The Gut Connection - How what you eat directly impacts your skin

Always go with your gut instinct. Your head and heart can be deceived, but your gut cannot be deceived. But today, we will go beyond that gut feeling and dive deep into finding the connection between your gut and skin.
 We've realized that our brains may not entirely control our bodies. However, more and more research has shown that our guts significantly impact our health and that a robust immune system and a strong mind go together.
 But does our gut have an impact on our skin?

 Let's take a trip down memory lane during your teenage years; you might have had too many soft drinks and woken up with a bunch of acne the next day, not realizing the cause. In the past few years, study results have shown that inflammatory response has close linkages between sugar, gut health sugar, and skin health.

 How does The Skin-Gut Relationship work?

These two very different-looking organ systems collaborate in our bodies to perform very similar and essential tasks. The skin is the largest organ in the body, and it, like the gut, is made up of several tiny, living microorganisms. These microorganisms fight off dangerous bacteria, keep our body's bacteria balanced, and maintain our immunity and overall health.

The skin, like the gut, has trillions of microorganisms that make up its microbiome. The skin and gut microbiomes collaborate in a direct connection known as the gut-skin axis. Its purpose is to combat any harmful pathogens that attempt to invade the body from the outside. However, only if our microbiomes have an appropriate balance of bacteria and are healthy microbiomes themselves will they be able to fight for our immunity and protect us from these bad guys.

The impact on the body

Because the gut and the skin are so inextricably linked, the gut-skin axis influences inflammation, harmful bacteria that can make us sick or cause irritation, and other factors: stress levels, our ability to control blood sugar levels, metabolism, and mood regulation. So, as you can see, the gut-skin axis influences our gut, skin, and entire body.

Your skin shows signs of an unhealthy gut

We've all experienced skin irritation or allergy rash at some point. Our skin is one of our body's most essential messengers, indicating when something is out of balance internally. Whether the irritation is caused by inflammation, allergies, hormones, or imbalanced gut flora, the skin will react in various ways: rash, hives, breakouts, and discoloration.

Although not every skin condition is directly related to the gut, many unhealthy, severe skin conditions are linked to what we eat and the balance of bacteria in our bodies. Inflammatory bowel disease, for example, increases the risk of inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis. Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease relevant to the proportion of bacteria in the gut and can deteriorate when that balance is disturbed.

The list of skin conditions associated with the gut does not end there. Acne, dry skin, and other skin conditions are all caused by poor gut health and function.

 Healing Your Gut And Improving Skin Health

  So, how do we heal an unhealthy gut and achieve smooth, healthy, hydrated skin? First, we recommend you consume prebiotic and probiotic foods.

 Probiotics are living in the gut that restores good that fight off harmful bacteria that can make us sick. And yet no true hero fights on its own: probiotics collaborate with prebiotics to combat inflammation-causing bacteria.

 Probiotics are often found in food sources like yogurt, buttermilk, pickles, etc., while prebiotics is found in food sources like bananas, apples, dark chocolate, etc.

Final thoughts

Now that we have gone beyond the gut feeling, you know there is a connection between skin and gut health. Therefore, it is essential to check what you consume throughout the day as it can impact your skin, too; you are what you eat.