I have written before on the gut - skin - brain axis, but it is time to delve into this topic again as more information and studies are being done and shedding light on how the health of our gut impacts our skin. Topical skin conditions ranging from dermatitis, rosacea, acne and eczema are showing there is a significant connection between your gut and skin health including the present state of one's gut microflora.
Acne rosacea sufferers from a recent study noticed a significant improvement in their skin when they were treated for SIBO -small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. SIBO is a bacterial overgrowth within the small intestine. This bacterial overgrowth is proving to affect rosacea sufferers 10 times more than those without rosacea.
Intestinal permeability or leaky gut causes inflammation in not only the gut and surrounding areas, but on the skin as well. Leaky skin is common for those with a leaky gut. The barrier of the skin becomes impaired and the skin does not function as it normally would. The barrier of the skin is important as it protects the skin from the external environment, including pathogens and bacteria. A leaky skin puts the skin in a state of inflammation.
Your gut microbiome also influences your skins oil production, so for those with acne this is a particularly interesting point. The use of probiotics can alleviate this supercharged oil production and reduce inflammation.
I encourage my clients with acne to go on a dairy-free diet for at least 4 weeks and watch the skin and see what it does. Pasteurized and non-fermented dairy are showing to enhance acne whilst fermented dairy is proving to not have a negative effect. This could be due to the EGF-1 that is present in dairy - EGF-1 is reduced through the fermentation process.
I will continue to cover more on this topic as I find the connection between the gut and skin fascinating. I highly recommend at the very least anyone suffering from a topical skin condition to take a probiotic and remove dairy from your diet for at least 4 weeks. Your gut will love you for it and your skin just might too!
Many of my clients love the Imbibe Beauty Renewal, a probiotic formula that you take daily. It contains the goodness of approx 6 billion probiotics per serve and multi-strain probiotics. These include probiotic strains from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium probiotic family. If you’d like to know more about the science on the strains used to ferment the Beauty Renewal, please look here.
The cocktail of skin-nourishing ingredients featuring bio-fermented coconut water, grapeseed, and pomegranate promote that gorgeous skin glow and lit-from-within feeling.
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