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

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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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

The 3 common hormones causing your acne!

The 3 common hormones causing your acne!



Have you been told that you might have a hormonal imbalance? 
Or perhaps you have never experienced issues with breakouts but have now been labelled with ‘hormonal acne’ or ‘late onset adult acne’?


Are you now experiencing acne for the first time, or maybe now worse than you have experienced before?



Although hormonal imbalances are very individual and require an individualised consultation to identify what may be causing the root cause of this imbalance for your body, and identifying the root cause for your condition.

I will break down 3 common hormonal imbalances that contribute to inflammatory skin conditions which can often lead to acne.



1. Insulin

Insulin is the term for blood sugar and is often very closely related to breakouts and poor skin health. Did you know that acne is so closely related to blood sugar that it has been labelled the ‘diabetes of the skin’?

This is due to the increase in blood sugar, which increases inflammation internally and drives the inflammation externally. If our insulin is too high for too long, it can lead to hormonal imbalances, poor gut health and can even contribute to increased androgens (male hormones).


2. Elevated androgens (testosterone)


Whilst as women we still need some levels of testosterone, high or excess levels are often a large driver for acne in women. 
High androgens (male hormones) can be the result of elevated insulin, or poor liver detoxification, which means the liver has not been able to properly clear out the excess androgens causing an accumulation of these hormones.
Other signs of high androgens can be excess facial hair, increased body weight or difficulties with losing weight.

Some women experience discolouration and/or pigmentation on their skin, or irregular/missed periods. DHT- (di-hydrogesterone) is the name for the inflammatory androgen which is commonly responsible for acne and excess oil production. This often leads to the excess oil production and bacteria within the sebum that leads to breakouts, often seen along the lower face, neck and jawline.


3. Low progesterone


Progesterone when in balance is often known as our ‘clear skin and happy hormone’. This hormone is released prior to ovulation and helps with nourishing and lubricating the skin. Progesterone actually provides multiple benefits, particularly for women’s health and skin. 
It helps to nourish our hair and skin, and even reduces androgenic activity (by inhibiting alpha-5-reductase), which helps reduce excess sebum production and breakouts.


However, if this is deficient, or your body is not producing enough, this can lead to breakout prone and dryer skin. Deficient or low progesterone can also increase in skin ageing , as it helps with skin elasticity and circulation, keeping the skin hydrated and ‘plump’. 


Here are 5 key ways you can help to restore and balance your hormones, and clear your skin!



1. Reduce refined sugars, and process or pre-packaged foods.

Refined sugar is a direct driver for inflammation and acne and can reap havoc for our skin, hormones and health. Avoid processed foods, soft drinks, sweeteners and foods from a packet as these are direct drivers of inflammation. Focus on eating real foods for natural sweetness, such as fruit.

2. Increase fibre rich vegetables 

Fibre provides multiple benefits for our skin and hormonal health. It does this by binding to excess hormones, helping to flush them from our system. Fibre also helps to support and repair a healthy microbiome, both for our gut and skin!


3. Include your cruciferous vegetables!

Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts) help with liver detoxification, which is essential for the clearance of elevated hormones, and ensuring our hormones are being filtered and cleared out thoroughly.

4. Include healthy fats, particularly from omega 3 fatty acids.

These are naturally anti-inflammatory and help to reduce inflammation internally which can be a common driver for acne and hormonal imbalances. They also help to nourish the skin cell membrane, and reduce the bacteria within the sebum.

5. Include Zinc

Zinc is a key nutrient for skin and hormones! Zinc helps to reduce androgenic activity, with sebum regulation as well as assist in reducing the bacteria within the skin, and can even assist in the regulation of our menstrual cycle.


6. Support your liver!

As the liver is the main pathway for detoxification, this is also where your hormones are processed and cleared! Looking after your liver is key, and avoiding excess toxins within the liver is essential for clearing out potentially inflamed or accumulated hormones, and clearing your skin.


If you’re ready to get to the root cause of your chronic skin condition and find out the direct cause of your hormonal imbalance, then I am here to help you. With personalised consultations and functional testing, I can help you identify what may be the root cause of your condition, so we can treat your skin, balance your hormones and heal your hormonal acne for good!



Simply send me an email below, or schedule a call to find out more on how I can work with you to achieve your skin health and hormonal balance!



If you found this helpful, and would like to know more about achieving healthy skin from the inside out, then please subscribe to www.skinnnutritionco.com.au to make sure you are the first in the know for any updates and weekly blogs.

Till next time,

Take care!




Dominique



Skin Nutrition Co. X

Find out how sugar is impacting your skin, plus how you can reverse this!

Whilst you’re probably well aware that sugar may not be the best for our skin,  often we are not often told the why or how it negatively impacts our skin.
The sweetness of sugar may provide an instant gratification, however, the negative effects reap beyond skin deep. 

Sugar, when coming from a processed or refined form, can actually lead to multiple issues for our health, as it is highly inflammatory, and its effects impact the health and function of our skin and organs in numerous ways. 

In fact, sugar is often one of the largest contributors of inflammation on our skin our and our overall health, impacting multiple organs including our gut, hormones, and even our immune system. 

Think of sugar as a sticky coke can when it comes to discussing the effect it has on your skin.
If you have ever seen a coke can which has been left out in the sun, or had some spilt over the edge, it forms a ‘sticky coating’. This is what it does to our skin on a cellular level. This process is known as AGES (advanced glycation end products). 

Sugar acts as a ‘sticky coating’ over our blood vessels, which hardens and blocks the constriction of blood vessels. This AGEs formation process literally accelerates the ageing process, as sugar weakens and slows the process of new collagen production, and actually hardens and increases the breakdown of collagen and blood vessels. This formation often contributes to further inflammation in the skin.

Here are 5 ways sugar can negatively affect our skin, plus 5 tips to reverse this process:

1. Increases inflammation, leading to breakouts and acne in the skin

Sugar is one of the biggest drivers of acne and breakouts. In fact, sugar is so closely related to breakouts, that it has actually been labelled the ‘diabetes of the skin’. 

This is because excess sugar leads to increased insulin (sugar) in the blood, which then drives inflammation, impacting our hormones, often leading to an increase in androgens (male hormones) contributing to the production of acne.

 
2. Increases internal inflammation, leading to external inflammation
Sugar also impairs the quality of the bacteria within our gut, reducing the amount of good bacteria, and increasing the ‘bad’ or pathogenic bacteria causing a state of dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is when we have an overgrowth of bad bacteria within the gut due to consuming a high amount of inflammatory foods. This internal inflammation leads to formation of acne and breakouts over our skin. This drives inflammation internally, which shows up externally. 

3. Can lead to hormonal imbalances, often increasing inflammatory hormones

Refined sugar can reap havoc on our hormones and hormonal health, particularly for young girls.
Excess sugar can also lead to conditions like candida, as this type of bacteria thrives in a high sugar environment. 
Also, having high levels of insulin in the blood can be particularly problematic for women and girls with PCOS, as this increases the production of androgens (male hormones). 

4. Impairs our wound healing and immunity Excess insulin (sugar) in the blood also impairs our immune system and wound healing.  As the sugar in the blood affects the collagen production, it reduces the integrity of the skin and healing process which makes it more prone to scarring and increased healing time if faced with injury or trauma to the skin. 

5. Can lead to discolouration and pigmentation on the skin
Lastly, it can also lead to discolouration and pigmentation on the skin. This is due to an excess amount of sugar or insulin within the blood, therefore the body tries to excrete it elsewhere, hence showing up on our largest excretory organ, our skin! 

So, how can we reduce excess sugar?

Here are 5 tips to reverse the effects of sugar on your skin, and health!

* Focus on eating real, whole foods, and foods as close to its natural state as possible. 
Limit your intake of foods coming from processed, refined or packaged foods as these often have excess sugars and additives added to them. 

* Aim to increase your intake of wholefoods, particularly fresh fruit and vegetables.

* When looking for a sweet treat, look for natural sweet alternatives, such as cinnamon, cacao and fruit!  

 * Ensure to have a source of protein and fat with each meal, as this will help to stabilise blood sugar levels, reducing drops in energy levels, and helping to reduce your sugar cravings. 
Also, ensuring that you are having balanced meals helps with satiety and reduces drops in energy levels and the urge to snack later on.

For supplements to help lower blood sugar levels; consider Magnesium, Zinc and Chromium. These can help reduce sugar cravings and have been shown to be beneficial for reducing and supporting elevated insulin levels, particularly in women.

I always recommend taking any nutrition advise back to basics. Rather than focusing on what to cut out, focus on what you can include and implement into your diet. This way you will feel like you have more options of what to eat, and prevent you from feeling deprived!
Once you slowly start to reduce processed and sweetened foods from your diet, your taste buds will start to adjust and you will slowly start to lose your cravings and desire for the overly sweet foods!

For more inspiration on healthy sweet alternative and recipes, check out the 28 day clear skin program at www.skinnuntritionco.com.au

For more information on skin health, and achieving optimal skin from the inside out, subscribe to www.skinnutritionco.com.au to receive updates weekly. 

If you are struggling with your skin and hormones and are ready to get to the root, then simply contact Skin Nutrition Co., we would love to assist you and are here to help!

Until Next time, Take Care.

Dominique

Skin Nutrition Co.

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

Preventing Post-Pill Acne

If you are thinking about coming off the pill but are either; worried about how your skin may respond, or have just come off the pill and feel your skin has taking a turn for the worse, and perhaps feel now your breakouts have peaked even worse than before, then this post is for you!

Firstly, please know this is normal and quite a common response for women coming off the pill, and depending on how long had been taking this, it may take up to 3-6  or even 12 months to go down. You may also find that your breakouts will start to peak again 3 months after stopping the pill, often this is when many women are tempted to start the pill again. However, please know there are steps you can take to help reduce the occurrence and severity of breakouts.  With the right nutrients and support, you can overcome this. 

For best results, I recommend implementing these steps support before coming off the pill.

What causes post-pill acne?

This can happen as a result of a few reasons;
-Firstly, some OCP (oral contraceptive pills) work by suppressing the oil production in the skin to pre-puberty levels. So rather than ‘balancing’ the oil flow, it suppresses them which  leads to a rebound oil production  when you come off.
-The pill doesn’t ‘balance’ your hormones, it suppresses them and their function. So once you come off, your body has been forced to kickstart your reproductive cycle again.
-The PILL/OCP basically works by flat lining your hormones so your body is not really producing its natural hormones, or doing its normal hormone regulation.
-The pill also depletes you of essential nutrients including vitamin C, magnesium and zinc, selenium, all of which are key enzymes to support your skins health.  

Think of the pill as ‘switching off’ your hormones and producing a fake bleed. The reason this is known as a fake bleed, is that it is not not a real egg being released, and it is not a real ovulatory cycle occurring. The hormones induced by the pill are not real hormones, but synthetic,  and since the hormonal production has been ‘switched off’, our body is not receiving its necessary feedback cycle it requires to regulate our menstrual cycle.

So, often when coming off the pill women experience what’s known as ‘rebound acne’ which is basically a surge or peak of breakouts as the ovaries have been forced to restart and produce and release hormones. Your body has been forced to find its natural ‘rhythm’. 

This can also cause  a spike in the production of androgens (male hormones), as the  body has been forced to start regulating its hormonal cycle, a routine in which it has not yet been used to, or has been suppressed and now there is whats known as a rebound surge in breakouts. This can even cause a spike in  inflammatory hormones, often resulting in  a rebound surge in breakouts.

Here are a few key tips to  support and reduce post pill acne:

1. Reduce inflammatory food
This includes sugar, refined grains and flours, and for some diary and gluten. These are particularly problematic for acne prone skin types as they can increase what’s known as insulin like growth factor (IGF-1) which can increase androgens (male hormones) and insulin levels, causing inflammation in the body. This can exacerbate breakouts, especially after taking the pill as the hormone production is being increased in response, leading to increased breakouts and contributing this overproduction.

2. Increase fibre rich vegetables;

This helps to flush out excess hormones and supports liver detoxification. Fibre literally binds to excess oestrogen, helping to secrete any elevated or potentially inflammatory hormones from the skin.
Fibre in the form of vegetables (particularly green leafy variety) contain an active constituent called indole-3- carbinol. This helps support the balance of oestrogen and progesterone.  They also provide multiple key nutrients and antioxidants including vitamin C and A, which help support cellular integrity and the health of our skin. 

3. Include zinc rich foods and consider zinc supplementation (depending on the severity of the breakouts.)
Zinc provides multiple benefits for the skin and hormonal production; including reducing androgenic activity, it helps to support the cellular integrity of the skin, helping reduce excess oil flow, keratin build up and bacteria within the skin.

4. Consider DIM supplementation (diindolymethane)
This can be taken as  a supplement or found in foods such as broccoli sprouts. These are natural antigen blockers which help with reducing and supporting the amount of androgens present within the body, particularly ideal for clearing out any elevated or potential buildup or inflamed hormones in the body. These are also found in broccoli, cauliflower and Brussel sprouts.
 
5. Support your liver health.
Having a healthy liver is so important for detoxification, and is essential for the clearance or build up of any hormones or toxins in the body. A healthy liver provides multiple key benefits including supporting the adequate  clearance of oestrogen, testosterones and progesterone, and excreting and filtering toxins.
Our liver also plays a vital role in the health and integrity of our skin. 
Including pre and probiotic rich foods is beneficial for the health our of liver, as well as increasing plant based foods (from fruits and vegetables) to assist in supporting the liver filtration and both phases of detoxification.
Prebiotics include chicory root, dandelion greens, garlic, onion, asparagus and leeks. Probiotics include sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, and tempeh.

Please know that these peaks in breakouts can and will clear, and I encourage you to not give up on the process. With the right nutrients, guidance and support, your body has the ability to heal itself. 

If you would like further support to help clear your skin congestion, or support your health coming off the pill, please get in contact below, I am here to help you!

Also, if you know someone who may be struggling with their skin since coming off the pill, or is currently struggling with their skin that would benefit this, then please share this link with them. 

Thank you.

Till Next Time,

Dominique

Skin Nutrition Co. X

The Gut-Skin-Connection Part 2- How your Gut Microbiome can boost your Skin.

How Your Gut Microbiome can boost your skin!

Are you concerned with breakouts? Have you been labelled with ‘hormonal acne’, or ‘hormonal issues’? Perhaps you have been advised that Roaccutane or topical antibiotics is your only option? Or maybe you’re experiencing red, flushed skin? Has the colder weather made your skin more dry, and more prone to flaking and scaling compared to normal?

Whilst we’re often quick to try a new treatment or cosmetics to help treat the skin, much of our skin concerns may be a result of an internal imbalance or inflammation.

Here are a few tips you can implement which will help to support you on the inside, and show on the outside!

                                      
Inflammation is our body’s natural response to protect us from foreign invaders and pathogens in the body. However, if our body has been exposed to too much bacteria or inflammation, this can lead to an over production of inflammation, which is a driver for problematic skin.

Gut health, our microbiome and our skin has become a hugely popular topic in recent times, and here I will explain these and how it impacts our health.

As the skin is the most topical organ of our body, any imbalance internally shows up externally. Our gut microbiome is basically a host of microflora made within our gut, playing a major role in our overall health and wellbeing.
Therefore, the importance of having a healthy gut microbiome goes beyond just digestion; it also helps your immune system, your mental health, weight control and skin health.
Just like our gut has its own microbiome, so does our skin. The increase in research over gut-skin axis over recent years has become largely popular, showing the health of our skin is directly related to the health of our gut. 

Here I have listed the key nutrients to assist gut healing, helping reduce inflammation, leading to these conditions, as well as the key ingredients to help maintain and maximise optimal, glowing skin!

Fibre
Fibre helps to increase the growth of beneficial or “good bacteria”. It helps to reduce inflammation within the gut, which in turn helps to support and improve your skins microbiome and complexion. It also helps to support and protect the integrity of our gut lining, which is essential for reducing any inflammation within, that can lead to inflammation externally.

Essential fatty acids
Essential fatty acids are just that, essential! As our body cannot synthesise these by themselves, we must obtain them from our diet. These play a vital role in protecting our cell membrane and maintaining the integrity of our gut lining. They are also an anti-inflammatory, which helps to reduce inflammation internally and topically. 
Omega 3 fatty acids particularly provide a vital role in supporting our cell membrane and protecting our skin. As fats make up an important part of our skin cell membrane, it helps to protect the cell membrane, improving the texture and structure of our skin. Some sources of Omega 3 fatty acids include salmon, mackerel, chia seeds, flaxseeds and walnuts.

Zinc 
Zinc is a vital mineral which provides multiple benefits and functions within the body, particularly when it comes to wound healing, hormonal support and skin health!
Zinc is found in foods such as oysters, chicken, beef, nuts, seeds, chickpeas, oats and legumes. This is important for normalising the oil flow, and strengthening the skin integrity, which helps to protect against wound healing and reduces your risk of scarring. It helps support the lining of the gut by assisting cellular repair, which helps to reduce any potential internal inflammation. Zinc is particularly beneficial for hormonal skin conditions, as it helps with hormone production, reducing elevated androgens which is a common driver for acne. 

Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant which helps to improve the skins tone and texture. Its functions help to support collagen production, providing an important component for both our cellular repair and structural integrity for the skin and gut lining. It is also vital for collagen production and synthesis, and is a potent antioxidant which helps to improve skin tone and texture. 

Glutamine
Glutamine is an essential amino acid which supports the integrity of our gut lining. This helps to reduce inflammation within the gut, helping to strengthen the integrity and improve the quality of our gut lining.  It supports the gut microbiome and helps to prevent any overgrowth of bad bacteria within the small intestine. Ensuring we have adequate glutamine, along with Vitamin C helps with collagen production and enhancing cellular renewal, which assists skin health repair! 

So, there you have the five foods to support your gut health, and in-turn reap benefits for your skin health. 
I hope you found this helpful, and if you’d love to hear more about how to maintain optimum skin, gut or hormonal health, please subscribe to the email to receive weekly tips on all things skin health and wellness weekly!

If you would like further support for your skin health, gut health or even hormonal support, I can assist you further. Simply send an email enquiry, or get in contact below and I will be in touch to help you on your health journey!

Till next time,

Dominique,

Skin Nutrition Co. X

Contact@skinnutritionco.com.au
http://www.skinnutritionco.com.au
Instagram: @skinnutrition_co

How your gut health impacts our skin, and is the key to optimal health, inside and out!

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Did you know, much of your skin health is largely impacted by the health of your gut? In fact, your gut microbiome has a direct link to your skin, known as the gut-skin axis. Just like our gut microbiome, our skin has its own microbiome too!

As our skin is the most external organ of the body, it is often the first place to show any signs or indications of an imbalance within. Likewise, being the most external organ, it’s important to look not only externally, but internally as well for achieving healthy, glowing skin.

“Our gut health is actually said to be the foundation for optimal health. Our gut hosts trillions of cells (more than our own bodies DNA), which is called the microbiome. ”

— Dominique - skin health co.

Within this is a balance of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria, which are both essential for optimum health. However, when we have an increase in poor bacteria, known as ‘dysbiosis’, this can lead to inflammation within our body, which shows up as inflammation on our skin. These often contribute to conditions like acne, breakouts, eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis, and rosacea.

Here are 5 key ways for repairing our gut health to support both optimal health and clear, glowing skin:

1. Reduce Sugar

   Sugar increases the growth of beneficial bacteria and increases inflammation within the gut. This overgrowth of inflammation and bacteria can lead to conditions like SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) and candida. Sugar also increases insulin levels. High insulin levels can cause IGF-1, which is a common trigger for acne. In fact, acne is so closely related to blood sugar, it has been labelled the ‘diabetes of the skin’. Tip: avoid refined sugar and sweetened, processed foods, and opt for natural sweet foods like fresh fruit.

2. Increase Fibre

   Fibre (particularly in the form of green leafy vegetables), is vital for achieving optimum skin and gut health. It will help support the growth of beneficial bacterial, which will assist the clearance of any excess bacteria or pathogens from the gut. This is key for rebuilding the microbiome of the skin and gut, and is essential for optimum health. SCFA (short chain fatty acids) provide anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties as well, and is key for maintaining overall health.

3. Prebiotics and Probiotic Rich foods

   Again, this goes back to supporting and rebuilding the quality of the microbiome, and assisting rebuilding the health of the skin. This will help reduce inflammation within the body, and can actually assist in repairing a healthy gut lining. The use of probiotics has actually been found to be a beneficial treatment for inflammatory skin disorders including, psoriasis, dermatitis and acne.

4. Reduce Inflammatory Foods

   That’s right, there are some foods that cause a direct inflammation within the body! Refined sugar, processed foods, overly oily or smoked takeaway foods can cause inflammation in the body. Having a high amount of these in the body causes an increase in inflammatory compounds such as ROS (reactive oxygen species), AGES (aged-glycation end products) and lead to increased oxidative stress. These all literally affect and impair our cell membrane quality. ROS (reactive oxygen species) are oxidative compounds which literally disrupt stable skin cell membranes, and cause cross linking between collagen and elastin, leading to increased wrinkle formation. Consuming a high amount of sugar causes AGEs, which forms a ‘sticky coating’ over our collagen cells, and increases the breakdown of collagen and increases aging and free radical damage within the skin.

5. Maintain and Support a Healthy Intestinal Lining.

   The health and condition of your gut microbiome integrity largely impacts the integrity and health of your skin. If you feel you are struggling with digestive issues such as bloating, constipation or other issues like candida, SIBO, leaky gut (a term formally known as intestinal permeability), these will disrupt our bodies ability to breakdown and absorb nutrients properly. If we are not breaking down and absorbing foods properly, this can lead to undigested foods in the blood stream and increase stress within the body, again contributing to inflammation within the skin.

Tip: If you feel you may be experiencing either of these digestive issues, but not quite sure where to begin, I recommend working with a functional practitioner such as myself to help understand and piece together an individualised treatment plan to address and treat the root cause of your digestive issues.

This is why the health of your skin is so closely related to your gut health. To sum up simply, a healthy microbiome, free from any ‘gaps’ or damage to cell lining, adequate nutrient absorption and a healthy diet is key for optimal skin health, and really is the foundation for achieving clear skin from the inside, out.

I hope you found this helpful, and if you know anyone who you feel would benefit from this, please share this post with them.

If you are ready to get to the root cause of your chronic skin issue, and achieve optimal health from the inside out, or are ready to improve your health but not sure where to begin, then I’d love to help you!

Please feel free to contact me via the email form below, and we can have a chat on how I can help you.

I hope this was helpful, and look forward to helping you improve your health journey, from the inside, out. 

Skin Nutrition Co. X

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