Many people who suffer from problem skin – acne, pimples, rashes – often resort to medication. Although medication may offer a quick fix, it does not address the root cause of the problem. This means that problems could manifest into something else later on and potentially get worse.
Here we look at what could be causing your skin issues and what you can do, naturally.
Considerations For Problem Skin
Food
Have you heard of the gut-skin connection? There is a strong link between your gut and the health of your skin. You may notice if you eat processed foods you have a skin flare-up. Poor food choices can lead to inflammation, the body’s inability to detox, and may be feeding something in your gut other than your hunger (like bad bacteria or yeast).
Create a happy gut environment by removing inflammatory foods such as processed snacks and meals. Sugar is another issue. Parasites, yeast and bad bacteria all thrive on sugar, resulting in the production of toxins in your gut. As the body starts to detox these from your skin, you may notice spots and pimples, or other issues.
Poor fats like trans fats and fake fatty acids (like those found in margarine) are something to avoid when it comes to good gut health. Replace these poor fats with skin-loving good fats, we need saturated fats for good skin. These include unprocessed butter, ghee and coconut oil.
If you are looking for glowing skin, you should also avoid unfermented soy. Fermented soy, such as tempeh, is generally considered okay.
Nutrient Deficiencies
There are some vitamins and minerals that have an important role when it comes to healthy skin:
Vitamin A – This balances your hormones by decreasing androgen (the male hormone steroid), promotes new skin growth and helps the skin to heal more quickly. It is also immune enhancing, can lower inflammation and helps the liver to detox. Vitamin A is found in cod liver oil, Changing Habits Camu Camu, other good fats and liver.
Zinc – Zinc increases the vitamin A content in your blood. It is also wound healing and fights against infections in your gut.
Sulphur – This is a great detoxifier. It is found in foods like broccoli, brussels sprouts, garlic, cabbage and onion.
Apple Cider Vinegar – This is antimicrobial, nutrient rich and great for optimising stomach acid. Around 40% of people with acne have low stomach acid due to a microbial imbalance. For general health, start by taking a tsp in water each morning on an empty stomach, building up to a tbsp.
Topical Skin Care
Our bodies don’t do well when we eat foods laced with chemicals and the same goes for skin care. Use chemical-free products on your skin as much as you can. Ask me for some recommendations.
Bentonite clay is also good at drawing out toxins. Mix it with a histamine-lowering cultured yogurt or kefir (such as those available at Kultured Wellness), or some apple cider vinegar, apply it to your skin and leave for 20 minutes. You could also add a spoonful to your bath with a drop of apple cider vinegar. This will help change the pH of your skin. Microbes create a pH they love – this bath will create an environment they don’t thrive in, resulting in improved skin.