Heal Your Inflamed Skin Naturally

Your skin is a reflection of your body’s inner environment.  So, if you’re suffering from inflamed skin, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea or acne, your body is trying to tell you that there is an issue inside going on that you need to address. There can be more than one root cause but the majority of my clients that come to me with a skin problem tend to have gut issues, and the bad skin is just a manifestation of this deeper issue. 

If you regularly suffer from inflamed skin, this should be your first signal that your gut might need some TLC. Inflamed skin often leads to conditions such as psoriasis, eczema and rosacea, which are clear indications that your body isn’t happy. 

WHAT IS PSORIASIS, ROSACEA AND ECZEMA?

PSORIASIS

Psoriasis is considered to be an autoimmune disease, meaning that the body’s own immune system becomes overactive and attacks its normal tissues. The affected skin gets itchy and sore with red bumps and is often scaly.

Just the fact that this is considered an autoimmune issue indicates that there is inflammation. The root cause of this inflammation needs to be identified! Is it mould, gut dysbiosis, heavy metal toxicity, leaky gut? Perhaps a combination of all?

ECZEMA

Sometimes referred to as ‘dermatitis.’ Eczema is simply inflammation of the skin. This is often a response to poor gut health and/or food sensitivities. Plus, people suffering with anxiety or chronic stress can often suffer from eczema because of the high cortisol levels, which results in inflammation in the body. 

Unfortunately, chronic elevations of cortisol will then begin to shut down digestion and affect gut health and lead to further inflammation in the body!

The affected skin is itchy, red and sometimes stings. Bumps called hives and fluid-filled blisters may appear, which crust over and become itchy. 

ROSACEA

Rosacea is especially common in women as they age – this does not mean that it’s normal though. 

It is a chronic inflammatory issue that most commonly affects the nose, cheeks, forehead and chin. In more severe cases symptoms sometimes appear on the neck, back, scalp, arms and legs. 

Rosacea is usually triggered by environmental factors and/or inflammation. The body becomes run down and, in turn, highly sensitive. This sensitivity triggers regular immune responses, causing inflammation which is then shown on the skin. 

To heal, toxicities need to be removed from the body (and your environment!) and nutrient deficiencies need to be addressed. 

WHAT IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF INFLAMED SKIN BASED CONDITIONS? 

All the above issues are inflammatory-based conditions. From what I’ve seen in clinical practice, the root cause of dry and/or flaky skin begins in the gut 9 times out of 10. To heal your skin, you need to address inflammation. 

An unhealthy gut is one of the main root causes for inflammation. However, inflammation occur from hormone imbalances, excess toxicities, nutrient deficiencies, chronic stress andexcessive immune reactions.

You cannot fix anything else until you fix your gut. So, you need to start with gut health before moving on to hormones, heavy metals and other forms of toxicities. Plus, unless you fix your digestion, you won’t absorb the nutrients from foods that the body needs for other functions so it further underlines the importance of working on the digestive tracts as the starting point.

Once we get this in order, we can look for other sources of inflammation if skin issues still persist. 

So how do we know where the inflammation is coming from? 

This completely depends on the individual. You need to identify the root cause via functional lab testing (blood tests are not enough!) or based on your other symptoms should finances not allow for testing. Once you know why your body is being put under strain, you can then follow a protocol which addresses lifestyle, nutrition, and supplementation to reduce or eradicate the inflammation. 

Conventional doctors are encouraged to deal with the symptoms by medicating or using topical treatments rather than addressing the root cause. At the end of the day, their expertise is in pharmacology so they’re just doing their job. However, this means that the skin condition may disappear, but the root cause won’t. As a result, the skin condition will always return or manifest itself as a different condition!