bacteria imbalance.

Stress

Stress can have a significant impact on your health, including your gut health. In fact, research has revealed that psychological stress factors can disrupt the microorganisms in your gut. That’s because stress hormones can affect the number and diversity of gut bacteria. And stress can also weaken the intestinal lining allowing bacteria to access the immune system and triggering an inflammatory response. This phenomenon is called leaky gut and can lead to various health issues, including inflammatory skin conditions.

Sleep Deprivation

Even though it might seem unrelated, lack of sleep can negatively impact your gut microbiome.

Sleep deprivation can cause stress, which is well-known to weaken the intestinal lining allowing food and toxins to pass into the bloodstream. This will, in turn, cause inflammation and can impact your skin in the form of acne, rosacea, eczema or psoriasis.

 

How to Improve Your Gut Health For Healthy Skin?

The great news is that there are many things you can do to improve your gut health and work towards healing your skin conditions.

Stick To A Healthy Diet

As mentioned above, if you’re wanting to clear your skin, the first thing you should do is limit your processed and refined sugar intake. Additionally, studies have shown that fiber is intimately linked to gut health. Fiber feeds microbial cells in your intestinal tract, increasing the mucus wall and strengthening the barrier between the immune system and bad bacteria. Therefore, a diet high in fiber will help keep your gut healthy and your skin glowing. So, make sure to load up on your fruits and vegetables!

What’s more, fermented foods such as kimchi, kombucha or yogurt, have also been proven to increase microbiome diversity, playing a critical role in nurturing your gut.

Add Probiotics To Your Diet

Probiotic supplements are made up of a combination of yeasts (that naturally live in your body) and good bacteria. Consuming probiotics will allow you to add good bacteria to your body which will help fight bad bacteria when you have too much of it and restore healthy gut flora. However, talk to a health professional before purchasing probiotic supplements to ensure it’s the right choice for you. Note that taking probiotics after finishing a course of antibiotics can help restore gut balance and support gut health.

 Harness Relaxation Techniques

We’ve established that stress can disrupt the balance in gut bacteria and trigger inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema or acne.  

So, here are two relaxation techniques you can use to lower stress levels and ensure better overall health:

  • Breath focus: deep breathing is one of the best ways to relax your body and lower your stress levels. And it’s also very easy to practice. Take long, slow, and deep breaths, breathing in slowly through your nose and out slowly through your mouth. And while doing so, try to be present in the moment, blocking any distractions and only focusing on your breathing.

  • Aromatherapy: aromatherapy has been used for centuries to promote relaxation and reduce anxiety. It uses essential oils, such as lavender oil, which are usually sprayed in the air or applied to the skin during a therapeutic massage.

Use Specially Formulated Skincare Products

Using products that claim to be good for acne or eczema reduction can be tempting. However, not all skincare products are created equal, and some of them can worsen your skin conditions. Indeed, some skincare products contain endocrine disruptors, which can change the composition of your gut microbiome and lead to skin irritation. That’s why in addition to leading a healthy lifestyle, we recommend organic and naturally formulated skincare products free from endocrine disruptors. 

 

At Vayda Organics, we specialise in crafting high-quality skincare products made with natural and certified organic ingredients that are specifically designed to support your overall health and promote healthy skin.

Suffering from inflammatory skin conditions?

Try our facial exfoliator or blemish relief. Their anti-inflammatory properties will help calm irritation in the skin and prevent conditions such as acne from reoccurring.

Our body oil is a favourite for inflammatory skin conditions on the arms, legs, stomach, back and more!

If you struggle with dry inflamed skin on your face, then our multi-purpose balm or moisturiser will be your go to and provide you with some much needed relief. 

Check out our customer results here.

And remember, for optimal results, make sure to combine a great skincare routine with a healthy lifestyle!

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