Believe it or not, the secret to improving your skin may not be found in fancy creams or serums. Nope. The state of your skin – much like the state of your brain – depends on your gut.
Conventional medicine treats skin conditions with ointments, salves, and steroids. Unfortunately, these treatments often don’t work. And when they do – they’re just a bandaid hiding a deeper issue.
Your gut and your skin are intimately connected. That’s why your skin can offer clues about what’s going on in your gut.
This article will break down how your gut health affects your skin and what you can do to improve them both!
What is the Gut-Skin Axis?
You may have heard of the gut-brain axis and be aware that your gut and brain “talk” to each other. Think of those butterflies in your stomach you get right before giving a speech or on a first date.
But did you know your gut and skin communicate too? This ongoing dialogue between these two organs is referred to as “the gut-skin axis.”
Emerging evidence shows that bacteria, skin cells, and immune cells communicate. This two-way conversation helps protect the body from infection, calm inflammation, and yes…repair the skin. (1)
The Skin Microbiome
Your microbiome consists of between 10-20 trillion microbes – most of them being bacteria. (2) They help regulate your immune system, digest your food, metabolize hormones, and much more.
And while the majority of your microbiome is found in your gut – your skin is also teeming with microbes.
In fact, the average person has over 1,000 bacterial species living on their skin. And roughly 100 billion individual bacteria call your skin home! (1)
How Your Gut Health Affects Your Skin
Your skin is an excellent gauge of what’s going on in your gut. When your microbiome gets out of whack, it can show up on your skin as rashes, acne, skin allergies, or eczema.
This means if your skin is inflamed or irritated, there’s a good chance your gut may be too. Research suggests skin conditions such as acne, atopic dermatitis, and psoriasis are linked with poor gut health. (3)
Science also reveals that people with rosacea are more likely to suffer from digestive disorders. (4) In addition, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is often linked with lesions and other skin disorders. (5)
But here’s what’s encouraging – research shows you can improve or even resolve skin issues by restoring balance to your gut microbiome. (3) So next up, let’s cover three ways to do just that.
3 Ways to Improve Your Gut Health…and Your Skin!
So how do you balance your gut to improve your skin – and get glowing from the inside out? Here are three excellent ways:
Probiotics
If bad bacteria is wreaking havoc on your microbiome, probiotics can help tip the scales so the good guys can flourish. Probiotics help rebalance your microbiome, which can have positive effects on your gut and your skin!
In fact, probiotics have been proven beneficial in treating skin disorders such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and acne. (3) One way to boost your beneficial bacteria is to add more probiotic-rich foods into your diet such as sauerkraut, yogurt, kefir, kimchi, and kombucha.
Taking a daily probiotic supplement is another simple way to rebalance your gut microbiome. My personal fave is Megasporebiotic. It has special spore-based bacillus strains that help starve unfriendly bacteria and feed over 80 species of friendly bacteria. Plus, unlike many other probiotics, it’s SIBO-friendly.
Prebiotics
Prebiotics are fibers that act as food for your healthy bacteria. While probiotics are important, they won’t do much if you’re lagging in prebiotics. After all, if you want your healthy bacteria to thrive, you need to feed them well!
Try eating more foods rich in prebiotic fiber such as:
Onions
Garlic
Leeks
Asparagus
Jerusalem artichoke
Bananas
Chicory
Oats
Apples
We also carry MegaPre, which is a prebiotic supplement that’s been clinically proven to increase intestinal diversity by selectively feeding your beneficial bacteria.
Get Testing
Healing your gut is tricky when you don’t have a clear idea of what’s going on. That’s why testing can be a game-changer.
A comprehensive stool analysis can help uncover underlying parasitic, bacterial, or fungal infections that are causing digestive distress or skin issues.
While there are loads of stool tests out there, the GI-MAP test by Diagnostic Solutions is our preferred choice. It uses cutting-edge qPCR DNA technology that has a high degree of accuracy.
We also include a complimentary 30-minute analysis with supplement recommendations based on your unique results.
Get the Right Tools to Heal Your Gut
Healthy skin is created from within. And it all starts with your gut health.
And to support your gut healing journey, we’re offering 10% off ALL Microbiome Labs products between July 20-30th…
Including a new all-star Microbiome Labs just added to their lineup: Serene Skin.
This custom probiotic is designed with a unique blend of four spore-based Bacillus strains that promote a radiant, youthful complexion – to help you glow from the inside out.
Plus, this probiotic-powered skincare supplement promotes immune support and total body health – NOT something your night cream can do.
I’ve tested Serene Skin myself and have already seen skin improvements. In fact, it cleared up a patch of eczema on my foot in just 10 days!
Serene Skin’s formula is similar to Megasporebiotic – so there’s no need to take both.
To learn more, check out Serene Skin here! >>
And to learn more about how your gut health affects your skin – be sure to check out our upcoming webinar with Kiran Krishnan coming up on July 20th! It’s happening live on YouTube at 3 PST, 6 EST. No need to register; just mark your calendar and show up here.
Bridgit Danner, LAc, FDNP, is trained in functional health coaching and has worked with thousands of women over her career since 2004. She is the founder of Women’s Wellness Collaborative llc and HormoneDetoxShop.com.
Check out her easy 5-Day DIY Detox Guide here!
This recipe is so easy it’s barely a recipe! It’s basically traditional tuna salad but with canned salmon instead. Tuna is delicious but unfortunately it’s now a fish that is commonly contaminated with heavy metals. But there is a really easy solution to your tuna salad dilemma and that is simply replacing it with canned salmon!