Gut health has taken the world by storm, and for good reason. It is our epicentre for health and it is integral to the function of every organ in the body.
It plays a role in our immune function. And is where we create many hormones essential for mood regulation but most importantly it is the place where we digest and retrieve nutrients from our food.
Improving our gut health can have experiential effects on transforming our skin. As a naturopath it is the first place I start when treating various skin conditions.
Why is the gut so important?
At the very base of it, our gut is responsible for breaking down the food we eat to provide our bodies with energy and nutrients.
For this process to take place efficiently, we need our guts to be in optimal shape. If there is inflammation, we run the risk of not absorbing nutrients. Imagine spending hundreds on organic fruit and veg each week only to have all that goodness wasted, all because our gut is inflamed!
How does this affect your skin?
Our skin requires many nutrients for skin cell replication and the development of new, healthy skin cells. These nutrients are absorbed within our gastrointestinal tract. If we have an inflamed gut lining, then this process is affected.
When we are deficient in specific nutrients, we can develop acne, redness, dry skin and premature ageing.
How do I know if I have an inflamed gut?
Tuning in to your gut symptoms is often the best place to start. Do you suffer from stomach upset after eating, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, bloating or excessive gas? If yes, then it might be time to check in with your gut.
How can I help heal my gut?
The best place to start when treating gut inflammation is to identify your trigger foods. These are foods that don't agree with you. Ideally you want to remove these whilst you heal your gut. Some super common foods include cows dairy and gluten, but everyone is different.
You then want to add in some gut loving foods in the way of prebiotic and probiotics.
A prebiotic is a fibre that feeds the bacteria (probiotics) in your gut. Increase your intake of garlic, onions, leeks, bananas, oats and apples.
Finally round it out with some probiotics to help introduce new bacteria into your gut, aid in digestion and decrease inflammation. Increase your intake of fermented foods like miso, sauerkraut, tempeh and kimchi.
Good skin starts from within and treating your underlying cause is so important.
Treating the gut forms one of three main underlying conditions Chloe covers in her online course SKIN SCHOOL. SKIN SCHOOL is designed to help you heal your acne from the inside out, to give you long lasting results.
The course provides you with the tools you need to change dietary and lifestyle habits, as well as guiding you through supplementation, to give you skin you want, for good.
Sign up to SKIN SCHOOL here.
