by Samantha Imbert, Clinical Naturopath
There's a point in most naturopathic consults we start asking about your poo. So if you're thinking - my skin is a disaster and you want to know what colour my poo is...WTF? I promise its not just a bizarre interest in your toilet habits.
Nutrients
Your skin has a list of nutrients that it needs as a starting point for health- vitamin C, collagen, protein, zinc, vitamin A, fatty acids etc etc. So your practitioner will check if you are getting these in your diet. But you aren't so much what you eat, as what you absorb. So if your digestion is off- all the best foods in the world could pass right through you and you aren't gaining any benefit. The right supplements can help- but these need to be absorbed too. If you are having loose stools all the time, your body will not be absorbing the nutrients and that money and time is wasted.
If you're digestion is off- all the best foods in the world could pass right through you and you aren't gaining any benefit
Toxins
Your body naturally processes chemicals from food and your environment. Your liver, kidneys, bowel, skin and lungs are a team that are designed to process huge volumes of toxins to keep us healthy- the human body is incredibly designed. But if one of these organs isn't working so well, the others will need to handle more of the burden. So if your bowel is really sluggish, its 3, 4, 5 days since you last passed a stool- the body may start trying to release toxins via your sweat and skin instead. So if you are using an acne or eczema cream but haven't thought about your gut yet, the results may not be as effective and the condition will return again and again.
Immune system
Just behind the lining of your digestive system, your body has a network of lymph nodes called the GALT (Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue). This allows your body to sense threats coming via your food. If you are eating a food that your body reacts to- like allergens or food that has been left out too long for example- the GALT will activate your immune system to protect you. If you gut bacteria is out of balance (dysbiosis) this can also result in immune reactions. An overactive immune response can contribute to skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, dermatitis and many more.
By asking lots of questions about digestive symptoms like bloating, pain, undigested food, stool colour we can establish where the problems might be and how diet, herbal treatments and nutrients might help. Testing is also really valuable.
There are so many reasons your skin could be misbehaving- reproductive hormones, PCOS, endocrine hormones, histamine reactions, bacterial and fungal infections and so many more.
But fundamental to skin health is your digestion and elimination of toxins....so if your skin is consistently a problem -it's time a naturopath asked you about your poo......
Focus Naturopathy provides 15 minute free discovery calls- see if we can help you today. Booking Link: https://calendly.com/samanthaimbert/introcall
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