Do you want youthful and glowing skin? The answer lies in your gut. A system which is far below that of your skin but directly influences the health of your skin through the skin-gut axis. This is a direct line of communication from your gut to your skin. When your gut is made up of a variety of healthy types of microbes your skin will look at its best, the opposite is true when there becomes an imbalance of more ‘bad’ microbes.
Did you know that there are also microbes on your skin? When the microbes in your gut feed of prebiotic fibre they produce signals in the form of short chain fatty acids. These signals are sent to your skin and determine the type of microbes which live on the skin. These microbes can either deter or promote skin conditions such as acne, eczema, atopic dermatitis, and rosacea.
The microbes in your gut such as the strain Lactobacillus reuteri can also influence the health of layers in your skin, improving thickness of skin, promote optimal blood flow within the skin and reduce trans-epidermal water loss or the water loss in a layer of your skin essential for its health. Additionally, improving the overall appearance of your skin.
Microbes can also influence the sensitivity of your skin. A strain called Lactobacillus paracasei taken for two months by participants resulted in reduces skin sensitivity and reduced trans-epidermal water loss. L. helveticus is another probiotic strain included in a milk drink improved skin flexibility and helped to moisturise the skin.
Including specific strains of probiotics in your diet may also help restore normal skin function and health. Skin conditions such as dermatitis may benefit from inclusion of specific strains of probiotics to bring back balance to the skin. For example, Lactobacillus helveticus may support skin barrier healing and restore normal function.
A healthy balance of probiotics from a diverse range of food sources promotes an optimal immune system function. This is important for the health of your skin as an overactive immune system wreaks havoc on the health of your skin. It does so by immune cells called T cells releasing pro-inflammatory messages. This can lead to many different types of dermatitis conditions.
Acne affects approximately 85% of people aged between 12-25 years. A high glycaemic (GI) load or a meal which causes rapid and high levels of sugar released into your blood increases the amount of insulin released to take this sugar into your cells. This big release of insulin is thought to be one contributing factor to the development of acne.
A diet which has a high GI is often lacking fibre which is the main fuel for the healthy gut microbes. This causes a change in the type of microbes found in your gut to ones which send signals which promote skin inflammation and an unbalanced state in your skin, leading to the development of acne.
By meeting your daily needs for fibre, you will be lowering the glycaemic load of your meals and snacks. This promotes a gradual release of sugar into your blood, keeping you feeling fuller for longer and prevent a high load of insulin being released into your blood stream all at one time.
Fibre can be found in plant foods like nuts, seeds, wholegrains, legumes, fruit, and vegetables. If you feel like you need to change your entire diet to meet your daily fibre needs and this is overwhelming, try starting small. Try adding one or two new plant foods a week.
Take home message: The health of your skin lies well below what you see on the surface. Look after the health of your gut and see how your skin reflects this.
Reference:
Salem I, Ramser A, Isham N, Ghannoum MA. The Gut Microbiome as a Major Regulator of the Gut-Skin Axis. Front Microbiol. 2018 Jul 10;9:1459. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.01459. PMID: 30042740; PMCID: PMC6048199.
