It all starts in the gut. I may sound like a broken record but this is the one key thing I have learned on the journey to healing my skin from chronic eczema. The skin is a mirror of our gut health and if the microbiome is out of balance, it will most likely show up on our skin.
For years I suffered from chronic eczema around my nose. The skin was dry, flaky and itchy and I didn’t dare to leave the house without a thick layer of concealer to hide the redness. I ran from dermatologist to dermatologist to seek help and find relief for years but nothing helped. Cortisone cream worked for a little bit, for the eczema only to show up worse after I stopped using it. The doctors suggested changing my skincare and make-up products and I tried everything from the most gentle cleanser to not using anything on my face but my skin was still red and inflamed. Just like my anxiety pregnancy made it flare up even more, because hormones that are out of balance and the low levels of progesterone don’t exactly help with glowing skin. It got so bad that it started showing up around my eyes and mouth and I desperately went back to my dermatologist who wanted to prescribe me an oral cortisone treatment (!!) during pregnancy. I thought this was insane and decided to rather live with my chapped skin than taking anything that would put my baby’s health at risk.
A few months after having my daughter I decided I really needed to do something and since the Western medicine approach for this was obviously not working at all, I started seeing a holistic doctor. He immediately put me on multiple supplements to fix my gut, had me do an allergy test and recommended meditation as a stress management tool. And it worked!!! Within just a few weeks my skin cleared up and I was finally able to go bare faced without being self-conscious of my skin. My happiness was through the roof and I couldn’t believe that my year long journey had finally come to an end. No harsh medication or radical treatments included, just looking after my gut health. It seems too good to be true but how we look outside starts on the inside.
What I learned from this is that food is medicine and not even the most expensive skin care in the world will do for your skin what a balanced microbiome does for it. A holistic approach can save us from many rounds of antibiotics and other harsh medications when we suffer from skin issues.
Here is what to eat for glowing skin because while it’s simple it’s incredibly powerful:
Alkaline Diet. There is nothing better you can do for your health than eating a plantbased alkaline diet. Plantbased, because animal protein is acidic while plant foods are alkaline and help balance the gut and combat inflammation. It is also the key to preventing disease and healing from chronic ailments such as skin issues. Vegetables, fruit and grains are also the only foods that contain fiber which our microbiome relies on to survive. The more plant foods in our diet the healthier and happier are the little bugs in our gut which will show in our skin. I have never felt more radiant and balanced than since I started eating this way and never looked back.
Food Combining. I like to eat light to heavy throughout the day for optimal digestion. Eating this way makes the biggest difference in energy levels, bloating and skin. My morning starts with a green juice and fruit, a salad with toast, sweet potato, a grain or legume for lunch and then the heaviest meal which is typically pasta or any other cooked family dish for dinner. Most important rule: Eat fruit alone and keep protein and carbs separate. Learn more about food combining here.
Eat and Drink Your Greens. Green foods are the ultimate beauty booster. They contain tons of minerals, antioxidants and chlorophyll which help regenerate and renew the cells in our body. Drinking a green juice first thing on empty stomach in the morning hydrates our bodies on a cellular level and gives us all the nutrients we need. Raw greens are hydrating and full of fiber, there can’t be too much of them in our diet. Three to four cups a day should be the minimum we aim for.
Rule Out Common Irritants. It’s not a myth that dairy and gluten cause gut and thus skin issues and a lot of people are sensitive to those foods without even knowing. Adult humans are not made to drink an animal’s milk and its proteins can be hard to digest. Today’s wheat is not what it used to be because it’s been bred to be so different from the wheat our ancestors used to grow and our bodies are not made to process it. A simple elimination diet can bring clarity if those two foods are the culprit of your skin issues. Just leave out the irritants for at least six weeks, and then slowly reintroduce to see how you feel and how your symptoms change.
Zinc & Selenium. Zinc and selenium are both essential trace minerals we need for hormone regulation and other bodily functions. They help with cell regeneration and protect from free radical damage like UV rays. Look to include foods rich in those minerals into your diet or talk to your physician about taking them as supplements which can be beneficial especially when recovering from a chronic skin issue. Foods high in zinc: sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds and legumes like chickpeas & lentils. Foods high in selenium: Brazil nuts (very high selenium content, limit daily intake to two nuts max!, sunflower seeds, chickpeas & lentils.
De-Stress. Our gut can only function properly when we are in the state of rest and relaxation. The only way to influence our parasympathetic nervous system is through breath and mindfulness tools like meditation. By practicing meditation daily, we learn to calm down our nervous system which not only helps us feel more balanced mentally but also physically. It’s all interconnected and yes, as crazy as it sounds but you can meditate your way to glowing skin!
