How does the state of your gut affect your skin? Let me name the ways!

The gut is the foundation of health - if there is inflammation and immune reactions occurring in the gut, that information is transmitted throughout the organs and tissues of the body.

A major role of the gut is to seperate the internal from the external. It needs to be able to prevent the body from absorbing foreign substances and instead, excrete the.

In some parts of the gut, this very important barrier is only one cell thick! Which doesnt leave much room for damage or compromised integrity. If the lining is damaged or irritated, the body produces inflammatory chemicals as a response.

This can cause a vicious cycle, leading to leaky gut. Leaky gut is when little gaps appear in the lining of the gut and suddenly other particles can get through the gut and into the blood stream - not ideal!

Now the body has two fronts to defend - the gut and the blood. So you have more immune system response and inflammation. This can become systemic, leading to more than just skin issues.

Inflammation in the gut leads to inflammation in the skin

A tell tale sign of gut involvement in skin appearance is redness. If cysts and pimples are red, raised and angry, or the skin between pimples is red, this is an indication that the lining of the gut is inflamed.

Your diet and your gut function influence your skin

Eczema is an allergic condition - the immune system is out of balance and overreacting to certain triggers - commonly eggs, fish, nuts, wheat and dairy. Where does this imbalance originate? You guessed it! The gut. Some 70% of the immune system is located in the gut, which means that the decision on how to regulate the immune system is largely formed here too. When proteins come into contact with the body and allergic reactions are triggered, symptoms can manifest in the skin. Even if you don’t have any allergies, there will be foods that you are consuming that will exacerbate your skin, whether you have acne, rosacea, psoriasis or just itchy skin. This is because we are each different on a cellular level - contact with certain foods and products that are incompatible with our cells can elicit an inflammatory response. Get in touch to find out what foods are irritating you personally.

Dry skin and poor wound healing

Any time the skin’s barrier is damaged, your skin is wounded. This includes broken weeping skin in eczema and ruptured pimples in acne. Your skin is constantly in demand of nutrients like vitamin A and zinc to help repair and heal. These nutrients are also required for repairing damage to the gut lining. So a leaky gut will up the demand for these nutrients, before they can even reach the skin! There is a good chance your intake of these nutrients is suboptimal to begin with, leaving your body in a deficit. The other factor to consider is that a compromised gut is less able to absorb the nutritents from your food effectively.

Elimination of wastes and toxins

The skin and the gut are both routes of elimination for the body. The gut helps to excrete hormones like oestrogen. If the gut is underfunctioning or over-burdened, oestrogen can be recirculated around the body unless it is removed through bile and poo. The majority of acne sufferers will also experience digestive symptoms such as bloating or constipation - signs of a sluggish gut. When the other routes of elimination are not thriving, the body will try to rid itself of toxins and waste through the skin.

These are just some of the links between your inner lining and your outer one!

Perhaps you have great digestion and dont experience any overt symptoms. That doesn’t rule out the gut as a player in your skin condition! Make an appointment to find out what is driving your skin condition and recieve personalised treatment.

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