5 ways to heal PCOS, naturally!

If you have PCOS and are struggling with acne, please know you are not alone, and your symptoms can still improve despite your condition!

Whilst women with PCOS often feel they may have to experience this forever, please know this is not the case, and you can be supported naturally.

Here are 5 crucial steps (plus key nutrients) you can take, to help support your hormones and clear your skin, from the inside out!

1. Support your gut health
Having a healthy microbiome is not only essential for the health of our skin, it also provides a key foundation for the health and metabolism of our hormones.
High levels of bad bacteria is commonly a trigger for acne as dysbiosis leads to internal inflammation and can show up as breakouts on the skin. Also, if there is a high amount of refined sugar within the diet, it can increase candida, a type of bacteria that thrives on sugar and when there is too much acidity within the environment.

2. Support Liver Health and Detoxification
As the liver plays an important role in detoxification and waste elimination, it’s health and functioning is essential for the health of our skin and hormones, particularly for PCOS acne.
Tip: To assist the efficient elimination of toxins by supporting the growth of good bacteria within the gut, include plenty of fibre rich vegetables and prebiotic foods.

3. Increase Cruciferous Vegetables
These vegetables contain Indole-3-Carbinol which helps to support the clearance of elevated hormones, particularly oestrogen, and supports the livers metabolism of hormones. It has been shown to be beneficial for women experiencing either elevated or low levels of oestrogen, helping the body either excrete or clear the excess hormones and balance the levels.

4. Zinc
This is such an important nutrient for womens health, particularly for women experiencing any hormonal imbalances. Zinc provides multiple benefits, including; reducing androgens (male hormones), which is a common driver for women with PCOS. It helps support metabolism and thyroid hormones, which can increase the metabolism for women experiencing a sluggish or slower thyroid, often another common symptom for PCOS. It also helps reduce bacteria within the sebum and strengthens the skin cell integrity, protecting against wound healing and normalising sebaceous activity.

5. Support Blood Sugar Levels/Insulin Sensitivity
Although not all women with PCOS are sensitive to insulin, insulin sensitivity is a common symptom for women with PCOS, meaning they are not able to tolerate glucose or sugar properly, making them more sensitive to sugar. Sugar is also a large driver behind inflammation and acne for PCOS sufferers. Reducing sugar is key to help reduce inflammation and androgens within the body. This will not only help with reducing acne, but also assist in maintaining a healthy weight and metabolism, improving blood sugar control.
Tip: Avoid refined sugar and processed foods (lollies, soft drinks packages and processed foods) as these increase blood sugar levels and increase overall insulin (sugar) in the blood.
For a natural sweet alternative try cinnamon, cacao or fruit! Cinnamon is a natural blood sugar stabiliser and helps to provide a natural sweet flavour!
Cacao is also rich in magnesium and antioxidants, and provides a healthy chocolate alternative!

If you are wanting further supplements to support:
Inositol has been found to provide particular benefits for women with PCOS as it helps with improving insulin sensitivity and lowering blood sugar levels.
Chromium has also been shown to help stabilise and lower blood sugar levels.
Magnesium is also helpful for blood sugar control and improving insulin resistance, whilst reducing inflammation.

I hope you found this helpful, and please know there is always a way to help support your symptoms so you can still thrive and have healthy skin, with or without PCOS!
If you would like further support with your skin, hormones or help, I am here to help!
Simply send an email below, or call and we can discuss your next best steps to take to help you move forward with your health.
Till next time,

Take Care!

Dominique,
Skin Nutrition Co.

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

An Introduction into the Gut-Skin Connection


Our skin is a barometer for our inner health, meaning, many symptoms or inflammation externally is often a reflection of our internal health. 
If you are experiencing mild or chronic skin issues, such as acne, hormonal breakouts, redness, rosacea, eczema or dermatitis, this can be an indication of an imbalance internally. 

What is the ‘Gut-Skin Axis?’

There has been a large increase in studies over recent years in regards to the impact our gut health has on our overall internal health, and particularly its role with skin. 
In fact, our gut health has a bio-directional link with our skin, known as the gut-skin axis. Similarly, more research has shown that as our gut has its own microbiome, so does our skin!

Therefore, if we want to get to the root cause, and properly treat inflammatory skin conditions, whether it’s a recent flare up or a chronic skin issue, we need to look at the gut!

Here are five key ways to optimise and improve the integrity of your gut health, and in turn, support the health of your skin.

1. Increase Fibre
Fibre helps to support the growth of beneficial bacteria within the gut, which is essential for reducing any inflammation and supports optimum health.
Fibre helps to increase the removal of waste products and prevents accumulation of toxins in the body. It helps reduce the harmful bacteria within the gut, and helps increase the clearance of toxins from the body, as it binds them up and ‘flushes’ them out of the body/

2. Include Fermented Vegetables
Fermented foods are high in prebiotics, which help to support the growth of the good bacteria. This is particularly beneficial for gut health as it helps to support the increase of healthy bacteria, essential for providing a healthy foundation for our gut health to thrive. This is key for optimal health, and particularly vital for the health of our skin!

3. Reduce Inflammatory Foods
Common inflammatory foods include processed foods, pre-packaged foods, or foods high in refined sugar. These often contain high amounts of additives and preservatives, which can impair our cellular integrity and cause oxidative stress within the body. If these are being consumed in a high amount, it can lead to inflammation both within the body and our skin, and quite often is a large trigger for breakouts, acne and redness in the skin.

4. Include Cruciferous Vegetables 
Cruciferous vegetables in particular provide an array of health benefits, with multiple benefits for the gut and our skin! Their high fibre content helps to support digestion and detoxification, they also contain an active constituent called indole-3-carbinol, which helps with clearing out elevated hormones, which is particularly beneficial for hormonal skin issues. 
They also are high in phytonutrients vitamin C and vitamin A which are beneficial for skin cell turnover and cell renewal, as well as strengthening the cell lining of the gut. 

5. Increase Hydration
Lastly, but definitely not least, hydration! Often it’s the simplest things that are often overlooked, yet they provide a significant difference!
Hydration plays multiple benefits for our internal health and skin.
Ensuring we are drinking enough water helps to keep our cells nourished, it assists with flushing out toxins from the body and helps keep our skin hydrated.
Ensuring we are drinking enough water is particularly important for our digestive system, as it helps to bind with the fibre to flush out and excrete any waste within the system, helping supporting the detoxification and removal of toxins within the body.
Tip: If you find it hard drinking plain water, add a squeeze of lemon or lime, or try herbal teas. This will help with increasing your nutrients and other health benefits by adding in the polyphenols, and helps make water more appetising to ensure you are drinking enough throughout the day.

So there are the key foundations for maintaining optimum gut and 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, then 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 am here to assist you further, and am here to support you! Simply send an email enquiry, or get in contact below and I will be in touch with you to help you in your health journey!



Dominique,

Skin Nutrition Co. X