Did you know your skin health is a reflection of what's going on inside your gut?

Turns out the secret to youthful, glowing skin lies in your tummy. 

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, once said, "All diseases begin in the gut." And boy, was he right. Today, science has proven that over 80% of our body's immunity is in the gut, and we all have thousands of naturally occurring bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. 

Some of these bacteria are harmless "good" bacteria that help with digestion. Others are harmful or "bad" bacteria, which contribute to an unhealthy gut and disease. If you have an unhealthy gut, it can have a negative impact on your overall health, particularly the appearance of your skin, including acne, eczema, spots, and inflammation. So, instead of treating conditions like acne as isolated problems, it's important to recognize that these conditions may be a reflection of what's happening inside your gut. 

But what role does the gut play in skin health? 

This article will focus on the relationship between gut and skin and how a healthy microbiome can resolve skin issues. We'll also let you in on some tips for improving your microbiome. Let's dive in. 
 

WHAT IS THE GUT SKIN AXIS?

Before we dive right into the gut skin axis, let's first explain the two organ systems that bring about this connection: skin and gut. 

The Skin
The skin is the largest organ of the body. It's the first defense barrier against the physical, chemical, and bacteria threats in the surrounding environment. 
Your skin is home to millions of bacteria. In the right balance, these bacteria help maintain the skin's overall health. But when out of balance, they can cause a lot of health problems. 

The Gut (digestive tract)
Short for the gastrointestinal tract, the gut is home to bacteria and many other microorganisms. Millions of these microorganisms live in your digestive tract and help keep your system working properly. 

The bacteria in the gut serve many functions, including helping to digest food, regulate hormones, produce vitamins, and excrete hormones, among other things. Your skin health, immunity, weight, metabolism, sleep, mood behavior, and hormonal balance all depend on the health of your gut. 

The Gut-Skin Axis
When the balance of the bacteria in the gut gets disturbed, it can have a big impact on your skin. This connection between the gut and the skin is called the gut-skin axis. Why are the gut and the skin so closely intertwined?

It may come as a surprise that your gut and skin have a lot in common. These two different organ systems work in our bodies collectively to do similar jobs. Just like the gut, the skin is made of millions of microorganisms. These microorganisms help to fight off harmful bacteria and keep our body's bacteria balanced, among other functions. Likewise, the gut has millions of microbiomes that help to maintain a good bacteria balance while keeping us in good overall health. 

Though not fully understood, multiple studies have proven that the gut microbiome's influence extends beyond the digestive tract. Your skin is one of the organs that have a complex connection and interaction with the gut. The gut enjoys a constant dialogue with the skin via the gut-skin axis—a pathway that allows them to interact through the microbiome. 

These two organ systems interact with our inner and outer environment via an express highway (the gut-skin axis) to keep our bodies in good health. This means they're in constant communication with the world inside of us and the world around us. 
 

HOW A HEALTHY MICROBIOME CAN RESOLVE SKIN ISSUES

An imbalance in the gut or the skin microbiome often affects the other. An imbalance means there are too few good bacteria cells or too many bad bacteria cells. Poor diet, stress, and antibiotic usage can all lead to imbalance. And when your gut bacteria are off-balance, the result is inflammation in the body—and that's where the link to skin health occurs. This imbalance leads to skin conditions like acne and eczema, among others. 

A well-balanced gut microbiome can help improve your skin's health through the immune system. Certain good bacteria, and the substances they produce, promote the accumulation of T cells which have anti-inflammatory properties. 

Another way your gut microbiome can resolve skin issues is by improving digestion and availing more nutrients. Note that dietary fiber cannot be digested by the enzymes produced in your gut. Bacteria, however, love this stuff. 

The gut bacteria can ferment the fiber, leading to the production of fatty amino acids. This process improves the fatty acid composition of your skin and your skin microbiome. 
 

TIPS FOR IMPROVING YOUR MICROBIOME
 

At birth, your microbiome is the result of genetics, but external factors start impacting it when you interact with the outside environment. That said, there are things you can do to promote your gut health and, in the process, improve your skin's health.

Optimizing Our Diet
Diet plays a huge role in our gut health. Foods with high sugar content and highly processed foods can be inflammatory and impair the integrity of the gut lining. Focus on eating whole foods and remove inflammatory foods from your diet. Here's what experts suggest to include in your diet: 

1. Omega 3 fatty acids – This helps improve skin hydration and defense functions. They can be found in foods such as fish, walnuts, linseeds, and chia seeds.
2. If you're susceptible to acne, consider cutting down on milk intake and swapping foods with a high glycemic index (GI) for less sugary alternatives. 
3. Eat more fermented foods such as yogurt, kimchi, etc. Fermented foods contain fermented bacteria such as Lactobacilli that can benefit your skin and body health.
4. A high fiber diet - High fiber foods can improve the quality of bacteria in the microbiome.

Eat More Probiotics
Probiotic foods, like kimchi, miso, and pickles, contain bacteria that promote microbial growth—hence good for your gut. Supplementing with probiotics can help alleviate skin inflammation that originates from gut dysbiosis. 

You can opt for naturally occurring probiotics in fermented foods and drinks like kefir, tempeh, sauerkraut, and kombucha. Alternatively, supplementing with a high-quality probiotic, with carefully selected strains, will help change the GI environment to benefit healthful strains and discourage the bad.

Sleep More
There's increasing evidence that the composition of your gut microbiome is linked to how well you sleep. 

In one study, researchers analyzed the participants' gut bacteria against their sleep behavior over a 30-day period. It was found that increased microbiome diversity correlated with longer sleep times. One of the reasons for this is that lack of sleep can affect your food choices and the microbes in your gut. 

Another study found that people who sleep for longer hours have better blood sugar control. Uncontrolled blood sugar dips can lead to increased appetite and consumption of more processed foods, which can negatively impact your gut health. 
 

FINAL WORDS

There's an undeniable relationship between the gut and skin health. 

The skin is often a reflection of what's happening inside your gut. If you have an unhealthy gut, it can negatively impact your health, especially the appearance of your skin.

Many external factors such as diet and sleep can affect the gut microbiome, directly or indirectly impacting your skin health. Supportive nutrients will help bring your gut back in balance, encouraging healthy, glowing skin from within.