Does your gut affect your skin?

In my personal and professional opinion, the best way to achieve beautiful skin is to have a two-pronged approach. You need to treat your skin with our Proactive Age Kit to correct, protect and prevent damage externally but taking care of yourself on the inside, is just as important...

In recent years and across thousands of scientific studies, it has become apparent that it isn’t just our brains that control our bodies. Research has proven time and time again that our gut health has a huge impact on our mood, our immune system and you guessed it, our skin too.

Our gut and our skin are in constant cahoots via what has become known as the ‘gut-skin axis’. This simply means they communicate at all times and what’s going on with one, always affects the other.

This is because our digestive system and intestines contain TRILLIONS of strains of bacteria, now known as our gut microbiome. This microbiome is responsible for creating balance within the body and can majorly affect our skin if it becomes unstable.

If you’ve ever experienced any problems with your gut such as digestion issues or IBS, your skin is usually one of the first places to show signs and symptoms. If the balance of our gut is off, it causes inflammation. This inflammation is directly reflected in our skin and can start to appear as long-term conditions such as acne, rosacea or even eczema.

For me personally, it showed up as psoriasis. About 5 years ago, I had this red, itchy patch of skin appear on the back of my neck. Due to its location, I couldn’t see to decipher what it was myself so when I nipped to the doctor for something entirely different, I quickly asked her to check it for me. Sure enough, it was psoriasis and within a month it had spread to me arms, legs and torso and was about to creep up onto my face.

The suggested treatment was a medicated steroid cream which over time can significantly thin the skin. As I didn’t want to permanently mask the symptoms, I began searching for a solution. When I was studying, the gut-skin axis was never mentioned. However, after some initial research, I was convinced there had to be a connection.

I’d had issues with my tummy for years but always put it down to general bloating or a symptom of a busy life. To try and get things under control ASAP, I decided I was going to look at my diet which although wasn’t terrible, definitely had room for improvement! I also decided to have my allergies tested…which turned out to be one of the best investments I’ve ever made.

The results came back and low and behold I was highly intolerant to dairy and gluten. I was 97% intolerant to butter alone which I’d previously eaten daily…Can you imagine my poor tummy and microbiome trying to deal with the inflammation that was causing?!

Anyway, if there’s one thing I’m not short on, it’s willpower! So, Will and I went to the shop and bought everything we’d need to adapt our kitchen cupboards and within 6 weeks, every single spec of my psoriasis had vanished, and it’s never returned!

Now I’m not for a second saying that everyone needs to make these drastic changes, I’m simply highlighting that if you struggle with any of these skin conditions, it’s 100% worth looking into your gut health. The thing about gut health is that it’s completely unique to each of us and you need to ensure you do your own research and seek professional advice, if you feel it could be causing you some issues.

The best way to start making improvements at home is to incorporate a fibre-rich, nutrient-dense diet, monitor your sugar consumption, drink plenty of water and move your body regularly. It’s the most straightforward advice we’ve heard time and time again, but believe me, it really does work.

The other thing you can consider is boosting your gut health with pre and probiotics. I introduced one a couple of weeks ago as they add billions of good bacteria to your tummy, and I can honestly say I’ve noticed a huge difference already. But I will report back properly on Instagram once I’ve taken them a little longer.

So, your Proactive Age Kit will always be the best way to completely balance your skin and treat all signs of skin ageing externally, but try to boost your gut health too and you’ll glow from the inside out. The two together are a match made in skin heaven!

Amy x