Are you struggling with acne prone skin and can’t work out the cause? Here’s how your gut might be to blame!
Our gut wall is permeable to an extent (to let nutrients/water pass through into the bloodstream), but it’s meant to be a pretty strong barrier to stop anything else get through that isn’t meant to. But certain things like alcohol, infection, an imbalanced gut microbiome, ibuprofen, too much sugar, stress, gluten and anything causing gut inflammation can upset this gut wall barrier, making it more permeable than it should be. When this happens, we basically open the door to have things like toxins, food proteins and bacteria to enter the bloodstream, that aren’t supposed to, causing all sorts of problems, activating our immune system and causing inflammation. This extra permeability is called 'increased intestinal permeability (IIP)’ or ‘leaky gut’ (cute/awful sounding nickname for IIP).
In terms of skin health, this inflammatory response leads to increased sebum production in the skin which increases the growth of an acne causing bacteria called 'Cutibacterium acnes' (C.acnes). Although C. acnes sounds like a bad guy, it is actually a normal part of our skin flora and it’s levels are usually kept in check under healthy conditions, but it is an opportunistic fellow which means that when our skin environment changes for any reason (especially with increased sebum production), this gives C. acnes the green light to grow!
Not only do we see increased sebum production with 'leaky gut' (inflammation), but those extra toxins that get through the gut wall can accumulate in the skin, causing poor skin hydration, poor skin barrier function and starts the development of acne.
So you can see how just treating the skin topically isn’t always going to fix a problem with acne, we need to get to the root cause by finding out what is triggering the increased gut permeability and healing the gut to stop that flow on effect to the skin.
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How to know if you have ‘leaky gut’?
There are lots of different symptoms associated with this because the inflammation can affect many areas of the body, so we look at chronic signs such as:
Multiple food sensitivities or allergies
Acne prone skin, eczema, psoriasis
Auto-immune conditions
IBS, IBD, Coeliac disease
Painful joints/arthritis
Headaches, poor sleep, weight gain, etc
How to heal a ‘leaky gut’ to clear acne?
Healing the gut to restore proper gut barrier function is key to stopping the inflammation and healing the skin. We do this by looking at any triggers you may have that are damaging the gut and removing them, identifying any food sensitivities you may have and adjusting the diet to temporarily remove these foods (unless you’re allergic), reducing inflammation and healing the gut with food, lifestyle changes and supplements. Depending on the severity or length of time your gut has been a problem, determines how long it can take to heal. Usually this takes a minimum of 3-4 months but can take much longer for some people.
We also help the skin to heal by nourishing it with skin supporting nutrients and lifestyle factors to clear any blemishes, promote our healing processes and aim to minimise scarring as much as possible.
If you have acne prone skin and want to start healing your gut to get to the root cause, we can do this together via a Skype or Zoom consultation > click here to book.
Do you suspect your digestion might be the cause of your skin problems? Are you struggling to get long term results for your skin? Let me know in the comments!
Jacqui
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