We are all familiar with the saying “You are what you eat.”. This is mostly true but the search for glowing skin is always focused on topical products, but one of the most integral components lies beneath the skin: gut health.
The gut and skin are more intertwined than you realise. A balanced digestive system can result in healthier, glowing skin. But when gut health deteriorates, it can lead to inflammation, breakouts, and dullness.
This article aims to delve deeper into the relationship between your gut and skin, highlighting the gut-skin axis and offering practical tips for naturally glowing skin.
Understanding Gut Health
The stomach harbors trillions of microbes, like bacteria and fungi, collectively known as the gut microbiome. As compared to other parts of your body, your gut has the highest number of microbes. However, it’s not that simple – there’s an ideal balance that your gut has to strike. These microorganisms determine the overall health of your gut and when all of this comes into balance, you get a healthy gut microbiome that promotes healthy skin.
Imbalance in all of this creates issues inside, like a leaky gut syndrome. When your intestinal lining becomes compromised, bacteria and other pathogens leak through the intestine and get absorbed by other surrounding tissues. Similar gut issues can present themselves externally as skin problems like acne, eczema, or redness.
How Gut Health Affects Skin
There are several ways in which the gut and the skin are connected to one another, including the gut-skin axis. Here’s how a healthy gut can improve your skin’s natural radiance:
1. Gut-Skin Axis
The gut and skin communicate through the immune system, hormones, and metabolites produced by gut bacteria. When the gut is inflamed or out of balance, it can trigger skin issues like redness, breakouts, or dullness.
Chronic inflammation is generally caused due to poor gut health and this intensifies skin conditions like acne, rosacea, and psoriasis. Managing inflammation is key for restoring smooth and even skin tone.