Supporting Skin Health
*NB: includes reference to removing some foods.
Skin problems can be devastating – not only can they be painful and uncomfortable, they are often visible and can scar, providing an additional element of stress. In fact, rates of anxiety and depression are much higher in people with skin conditions such as acne, rosacea, eczema and psoriasis.
The five suggestions below apply to most common skin conditions – particularly acne, rosacea and eczema. As psoriasis is an autoimmune disease it will require some additional immune support.
Tailored nutritional support from a Nutritional therapist is also really valuable, particularly if you’ve suffered from the condition for a long period of time.
1. Reduce sugar
Sugar is an inflammatory food: it increases inflammatory markers in the body. Many skin conditions have an inflammatory element (red, swollen, painful), and therefore it makes sense to remove as many inflammatory foods as possible.
When ingested, sugar increases a hormone called IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor). IGF-1 increases sebum (oil) production on the surface of the skin, as well as causing excess skin cells to form, clogging pores and causing acne.
Research shows diets with a high-glycaemic index (GI) (high in sugar and refined carbohydrates) worsen acne.
Sugar also causes the growth of Candida albicans, a yeast which naturally exists in our body but which can proliferate, crowding out good bacteria and damaging the intestinal lining. Candida has been implicated in eczema.
Therefore a low-GI diet is good for skin: this means reducing sugary or refined carbohydrate foods and replacing them with higher fibre, low sugar foods, paired with protein and fat.
For example, rather than a sugary cereal with skimmed milk for breakfast, try whole porridge oats, a handful of nuts and seeds, berries and a full fat or almond milk. Or poached eggs on wholegrain toast with cherry tomatoes.
Rather than a sandwich made with white bread for lunch, try a chicken salad sandwich on wholegrain bread, or bean and vegetable soup with goats cheese and oatcakes, or a prawn salad with brown rice.
Rather than a glass of fruit juice, have a piece of whole fruit. Swap milk chocolate for dark chocolate (preferably 80%+ cocoa).
Sugar is a part of the modern world, it’s part of social gatherings and it’s pleasurable to eat, so reducing rather than removing is a middle ground. I recommend 80% of the time eating for the health of your body and 20% of the time eating for the soul!
2. Remove cow’s dairy for a trial period
Cow’s dairy can be an inflammatory food for some people. As with sugar, cow’s dairy can increase the production of IGF-1 and insulin. This may be due to cows dairy containing a particular protein called A1 casein, which is inflammatory for some people.
A1 casein has been linked to the immune response in eczema sufferers, and high dairy consumption has been linked to acne.
Goat’s, sheep’s and buffalo dairy are fine as they contain A2 casein, which may actually be anti-inflammatory.
It is not always necessary to remove cows dairy long term, however removing for 4 weeks can help you notice whether your skin problems subside in that time, and if so, swap to A2 dairy until the inlammation is under control. After that, you can re-introduce small amounts of full fat, ideally grass-fed, unhomogenised dairy.
3. Take zinc
Zinc is an essential mineral required for the growth and repair of healthy skin. However, many things deplete zinc: adolescence, alcohol, smoking, use of the contraceptive pill, and vegan or vegetarian diets. Low zinc can also worsen anxiety and depression (that may co-exist with skin disease).
Zinc levels are lower in acne sufferers, and zinc is well documented in improving symptoms of acne as well as rosacea.
Foods high in zinc include meat (both red meat and poultry), shellfish, lentils and beans, nuts and seeds (particularly pumpkin seeds). If supplementing, zinc picolinate or zinc citrate is a particularly bioavailable form.
4. Eat or take probiotics
There is a strong correlation between the skin and the gut (referred to as the gut-skin axis). Back in 1930, two researchers published their success treating acne with a fermented milk drink and cod liver oil: providing probiotics, omega-3s and retinol (preformed vitamin A).
More recently, research has focused on the link between the gut and the skin. For example: rosacea sufferers are more likely to have a condition called small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO); 7-11% of inflammatory bowel disease patients also have psoriasis; bloating, constipation and acid reflux are more common in acne sufferers.
Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium probiotics deliver an improvement in acne, both with and without conventional treatment. Given that antibiotics are a common treatment for acne, probiotics can both lessen the side effects (e.g. thrush) and speed up improvements.
With eczema, two particular strains have shown to improve symptoms by 56%: Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus reuteri.
Probiotic foods include yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha and miso. As well as these, there are many good-quality supplements on the market.
5. Eat/take omega 3
Omega 3 fatty acids are potently anti-inflammatory. A small amount is found in nuts and seeds (flaxseed, chia seed, walnuts), but our main source is from oily fish and grass fed meat and dairy.
Studies show that omega 3 from fish oil improves psoriasis, as well as acne. Another study showed women with eczema consumed less omega 3 than the general population, potentially contributing to the disease.
Eating at least 2 portions of oily fish per week is the best way to consume omega 3 (think SMASH – Salmon, Mackerel, Anchovies, Sardines, Herring). However, taking a daily supplement is also an option. When it comes to supplements, quality matters: ensure there is a generous amount of EPA + DHA within the fish oil, as these are the active anti-inflammatory compounds.
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