Healthy, radiant skin relies on your body and internal organs being healthy and functioning well. There are many functions of the body that, if not working properly, can contribute to poor skin.

These may include:

• Ineffective clearance of toxins or metabolic wastes via the digestive tract and/or the liver
• Poor immune function and inflammation
• Poorly managed stress
• Sluggish circulation and lymphatic flow
• Poor dietary habits
• Poor personal hygiene or excessive hygiene
• Hormonal fluctuations (e.g. skin conditions that worsen pre-menstrually)
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Simple lifestyle changes can make all the difference.

1. You are what you eat: So eat well! A healthy, well-balanced diet is essential for skin health.  Eliminating processed foods out of your diet is the first most essential change needed.  Processed food is anything that comes in a packet as these generally contains high sugar, salt and additives and preservatives.  All of which your body doesn’t like, and takes a while to detoxify and metabolise, leading to more congestion in the skin.  A balance of lean protein (essential for healing skin and regeneration of new fresh cells), fresh vegetables (essential for high nutrient content, fibre and detoxification) and good quality essential fats such as avocado, cold pressed oils, and nuts and seeds (for optimal cell health and regeneration) is what your body requires for optimal health.

2. Drink plenty of fresh filtered water.  Water is the most essential nutrient to detoxify and cleanse the system.  This does not include juice, tea, coffee or any other beverage.  It must be pure water alone.  Aim to drink your weight doubled in mls every hour of the day (average 16 hours).  I.e. 60kg = 120ml per hour.  This will ensure to keep your liver, kidneys, digestion and lymphatic system healthier.

3. Be active: Exercise helps increase blood flow to the skin, and encourages the removal of toxins through sweat; so make daily exercise a part of your skin health program today!

4. Aim for better stress management: Stress can increase inflammation and affect digestive and immune function, all of which are contributing factors to poor skin health.  Manage your stress more affectively with exercise, breathing techniques, proper communication and if necessary some nutritional support.

5. Brush your skin: Dry skin brushing prior to your morning shower is a simple technique to stimulate lymphatic circulation, helping your body to clear the build-up of toxins that can aggravate skin conditions.  Alternatively a hot/cold shower first thing is also great for this.  Switch between hot water and cold water every 15-30 seconds to really shock your system and to fire up your lymphatic system.

6. Wash your skin with pH-controlled gels: Humans are covered in a diverse wardrobe of skin microbes, many of which promote skin health. Washing too frequently or using alkalising soaps can remove some of these beneficial microbes from the surface of your skin, allowing pathogenic organisms to cause infection.   Ideally you want to keep all skin products natural to avoid excess chemicals from being absorbed into your body.  When choosing a moisturiser try not to go for anything too heavy as this can congest the skin further. 

Nutrients for Healthy Skin

There are specific nutrients involved in keeping skin healthy, and addressing nutritional deficiencies is a good place to start in any skin condition. 

Essential fatty acids found in fish oil play a critical role in promoting healthy skin. They help to regulate healthy cellular function, and maintain elasticity and suppleness of the skin. They also help to reduce inflammation. A deficiency of essential fatty acids can be an underlying cause of skin problems and the modern Western diet is known to be low in essential fatty acids, particularly omega-3 fatty acids.

Taking a potent, high quality fish oil can improve your skin health by improving hydration, elasticity and reducing inflammation. As a result, skin has improved texture and tone leaving it looking and feeling noticeably healthier.

Zinc is an important mineral for skin health.  Think of zinc as an on-call, 24-hour skin mechanic. It repairs damaged tissues and helps to heal wounds. As a result, if you don’t have enough zinc, then your ability to repair damaged skin becomes impaired. Zinc deficiency can also result in your immune system having poor control over the maintenance of your skin.

If you’ve been battling with your skin condition for too long, contact us at Discover Health to assist you further.

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