More and more research is being done into the link between gut health and the skin. We asked an expert to explain how the two things are related.
Gut health is something we’ve been realising the importance of more and more in recent years. It’s linked to the way we sleep, our periods and even our mental health. But one part of the body that experts are becoming increasingly interested in as it relates to gut health is the skin.
A 2021 study found that gut health could play a key role in a number of skin diseases and a 2011 study cited gut health as a contributing factor for people who deal with acne.
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There haven’t been any large-scale clinical studies conducted on the link between acne and gut health as of yet, but it’s certainly an area of research to keep an eye on; experts have already pointed out variouslinks between the gut and the skin, or the ‘gut-skin axis’, as it is known.
So what do we know so far about how our gut health affects our skin and vice versa?
We asked Alex Glover, a senior nutritionist at Holland & Barrett, to explain…
What is the link between the skin and the gut?
“The skin and gut are both parts of the immune system – a huge complex network of cells, organs, proteins and antibodies (known as immunoglobulins) designed to prevent your body from invasion by bacteria, viruses and parasites,” explains Glover.
The skin is the body’s largest organ, so it makes sense that it might be linked to the gut, given how widespread the impact of gut health is thought to be.
“Like our gut microbiome, our skin microbiome is a special ecosystem that is responsible for ‘controlling’ our skin. It is made up of a community of organisms that live on the skin including bacteria, viruses and fungi,” Glover says. “Just as there can be bad bacteria present in the gut, bad bacteria can also be found on our skin, with reportedly 1,000 different bacterial species and up to 80 different fungi species. Bacteria such as staph, strep and candida, commonly found in our gut, can also be found on our skin.”
“Scientists have found that people with acne-like rosacea tend to react to certain bacteria (eg bacillus oleronius), which can cause the immune system to overreact,” she adds, explaining that this, in turn, affects our gut health.
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What does science say about the gut-skin axis?
A new area of medical research has also started to explore what is known as the ‘gut-skin axis’, in a bid to understand how digestion can interact with and affect your skin. “Some experts, including functional medicine doctors and alternative medical experts who look at the underlying causes of disease, believe there is a strong connection between bad gut health and acne,” Glover says.
Scientists think that the microbes or bacteria that live in the gut play a key role in keeping the immune system in order, by telling it when and when not to attack, according to Glover. “Certain microbes within the gut promote inflammation while others suppress it, and people with the autoimmune disease psoriasis tend to have fewer kinds of gut bacteria – with lower levels of anti-inflammatory bacteria and higher levels of pro-inflammatory bacteria,” she says.
In this case, this means that the immune system mistakenly launches an attack against the body’s own tissues, triggering an inflammatory response, which is a key example of how the gut and the skin do interact. “In psoriasis, this response causes skin cell production to go into overdrive. Excess skin cells build in in patches called plaques,” Glover explains.
How to improve your skin via your gut health
Although there is limited information on the link between the skin and the gut health, given the research that is already out there, it’s definitely worth considering thinking about your gut health if you suffer with skin conditions. “This is especially the case because diet has already been shown to impact skin conditions like rosacea,” Glover says, adding: “Scientists have advised that working on a healthy gut microbiome and skin microbiome may help to improve the skin.”
Here are Glover’s tips for improving your skin via your gut health…
Eat a healthy, balanced diet and stay hydrated
There is a link between our skin microbiome, immune system and gut. Therefore, eating a healthy balanced diet including fibre-rich prebiotic foods, as well as lots of fluids can help make sure our gut and skin bacteria stay happy.
Take care of your gut microbiome
You can take care of your gut microbiome via your diet or by taking prebiotics that help to keep the “good” bacteria in your gut alive.
Limit stress
It’s easier said than done, but if you can, limiting stress where possible could be helpful, as stress has been shown to impact our gut, and thus our skin.
Find more nutritional, health and wellbeing tips over on the Strong Women Instagram.
Images: Getty
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