When we experience any problems with our skin health, such as sudden appearance of acne, we may start applying creams or wash our face repeatedly during the day.
However, not every skin issue may be caused due to unclean skin or polluted environment. Sometimes, the cause may be deeper than you think — coming from your gut.
Our gut health is connected with our skin health, and so, poor gut health can show through various problems with your skin. Here are some of the skin problems caused by bad gut:
1. Eczema
Eczema is a condition that causes your skin to become dry, itchy and bumpy. Symptoms of eczema can show up anywhere on your skin. Your intestinal flora influences the microbes that live on the skin. An imbalanced microbiome may play a role in the inflammation and immune response that causes eczema. This also means that healthy dietary changes can help alleviate your eczema symptoms.
2. Acne
Poor gut health can promote growth of acne on your skin. Leaky gut occurs when the intestinal walls and microbiome aren’t able to keep up with the build-up of toxins in the body. If toxins aren’t well processed in your gut, you may start to see them exiting your skin via acne. Make sure you’re eating healthy foods to get probiotics, polyphenols, and minerals that heal your skin from the inside out.
3. Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a skin disease in which skin cells build up and form itchy and dry, scaly patches. The cause of psoriasis isn’t fully understood. As per research, one possible connection is that between psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease. Since the skin is made up of tissue that absorbs things more easily, it is sensitive and reacts to the inflammation signals that travel throughout the body.
4. Rosacea
Rosacea can lead to larger pores on the face as well as dry skin. The development of this condition is related to inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Treating rosacea with antibiotics or microbiome modulation has been shown to help with disease management.
Tips to improve gut health
For healthy, refreshed and disease-free skin, here are some tips to improve gut health. Stress can mess with your gut, so manage stress with yoga and meditation. Regularly consume probiotics and fermented foods to lower inflammation of the gut. Stay hydrated by drinking enough water. Avoid excess consumption of sugar and eat fiber-rich vegetables and fruits, sprouts, whole grains, and legumes. Cut down on smoking, alcohol, junk, and processed food.
