Am I suffering with ‘leaky skin?’

How to tell if your gut is driving your chronic skin issues.

Have you been experiencing flaking or sensitised skin?


Do you find your skin is easily irritated, dry and sensitive?

Perhaps you have heard your skin health has a large connection with your gut health, but have don’t have any obvious ‘gut symptoms?’

Well if this is you, or if you feel your skin conditions may be from an issue beyond skin deep, here is some support for you!

Often chronic and inflamed skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, and dermatitis have been labelled ‘leaky skin’, as they have been shown to have a strong connection to the health of the gut.
In particular, the health and quality of your gut lining has been shown to have a strong connection to the integrity of your skin microbiome.

Particularly a condition commonly known as ‘leaky gut’, or intestinal permeability. 

This refers to the quality of your gut lining.

If there are any ‘gaps’ or ‘leaks’ within the tight junctions of the gut, this can lead to food being leached out into the bloodstream, which leads to inflammation in the body.


This inflammation has been shown to have a strong connection to these inflammatory skin conditions, hence where the term ‘leaky skin’ comes from.

So, how can ‘leaky gut’ lead to flaking and sensitised skin?

Your gut is composed of your microbiome. The health of your gut microbiome has a large role in your skins health, as your skin too has its own microbiome. This connection between your gut health influences the skin and changes on the skin, including; the health and quality of your microbiome, as well as the quality and integrity of your gut lining.


Now interestingly; there has been an increase in research over the last few years about the connection and relationship between inflammatory skin conditions and gut permeability, hence where the term ‘leaky skin’ comes from.

Intestinal permeability is when there are gaps or ‘leaks’ in the gut lining, which leads to food particles being leached out into the blood stream. As food particles are not able to be broken down properly, this causes undigested foods to leach into the blood stream, further driving inflammation in the body.

As our gut health is so important for our skin health and integrity, if there is this inflammation internally, this is going to show up and exacserbate this inflammation showing up externally.
Particularly in chronic skin issues and conditions like intestinal permeability. This leads to food particles, which have not been able to break down properly, literally ‘leaching’ into the bloodstream, which can trigger many symptoms, and particularly skin issues.

So, how does ‘leaky gut’ impact my skin?

Inflammatory skin conditions are often due to the overproduction of the inflammation occurring internally, which shows up externally. This includes T cells, cytokines and interleukins, and a gene called flaggerin gene, which plays a vital role in skin hydration.

Now, these are normal cells that are produced when the body perceives it it is being invaded by a foreign pathogen, virus or bacteria. 
The issue is when there is an overproduction of these, or in the case of auto-immune conditions, this leads to ongoing inflammation in the body, which can drive these excessive skin issues like eczema, and dermatitis.

So, how can intestinal permeability can impact your skin:

Mutations in the flaggrin Gene (FLR).

Fillagrrin is part of the structural component of the skin, and is an essential part of maintaining the skins barrier function and hydration. 
However, if there is a mutation or deficiency in this gene; this can lead to an overproduction of inflammation and loss of hydration on the skin.
 This has also been shown to have a strong correlation with inflammatory skin conditions like eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis.

This increases trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) 

This causes an overproduction of T cells, interleukins and inflammatory cytokines. These are what our body sends out to signal when a foreign pathogen or invader is entering the body (like a virus, bacteria, or pathogen), which helps to fight off against this bacteria from entering the body.

However, the problem is when there is an overproduction of this gene, the body begins to perceive some of its own cells and tissues of the body as ‘foreign’, and sends out these cells, which creates an overproduction, or excess inflammation in the body, commonly driving these skin conditions .


Excess inflammation increases Cortisol

High cortisol also causes an increase in TEWL which reduces moisture in the skin.
 This excess inflammation in the body essentially increases stress in the body, and shifts the body into ‘flight or fight’ mode. This increases the bodies cortisol production. 
High cortisol can lead to sensitised skin conditions, as the skin begins to loose its moisture content, and looses it water in the skin, further contributing to this dry and inflamed skin.

Dysbiosis or low hydrochloric acid (HCL)
If we do not have a healthy gut microbiome, or if our gut is in a highly dysbiotic state (higher in inflammatory bacteria), this also impacts our skin microbiome.
Low HCL has also been shown to have an impact on our skins health, as this affects how well your food is able to be digested or absorbed.
If this process is not happening properly, this can also lead to nutritional deficiencies and contribute to chronic skin issues.

What are some tips to support these conditions?:



• Include key nutrients like Glutamine, Vitamin C and Zinc

  These are essential for supporting and repairing the cellular lining and lining of the gut.
  Vitamin C and Zinc also provide anti-oxidant properties, and work hand in hand to support cellular renewal and reduce this oxidative stress. 



• Include supportive foods like bone broth, slippery elm or psyllium husk

  These help support and maintain the quality and health of your gut lining, and provide beneficial support for the healing and repair of gut imbalances.
 Bone broth also naturally contains collagen which is vital to help rebuild and repair skin tissue and integrity.



• Avoid inflammatory foods
  
This include foods like packeted, processed foods, refined sugar, and refined flours, and for some diary and gluten products. 
Refined grains and flours like crisps, processed breads, and white breads are also inflammatory foods.
  These foods can further lead to inflammation in the body, which can worsen chronic skin issues. 
These also contain emulsifiers, additives and preservatives, all of which can further impede the gut lining and integrity. As these foods are already foreign to the body, and harder for the body to break down. Therefore, in a time of healing and supporting your gut integrity, it’s best to avoid these.

• Include antioxidants
  Focus on consuming foods that is going to be easier for the body to absorb and digest. Ideally you want to focus on broths, soups and slow cooked stews. 

Include drinks like miso, green tea, herbal teas, matcha lattes and turmeric latte.
  These provide antioxidants and are anti-inflammatory which will help support and repair the gut lining!

  

If you feel your gut may be driving your chronic skin issues, or if you are ready to get to the root cause of your skin issues, but are not sure where to begin, then I am here to help you!

  Simply head to skinnutriotionco.com.au for more information, or to book an appointment. Also, if you know a friend or family member who needs to here this, then please share this with them.
 My only hope is to help empower as many people as I can experiencing chronic skin issues, with the right knowledge and guidance to help them support thier skin, from the inside out, for good.

Thank you again, until next time.


Dominique

Skin Nutrition Co.
contact@skinnutritionco.com.au
www.skinnutritionco.com.au

How do auto-immune conditions impact your skin

.

If you have been dealing with inflammatory skin issues, whether it’s breakouts, acne, eczema, dermatitis, or rosacea, and whether this is a chronic issue or a recent flare up, one key area that often gets overlooked is your immune system.


Quite often, many clients that experience these conditions have an underlying immune or auto-immune related condition, which causes excessive inflammation of the skin. As your skin is an excretory organ, and the most final organ of the body, there is no doubt that when you are dealing with inflammatory skin issues, it is due to an overproduction of internal inflammation.

When there is an autoimmune condition, your immune system is already compromised which causes the body to have an elevated inflammatory response. This is because it has an increased susceptibility to inflammation and sensitivity. This is due to the over production of T cells, the cells which your body sends out when it perceives a foreign invader is entering the body. Now, in a normal and healthy response these cells would fight off the pathogen or virus, and return to its normal state.


However, when it comes to auto-immune conditions, the body perceives some of its own cells or tissues in the body as foreign, and begins to attack them. This is what leads to the overproduction of inflammation and heightened inflammatory response which begins to impact other organs of our body, including your skin!

Experiencing an illness or imbalance puts the body under a heightened stress response. 
This heightened stress increase begins to impact other areas of your health such as your gut health, hormones, hydrochloric acid levels, and even nutrient absorption and requirements. It mpacts how well your body can break down, distribute and absorb nutrients.


Intestinal impermiability, commonly known as ‘leaky gut’, has been found to be a common factor in inflammatory skin issues like eczema and psoriasis. Hypothyroidism has also been shown to have a strong link with rosacea, as it also impacts digestion and nutritional requirements. 

Essentially, when you have an autoimmune condition, or are dealing with a compromised immune system, your body is already under increased stress. This leads to an increase in your nutritional requirements to support and optimise healing, as your bodies core focus is to reduce inflammation and send its nutrients to its organs it considers most vital. 


Here are some ways autoimmune conditions can impact your skin:

• Increases your nutritional requirements including protein, vitamin C and Zinc. This is because when your body is experiencing ongoing stress, or has been run down, its nutritional requirements, especially zinc ,vitamin C and B are readily used up, and if we are not receiving enough of these, it begins to impact our skin.

• Impacts your gut health, including the digestion and absorption of your nutrients
. This affects nutrient absorption.
This can lead to conditions like impaired gut permeability, dysbiosis or reduced hydrochloric acid, which reduces the digestive enzymes and how well your body can break down and digest nutrients.Increases inflammation

• Impairs your wound healing

  


Protein is also essential when it comes to healing and supporting skin issues, particularly if there is already a compromised or impaired immune system.

Protein is an essential building block for lean body tissue, including your skin. However, when your body is run down, fighting an infection, or trying to heal a skin issue, your protein requirements are actually increased to support this process and rebuild skin tissue. 





This is why supporting your gut and liver is so important when dealing with a compromised immune system, as well as inflammatory skin issues.



So, what are some key foundations for supporting immune related skin issues?



1 Support your gut health.

Focus on eating real, whole foods, and foods as close to their natural state as possible. This is an easy way to support your gut microbiome and improve the diversity in your gut.
Reducing inflammatory foods like refined sugar, as sugar increases dysbiosis, the growth of the poor bacteria which leads to increased inflammation internally.
Sugar also competes with, and reduces the synthesis of vitamin C, which is an essential antioxidant for our health and healing.

By focusing on supporting your gut health, reducing inflammatory food will help support and repair the quality of bacteria in your gut and reduce underlying inflammation, which also helps to increase and improve nutrient absorption and availability.

2. Increase Immune supporting nutrients:

Our immune system, just like all other organs of our body require essential nutrients to help support and protect against free radical damage.
Key Nutrients including Vitamin C, D, Zinc, & Selenium are all essential for supporting our immune system, and help protect against free radical damage.


3. Reduce inflammatory foods

As your body is already under high stress and inflammation, we want focus on supporting the body by reducing any excessive inflammation happening internally.


4. Support your stress levels

Often in auto-immune based conditions, cortisol (our stress hormone) levels are increased due to the inflammation occurring internally. When there is additional stress, or ongoing cortisol levels, it can exascerbate or trigger these issues, leading to a worsening of the skin condition.

 Therefore focusing on supporting your stress levels is key, not only for gut health, it is also essential to get into the rest and digest state. Calming our body and nervous system is vital to support healing, and help reduce inflammation occurring internally. 


If you would like to know more about how you can support and heal chronic and inflammatory skin issues, and get to the root cause of your chronic skin issues, then I am here to help!

Simply send an email to contact@skinnutritionco.com.au, or submit an enquiry form and I will be in contact with you!
Also, if you know a friend or family member who is struggling with skin issues that needs to hear this, then I encourage you to please share this with them. My only hope is to help reach as many people as I can experiencing these issues that I can, so you too can begin to support your skin and health, from the inside out!

Thank you,

Until Next time,

Dominique

Skin Nutrition Co. X

Let’s talk Melatonin!

Often when we think of melatonin, we may only think of its benefits for our sleep.

Whilst it is definitely essential for our sleep, melatonin is also an antioxidant that provides multiple benefits for our overall functioning and cellular health.

There is no doubt you may notice an improvement in your skin after a good nights sleep, and no doubt your skin will also show signs when you’ve had a poor nights sleep.
However, melatonin provides a wide array of health benefits that go beyond skin deep!

Melatonin is a hormone which is produced naturally within our body. It is produced and released by our pineal gland within the brain which is responsible for our circadian rhythm, our ‘sleep wake cycle’. This helps control when we fall asleep, and wake up.

Whilst you may be aware of the beauty benefits of sleep, from supporting optimal healing, cellular repair, promoting and replenishing new skin cells. Melatonin also plays a vital role for many of our organs health, and our mental and emotional health, and cognitive support.


In fact, the more we begin to delve into hormones and the foundations for optimal hormone health, one key thing that always stands out is the importance of sleep! 
Specifically how sleep is fundamental when it comes to restoring our health, particularly our hormones!

As melatonin is a hormone, it is responsible for the control, flow and other functions of our body as well as impacting our skin health, from the inside out.


Melatonin also helps regulate many biological functions including:

• Our sleep cycle, and circadian rhythm

• Our immunity and reproductive function


• It provides anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects


• Mood support, reducing anxiety and calming the nervous system

• It helps to neutralise free radical damage


• Now in skincare, it is used topically to protect against the effects of UV damage, hyperpigmentation, and slow down skin ageing


  

Here are 5 ways melatonin can help your skin and overall health, and how you can increase your production of melatonin!


Antioxidant properties

Did you know melatonin is actually an antioxidant, which helps to neutralise and protect against free radical damage?
 This Is essential for cellular health and healing, which helps in reducing inflammation and oxidative stress.
 This goes beyond our skin to our overall cellular health.


It improves mood health and calms the nervous system
.
When our melatonin ‘sets in’, it helps increase relaxation. This helps to reduce cortisol, ‘our stress hormone’, which can help to decrease inflammation when under a chronic state. This decrease in cortisol helps to reduce inflammation in the body. Often sleep deprivation, or ongoing poor sleep can impact our skin, as this ongoing inflammation can impact our collagen production and turnover. This can increase sebum production which can deplete our skin of essential nutrients that are required to help maintain optimum skin health.

Mimics Antioxidants function
Melatonin also mimics the function of Vitamin C and E, which both provide key antioxidant properties, and helps to repair against oxidative stress. Vitamin C is essential for collagen production, and cellular repair. Vitamin E provides many protective properties, including neutralising against free radical damage, and protecting against skin conditions contributing to oxidative stress.
 Melatonin also helps stimulate the production of the enzymes which neutralises free radical damage and stimulates the production of antioxidants. 


Hormone Support

Melatonin is key for healthy reproductive functioning and hormone production. If we are in a state of chronic or high stress, whether physical or emotional, overtime this can begin to impact our production of sex hormones, including progesterone and estrogen. High levels of cortisol can impede the production of these hormone as the body perceives it is under extremely high levels of stress, it suppresses ovulation.

Provides additional Support Topically
Melatonin has also gained an increase in popularity for its benefits topically, particularly for its role in skin health and antioxidant properties! 
It has been added to skincare products, and has also shown to be particularly beneficial for treatment against the production of UV damage, hyperpigmentation and reducing premature ageing.

So, how can we promote and regulate melatonin production?



Tips to promote melatonin production:



Lifestyle:
 Aim to avoid screen time at least 30-60 minutes before bed. 
Switch your screens to yellow light (‘night shift mode’) before bed, this switches from the blue light, which is what blocks the conversion of serotonin to melatonin, as the body cannot recognise it is night time, and able to sleep. 


Avoid eating at least 2-3 hours before bed. Aim to have your dinner or last meal of the day 2-3 hours prior going to bed. 
This enables the body to properly break down and distribute its nutrients, so it is not focused on breaking down its food and can transition into the ‘rest and digest’ state.


Have a chamomile tea 30-60mins prior to bedtime to help increase relaxation.



Dietary tips:


Include foods high in tryptophan and glycine.
These essential amino acids, found in lean proteins help the body to convert to molecules which help the production of both melatonin and seratonin, which are important for regulating and supporting mood control.
 Glycine helps to inhibit excretory, or stimulating neurotransmitters in the brain, helping reduce stimulation and overactivity of the brain.


Ensure to eat balanced meals to help stabilise and avoid spikes in blood sugar levels.

Having a balanced meal including healthy complex carbohydrates, fats and protein his essential to help keep your blood sugar balanced, and helping your satiety (fuller for longer). You will be less likely want to snack on sweet or sugary foods after dinner, and preventing hunger late at night.


Include foods containing melatonin,
Tart Cherries and Goji berries both naturally contain melatonin and are natural sleep aid enhancers. 

Eggs, oily fish and omega 3 Fatty acids, fish (like salmon and mackerel) also naturally contain melatonin
. Nuts including pistachios and almonds are among the highest source of omega 3 fatty acids


Avoid inflammatory foods: This includes 
foods high in refined sugar and processed carbohydrates, overly sweetened or processed foods. These are often high in sugars and additives, which can cause a quick spike in insulin levels, and increase blood glucose production. This increase in blood sugar can make it harder for you to fall asleep, as this increase in sugar causes an increase in energy production, and the body is now focused on trying to brake down and utilised its excess energy it has just received.

If lack of sleep is affecting your skin, hormones and overall health, or are struggling to get to the root cause of your skin issues, please have hope and know you can still support and reverse this cycle. I am here help you support you on your health joinery, so you can break free from the cycle of stress affecting your sleep and hormones, and truly heal from the inside out.

Simply send an email, or send an enquiry and I will be in contact with you on your next best steps for your health journey!

Thank you,

Until next time!

Dominique

Skin Nutrition Co. X
contact@skinnutritionco.com.au
www.skinnutritionco.com.au

Rosacea?

Inevitable or Preventable? Let’s take a deeper look!

Have you been told you may have rosacea? Do you have red, pink or often flushed skin?

Do you feel your ‘rosey’ cheeks appearance have now started to develop into ongoing redness? Or have perhaps darkened and increased more heat in the skin?

Or perhaps you have family members that have rosacea, and therefore you feel your skin is prone having rosacea too?

Whilst rosacea is often a result driven from inflammation and the internal environment, there is actually much we can do to prevent the onset, and reduce and even support the severity of the condition.

Like most inflammatory skin conditions, these are largely triggered and responsible from the internal and external environment.

However, the positive news is, wether this is ‘genetic’ or you are more susceptible to this condition or not, there are ways your can help to prevent the occurrence of rosacea, to help not only improve the integrity of your skin, but also restore your health from the inside out!

As the body is so interconnected, when we focus on improving the health of one area of the body, this too impacts the health of our other body and external organs. See below for how you can support the key organs involved in your skins’s health, and heal your rosacea.

Common triggers for rosacea:

Your Immune System
Rosacea is considered to be an inflammatory skin condition,  largely triggered by activation of the immune system. Therefore treatment should focus on reducing this inflammation and supporting the immune system.
By improving and supporting the immune system, and avoiding key triggers have been shown to help reduce the severity and occurrence of rosacea like symptoms.
Including key nutrients such as vitamin C, Zinc and B vitamins, as these all play a role in improving the quality of the skin integrity, however they are also essential for our immune system and function.
Vitamin C works by fighting off against free radical damage and protecting the cells against foreign pathogens, and the bacteria that can reduce the quality and strength of our skin.
Zinc supports our adrenals and protects us from being run down. It also helps to reduce against bacterial build up in the skin and body.
B vitamins play a large role for our immune system, including vitamins B6 and B12. These help with the strengthening and integrity of our immune system.
Vitamin B3 and B5 are also key for strengthening our cell membrane, providing a natural coating and lubricating the skin.


Gut health
Gut health is another key foundation for restoring optimal skin health, as the gut microbiome is the key foundation for a healthy skin microbiome!
Quite often when there is inflammation on the skin, this is a result of inflammation internally which usually stems from the gut. This includes conditions like dysbiosis, nutritional deficiencies, or potential gut issues like SIBO or ‘leaky gut’, (properly known as intestinal permeability), which affects how well our nutrients are absorbed and broken down in the system.
If we are in a state of dysbiosis (too high pathogenic bacteria), or experiencing IBS like symptoms including; intestinal permiabilty (known as leaky gut), or SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), again, this could be some hidden drivers of inflammation internally. 

Infact, Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) was found to be much higher and prevalent in patients experiencing rosacea, compared to the general population. One study found  that SIBO was 13x more prevalent amongst those experiencing Rosacea  compared to the general population.  Low stomach acid HCL has also been shown to also be another key driver behind inflammatory skin conditions, including rosacea, and acne rosacea. This can contribute to other gut symptoms like bloating, irritable bowel, indigestion and IBS symptoms. HCL is important for the breaking down, and digestion of food and nutrients within the digestive system.

Liver support

This is essential for the health of our skin! Our liver helps reduce inflammation and potentially elevated toxins within the body, showing up topically. As the liver is essential for the clearance of toxins and waste from the body, our liver plays an important role in our immune system, as it helps with the filtering and detoxification of products, toxins and hormones in the body. 

However, if our body is being overloaded with excess toxins, or is not receiving enough key nutrients to help support this process, this can lead to accumulation of toxins within the body, and often triggers inflammation internally which shows up as inflammation on the skin. Often alcohol is a large trigger for rosacea as alcohol  increases blood vessel dilation on the skin, and increases heat in the skin. It also reduces wound healing and collagen repair and integrity.
Increasing vitamin C rich foods and cruciferous vegtables is essential for supporting phase 1 of liver detoxification. It also helps support the integrity of the skin and collagen renewal.
Crucifiers vegetables are also essential for supporting the liver function and detoxification, as these are high in fibre which helps to rebuild the microbiome integrity within the gut.

Environmental triggers and Inflammation
As rosacea is largely a heat sensitive conditions, often triggers include heat, alcohol, caffeine, and smoking can trigger rosacea flare ups, as many of these further add head into the body and increase oxidative stress.
Reducing these inflammatory foods, and environmental factors (whilst in recovery), are essential to helping heal and support your skin!


Some key ways to support rosacea:

Increasing fibre rich foods, particularly in the form of vegetables (kale, spinach, broccoli, watercress), will help improve the health, quality and function of our gut microbiome. Fibre also helps prevent the ‘recirculating toxins’ that were not able to be broken down by the gut to the liver, reducing the load on the liver and helping reduce toxins within the body.
Fibre also helps strengthen and support your immune system!

Include pre and probiotics foods - these are key for supporting the health of the gut and growth of the beneficial bacteria. These include foods such as sauerkraut, chia seeds, bananas, leeks, artichokes, miso and fermented vegetables.

Increase bitter foods as these help increase HCL (hydrochloric acid) which helps increase the digestive enzymes that help to break down the foods which enables better absorption. (Dandelion tea, rocket, chicory root, bitter melon, kale, green tea are some natural sources.)

Reduce inflammatory foods including sugar, alcohol and coffee. Refined sugar increases the growth of poor bacteria (dysbiosis) often leading to inflammation on the skin, and increases the breakdown of collagen formation. Alcohol also has a direct impact on the health of the skin that can lead to the wakening and break down collagen formation.

Eat through the rainbow!
Increasing your amount of fresh fruits and vegetables will help provide you with a wide range of nutrients and vitamins, especially antioxidants like Vitamins C, Zinc, A and B vitamins, which are all helpful for regenerating skin cells, collagen production and protecting against free radical damage, both internally and externally.

So, I  hope that provide some help and insight into some natural ways to support and reduce rosacea, and in turn improve your health and reduce the risk of a flare up again!

If you would like to know more about healing your chronic skin issues, from the inside out, or want to know more about supporting your gut further (including functional testing), then please get in contact and I will be happy to discuss with you the next best step to take!

Also, if you know a friend or family member who needs to hear this, please share this with! My only hope is to help as many people as I can with the knowledge, guidance and support to help equip them on their health journey.

Thank you again,

Until next time, please take care!

Dominique

SKIN NUTRITION CO.

www.skinnutritionco.com.au
contact@skinnutrtionco.com.au

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The effects of stress on our skin



Have you ever wondered how stress can impact your skin?

Have you ever noticed during times of high stress, or after a highly stressful period, one of the first things that starts to show up is often a breakout, redness, or perhaps previous skin issues you may have been experiencing?


Perhaps if you have struggled with skin issues, coming out of a period of high stress can bring back or cause your skin issues to flare up again. Stress Impacts our skin in multiple ways, from having break outs after a highly stressful period, to long term inflammatory skin conditions such as poor wound healing, flaking skin, eczema and dermatitis.


This is because when we undergo a highly stressful period, whether this is physical or emotional, our body goes into a perceived ‘fight or flight response’, which readily uses up our essential nutrients, and uses them up to support this response.

Our body focuses on utilising the nutrient’s its receiving, particularly zinc, vitamin C and B vitamins to help support and send out to our organs it considers essential for survival, often leaving our skin one of the last places to receive the beneficial nutrients.




As the skin is the most external organ of our body and a reflection of our internal health, it is one of the final places to show up when something is out of balance internally. 
During times of high levels of stress, the body perceives these external organs as ‘non-essential’, therefore can be the last organs to receive the essential nutrients to support these organs.




Here are 5 ways stress can impact our skin.


 Stress affects our hormones


Stress affects our hormones, particularly our production of cortisol, which is known as our stress hormone. 
When our body is under high stress, whether short term or long term chronic stress, our brain sends signals to our adrenals to produce the hormone ‘cortisol’.


Whilst cortisol is a normal, and even a healthy, response to enable our body to respond to the stressful situation it is faced with, ongoing levels of this can begin to cause issues for our body and affect the functioning of our organs, including our skin!
Ongoing raised levels of cortisol can deplete us of our essential nutrients including Vitamin C, Zinc and our B vitamins, as these are required to help support our adrenals, and replenishing our stress response. These are also key nutrients for the skin health and essential for healing and replenishing cellular repair and increasing cell turnover. 



Stress Increases Inflammation



High levels of stress increases inflammation internally, which leads to inflammation on our skin. This inflammation can show up in many ways like redness, poor wound healing, increased scarring or slower ability to heal, or and/or re-occouring breakouts and acne.


Impacts our gut Health and ability to absorb nutrients


High levels of stress affects our gut health, and can even alter our gut microbiome.
As we know gut health is crucial for skin health, and skin healing. As our gut microbiome is connected to our skin, high levels of stress can affect the bodies ability to properly digest and absorb these essential nutrients.

If our microbiome is not being supported, either due to high stress, or an imbalance of poor bacteria, this can affect how well the food is being absorbed and broken down, and contributes to inflammation on the skin.


Stress Impacts our sleep
Stress impacts our hormonal production, including increasing the production of cortisol, our fight or fight response, which can affect our sleep.
This alters the melatonin production which is needed to help to promote relaxation and support adequate sleep quality. Adequate sleep is essential for skin repair and healing, as when we sleep our cells repairs and regenerate.

Affects our Skin Microbiome

Stress can even alter the pH barrier of the skin, causing flaking, redness and sensitivity to the skin. The high levels of stress disrupt the HPA axis (hypothalamic- adrenal axis), the part of the brain responsible for hormone production, to produce elevated cortisol and adrenaline from the kidneys. These are known as Catecholamines, which can directly affect and disrupt the skins microbiome, often leading to reduced skin barrier integrity and increasing poor wound healing, increased flaking and sensitivity to the skin.




This is why after a period of high stress you may find your flare ups and skin issues begin to surface again

.

So, how can we ensure to reduce the inflammation during a stressful period?



Aim to implement a healthy stress reduction techniques.

Whether it’s deep breathing, journaling, meditation, a walk in nature, aim to implement at least 15-20 minutes a day to do something you enjoy, ensure to make time to schedule this in daily!



Support your sleep!

I encourage your to please priorities your sleep and 
avoid skipping sleep or cutting into your sleep during a busy time. Sleep is so important to help your body regenerate and repair itself, especially the skin!



Nourish your Adrenals

Vitamin C, Zinc, Magnesium are essential for optimal adrenal support and cellular repair and replenishment.
During times of high stress, your body may need extra support to function and thrive optimally. As your adrenals will be using these nutrients up at a faster rate, it is essential your body is receiving enough to supply and nourish your adrenals and skin health!

For more information and key ways to help support your skin from the inside out, be sure to download your Clear Skin Checklist, for you to start implementing today. 

If you are ready to get to finally get to the root cause of your chronic skin condition, and finally break free from the struggle of supporting your skin, please get in contact below, I am here to support you in your next steps!


Also if you have a friend who would benefit from reading this, then please share this with them.




Dominique



Skin Nutrition Co.


contact@skinnutritionco.com.au

www.skinnutritionco.com.au

Have you been prescribed Roaccutane or topical antibiotics for your skin? Have you been advised by your health professional that Roaccutane is the only solution for your skin condition?



How to support your skin holistically, whilst on Roaccutane.

Or perhaps you feel you have exhausted all other options and this really is your last resort, then please have hope, and know you can still support your skin internally whilst on Roaccutane.


Whether you are currently taking or about to take a course of Roaccutane or topical antibiotics, or perhaps have just come off this medication and are worried about how your skin might respond or change after completing the course, then this post is for you!



If you have made the decision to take topical antibiotics or medications for your skin, there is no shame or judgement, as every journey to healing is different and no two skins are the same! You can still support your skin and health from the inside out, alongside taking your topical medication, to help maintain the long term health and healing of your skin.



Here are 6 keys ways you can support your skin whilst you are on Roaccutane.

1. Support your Liver health

A healthy liver is essential for healthy skin! This is especially important when we are taking a course of medication, regardless of the duration, as we need to ensure our liver is receiving the adequate nutrients to enable detoxification to occur properly. 
Therefore, it is important to ensure we are optimising the liver health and ensuring it is receiving the correct quantity of nutrients to support phase 2 detoxification. This helps to break up the toxins within the body, making them into less toxic substances, and more water soluble, enabling the body to excrete them from the body.

Including cruciferous vegetables is important as these contain sulphur metabolites, which is needed in one of the processes to breakdown the substances.
Vitamin C (found from citrus fruits and green leafy vegetables) is also a key nutrient required to breakdown toxins.


2. Support your Gut Health

Our gut health is interconnected with our skin, with increasing research and evidence showing that the gut has a direct connection with the skin, known as the gut-skin-axis.
Therefore, ensuring we are supporting the growth of the good bacteria within the gut is key for supporting our skin, as this will help reduce inflammation internally, and promote the growth of beneficial bacteria, which helps to support optimal gut health. In particular, focusing on eating prebiotic and probiotic foods, and vegetables high in fibre will help the gut health thrive and support the growth of healthy bacteria.



3. Zinc

Zinc provides multiple benefits for our skin health! 
Zinc helps to protect against free radical damage and to reduce the bacteria within the skin, which is known to increase inflammation causing breakouts. This helps to strengthen the skin cell integrity and reduce inflammation in the skin, protecting against wound healing.

4. Include Vitamin A and Vitamin D rich foods.


These are both key antioxidants which are vital for skin health which play a key part in our skin health, in particularly supporting the structural integrity of the skin.
These are both fat soluble nutrients, which are needed to provide antioxidant properties, and support the structure of the cell membrane.
Both of these nutrients also play a key role in supporting the immune system, and the skins barrier defence system, which helps to reduce proliferation (flaking) and bacterial skin conditions.

5. Essential fatty Acids!
Essential fatty acids, as the name suggests, are essential as our body cannot make them by itself, therefore we need to obtain them from our diet.
These are naturally anti-inflammatory which helps to protect against acne and bacterial skin conditions, and is a vital part of maintaining the structural integrity of the skin. 


6. Selenium

This is another potent anti-oxidant, which has been shown to be lower in patients with chronic acne. Selenium helps to protect the cell membrane integrity, and protecting against free radical damage. Along with its multiple benefits for our skin health, it is also a precursor for glutathione production which helps to support liver detoxification, and reduce toxins that lead to congestion on the skin.



Key Takeaways to remember:

Whether you are on, or have taken topical antibiotics for your skin, you can still support your skin health internally.

 Consuming a diet that is high in antioxidants (coming from fresh fruits and vegetables) will help to support your skin health and maintain optimal health topically and internally, from the inside out!




For more information and key ways to help support your skin from the inside out, be sure to download your Clear Skin Checklist, for you to start implementing today.

Also, if you have a friend who would benefit from reading this, please share this with them.

If you are ready to get to the root cause of your chronic skin condition, and finally break free from the struggle of supporting your skin, please get in contact below, I am here to support you in your next steps!

Dominique

Skin Nutrition Co.
contact@skinnutritionco.com.au

Have you been convinced or sold into the idea that a detox will help support your skin?

Or perhaps you are wanting to detox your liver to help support your skin, but are unsure of the best way to do so.  If this is the case, then this post is for you!
In the previous blog I wrote about why our liver health is so important and how to properly support it. If you missed the first blog then you can check it out here https://skinnutritionco.com.au/blog.

The liver is such a crucial organ for skin health, and it’s a widely known fact that it is involved in detoxification. With the skin being the most external organ of the body as well as the largest excretory organ of the body, it’s no doubt that the two go hand in hand when it comes to addressing your skin health.

In fact, often chronic and inflammatory skin conditions such as acne, breakouts and eczema are known to be connected to the health of liver. Therefore, focusing on supporting the liver is essential for improving these conditions. However, often products or ‘diets’ that claim to  help ‘detox’, often promote ideas that are not so healthy, and may actually hinder, and even worsen your skin condition if not supported properly.

Here I wanted to break down and debunk the common myths about detoxs for your skin, so you can truly support and nourish your skin, from the inside out!

1. Under eating and Restrictive Dieting


The liver is involved in the metabolism and transportation of essential nutrients, including carbohydrates, fats and proteins. 
Therefore, it is important to ensure you are eating full and balanced meals to support the livers health and promote optimal healing.
Contrary to the common myths that many detoxes promote, often advising restrictive programs, or very low calories, this can actually impair the livers ability to properly detoxify if is not receiving enough essential nutrients, and can even worsen skin conditions. 
We need to ensure our liver is receiving enough vital nutrients to allow the process of detoxification , for the breakdown of nutrients and toxins to work efficiently. 

If we are undereating, or cutting out certain food groups, this reduces the livers ability to properly repair and support its proper functions. 
If your body is trying to rebuild and recover, whether this is for an injury or rebuilding skin tissues, under eating or skipping out on essential nutrients will impair the bodies ability to do this, and can even worsen or impair your skins wound healing ability.



2. Low Protein


Cutting out foods groups, especially protein can actually worsen or exacserbate skin issues, as protein is needed to rebuild skin tissues. 
Healthy lean protein is needed to support a healthy liver!
Proteins containing essential amino acids including cysteine, glycine and glutamine are required for phase 2 liver detoxification, which enables toxic substances to be broken down into less toxic matter, and excreted from the body. 
Not having enough protein can worsen or lead to scarring, as protein is required to rebuild and repair tissues. 
If we do not have enough, or are cutting out protein, this can lead to further weakening or breakdown of skin tissues and impaired skin healing, as protein is required to rebuild and regenerate new skin tissue.

Therefore under eating, or cutting out essential food groups like protein can worsen your skin issues and impair it’s healing!


3. Colonics and herbal teas


Herbal teas, drinks or ’cleanses’ that are marketed to detox or ‘boost your liver’ or ‘clear your skin’ that do not provide adequate nutritional guidance are just fads! 
These are not promoted by health professionals, and are unfortunately only seeking to provide a bandaid or quick fix solution, which can often lead to further complications and health issues further along.

Whilst herbal teas do provide some benefits as they naturally contain polyphenols, which are high in antioxidants that help reduce inflammation, and often support skin complexion, relying on teas alone will not help ‘detox’ or ‘heal’ your skin.
 Please avoid taking supplements or restrictive programs, particularly ones promoted to ‘heal’ or ‘detoxify’, as they are not promoted by qualified health practitioners, and can later lead to rebound symptoms. 


If you are really concerned with wanting to improve your liver health, it is advisable that you consult a qualified practitioner that can help guide you in the right direction.




For more information on what to eat to heal your skin, head to the website for all things skin health and healing, from the inside out!

Be sure to grab your clear skin guide as well so you can begin to implement the steps to help heal your skin from the inside out!

If you’re ready to get to the root cause of your chronic skin issue, or if you feel you may need further support for your liver health, hormones, or gut health then I am here to help you! Simply get in touch via the contact in the blog below!




Dominique,

Skin Nutirition Co. X

contact@skinnutritionco.com.au
www.skinnutritionco.com.au

Have you considered a detox to improve your health?

Whether it’s for skin, weight loss or to ’boost’ your health?



Or perhaps you have been told you need to detox to help a certain condition you may be concerned about, but are unsure of where or how to start.



Well firstly, let me break down what a detox is, or rather what a detox is not, in order for you to properly be able to support your health and actually achieve genuine results!

To properly support and improve the health of an organ, it is necessary first to understand the importance and the role an organ plays, in order to know how to best support it for optimum functioning and performance.



This is particularly key for your liver! Contrary to popular belief, your liver does more than just ‘detoxify’. 

Our liver actually provides many essential roles to support our health, particularly our immune system, on a daily basis.



It is involved in many processes which help to support our health including:

• Protein metabolism


• Breaking down toxic substances, making them water soluble in order to be easily excreted

• Protecting against toxic substances and environmental toxins

• The breakdown and metabolism of essential nutrients including carbohydrates, fats and proteins

• Maintaining our immune system
 and hormonal production

In order for the liver to perform these processes effectively, it requires the appropriate food and nutrients to do so.

As the liver plays such a vital role for supporting our health, as well as maintaining our skin health and integrity, rather than focusing on what to avoid, we should focus on how to support to nourish and improve these processes.



Contrary to the overload and false noise promoted in the health and wellness world, our liver does not actually need ‘detoxing’, as this is an ongoing process for the skin.


However our liver does need supporting, and does require key nutrients and foods to help this process. As well as reduce the circulation and accumulation of toxins within the body, which can lead to other chronic issues such as low immunity, gut issues, hormone imbalances and inflamed skin conditions, particularly eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis and certain types of acne.

So, how to properly support your liver?

Supporting your liver may be much simpler than you think, and you don’t have to dread giving up your favourite foods, if at all!



Here are 5 key tips to support and nourish your liver for optimum detoxification.

1. Include clean lean protein

Protein is so important for the function of our liver. It is the building block of each cell in the body and is required for synthesising and replenishing new tissues within the body. In order for the liver to be able to break down and continue its functions, we need to ensure we are consuming enough adequate proteins to enable this process. 

Proteins containing essential amino acids (glycine, taurine and glutamine) are also vital for the function of phase 2 detoxification, which involves the excretion of toxic substances from the body, making them more soluble and easier to be excreted.




2. Include healthy fats and balanced meals

Contrary to the popular beliefs that detoxing requires fasting and skipping meals, our body actually requires essential macronutrients to be able to breakdown and distribute to other organs in the body. Having a full and balanced plate of healthy nutrients enables the liver to efficiently breakdown and excrete these nutrients and distribute them where they are required!



3. Include cruciferous and green leafy vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables are key for our liver health, as they contain sulphur metabolites. These metabolites are required for phase 2 detoxification, which again enables the passing of water toxic substances from the body. These are also very important for hormonal health, and the excretion or potentially harmful or elevated hormones.



4. Include citrus foods


These are high in vitamin C which helps support phase 2 detoxification. 
Vitamin C and Citrus bioflavonoids are required for the first phase of detoxification, which is the process of making phase 1 metabolites (fat soluble) into water soluble and less toxic, so they can be readily excreted. Vitamin C is also a key antioxidant which helps to protect against free radical damage, helping strengthen cellular integrity, and optimising the health and integrity of our skin cells and immune system.


5. Eliminate alcohol, caffeine and refined sugars.


When the body receives these common inflammatory foods, particularly alcohol, it reduces the absorption of other nutrients as it focuses on breaking down these substances first. At a time when trying to support and reduce the load on the liver , consumption of these foods actually places the liver under additional stress.

The easiest way to support your liver is by focusing on eating real, whole foods, and particularly bright coloured fruits and vegetables. These are high in anti-oxidants and help reduce free radical damage. 

Including foods high in flavonoids (bright coloured fruits and vegetables), as these help support detoxification pathways and include plenty of green leafy vegetables as these are high in antioxidants which are key for supporting our liver.

For more information on how to support your liver, skin and overall health from the inside out, head to the blog for more practical and step by steps guides to help you on your journey!



If you are ready to get to the root cause of your health concerns, wether it’s your skin, hormones, gut or liver health and are not sure where to begin, then I am here to help you!

Simply send an email or book in via the contact tab on the blog, and I can help you with take the next steps to understanding your health, so you can ultimately heal and achieve your health goals, from the inside out!

Also, if you know someone who would benefit from reading this, then please share this with them. If you have any questions or comments, please ket me know, I would love to hear from you and answer your questions.

Until next time,

Take Care!

Dominique.

Skin Nutrition Co. X

Why Zinc is so beneficial for skin health

!

If you have been struggling with skin issues, whether it may be breakouts, redness, rashes, itchiness, dry or sensitised skin, or perhaps you have cleared your skin and are wanting to focus on strengthening and reducing scarring of your skin- you may want to consider zinc!


Zinc is one of most vital (if not the most vital) nutrients for skin health and healing!



Zinc is a mineral which is actually found naturally in skin tissue and is needed to make keratin, which is the building block for our skin cells (called karotincyets).



It is involved in over 300 enzymatic processes within the body, making it a key essential nutrient to support the optimal functioning and processing of many vital organs, including our immune system, hormones, brain function and in particular, our skin!



Its multiple benefits for the skin extend from:

• Supporting and reducing hormonal acne

• Reducing scarring

• Protecting against wound healing

• Increasing cell turnover

• Improving wound repair and our skin texture.


This is due to its natural antioxidant, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, which is essential for combating and supporting chronic and inflammatory skin issues including dermatitis, acne, and hormonal acne.


This means it helps protect our cell membrane by reducing oxidative stress to the cell and supporting the integrity of the cell. This makes it particularly beneficial if you have been experiencing hormonal breakouts, or ‘rebound’ acne after coming off the pill. 
This is also key for supporting inflamed breakouts, particularly due to hormonal imbalances, as zinc helps to regulate hormones, and actually reduces androgens (male hormones), which is often a large driver for breakouts in women.

 This is particularly beneficial to help support healing alongside topical therapies, as it helps to encourage a new cell turnover.

Zinc assists with strengthening the skin cell integrity, and encourages the shedding of dead skin cells.

 This helps promote new skin cells coming to the surface, as well as prevent the inflammation driven from hormonal breakouts. 

It is important to ensure you are consuming enough zinc, particularly alongside your topical treatments for your skin, as it will help with the cell renewal, and reduce the bacterial build up in the skin!

Whilst I don’t advocate just supplementing for the sake of it, and don’t believe in taking supplements as a band aid approach (as nutrients are best absorbed coming from whole food), and each and every body has different nutritional requirements. However there are times when our body requires higher amounts of certain nutrients. These are in times of healing or recovery, or if there has been a deficiency, or depletion due to being run down or after periods of high stress.



Tip: If you have been struggling with a skin issues, whether it has been short term or ongoing, you may want to assess your diet and see if zinc deficiency or insufficiency may be a contributing factor!

 Foods highest in zinc include beef, oysters, shellfish, chickpeas, nuts, seeds and eggs. 


Please note; if you are vegetarian or vegan your nutritional requirements for zinc will be higher, as zinc is higher and absorbed faster from animal proteins, and plant based sources are absorbed at a slower rate, therefore supplementation may be necessary and intake may be higher.

If you are ready to get to the root cause of your skin issues, and are unsure where to begin your journey, then I would love to help guide you in the right direction! At Skin Nutrition Co. I also provide nutrient testing in order to assess your levels, prior to deciding to supplement.


Simply send an email to contact@skinnutritionco.com.au or book online for a consultation.


Also, if you have a family member or friend that you know would benefit from this, then please share this with them!



I look forward to helping you on your health journey, and helping you balance your skin and health, from the inside out!




Dominique



Skin Nutrition Co. X

Your 
Holiday Hormone Survival Guide!



Holiday season is often a time filled with many celebrations and is often a time when we begin to unwind, relax and sometimes can become tempted to slip out of our usual routine.

Your Holiday Hormone Survival Guide!

Plus 5 Steps to Keeping your Hormones Healthy over the holidays!

Whilst taking time off and actually enjoying this time of the year is very important, sometimes we can get a bit too relaxed and are tempted to throw in the towel on our healthy eating habits. 



Of if you have a hormonal imbalance, hormonal acne, or are trying to improve your health, it can be very hard not to feel restricted or know what to eat and what not to eat this time of the year, and often when people find it too hard they are tempted to give up completely.



But, please have hope, it doesn’t have to be this way!



Here are 5 keys tips you can implement to help keep your hormones healthy, whist still enjoying your celebrations!



1. Include healthy fats with each meal.

Include healthy fats such as avocados, salmon, tahini, coconut yogurt, olive oil, nuts, and seeds.
 These help with satiety, meaning they help keep you fuller for longer and are actually key for our hormonal health.

Satiety also helps with stabilising your blood sugar levels, meaning you will be less likely to keep snacking and grazing on foods as you only need a small amount to keep full.
Healthy fats, particularly from omega 3 fatty acids also help to reduce inflammation and are vital to help support the production of healthy hormones.



2. Avoid refined sugar and processed sweets.

Refined sugar particularly in the form of lollies, soft drinks, candy, chocolates and packaged foods are all high in refined sugars and cause a direct spike in our insulin levels. 
Refined sugar is also highly inflammatory and is particularly problematic for hormonal issues, as the increased insulin levels leads to increased production of androgens and inflammatory hormones, which is often a large driver behind acne, inflammatory skin and hormonal related conditions such as PCOS.



3. Enjoy healthy snacks!

Include healthy snacks and treats that are going to help nourish and keep you satiated!
Rather than focusing on what not to eat, or what you ‘can’t’ eat, focus on what you CAN eat! This is known as ‘crowding’, where you fill your plate and focus on all the foods you can eat. This will help you feel like you have more options of foods to enjoy and are less likely to feel restricted and overeat on the less healthier foods. See below for healthy snack ideas! 



4. Limit your alcohol and excess caffeine.

Alcohol is also highly inflammatory and can reap havoc for our hormones when consumed in high amounts, particularly for women as womens hormones are much more sensitive to alcohol.

Alcohol is actually received as a toxin to the body. When this is being consumed in high amounts, in order for our body to be able to break it down and be able to clear and filter the toxins properly, it actually blocks the absorption of other nutrients. 


Tip: For every alcoholic drink you have, aim to have two glasses of water with it.
Also, try to have your alcohol around 30 minutes of eating and avoid drinking on an empty stomach.
Remember moderation is key! Enjoying a glass in moderation is completely fine for a celebration and the season! Just be cautious of the quality, type and amount that you are consuming.



5. Include your fibre!

Fibre in the the form of fresh fruit and vegetables (cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, pears, apples) will help with supporting detoxification which helps with the clearance and excretion of hormones and removing toxins form the body. Fibre is really important to help continue our bodies natural detoxification process, which is particularly important for our hormonal health.

Tip: Aim to eat through the rainbow! This will help you receive a variety of different nutrients, whilst proving plenty of flavour as well! Include root vegetables such as pumpkin or sweet potato, or roasted cauliflower and brassicas as a delicious savoury sides! These are an easy and tasty way to include more vegetables as well as help keep your fibre intake up over the season! Include berries, cherries or pineapple as a light sweet treat after your meal!



Theses are all simple steps you can implement to help you indulge mindfully over the Christmas period, whilst still supporting your health and hormones!

Some of my favourites healthy snacks include:
-Veggie sticks with hummus or tahini

-Pears, bananas or apples sliced with peanut butter
-Mixed berries with nuts & seeds 

-Coyo with sprinkled cacao nibs, mixed berries and cinnamon

-Healthy choc truffles (see the link in blog)

-Get Creative! Rather than feeling like you can’t have your favourite foods, look for a healthier alternative or healthier recipes to re-create your favourite meals!

Please remember though, Christmas is just two days and is a special time to celebrate. Please know, if you have a treat or two over this time, it’s not a ‘blow out’ or ‘all out the window’. Just try remember to implement your healthy tips when you can, and remember to enjoy the time mindfully!

Remember, mindfully, balance and moderation is key!

Till next time,

Take Care!

Dominique

Skin Nutrition Co.