Why supporting your gut health is key to balancing your hormones.

Plus 5 key ways to improve your hormones through your gut!

Why supporting your gut health is key to balancing your hormones!



Did you know improving or even balancing our hormones can be done through the gut? 
Whilst you may be aware that the health of your skin is largely impacted by the health of your gut, you may not be aware of the importance it has for restoring our hormones. 



As I have mentioned in previous articles, our gut health is considered to be the centre for optimal health.


Its roles include digestion, absorption and transportation of nutrients. 

It controls the excretion of nutrients throughout the body, and is essential for optimal functioning of essential organs including; the liver, immune system, integumentary system and even our hormones.

As the quality of our microbiome is largely driven and impacted by the foods and environment it is exposed to, this applies also for the health of our hormones. Therefore, focusing on optimising your gut health is key for improving your hormones.

A healthy gut is the foundation for a healthy liver, as it enables the production and process of phase 1 and 2 detoxification to work efficiently. This is essential for a regular and healthy menstrual cycle, and ensuring our body is able to receive its nutrients properly, as well as breaking down and restoring its nutrients effectively.

Having a healthy microbiome is essential for our hormonal health in multiple ways, including:

• helping to regulate the menstrual cycle

• ensuring our hormones are being flushed out monthly, reducing any potential build up or elevated/pathogenic bacteria within the gut

• providing healthy detoxification and filtering of hormones

• reducing inflammation that may lead to symptoms of PMS, abdominal bloating, cramping and even mood support.

In fact, our gut is so closely connected to our liver, the organ responsible for detoxification and excretion of our hormones, it is fair to say that they work hand in hand to ensure our hormones are being excreted effectively and efficiently. 

If we have a ‘build up’, sluggish digestion, or poor elimination of waste and toxins within the gut, this blocks them from being moved to the liver to be cleared and excreted properly, which can lead to a backwash and recirculation of toxins and hormones in the body. Poor or sluggish filtration leads to an accumulation and recirculation of these hormones, causing them to become inflammatory. 



Here are 5 easy ways to improve your hormones, through your gut!

• Support your microbiome

A healthy microbiome is essential for optimal gut health. A healthy gut helps reduce inflammation by supporting the clearance of pathogenic (harmful) bacteria.
When we have a healthy and diverse microbiome, this helps reduce inflammation that can commonly lead to an accumulation or buildup of hormones, preventing them from being properly excreted.

• Increase fibre

Fibre is one of the key ways to boost the good bacteria within your gut. Fibre helps to bind up and ‘flush out’ excess toxins from circulating within the digestive system, helping to excrete them from the system.
Fibre helps to flush out elevated oestrogen and androgens, which is essential to prevent any toxic build up of pathogenic or potential inflammatory hormones. This also helps reduce inflammation which can lead to hormonal imbalances, and inflammatory hormones.


• Increase green leafy vegetables and cruciferous veggies

Cruciferous vegetables are high in fibre and bind to potential toxins which assists with the excreting them from the system. They also contain an active constituent called indole-3-carbinal, which helps with the clearance of elevated oestrogens and testosterone.


• Prebiotic and probiotic rich foods

Prebiotic and probiotic foods help support the microflora, which promotes the growth of helpful bacteria within the gut. This helps reduce inflammation and improves the nutrient absorption and breakdown with the gut. 
This can also assist with reducing PMS like symptoms including abdominal pain, bloating or even cramping, as the good bacteria helps reduce internal inflammation, which is often a large driver behind this.

• Focus on anti-inflammatory food/reducing inflammatory food

Focusing on eating a whole food based diet helps support both our hormones and gut health. This helps with reducing inflammation that can lead to irregular, painful periods and period related symptoms. Inflammation actually increases prostaglandin production, which is the term for our pain receptors and pain sensation. Therefore, having inflammatory foods such as sugar, processed foods, packaged foods, or overly oily, fried, smoked or takeaway foods can actually increase your sense of pain associated during or around your menstrual cycle. Inflammatory food is often also a trigger for inflammation in the gut, often causing IBS like symptoms, and can further driving these hormonal imbalances. 


• Include good quality clean proteins

These contain essential amino acids; glycine, glutamine, taurine which are all integral to support the lining and cellular repair of the gut. They are utilised to support liver detoxification, and again supporting the balance and clearance of hormones within the system. They also play a vital role for mood support, and increasing seratonin and dopamine production, which helps support and stabilise mood, reducing PMS, depression and anxiety associated with menstruation.



Some key nutrients to consider for healing and supporting gut health:

Magnesium helps to support and protect the gut lining, increasing nutrient absorption and reducing inflammation internally. It also assists with the nervous system and muscular tension, helping support mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Zinc is involved in helping regulate our menstrual cycle and is anti-androgenic. This helps with reducing potential elevated androgens, and is also involved in cellular synthesis which helps to improve the cell lining within the gut!


For more information on all things nutrition, skin health, gut health, and hormonal support, be sure to check out the blog!

Also, if you found this helpful, or know someone you think would benefit from this, then please share this with them.


If you are ready to get to the root cause of your hormonal imbalances, or are wanting to improve your gut health but you’re not sure where to start, then I am here to help you and would love to assist you on your health journey!


Simply send your enquiry or get in contact below and I will be in contact with you. I look forward to helping you on your health journey!




Till next time, Take care



Dominique

Skin Nutrition Co.

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

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.

So, we have delved into the importance of gut health as an essential foundation for skin health.
Next, I wanted to dive into the next important organ for our skin health, the liver!

If you have been told you have, or are currently experiencing hormonal acne, then the liver is definitely an organ for you to consider supporting.

“If you have been told you have, or are currently experiencing hormonal acne, then the liver is definitely an organ for you to consider supporting”

As the liver is involved in the processing, clearing and metabolism of hormones, any imbalance or inflammatory hormonal condition can be supported via the liver. 

Liver health is essential for skin health due to its role in detoxification and the clearance of toxins from the body. Similar to the gut, the liver also needs a healthy microbiome to thrive and to ensure our bodies can excrete toxins efficiently. If the pathogenic (bad) bacteria in the liver is too high, it can impact how well the body is able to excrete toxins. 

This can actually lead to a build up or ‘backwash/recirculation’ of toxins from the liver to the gut as the body has not been able to excrete them properly. Our liver greatly impacts our skin, as any toxins that cannot be broken down are forced to be excreted by our next excretory organ, which is our skin!

A stressed or ‘overloaded’ liver can contribute to hormonal skin conditions such as acne, and even some types of pigmentation. If our liver is under high levels of stress, either due to elevated toxins, free radicals or nutritional deficiencies, this can impact the livers ability to filter out toxins, which can lead to inflammation within, and inflammatory skin. 

4 ways the liver can help to clear your skin

1. Helps reduce excess androgen production (male hormones)
Helps to balance hormones, and reduce the conversions of testosterone to DHT (the active male hormone).
Often acne skin types are largely driven by elevated androgens (male hormones), much of which are converted into the DHT pathway, which becomes inflammatory acne, often showing up on the lower cheeks and jawline, and upper neck area. 
Tip: Aim to eat a high fibre diet in the form of vegetables as fibre helps to clear out elevated hormones. Also aim to include foods high in zinc, as zinc helps prevent the conversion of testosterone and reduces androgenic activity. 

2. Helps with oestrogen clearance and excretion
Our liver helps to excrete excess oestrogen, which can also be a large trigger for skin concerns including acne, breakouts and even some forms of pigmentation (known as melasma)
The liver works to help support the clearance of elevated hormones, particularly testosterone and oestrogen. If this is not cleared properly, or if there is a build up or barrier to this being able to be excreted, this contributes to elevated hormones, a common trigger for acne/breakouts. 
Tip: Include plenty of cruciferous vegetables as these contain a constituent called indole-3-carbional, which is involved in the breakdown and clearance of oestrogen within the body.


3. Helps support and reduce blood sugar levels
If sugar or insulin levels within the blood are too high this causes an increase in insulin within the body, and often triggers inflammation within the gut and liver, increasing free radical damage and impairing the body’s ability to filter and excrete waste. Acne and even some forms of pigmentation can be due to elevated blood sugar levels. This is due to the body having too much sugar in the system and the body is trying to excrete it through the skin. Reducing the overall load of sugar and inflammatory foods within will help support the clearance of toxins naturally.
Tip: Avoid consuming inflammatory foods containing high levels of refined sugar. Overly oily, smoked, takeaway foods, excessive coffee and alcohol can overload the liver and increase oxidative stress within the body. 

4. Helps reduce the bacteria within the skin
As the liver plays an important role in the breakdown and excretion of toxins from the body, this actually helps reduce inflammatory acne and the p.acnes bacteria. P.acnes bacteria is the type that leads to inflammatory acne, which can be due to a high amount of bacteria within the sebum. Often this develops when there is a high amount of oxidative stress and elevated free radicals within the body. By reducing the amount of oxidative stress and free radicals, it helps to reduce this bacteria and topical inflammation. 
Tip: Ensure to include plenty of antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and broccoli as these are high in vitamin C, vitamin A and anthocyanins which provide potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Adding herbal teas such as green tea, dandelion and fennel are also supportive for the liver health. 

So there are 4 keys ways you can support your liver to improve the quality of your skin! 


I hope you found this helpful, and I encourage you to try implement at least one of these steps, and see if you start to notice a difference with your skin!

Also, if you know a friend who would benefit from this, please share this with them. Don’t forget to subscribe if you would like to receive weekly updates on all things skin, health and nutrition. 

 If you feel your liver may need support, or may be struggling with a hormonal issue but are unsure of what to do, then please get in contact below. We would love to assist you on your health journey!

Thank you,

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

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

Essential Fatty Acids and Your skin

Essential fatty acids play a vital role when it comes to the health and integrity of your skin.

As titled, these really are ‘essential’ for supporting the quality and health of our skin!
These are called essential, as the body cannot synthesise them by itself, therefore we need to obtain them from our diet.

The benefits include reducing inflammation, supporting cell membrane integrity, and helping to keep a healthy ‘plump and hydrated glow’ for our skin, and even assisting in slowing the ageing process within the skin!

Here are 5 reasons we need them for our skin health, and ways to boost our intake to help our skin.

1. They are naturally anti-inflammatory.
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are composed of omega 3 fatty acids, which provide anti-inflammatory benefits, and help to reduce inflammation in the skin.
Ideally, within our diet we need a balance of omega 3 to omega 6, however due to most modern and westernised diets, being higher in processed and takeaway foods, more people are consuming foods higher in omega 6 which can lead to increased inflammation within the body and skin. Ensuring we have an adequate intake of these omega 3 essential fatty acids will help to reduce internal inflammation, and in turn reduce any external inflammation.

2. Reduces the bacteria within the sebum
Often acne skin types or overly oily or breakout prone skin have a higher amount of p.acnes bacteria, (the bacteria within the sebum) which leads to inflammation. Omega 3 actually helps to ‘clean out’ this oil production, and balance the oil flow into essential ‘healthy’ sebum, which helps to reduce the acne formation and bacteria within the sebum. The oils within EFA help to reduce oxidative stress within the sebum as well, which can help reduce the p.acnes bacteria.

3. Helps to strengthen and support the integrity of the skin
The epidermis; the most outer layer of our skin is composed of its own microbiome, pH and acid mantle which are all a part of our skins barrier function. Omega 3’s helps to strengthen the skin barrier function and formation, reducing oxidative stress within the cell membrane. While its anti-inflammatory properties help reduce inflammation associated with acne and dry, flaking skin types such as eczema, and psoriasis. Studies have shown supplementation of omega 3 can help reduce the severity and occurrence of these conditions, due to its work supporting the barrier function of the skin.


4. Helps support slow and healthy ageing!
Essential fatty acids are actually essential building blocks for our cell membrane, as we need good fats in our diet to support our cellular integrity. The structure of these cells is similar to our skin cells, both composed of lipids, which help maintain volume and a healthy coating over the skin, the body can naturally begin to lose moisture and the natural lipids within the skin, decreasing volume within the skin. These are composed of healthy fats, which are actually a structural component for our cell membrane. Composed of polyunsaturated fatty acids, these help to reduce inflammation and nourish the cells, helping hydrate and aid the skins coating and integrity.

5. Helps keep cell membranes plump and hydrated
When coming from its purest and natural form, EPA/DHEA, they help to support our cell membrane and maintain the structural integrity of the skin. The polyunsaturated fatty acids provide the healthy fats that our body needs to maintain a healthy coating of the skin!
These healthy fats help to hydrate and nourish the skin integrity, and support the lipid structure within the skin. Helping to provide a youthful, plump and hydrated skin!

As you can see, these omegas play a vital role for the health of our skin, and are key in our diet for the health and long term integrity of our skin.

Highest sources of omega 3 fatty acids include salmon, walnuts, mackerel, herring, sardines, flaxseeds, chia seeds.

For more information on skin health and how nutrients can help your skin, please subscribe to the email below to receive weekly updates on all things skin health and nutrition!

If you found this helpful, or know someone that would benefit from this ,please share this with them. If you feel you may be experiencing a deficiency in essential fatty acids, or are unsure if this is triggering your skin condition, we’d love to assist you!

Simply send an email or give us a call to discuss how essential fatty acids may be beneficial for you!

Till next time, take care!

Dominique
Skin Nutrition Co. X

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Your Beauty Benefits of B Vitamins!

Your Beauty Boosting Benefits of B Vitamins!

If dehydration, dullness or dryness comes to mind when it comes to your skin concerns (especially in winter) then the Bs are for you!

Whether you are wanting to help alleviate inflammatory skin, such as flaking skin, reduce excess oil flow, even out skin tone or even reverse signs of ageing by boosting collagen formation and strengthening cellular integrity, then it may be time to consider your intake of B vitamins!

There are 8 different types of B vitamins, all of which play a vital role in the care and benefit to your skin. B vitamins are a water soluble nutrient, which means that they must be obtained from our diet, as they are readily excreted and cannot be stored within the body.

Here I will break down how the functions and benefits of each nutrient can support our skin health!

Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)​ is involved in energy metabolism and the growth, development and function of cells, all of which help to support wound healing and prevent scarring. Deficiencies in this can lead to weakness, dryness, craped or flaking of the skin.

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)​ plays a vital role for achieving healthy, glowing skin. This helps with maintaining the growth of tissues to encourage a healthy cell turnover, helping to support a clearer complexion, as well as the maintenance of collagen production which protects the structural integrity of the skin. Vitamin B2 is particularly beneficial for acne sufferers as it also assists maintaining the oil flow of the skin, helping to prevent breakouts.

Vitamin B3 (Niacin) ​is one of the most popular skin vitamins as it helps to boost the complexion of the skin and provides multiple factors which assist in skin healing. This helps with the production of ceramides and fatty acid barriers, which assists with retaining skin moisture and plumpness; preventing dry, sensitised skin and ageing skin. It has also been shown to assist skin conditions including helping with acne, eczema, dermatitis and pigmentation.

Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid)​ helps to maintain a plump, hydrated skin tone, and improve the elasticity of the skin. This can be applied topically, which acts as a humectant (which helps to retain the moisture in the skin). This also assists with healing and protecting the skin, helping to reduce inflammation and redness and strengthen the skin's barrier. Vitamin B5 has also been shown to help to provide benefit in reducing excess sebum production and regulate the oil flow production.

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)​ works within the nervous system, and helps to regulate sleep by producing serotonin (our happy hormone), and melatonin. This also helps to reduce cellular inflammation and supports cell regeneration.

B7 (Biotin)​ is utilised for the metabolism of fatty acids and protects cells from damage and water loss, which helps to keep your cells hydrated. As biotin helps prevent water loss, this is also beneficial for protection against acne, fungal infections and rashes.

B9 (Folic Acid​) actually provides similar properties to antioxidants, helping to promote cell turnover and fight against free radical damage. It is particularly key in supporting sun damaged skins and preventing premature ageing skin.

B12 (Cobalamin)​ helps promote cell production and can be applied topically for skin benefits as it provides anti-inflammatory benefits, and supports the skin strength and integrity, which is particularly useful for conditions such as dryness, acne, psoriasis and eczema.

So here you can see the multiple benefits and vast array of ways your B vitamins can boost your beauty routine! So, you may be thinking, how do I apply this?!

Let’s take it back to basics.

Aim to consume a highly plant based and whole food diet, rich in dark leafy green vegetables, and include lean poultry and proteins, such as fish, chicken and eggs, legumes such as chickpeas and lentils and healthy fats such as avocados, nuts and seeds. This is the best way to increase your intake of these nutrients.
Also, variety is key! Fill your plate with a variety of different coloured vegetables to ensure you get a wide variety of nutrients and vitamins into your day, and reap the benefits of your B vitamins!

I hope you found this helpful, and if you know someone that would benefit from this, please share this with them.
Also, please leave me a comment below on your thoughts,or anything you found interesting. I’d love to hear

from you!
Thank you, Till next time,

Dominique,

Skin Nutrition Co.