So, the holidays are over for another year. How is your skin tracking right now?
Did you develop a healthier routine in the new year (or drop it altogether), do you have more stress in your life, or do you feel recharged and renewed and ready to take on the world?
Whatever the answer, if you find your skin is better or worse post-holiday, you might find that it reveals what is driving your skin problems. So get quiet, look closely and listen to the clues your body is trying to share.
In clinic, I often find that the gut is at the heart of many post-holiday skin problems. Because let’s face it – there’s often a lot of gut changes around the new year! We’ve just come off a largely indulgent festive season notoriously full of rich food and alcohol, and on top of that, the holidays usually mean that meal preparation goes out the window, eating regularity may change, and stress levels can go up (hey, flare) or down (hey, clearer skin). I know for myself stress levels were high over Christmas due to a short stint of self-isolation, and if you’ve been in a similar or much worse situation due to covid, or you’re starting to fret now that your post-holiday glow is disappearing, you should know that heightened stress leads to lowered digestive capability which has its own merriment of problems it creates for the skin.
No matter what your major skin drivers are, the gut is ALWAYS relevant to our health. It impacts our hormones, our nutrition status, the production of inflammatory cytokines, and detoxification… just to name a few. There are so many reasons why repairing and restoring gut function is at the core of helping the skin, but let me highlight just a few to be aware of.
1. Nutrition
In the new year, clients are often reflecting on how they can improve their habits and are starting new routines. Our everyday habits determine our long-term health more than any other parameter, which is why we focus so closely on improving lifestyle and dietary choices of our clients.
The fact is your everyday food choices can be helpful or harmful. There are fundamental nutrients you need for skin health – and most people with problem skin aren’t aware of what these are (hint – see below for a quick overview!). Our nutrition status also determines the state of health of our gut and the organisms that come to flourish in our microbiome. It turns out an apple a day really can keep the doctor away!
2. Hormones
Our colonic microbiome (at the very tail end of the digestive tract!) is responsible for supporting and producing multiple hormonal pathways.
The microbiome metabolises oestrogen, but if stress hormones get out of control, gut permeability arises, making it really hard for the gut to do its metabolic and detoxifying work. The OCP and other medications can put an added burden on the liver and microbiome to detoxify properly, and so the cycle continues.
3. Nutrient deficiencies
Our digestive capacity determines how functional our bowels are. Remember that the gut is the ONLY way we absorb nutrients, so if our gut isn’t working optimally, nutrient deficiencies will arise. Often these nutrients are the ones that are needed for glowing skin health, so if you’re not absorbing zinc, fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin A, D and E, or essential fatty acids, your skin may suffer.
Ever important B vitamins are key for human health for so many reasons, but particularly for energy production. B vitamins are synthesised by gut bacteria, so if you want good energy levels, you’ve got to have a good gut ecosystem in place.
4. Immune function and inflammation
The immune system is entwined with the gut. How? Just below the gut lining sits lymphoid tissue, which is a major part of our immune system. This bit of lymphoid tissue is called the gastric-associated lymphoid tissue or GALT for funsies.
It’s imperative that our gut lining stays strong because, when damaged, anything from food particles to endotoxins from pathogenic microbes can pass through the tight junctions of the gut, triggering the immune system into a pro-inflammatory state. This is a major factor that I work on in my 1:1 treatments and my Signature Gut Program as this is a huge part of the inflammatory cycle in the skin in many people (especially eczema!). When our body has to put extra resources into trying to reduce or buffer immune-mediated inflammation (inflammation which stems from the immune system) we need to meet the increased need of minerals and antioxidants, which many people aren’t even aware they need! It’s imperative to treat the underlying impairment of the gut lining in this instance; otherwise, it’s like trying to fill a bucket full of holes. Fix the bucket first!
As you can see, gut health is at the heart of whole-body health, not just skin health. And if you’re still confused about what your skin drivers are, gut health is a really good place to start.
Here’s how we can help – right from the comfort of your own home!
Get your own personalised (and free!) Naturopathic Skin Appraisal, to see what’s driving your skin problems once and for all.
Got an hour to spare? Watch a free replay of our Gut Health Masterclass, and learn about gut health fundamentals.
Ready to dive deep? Our Restore and Renew Gut Health Program is a 4-month long restorative journey, covering everything you need to not only improve your gut (and skin) health, but sustain it for the long term. Oh, and the good news is, you don’t have to wait for the twice yearly opening of it! I’m leaving it open for the next month so anyone stuck at home and feeling restless can get started whenever they want.
