The Gut-Skin Connection: What is it and How Do You Keep it Thriving?

Our skin is a great reflection of what’s happening inside our bodies. Often, when we think about achieving glowing, healthy skin, we focus on skincare products, hydration, or sun protection. While those are essential, one vital aspect of skin health is often overlooked—the gut.

The connection between your gut and skin health is a fascinating topic rooted in science. It’s not just about what you put on your skin; what you eat and how your digestive system functions play an equally crucial role. 

Let’s take a closer look at the relationship between your skin and your gut health.

The Scientific Connection Between the Gut and Skin

First of all, let's look at the word “gut.” It doesn't sound very official. But it’s a short term for the organs within the gastrointestinal system. That includes things like your esophagus, stomach, and intestines just to name a few. Aside from processing food, it also plays a big part in your immune and endocrine systems and communicates with other body systems, such as your skin. 

The Gut-Skin Axis refers to the relationship between the microbiome and skin conditions. To be healthy, they both need to be functioning at optimal levels. If one is off track, the other one will notice and react to it. What affects one, affects the other. 

The gut and skin have a lot more in common than you might think. For example, skin is a frontline barrier for external things, and the gut is a first line barrier for what is happening on the inside of your body. Both of them are in the business of protecting outside invaders and preventing anything that could be harmful to maintaining the homeostasis of your body systems. 

When looking at the gut-skin connection, you can see how the gut’s health can influence the health of other organs like the skin. For example, if you’re eating foods or have health conditions that cause inflammation, that’s going to show up in the skin. That’s when you see rashes, eczema or other skin conditions that appear as a result of an unhealthy gut.

If your skin is acting up in appearance, instead of applying more topical treatments, you might want to take a look at what else is happening inside your body, most specifically, what is happening in your gastrointestinal system. 

Gut Healthy Foods That Benefit Skin 

What makes for a happy gastrointestinal system? Well, the gut likes things like whole foods, without a lot of extra ingredients that don’t need to be there. Foods that are salty, sugary and highly processed can trigger inflammation within the gut microbiome. It’s basically your body telling you that it doesn’t know what to do with this stuff. It’s irritating to the cells and tissues to be saturated with foods that have no benefit. 

So what foods DO you eat to make your gut happy? It’s really pretty simple. Your body needs whole foods, fruits and vegetables, and lean proteins. Limit processed foods and watch your sugar intake. Eat more foods with Omega-3’s (Salmon and Sardines), use healthy oils like Virgin Olive Oil, and drink enough water to stay hydrated. 

You can find a list of anti-inflammatory foods here

And speaking of hydration, water is essential to a functioning body and healthy complexion. The average human body is made up of about 60% water

Water is important for basically every cell, tissue, and organ in the human body, and is largely responsible for regulating temperature, cellular function and waste removal. Without it, all of our body functions would falter after just a few days.

One other topic that often comes up is the need for probiotics and vitamins to help support the gut. Both can be beneficial to gut health, and in turn, can affect skin health. Probiotics can introduce good bacteria that help maintain a healthy microbiome. Vitamins, like A, D, C, and E can be helpful if you don’t get enough of them in your diet. If you’re eating a balanced diet, that might be enough. 

If extra nutrients are needed, talk to your doctor to be sure you’re getting the right ones in the right amount. 

Signs Your Gut-Skin Connection is Out of Sync

What signs should you look for that could point to a disruption in the gut-skin connection? Things like persistent acne or rosacea, dull, dry or flaky skin can be a few signs that something is amiss.  Redness, skin sensitivity or dark under-eye circles can also be clues to an upset in your system. 

On the gut side of things, bloating, constipation, or other digestive problems can signal that something is not right and needs to be addressed. 

When your body gives you signs like these, look at both the skin and the gut for answers to what might be out of sync in either of these systems. Remember, what happens to one is a clue as to what is happening with the other. 

How Stress Impacts the Gut-Skin Connection 

Sometimes, a simple thing like stress can also throw things out of balance and impact the gut-skin connection. Everyone has stress at some level and we don’t always realize that it’s more than just being uncomfortable or irritating.

Stress hormones can make your skin more oily and can break down collagen and elastin. It can initiate hives and rashes and on the gut side of things, you probably already know that stress can cause stomach problems and suppress your appetite. You may even forget to drink water when you’re stressed. 

Practicing relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga, and deep breathing exercises can help bring you into a calmer state of mind.

Our bodies are interdependent. That’s why the gut-skin connection is so important. It can be complicated but learning to recognize the relationship between your gut and skin can be an important factor in promoting a balanced and healthy gut-skin connection.

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