How can gut health affect your skin and why?

In the past two decades numerous studies have shown links between your gut health, your immune system, mood, mental health, autoimmune diseases, endocrine disorders, skin conditions and cancer. As your largest organ, your skin needs as much TLC as any other body part.

More than 80 per cent of the body’s immunity is in the gastrointestinal tract and we all have hundreds of naturally occurring microorganisms in our gut. Some of these are harmless “good bacteria” that help with digestion, while others are not so harmless “bad bacteria”, which may contribute to causing diseases. The gut is also where we make nutrients, metabolise hormones, detoxify enzymes, neutralize pathogens, and make neurotransmitters.

Can conditions like acne, rosacea, and eczema be worsened or improved by bad or good gut health?

If you have an unhealthy gut it can have a big impact on your overall health and impact your skincare and cause common skin conditions, including breakouts of spots, dry skin, psoriasis, inflammation, atopic dermatitis (eczema) and rosacea. The gut microbiome is the bacteria found in your intestines that influences your overall health, especially your skin.

Skin disorders like eczema may be related to a damaged gut. If the gut flora is compromised for a period of time it is possible to develop “leaky gut” syndrome. The intestines become permeable and allow partially digested food to escape into the bloodstream. This leads to inflammation, which manifests on the skin. Inflammation is common if you have a bad gut and usually presents itself with symptoms including bloating/cramping, diarrhoea and sometimes blood in the stools.

The digestive tract and skin have a relationship known as the gut-skin axis or gut-skin connection. Symptoms of gut health issues can be varied and the skin can be used as a measure for what’s going on inside the gut. Your diet is the most important factor to getting a clear complexion because the gut microbiome, which is the bacteria living in your digestive system and intestines, influences your overall health, which ultimately improves your complexion and gives you healthy skin.

How can we improve our gut health?

• Every person is different, but diet plays a huge role. It would help if you tried to have a balanced diet including lots of plant-based foods, food which is rich in fibre because fruit, vegetables, pulses, nuts and wholegrains feed healthy bacteria
• Highly processed foods should be avoided as they often contain ingredients that either suppress good bacteria or increase bad bacteria
• Being exposed to harmful environments can have an impact on your gut health
• Extra-virgin olive oil contains the highest number of microbe-friendly polyphenols
• Artichokes, lettuce, chicory, leeks, shallots, onions and garlic are all helpful to gut bacteria
• Exercise promotes the movement of the gut
• Try not to get too stressed or anxious. If you suffer from anxiety and/or depression, this can impact your gut health and make problems worse

By consuming fibre daily your gut microbes ferment the fibre as they feed on it. This creates anti-inflammatory compounds called short-chain fatty acids that are essential for skin, metabolic, brain and immune health.

Probiotics supplements and how they can work

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are good for your health, especially your digestive system. Everyone’s body is full of bacteria, both good bacteria and harmful bacteria. Probiotics are often called good or helpful because they help you keep a healthy gut.

Probiotics have been proven to have health benefits. These include Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Saccharomyces, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Bacillus, Akkermansia and their associated species and strains.

Adding a prebiotic supplement to your diet may be a great way to improve your gut health too. Prebiotics provide food to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut. Prebiotic fibre modulation of the gut microbiota improves risk factors for obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Antibiotics – Why should you take probiotics in terms of general and skin health?

The gut microbiome contains bacteria, yeast and other microbiota in a state of balance with each other. An unhealthy gut or dysbiosis occurs when these microorganisms are out of balance, e.g. after taking antibiotics. Your microbial gut bacteria levels might be lower than your gut yeast and other microorganisms. An unhealthy gut can manifest in many ways, such as tiredness and disturbed sleep. An unhealthy gut is visible through the appearance of your skin. Eczema, acne, inflammation and oily skin are all signs of an unhealthy gut.

Eating and drinking fermented food drinks?

What you put into your body regarding food and nutrients can have a huge impact on your gut. What you eat isn’t just nutrition for you. It also feeds the trillions of bacteria that live in your gut.

Reducing the amount of processed, high-sugar and high-fat foods can contribute to better gut health. Additionally, eating plenty of plant-based foods and lean protein can positively impact your gut. A diet high in fibre has been shown to contribute tremendously to a healthy gut microbiome.

Good bacteria in fermented products have been linked to improving digestion, boosting immunity and promoting a healthy weight. Fermented foods include yoghurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, tempeh, miso, and kefir. These are rich in probiotics, which grow during the fermentation process.

Sources

• Digestive health – NHS
• Probiotics – NHS