The Gut + Skin Connection: Making Diet a Part of Your Skin Care Routine

You might’ve heard that your gut is your second brain, but did you know that your gut health can affect your skin as well?

It’s true, an unhealthy diet and compromised gut flora can lead to skin inflammation and a number of skin conditions. Eating a nutrient-dense gut health diet and making probiotics an essential part of your skin care routine can help you lower inflammation, and create beautiful, glowing skin.

Let’s dig in and learn about the connection between gut disorders and skin conditions, a gut health diet for healthy skin, and the importance of probiotics and collagen in your skincare routine.

The Connection Between Gut Disorders and Skin Conditions

To understand the importance of a gut health diet as a part of your skin care routine, it is important to first discuss the connection between your gut and skin.

Similarities Between Your Gut and Skin

• Both play a crucial role in keeping toxins and pathogens from entering your body.
• Both communicate and coordinate with your immune, endocrine, and nervous system to create health in your body.
• Both are full of blood vessels and nerves.
• Both have a diverse microbiome with hundreds of bacteria species that under ideal conditions work to create homeostasis, balance, and overall health. The more diverse mix of bacteria you have, the better the gut and skin you may benefit from.

What Is Your Gut Microbiome?

Believe it or not, your gut is the home of trillions of bacteria and thousands of bacterial species. They all play an essential role in your digestion, nutrient absorption, bowel regularity, vitamin synthesis, immune system, and overall health.

Having a healthy gut microbiome is non-negotiable to keep you healthy. It keeps the bad bacteria at check. A healthy gut flora brings down your inflammation levels and lowers the risk of inflammation-related health conditions, including skin problems, such as acne, rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, and dermatitis.

Gut Dysbiosis and Inflammation

When your gut flora is imbalanced and unhealthy bacteria take over, dysbiosis happens. Dysbiosis means that your gut microbiome is out of balance, lacks diversity, and has too many unhealthy bacteria.

Gut dysbiosis is the feeding ground of inflammatory skin conditions. To create a gut health diet that works, it is important that you understand the causes of gut dysbiosis, and how gut problems may affect your skin.

Causes of Gut Dysbiosis

A variety of factors may lead to gut dysbiosis, including:

• Antibiotics: While antibiotics are sometimes necessary, in our modern world, they are often overused and overprescribed. Antibiotics have been shown to decrease the diversity and the concentration of beneficial bacteria, and lead to compromised gut flora. It is important that you only take antibiotics when it’s an absolute must, and you always take high-quality probiotics during and after your regiment. You will learn more about the importance of probiotics later in this article.
  
  
• Stress: Both physiological and emotional stress can make it difficult for your beneficial bacteria to thrive. Reduce stress as much as possible. Practice stress reduction strategies, such as meditation, yoga, relaxation exercises, deep breathing, journaling, and time in nature regularly.
  
  
• Diet: The Standard American Diet is high in refined sugar, processed foods, factory farmed and hormone-treated animal products, refined vegetable oils, artificial ingredients, and chemicals. It is also low in fiber and micronutrients. All of this may reduce your gut’s total bacteria load, trigger food sensitivities, and result in systemic inflammation, which can lead to skin problems. If you want glowing skin, a gut health diet must become your regular skin care routine. You will learn about the principles of a nutrient-dense gut health diet later in this post.

Unless it is addressed through a nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory gut-health diet, gut dysbiosis can lead a vicious cycle of dysbiosis, irritable bowel syndrome or irritable bowel disease, inflammation and pain in the body, and poor skin.

How a Compromised Gut Flora Affects Your Skin

There is increasing evidence that shows a clear association between gut problems and skin disorders. Research has shown that your gut flora can affect your skin in both a negative and positive way. A compromised gut may lead to skin inflammation, skin infections, acne, and various skin disorders.

For example, people with chronic skin conditions often have underlying Candida overgrowth due to not following a nutrient-dense gut health diet. When Candida grows out of control in your gut, it may lead to the breakdown of the intestinal wall, penetrate into your bloodstream, and end up releasing toxic byproduct into your body resulting in inflammation.

Research has shown that Candida overgrowth can worsen psoriasis symptoms, and increase the risk of eczema and dermatitis, as well as dandruff, jock itch, ringworm, and other fungal infections.

Besides Candida overgrowth, another gut problem that may lead to skin issues is Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO).

Most of your gut bacteria are supposed to be located in your large intestine, but when you are not following a nutrient-dense gut health diet, some bacteria growth may occur in your small intestine, resulting in SIBO with a number of uncomfortable symptoms, including skin issues.

Research has shown that rosacea is 10 times more prevalent in those with SIBO.

Other chronic gut problems may also manifest on your skin. Research suggests that people with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are at a higher risk of dermatitis, alopecia, vitiligo, and mucosal lesion. Those with chronic gut issues and gut imbalance may also have pale skin and a higher risk of acne.

You’ve might’ve noticed that you have more pimples and other skin issues after the holidays or when indulging in more sugar or junk food than normal. It’s not an accident. It's your holiday, anti-gut health diet at work. 

One study found that people with acne may have significant alterations in their gut flora, whereas another one found that compromised gut flora may be linked to dermatitis. Research suggests that increased intestinal permeability due to an unhealthy diet can become an issue for those with acne and worsen their symptoms.

Intestinal permeability is also called leaky gut. It is a digestive condition in which toxins and bacteria ‘leak’ through tiny holes of a damaged intestinal wall.

Your skin serves a similar purpose in your body as your gut lining. It acts as a physical, chemical, and antimicrobial barrier and defense system. Research has shown that as a result of gut inflammation and stress, your skin may become compromised as well. It may not be able to protect you from harm as effectively resulting in skin inflammation and infections.

A Gut Health Diet That Gives You Glowing Skin

A gut health diet is an essential part of any nourishing skincare routine. Seriously!

All you have to do is pay attention to a few simple steps, and you may notice a big improvement in your skin health within weeks.

Principles of a Gut Health Diet

• Avoid refined sugar, processed foods, refined oil, artificial ingredients, additives.
• Choose organic food whenever possible.
• Try an elimination diet or get a food sensitivity test to find out what foods may not agree with your system. Avoid any foods that you may be sensitive to.
• Eat a nutrient-dense diet high in greens, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. Add superfoods for bonus nutrition.
• Feed your microbiome with plenty of fiber and prebiotics. Asparagus, garlic, jicama, onions, and avocados are perfect for gut and skin health.
• Eat probiotic-rich foods, such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and kombucha to feed the beneficial bacteria in your gut.
• Hydrate well. Drink 8 to 10 glasses (8 oz) of water a day.
• Make sure you are getting enough collagen and are taking a collagen-support supplement to help your body's natural production and absorption.

Probiotics

As you may already know, probiotics are an important part of a gut health diet and your skincare routine.

There is a lot of research on the benefits of probiotics on both your gut and skin health.

The first formal case report discussing the benefits of probiotics for a variety of skin conditions was published back in 1961 by Dr. Rober Siver. The study followed 300 patients who were given commercially available probiotics.

About 80 percent of these participants experienced improvements in their acne.

Since then a large number of new studies have shown similar benefits of probiotics on various skin problems. For example, a recent 12-week study has found that the majority of participants experienced improved acne after consuming Lactobacillus fermented dairy, whereas another study noted the benefits of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum.

Probiotic-rich foods are the key to balancing your compromised gut flora as part of your skin care routine. But did you know that you also take probiotic supplements to ensure you get the gut support your body craves? 

Research shows that orally consumed probiotics may reduce systemic markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, regulate the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines within your skin, and improve your skin health.

It's recommended that you add a high-quality probiotic to your gut health diet and skincare routine.

We actually have a supplement that I'm confident will have you looking as great on the outside as you feel inside.

Biotic Balance has 50 Billion CFUs and 10 strains of probiotics. It’s vegan and gluten-free, so it can be part of your day no matter what your dietary needs are. Take one capsule a day as part of your skin care routine, and enjoy the compliments from your friends as they notice your healthy glow.

Collagen

Besides eating an overall healthy and nutrient-dense diet and taking probiotics, your skin care routine and gut health diet can benefit from added collagen as well.

Collagen is the main structural protein in your skin and various connective tissues. It's critical for your skin, hair, nails, joints, and teeth, as well as your gut health, metabolism, and detoxification.

However, as you get older, your collagen stores start to decline, which results in wrinkles, sagging skin, and other health issues.

Research has found that collagen supplements can slow down and even prevent some of these effects, improving skin elasticity, dryness, roughness, wrinkles, and hydration.

To prevent signs of aging, reduce wrinkles, cellulite, and stretch marks, help your skin’s elasticity, and benefit your gut and overall health, you may benefit from collagen supplements or collagen support. They are easy to digest, tasteless (or tasty - like our raspberry lemonade flavored GLOW!), and mix well into most cold and hot drinks, smoothies, and shakes.

Knowing the benefits of collagen, we are excited to say that our very own collagen support superfood powder is now available for presale. Get yours now and get that GLOW you want from the inside out.

It’s specifically designed to benefit your skin through high-quality collagen and, like all our superfood supplements, it is convenient. You can mix it with water or add it to smoothies or shakes daily as part of your gut health diet and regular skin care routine.

Conclusion

An unhealthy diet and compromised gut flora can lead to both gut problems and skin inflammation. The root cause of many skin condition is your gut, therefore to create glowing skin, you need to eat a nutrient-dense gut health diet.

Eat plenty of fiber-rich, nutrient-dense greens, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. Reduce or eliminate refined sugar, refined oils, artificial ingredients, and processed foods. Take probiotics regularly and add collagen supplements to your diet.

To lower inflammation and create beautiful skin, take Biotic Balance probiotics and GLOW collagen support to your regular skin care routine. Following these tips, you can expect friends and family complimenting your glowing skin in no time.

Have you tried probiotics, collagen or any of these skin care routine tips? Do you have any other natural tips for a gut health diet and a healthy skin care routine? Share your thoughts with us, we would love to hear from you.

And remember, we are in this together.

About The Author

Kat Gál is a professional holistic health writer who helps health, wellness and nutrition businesses to market their products and services through quality online content. She is also a Certified Holistic Health & Life Coach. Kat is a multi-passionate writer, world traveler, nomad, runner, and cat-person. She is a lifelong learner who lives outside of her comfort zones stretching her boundaries and discovering beauty around the world. Reach out if you are looking for amazing blog content at katgalwriter@gmail.com or at katgalwriter.com.