Who knew? But it’s true! It turns out the gut is key to having a dreamy, hydrated, glowing complexion. Seriously though, how often do you think about your gut? Never? Occasionally? Rarely? Probably like the rest of us you think about it when something’s gone wrong. When you experience digestive issues like bloating, diarrhea, wind or stomach pains, then it’s front of mind.
It all happens in the Gut
The gut is a complex collection of trillions of bacteria and microbes, called the gut microbiome. It’s also where 70% of our immune system resides. When we eat a healthy balanced diet, we feed this microbiome and never have to think about what’s going on inside. But when this microbiome is off balance and becomes inflamed our skin is often one of the first places, we notice problems.
Glowing skin comes from within
The skin and the gut talk to each other along the Gut-Skin Axis (aren’t our bodies amazing?). Our skin is a barometer for how healthy our body is. If the skin is irritated, inflamed or blocked there’s a good chance that you may be experiencing an imbalance in your gut. Rashes, breakouts, redness, dryness are all skin symptoms that are directly linked to the gut. Sometimes the connection between the gut and skin can be obvious, drinking dairy might lead to a rash, or a citrus fruit that causes hives to appear. And some connections are serious, did you know that IBS is 4 times more likely to occur in people with eczema? To heal the skin it’s essential to heal the gut.
Skin healing is Gut healing
Looking after your skin externally is important too. Now is not the time to throw out the cleansers and face wash but you can go the next step. To heal your skin you have to heal your gut first, and the way to do that is to eat a balanced whole food diet, and ditch anything processed. If the lining of your gut is damaged your body will have difficulty absorbing antioxidants and nutrients that make your skin glow.
Pro-biotic skin care
Invest in pro-biotics. Think of them as skin care. They will promote a healthy gut to skin relationship that will clear up dryness, redness and clogged pores. Once your gut microbiome is balanced your skin will appear more moisturized, hydrated and luminous. Yes please! Pro-biotics can take around four weeks to start working, but it varies, our bodies are all different, but glowing skin is worth the wait!
