Is Your Gut Causing Your Skin Problems like Acne, Rosacea, and Psoriasis?
What do Acne, Rosacea, and Psoriasis have in common? Recent research once again points to the health of your gut. Does that surprise you? That the health of your gut tied to the health and appearance of your skin? In today’s article, I’m going to review the top gut problems we see in our practice linked to common skin problems.
Problems like SIBO, Leaky gut, Liver and Gall bladder problems, and changes in your microbiome may hold the key to healthier, more beautiful skin. I’ll also talk about some of the best foods you should eat to help support the health of your skin. Don’t forget to watch today’s video all the way to the end for some additional tips to help your skin.
Focus on The Cause of the Skin Problem- Not Where the Symptoms Are
If you can identify some of the causes behind “WHY” the gut is unhealthy, you can have nice, beautiful, healthy skin again. This is a classic example of how sometimes… Why its important to focus on the root cause, not the symptoms? If all we do is focus on the area where the symptoms are, we will miss where the actual problem is rooted.
4 Kinds of Gut Problems That Often Cause Unhealthy Skin
Now, I want to talk to you about a couple of problems or conditions I often see with my patients who have struggled with healthy, beautiful skin. Problems like Rosacea, Acne, Psoriasis, and bumps.
The things should always be considered before rushing out to take medications that may cause more skin damage.
- #1 Leaky Gut
- #2 Infections- overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestines (SIBO) Parasites, H.Pylori
- #3 Liver/Gallbladder problems– especially important if you have fatigue, and itchy skin.
- #4- Gut Dysbiosis and Inflammation
Tip #1 for Beautiful, Healthy Skin- Consider a Leaky Gut
Let’s start with something called a leaky gut. – A leaky gut is a condition where the cells in your gut, called tight junctions, don’t work properly. Instead of acting like a protective barrier, they have become more porous. The problem with this is that normally, toxins, hormones, and large proteins would be prevented from entering the bloodstream, but are now able to cross this barrier.
This is not good because this causes widespread inflammation throughout the body, and this in turn, can contribute to skin disease and “leaky skin.”
Studies have shown that both stress and gut inflammation can impair the integrity and protective function of the epidermal barrier. This in turn, leads to a decrease in antimicrobial peptides produced in the skin and an increase in the severity of infection and inflammation in the skin.
Probiotics’ ability to improve acne symptoms has become well established. “Various probiotics—particularly Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum have been shown to regulate the production of those inflammatory cytokines,”
While many people are increasingly becoming aware of this leaky gut, the skin and even the brain can also become leaky, leading to problems in their respective areas.
Tip #2 For Beautiful, Healthy Skin- Get Tested for SIBO
The next problem worth considering when you are struggling with unhealthy, itchy skin, and especially Rosacea, is an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestines known as SIBO. SIBO occurs when the bacteria in the large intestines migrate up and into the small intestines.
There are all kinds of bacteria in the large intestines, but you shouldn’t have the bacteria found in the large intestines present in the small intestines.
To detect this, you need to have a special test called a Hydrogen and methane breath test.
If you have bloating, belching, gas, constipation, diarrhea, intolerance to probiotics, you eat fruit, and you feel bloated, if you have all of these things and a skin problem, you might be suffering from SIBO.
This kind of infection/overgrowth is not very responsive to antibiotics. If you have SIBO, you will need to work with a functional medicine doctor who will initially help you implement a special low FODMAP diet, while at the same time, try to identify why you have SIBO in the first place.
Rosacea is also associated with Crohn’s disease, liver disease, H.Pylori infection, chronic pancreatitis, and gall bladder disease. If you have already been diagnosed with any of these conditions and you haven’t been tested for SIBO, you may want to get this tested as this may be one of the reasons you keep experiencing symptoms.
Other consideration along with SIBO is something called Hypochlorhydria, which often goes hand in hand with SIBO, and this has been associated with increased Acne. Parasite or yeast infections: Chronic low-grade infections like these can be a source of continual inflammation of the gut-skin axis.
Tip #3 for Healthy Skin- A Toxic, Sluggish Liver and Gall Bladder
Skin conditions are especially common in women for several reasons. You are dealing with fluctuating hormone levels, you are dealing with all kinds of chemicals found in your makeup, deodorant, Hair care, lipstick, tampons, soaps, and then there are things like birth control pills, bisphenol A, Phthalates, Sodium laurel sulfates, etc
The average woman puts on 168 different kinds of chemicals on their skin daily. Another words, your liver is being bombarded not only with chemicals from the outside but also from the inside, as in the case of- Leaky gut- (again that breakdown of the protective barrier allowing bacterial toxins entering blood stream and SIBO- that overgrowth of bacteria like we just talked about), your skin doesn’t have a chance.
If you don’t have a way of eliminating these toxins, or your liver is compromised, or you have had your gallbladder removed, toxins can’t be eliminated as efficiently and are recirculated in the body.
Now, while we are on the topic of the liver, it’s worth mentioning that some people, especially if you are a woman, and you have a history of autoimmune disease, and you have bloating, and you have abdominal pain, and you have itchy skin, and you have high cholesterol, osteoporosis or osteopenia, you should get checked for biliary cholangitis or cirrhosis.
In biliary cirrhosis/cholangitis, little by little, the network of tubes linking your liver to the gut is being destroyed. This is a very slow process and cannot always be detected in the early stages. When the bile ducts become scarred and inflamed, bile can no longer flow through them. Instead, this bile builds up in the liver, and it damages the liver cells and causes more inflammation and scarring.
Remember, your liver makes bile, your gall bladder stores it, and the purpose of bile is to remove toxins from the body and assist the body in breaking down fats.
If you can’t break down fats, you become bloated, you become vitamin D deficient, and your stool is a light gray or light brown. All of these signs could be an indicator of liver/GB problems. Let’s talk about this for a moment
If you have sluggish bile flow, let’s say because you have been on birth control pills for several years or you have been on antidepressants or other medications, then your ability to digest fats and remove toxins from the body is going to be compromised. If you don’t get rid of toxins, your body reabsorbs them, and this is what causes unhealthy, itchy skin.
So remember, unhealthy skin, unhealthy GI system. Lathering on the potions, lotions, and steroids that your dermatologist prescribes topically is not going to fix a systemic problem. In fact, if it does clear up your skin, you still have the problem on the inside- you just don’t know it because your skin and face look better. Putting a Band-Aid over a cut doesn’t heal the cut!
Tip #4 for Beautiful, Healthy Skin- Dysbiosis and Gut Inflammation
Here we are talking about the many kinds of bacterial species that are inhabiting your gut. Just to give you a little perspective on the greatness of the microbiome. I think the latest is that the human body has about 37.2 trillion cells. Your microbiome has 10 times that number, and we often see high levels of gut dysbiosis in our patients with unhealthy skin, like rosacea and psoriasis.
Many of my patients have noticed a correlation between having healthy skin prior to antibiotics and having very unhealthy skin after antibiotics. This is no surprise, as this is well documented throughout the research papers.
In many cases of skin conditions, whether we are talking about Rosacea, Psoriasis, Eczema, Acne, dermatitis herpetiformis, what you see is not only a loss in the abundance of these bacteria, but also a reduction in the biological diversity. What that means is that not only is there a reduction in the number, but also in the various strains. I like to use a specialized stool test, which is unlike the kind of stool test that a gastroenterologist might look at.
This is called a functional stool test, and this test was designed to specifically look at the various strains of the person being tested.
If you look at the image on the left, you will notice that the diversity association is very low, and if you look at the image on the right, you see that this patient is deficient in many important species of good bacteria.
The Best foods for Healing Rosacea And Other Skin Conditions Include:
- Organic vegetables and fruit — These contain anti-inflammatory compounds, antioxidants to lower oxidative stress and sun damage, and vitamins and minerals that help rebuild healthy skin cells. Leafy greens and orange/yellow fruits and vegetables are especially beneficial since they provide carotenoids that fight damage from sun exposure. Why is choosing organic important? Whenever you can, reduce your exposure to toxins and chemicals that can trigger skin reactions by buying organic.
- Healthy fats — Coconut oil, olive oil, avocado, nuts, and seeds (like flaxseeds and chia seeds) can all help reduce systemic inflammation within the gut. These are also important for helping with stress management and proper hormone production (plus they help keep you full for longer, so you’re less likely to crave processed foods that can trigger symptoms).
- High-quality “clean proteins” — The immune system needs enough quality protein to work properly, but some types are more likely to trigger reactions than others. Wild-caught fish like benefit-packed salmon (which provides anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids), cage-free eggs (assuming you don’t have an allergy), grass-fed animal products, and legumes are all smart choices.
- Anti-inflammatory foods and herbs — Turmeric, ginger, garlic, onions, cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli, cabbage, collard greens, etc.), carrots, tomatoes, and green tea can all help specifically combat skin inflammation, according to studies. One of my favorite supplements that packs anti-inflammatory support is Turiva.
- Essential fatty acids – Wild-caught fish and flaxseed oil can reduce eczema symptoms. Pumpkin or chia seeds – These seeds provide zinc, which is essential for wound healing and metabolizing fatty acids
- Probiotic-rich foods – Consume goat’s milk kefir and amasai. These are the highest probiotic foods and can support gut and immune health, improving the cause of eczema.
- High-fiber foods – Constipation can lead your body to look for other ways to expel toxins, and the skin can become one of the avenues through which toxins are expelled. Aim for at least 30 grams of fiber per day from vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, coconut, and sprouted grains/legumes.
- Vitamin E- Provides antioxidant protection against free radicals.
- Vitamin A–rich foods – Increase your intake of orange and yellow colored vegetables, which are high in vitamin A, necessary for skin health.
Need Help Fixing Your Gut?
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