How to Improve Gut Health For Healthy Skin
Written by Lauren Arent (Lo Clark)
Owner of Bewitched Esthetics & Licensed Esthetician since 2013
November 11th, 2022
Hello my darlings,
This week, I wanted to talk a little bit about something that is very important to me as a holistic esthetician. It’s a deeper level of esthetics, not something I learned in school but from my years of experience in the industry and personal experience. It’s the importance of gut health in relation to the health of your skin.
*I should also mention, please take what I write here as simply sharing of information. I am NOT a doctor, I can not diagnose or give medical advice. I am sharing my knowledge and personal experience in an effort to shine light on an uncommon topic and to encourage you to pursue a healthy path. I will help in whatever way I can to direct you to the right medical professional if necessary.
Gut Health For Healthy Skin
The health of your gut, your stomach that is, can ABSOLUTELY have a massive impact on the health of your skin. From what goes into your stomach to the health of the lining and even the pH balance! It’s incredible to me that this is not more widely known or talked about.
In the last year, I had some health struggles and it centered a lot around my gut. My unhealthy and unbalanced gut affected so many aspects of my life, from my mental health to my skin health. I suffered from dull and dehydrated texture as well as lots of sporadic breakouts.
Mold & stress were the main, and most recent, triggers for me but there can be many others that can factor in, like birth control(evidence), diet, lack of exercise, overeating, antibiotics(evidence) and medicines like antacids(evidence) or ibuprofen(evidence). I learned so much about my gut on my road to recovery and I wanted to share how it all connects to helping you achieve your glowing skin goals.
Why Improve Gut Health For Healthy Skin
The skin is the first visual warning you will get when something is not right somewhere in your body. It’s our protective layer and if you can see issues on the surface, most likely there is a cause within. For example, someone very special to me connected her dull, dry skin with other issues to discover she had a thyroid issue.
Working with clients who suffer from severe acne, rosacea, and eczema can be challenging. Getting them on the right skincare routine is honestly only part of the healing process. Healthy skin begins within the body. If you want healthy skin, you need to heal your gut first.
And truly it all comes down to inflammation. Inflammation is the root cause of many, MANY issues (evidence). In the gut, inflammation can cause holes to form in the lining of your stomach, which is where we start to see issues in the skin. This is known as Leaky Gut.
Leaky Gut
From my understanding, MANY people (80-90%) have either dealt with this issue in the past or are currently, and most have no idea. Again, there are SO MANY causes of inflammation in this modern world we live in, it’s honestly quite difficult to avoid them all if you aren’t even aware it’s an issue.
Basically, Leaky Gut is caused when the walls that line your stomach become inflamed, the irritated cells can “shrink up” and cause perforations (holes) in your gut. This leaves the potential for food, stomach acid, and other contaminants to leak into your bloodstream.
Speaking from personal experience, this can cause panic attacks, shortness of breath, painful bloating, nausea, anxiety, headaches, food sensitivities, etc. Essentially, your body doesn’t recognize the foreign matter escaping from the stomach and will attack it like a toxin. If it reaches the brain, you may suffer from panic attacks and anxiety like me. The recovery was not easy but worth the results!
How Does Leaky Gut Affect Skin Health
Another outcome of Leaky Gut is how it affects your skin. Blemishes, flaky skin, dull and dehydrated texture, even deepening fine lines and wrinkles. First of all caused by the inflammation in your body. If your body’s attention is centered on fighting to fix the inflammation, it can’t focus on healthy cell turnover or producing collagen and elastin. Secondly, our bodies are attempting to detox. Toxins in the body must be expelled. Most people with gut issues will have some form of IBS (irritable bowels) or strong acidity. Their skin will also tell them when they’ve eaten the wrong thing. Many of my clients break out with dairy! Keep reading to find out how we stop these two things from happening to improve gut health for healthy skin.
Improve Gut Health for Healthy Skin
I’ve had many clients I’ve advised to look into their gut health as a remedy for persistent skin issues. If you are someone who truly believes they have tried EVERYTHING to clear up their skin, just know, I’ve been there and I want to help you.
The first thing I recommend you look into before EVER trying extremes like Accutane, is to examine the health of your gut.
A dermatologist recommended I get on an antibiotic for my acne without really telling my parents this drug was an antibiotic. I was on it for a year. It worked on the acne for a short period but my gut will never be the same again (evidence). Don’t try the easy way out, you’ll pay for it in the long run.
How to Improve Gut Health For Healthy Skin
Step One to Improve Gut Health For Healthy Skin
The first thing we are going to want to do to heal the gut for healthy skin is to cut out the inflammatory foods and drinks. To find out the best foods for clear skin, read this article.
You should cut out all these foods until you have healed your gut. I recommend a minimum of three months or 90 days. If you start eating these foods before you have healed, your issues will resume! Foods you should cut out are:
Wheat (Gluten)
Dairy
Refined Sugar (article)
Alcohol
Food sensitivities (You can discover these by asking your doctor for a food sensitivity test)
Step Two to Improve Gut Health For Healthy Skin
The second thing you are going to want to do is to get on probiotics! (This step gets a little complicated if you have something called H-Pylori or Candida, which is why I recommend working with a naturopath or integrative medicine doctor to be sure you are taking the right steps. These are less common but serious gut issues.) Probiotics are the best for ensuring a healthy microbiome. To learn why this is important for gut health, please read this article.
Step Three to Improve Gut Health For Healthy Skin
The third thing to improve gut health for healthy skin is to start taking slippery elm. This herb will help to soothe and heal your gut lining. It contains a growth stimulant that helps to heal the lining of the gut while it seals it to prevent the leaking. Herbs are incredible for healing, they work more efficiently than medication to fix the problem instead of masking the problem and creating additional problems.
More Help for Gut Health For Healthy Skin
If you want to start eating right to get optimal gut health for healthy skin, check out my category of recipes for healthy skin. There are dozens of articles for delicious, clean recipes to help keep your gut on track and bring essential vitamins and nutrients into your body for healthy skin. Healthy skin begins within! Here are a few of my favorites to start with:
Bone Broth for Boosting Collagen and Gut Health
Lemon & Calendula Yogurt Bark with Probiotics
The best overall educational video I can recommend to you on gut health comes from Barbara O’Neill. The link to her incredible lecture is here. Another of my favorite educational resources about gut health comes from Dr. Stephen Cabral – host of The Cabral Concept podcast. He has hundreds of episodes on gut health, most certainly worth the listen.
A Note On Gut Health For Healthy Skin
I would like to also mention that my recovery took so long because I was misdirected many, MANY times. It is up to no one but YOU to look after your health. If you feel like your doctor isn’t taking your symptoms seriously, seek out alternative help. But most of all, don’t allow yourself to fall into a pit of fear with this. Fear and misinformation turned my Leaky Gut into a situation of Adrenal Fatigue because I couldn’t quit the pattern of stress and anxiety (watch Barbara O’Neill Lecture).
Medicine is not an exact science(evidence), I have to remind myself of this frequently.
Please feel free to make an appointment with me for either a consultation (I do phone consultations for those who aren’t local!) or a spa treatment if you want to address your skin concerns in person! If we need to dive deeper into gut health while we are at it, I am all about it. Please remember, I can only help as far as where this pertains to the health of your skin, not the overall health of your gut, although I will do my best to guide you to the professional you need.
If you found this article helpful please let me know in the comments below! If you have any questions feel free to ask or reach out on social media @bewitchedskinandsoul.
Wishing you a life full of beauty and blessings!
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