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You may have heard a lot of buzz about gut health in recent years and have been wondering why. Emerging research has been repeatedly showing how interconnected our gut is to the rest of our body and how an unhealthy gut can have devastating consequences on our health. Anything from Depression and Anxiety, Psoriasis and Eczema to Autoimmune diseases can be traced back to a leaky and unhealthy gut environment.
It's no wonder there has been so much emphasis on maintaining a healthy gut as of late. In fact, 80% of our immune system lives in our gut. If it becomes compromised then the side effects spill over into literally every other part of our body! Recent studies have shown gut-body interconnectedness, from the gut-brain axis to the gut-skin axis. A study was just released showing that changes in infant gut microbiome directly correlate to prevalence of Eczema in infants.
What makes the gut so important?
Our gut allows for passage of nutrients into our bloodstream to nourish our entire body. With tight junctions and signaling systems, the gut can differentiate the good and bad things we consume and eliminate any unwanted or harmful substances in our stool and urine.
If we have an unhealthy gut environment, then it's difficult for the system to work properly and a "leaky gut" can occur. This means that the body is unable to defend from harmful substances and they can easily pass straight through the gut into the bloodstream, causing inflammation and a whole host of issues such as the ones discussed above. Common skin conditions that can be related to a leaky gut are Eczema, Psoriasis, Acne, Alopecia, Cradle Cap (Seborrheic Dermatitis), Keratosis Pilaris, and more.
What causes leaky gut?
Unfortunately, there are a multitude of factors that can negatively impact gut health. Common culprits are environmental factors like pollution and pesticides, stress, highly processed foods, inadequate sleep, overgrowth of bad pathogens in the gut, food sensitivities, certain medications, chemicals in plastics and more.
Our bodies encounter toxins on a daily basis. When there are issues with elimination or the burden becomes too much for the body to handle, leaky gut can occur.
How do we take care of our gut to ensure that our skin stays healthy?
Fortunately there are simple things we can do to increase our gut health such as eating a healthy diet of organic foods with plenty of vegetables and fiber, eating fermented foods, supplementing with probiotics, getting adequate sleep, exposure to the outdoors, moderate exercise and stress management are a great start to better gut health!
At Natural Way Pediatric Dermatology we offer gut health testing to help find the root cause of leaky gut and optimize skin health in all of our patients. Call to book an appointment at 719-284-2809