Natural health has so much to offer to rebalance and prevent common skin issues, such as rosacea, acne, psoriasis and eczema, from beautiful herbal creams to investigating root causes such as food intolerances and hormonal imbalances. So today I want to dive in and explain how I as a Naturopath support and assist in healing skin.
To begin with ROSACEA, it is an inflammatory skin disorder of unknown cause, usually beginning at middle age or later. It begins as flushing and redness on the central face and across the cheeks, nose, or forehead but can also less commonly affect the neck, chest, scalp or ears. The disorder can be confused and co-exist with acne vulgaris and/or seborrheic dermatitis. The precise way that rosacea develops is still unknown, but it is thought that rosacea is a disorder where the blood vessels become damaged when repeatedly dilated by stimulus, causing the vessels to readily dilate and remain dilated for longer periods of time or permanently, resulting in flushing and redness.
Common causes of rosacea are: high fat diet, high sugar diet, bowel toxicity or an imbalance in gut bacteria, known as dysbiosis- (read more about gut microbes HERE ), low fibre diet, food sensitivities, impaired glucose (sugar) tolerance, hypothyroidism (read more about low thyroid function HERE), long term antibiotic therapy, female hormone therapy, being fair-skinned, interestingly rosacea affects both men and women of all ages, but middle-aged women are more susceptible, persisting redness due to exercise, changes in temperature and/or cleansing can also cause, certain medications and topical irritants can quickly progress rosacea – e.g., corticosteroids, microdermabrasion, chemical peels, and high doses of isotretinoin, benzoyl peroxide and tretinoin. It has also been suggested in new research that rosacea might be due to hypersensitisation of sensory neurons following activation of the plasma kallikrein-kinin system by exposure to dysbiotic intestinal bacteria in the digestive tract. The list as you can see is long and this is where my role as a practitioner comes in, I am trained to firstly take a detailed case history, where I can assess your individual triggers and focus on them to start to rebalance your skin condition. Commonly to help support rosacea I will analyse the diet and recommend foods which are low reactive, low in sugar load and support healthy detoxification from the gut and liver. I will be looking to regulate blood sugar levels, beneficially influence fat metabolism, and reduce inflammation whilst balancing hormone activity with a diet is rich in soluble fibre, antioxidants, and phytonutrients, essential fatty acids from nuts and fish, and quality protein. See below for more on this! I will then also be looking to individual triggers – by keeping a food diary and testing for individual irritants causing inflammation. I also use individualised nutritional and supplements to balance the gut flora, clear and detoxify wastes, reduce inflammation and heal the skin when necessary. A topical herbal cream always benefits also.
And a very important note here about NUTRITION when it comes to skin conditions and overall body healing – I highly recommend testing to find out exactly what your body is reacting to – as I have found such excellent results doing this with patients. Traditionally Naturopaths have used elimination diets, where commonly inflammatory for groups are taken out of the diet, such as gluten, dairy and eggs, and these types of diets definitely still have their place, especially as they are free and testing does always incur a cost. But they are challenging and sometimes food groups are unnecessarily removed, and especially in the case of children I don’t recommend this, as children can be fussy enough eaters as it is and removing foods unnecessarily can be stressful on the family too, as well as risking a loss in nutrients for the child. I also recommend a gentle skin cleansing regimen using non-irritating cleansers and a healing herbal cream. I use and recommend the Bio-Compatibility Hair Analysis Test, a simple and effect test you can do at home to test 500+ common LOCAL Australian foods and household products including all food groups and bathroom, laundry and kitchen products.
Although I treat rosacea, acne, psoriasis and eczema differently in clinic, there are key nutrients required for healthy skin that benefit ALL people with skin conditions. Deficiencies in these nutrients have been linked to a higher prevalence of skin disorders and therefore I always consider them when looking at someone’s skin health holistically.
Essential fatty acids: These are called essential because our body doesn’t manufacture them and we need to obtain them in the diet. EFA’s have shown that they reduce systemic inflammation and help improve overall health. They’re found in wild caught oily fish (salmon, trout, tuna), chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds & walnuts.
Vitamin C: Fights against free-radical damage and prevents the usual signs of skin aging like wrinkles. Vitamin C is also Involved in the synthesis of collagen which helps keep the skin supple. Impressively, Vitamin C is also wound healing and a natural antihistamine, which is required when we’re exposed to allergens. In skin conditions such as eczema or acne that may be triggered by an allergy, this vitamin is an important one to consider. It’s found predominantly in citrus fruits, papaya, capsicum, cabbage, green leafy vegetables, kiwis and berries.
Vitamin E: an antioxidant predominantly found in the skin. It helps strengthen our immunity, reduce allergic reactions and reduce inflammation. It also fights against free-radical damage and prevents the usual signs of skin aging like wrinkles. Vitamin E is found in nuts, seeds, avocado, sweet potato, salmon, tuna, prawns, chickpeas and egg yolk.
Zinc: Zinc is imperative for skin repair as it’s found abundantly in the layers of the skin. It’s been shown to fix damaged tissue, is extremely wound healing and is required for a strong immune system. Deficiency has been linked to skin conditions Zinc is found in pumpkin seeds, dried beans, oysters, rolled oats & organic meat.
Vitamin D: Vitamin D is so crucial to the healing process. It’s anti-inflammatory and a powerful immune-modulator. Vitamin D can be obtained through safe sun exposure, fish, egg yolks and mushrooms. Here’s a handy tip: put your mushrooms in the sun for 30 minutes before cooking them and you’re naturally increasing their vitamin D content.
Fibre: Foods that contain adequate amounts of fibre are so important for healthy detoxification and clearance. Fibrous foods mop up excessive toxins and help us excrete them. Fibre’s also incredibly important for our gut health, so if your skin condition is related to a digestive disorder (which it most commonly will be) then this is vital. Fibre is food for our good bacteria. It allows our good bacteria to ferment and grow to create more of the stuff we need. There’s a type of fibre in particular that creates a chemical reaction in the body called a short-chain fatty acid and this process has been proven to be extremely protective for our colon. So where do we get it? Most plant foods will contain some fibre but there are a few standouts such as brown rice, oats, chickpeas, lentils, peas, beans, asparagus, onion, garlic, leek, artichokes, root vegetables, cabbage, apples, pears, figs, strawberries, raspberries, bananas and avocados.
Other Steps You Can Take:
Make friends with fermented food – Add a form of fermented food to every meal. Try sauerkraut, kefir, coconut yogurt or kimchi. These foods all contain good bacteria which help to reduce inflammation and improve gut health and intestinal permeability or ‘leaky gut’ – read more about healing leaky gut HERE . This is important, as research is uncovering the benefits of addressing bacterial imbalance in skin disease.
Bone Broth – Consume 1 cup of homemade bone broth daily. Broth is rich in vitamins and minerals and is a direct source of collagen, which is beneficial for healthy skin. Broth also contains L-glutamine and glycine, two amino acids which have been found to help repair gut wall damage. The gelatin that bone broth produces has been found to reduce inflammatory markers in individuals with varying kinds of inflammation. You can make your own broth or buy a good quality freeze dried organic broth online.
Vegetable Juice Daily – Juice vegetables daily, green veg such as celery, cucumber are optimal, add lemon for your liver and apple to begin with to get used to the taste then gradually reduce to cut sugars. These super drinks are a great way to get a quick dose of skin-boosting nutrients.
Introduce foods to help your liver detoxify – Liver health is so important in skin conditions and there are certain nutrients and foods that are vital to the process of detoxification. Foods such as turmeric, cauliflower, kale, brussel sprouts, cabbage, bok choy and broccoli all do powerful things for the health of our liver and are easy to eat daily.
Go back to basics – Whole foods and the nutrients they provide are crucial for healthy skin. No amount of skin cream can replace a poor diet. Increase your intake of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains, quality protein and nourishing fats. Reduce your intake of sugar, alcohol and processed foods such as refined carbohydrates.
To continue with ACNE, its a well-known inflammatory disease of the skin that affects those areas which contain the largest sebaceous glands, including the nose, central forehead, medial cheeks, chin and back. Major causative factors and risk factors that can contribute to the incidence of acne include high insulin levels, associated with insulin resistance and high intake of sugary foods, are implicated in the development of acne, fluctuating hormones associated with adolescence, menstruation (acne tends to flare 2 to 7 days pre-menstruation), or pregnancy, acne patients of both genders have been found to have serum zinc levels on average 28.3% lower than control subjects, hair levels of zinc were 24.3% lower and nail levels were 26.7% lower in clinical research, genetic predisposition, certain medications – corticosteroids used topically or in high oral doses; anabolic (androgenic) steroids; oral contraceptives; lithium, isoniazid, phenytoin and phenobarbitone may also cause acne, high levels of halogens such as iodine (from kelp, for example) may also lead to or exacerbate acne, topical cosmetic or hair products containing vegetable or animal fats may further block skin, environmental irritants such as industrial cutting oils, tar, wood preservatives, sealing compounds, and other pollutants, friction and sweating – for example, from headbands, back packs, bicycle helmets, or tight collars, can initiate or aggravate. After investigating individualised triggers, I will be looking to support gut, liver, blood sugar levels or hormones as required- commonly I find that hormones are a huge trigger and here I find running a salivary hormone test vital to uncovering hormonal imbalances so that I can assist in correcting, see HERE details of the lab test that I run with consistently great results.
With PSORIASIS, it is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease of the skin characterised by red scaly patches (psoriasis plaques), it can really vary in severity and frequency from person to person to very mild to very debilitating. Factors that can contribute to the incidence of psoriasis include: stress/trauma or major infection – read more about natural stress support HERE, genetic predisposition, immune system diseases, obesity, alcoholism, skin damage, rheumatoid arthritis, immune system dysfunction, infections, autoimmunity, skin injuries/sunburn, certain drugs (chloroquine, gold, lithium, beta-blockers), acidic foods, increased intracellular calcium levels and/or decreased intracellular magnesium levels, low zinc/high copper levels, possible B12, Folate, and iron deficiencies, changes in season and climate can trigger psoriasis outbreaks, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and recreational drug use may exacerbate psoriasis or make the management of the condition difficult. As with all skin conditions I always look to reduce pro-inflammatory foods and always recommend great stress management techniques – see my favourite breathing exercise HERE . I always look to detoxification, lowering inflammation, gut restoration, supporting immune function with targeted nutritional and herbal supplementation too. Topical creams with beneficial nutrients and herbs also assist greatly as with all skin conditions.
To finish with ECZEMA, I have deep personal experience with this, as my daughter suffered terribly with eczema as a baby so I know first hand the frustration it can cause. Eczema is a term for a number of medical conditions that result in red, flaky and itchy skin all over the body. It is a common condition and is generally caused by an allergy or intolerance to something you are putting into or on your body. Eczema is often accompanied by an unrelenting itch which can result in bleeding in severe cases. Other factors that may contribute to its presence include digestive issues, an imbalance in gut bacteria, known as dysbiosis, or intestinal permeability, known as ‘leaky gut’, fungal infections, stress, altered detoxification pathways, genetics, nutritional deficiencies, environmental chemicals, natural chemicals in food, nutritional deficiencies or a suppressed immune system. I often start with dietary changes, assessment of lifestyle, stress levels and chemical exposure and gut restoration – in the case of my own daughter, using a combination of gut healing (she was a c section baby with a leaky gut, yes babies can have leaky guts!) and temporarily eliminating foods which were triggering her (eggs, gluten, cows milk/ products, tomatoes, strawberries, corn) and applying daily a beautiful herbal skin cream, she went from a child whose back was covered in eczema to absolutely none within weeks.
If you have an ongoing skin condition I urge you to book in to find your root cause, to book your initial appointment with me for me or your child please click on the Book Now button I would love to support you further, Victoria xxxx
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