What is Poor Skin Health?
Poor skin health can include such conditions such as Eczema, Psoriasis, Dermatitis and Acne. They all consist of having varying degrees of symptoms of inflammation, red, dry patches, rashes and itching, burning, stinging and can even cause blisters with liquid to weep
Poor skin health remains a complex, multi-faceted disease, however, it is now well accepted that gut barrier dysfunction is implicated in a range of inflammatory skin conditions.
What causes the skin to react?
The most common causes for skin conditions include:
- Chronic Stress
- Gut Dysbiosis
- Leaky gut
- Food allergies/ sensitivities
- Contact allergies/ sensitivities
How to manage Poor Skin Health?
- Avoid long showers or baths, which can dry out the skin.
- Use moisturisers such as oils, lotions, or creams.
- Avoid irritants that make your skin more susceptible to breakouts.
- Don’t scrub your skin too hard.
- Keep your fingernails short if you have a habit of scratching.
- Avoid stressful situations that may cause a flare-up.
- Avoid trigger foods
- Avoid using too many different chemicals on your skin directly
What about nutrition?
Scientists have shown that a change in your intestinal bacterial (microbiome), using probiotics and prebiotics, has helped in the prevention and/or treatment of inflammatory skin diseases including acne vulgaris, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.
Try these changes in your diet:
- Include fermentable fibres (prebiotics) such as vegetables, fruit and whole grains.
- Include fermented foods (probiotics) such as yoghurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, tempeh and kefir.
- Avoid caffeine, sugar, MSG and aspartame (artificial sweetener)