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

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