The following is an excerpt from the Glow Journal Podcast. You can listen to the full interview now on iTunes and Spotify.
“Modern day life is not conducive to great gut health,” Carla Oates tells me. “Processed food, stress, alcohol, sugar and refined foods can all compromise the lining of the gut.
“Your gut is where everything happens. Your gut is where 70% of you immune system lies. It’s where we make nutrients, it’s where we make detoxifying enzymes, it’s where we make neurotransmitters and it’s where we metabolise hormones. So much happens in our gut, and it can therefore affect our skin. What happens in our gut can impact our skin profoundly. Where there’s gut inflammation, more and more studies are showing that there will be skin inflammation. When people have a healthier microbial balance in their gut, they’re going to have a healthier fatty acid profile in their skin. People with SIBO, which is Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, are ten times more likely to have acne.
“I think [the future of beauty] will be very gut focused. More and more people are going to realise how important gut health is. While genes are important, very important, we know that there’s 150 more microbial genes than human genes. Being able to manipulate our gut microbiota is going to have a huge impact on our skin health, our gut health and our overall wellbeing.”
That in mind, Carla answered your gut health questions to help you decipher the link between our health and our skin.
To start, how do we know if we have gut health issues?
“The gut is a pretty good barometer in terms of how it feels. If you have bloating, diarrhoea, constipation or an upset tummy, they are some of the first signs that your gut is not very happy. Of course, after a big meal these things happen, but if you consistently have an upset tummy- that’s a sign. You skin is also such a good barometer. If you have skin issues, that’s a good sign that there’s some low grade issues in the gut. Anything autoimmune, allergies, headaches, lethargy, poor cognitive function… it can be multiple things at the same time. These can be signs of other things, so it’s always important to speak to your healthcare practitioner, but the gut is where so much happens.”
We keep hearing about the link between sleep, health, the gut and the skin. Where does sleep come into the gut health picture?
“A third of Australians find it difficult to get to sleep or stay asleep- it’s an epidemic. Sleep is so important. It’s when our cells repair and rejuvenate. It’s when we release our anti-ageing hormones like melatonin and human growth hormone. When we don’t get enough sleep, those peskier stress hormones like cortisol wreak havoc on our health and our hunger regulating hormones disrupt. So much happens when we don’t get enough sleep.”
So that’s sleep, but let’s talk the other essential- water. Does drinking 8 glasses a day really have an impact on our skin?
“Yes it does. Eight might not be enough, depending on what you do. Around two litres is really the minimum, depending on lifestyle. Water is so important. It’s important for carrying nutrients and oxygen to our cells, it’s important for lubricating our joints, it’s important for our metabolic function, for boosting our metabolism and for cognitive function.”
When we look at ways to naturally heal skin conditions like acne, the suggestion to cut dairy from our diet pops up a lot. What’s the correlation between dairy and acne?
“There is a really strong correlation between acne and dairy. What’s interesting is that studies show that fermented dairy is not associated with acne, but un-fermented dairy is. It goes to show that, again, it’s about the proteins. When you ferment dairy, it helps to break down those proteins that are really hard to digest and that will cause inflammation.”
If we cut out a specific food group- let’s use dairy as an example- are we actually creating an intolerance to that food?
“It can actually help you. Think about having leaky gut. Often when people have an imbalanced gut, they’re not digesting certain proteins properly. Your gut has tight junctions which form a nice, smooth gut lining, but when you have leaky gut those junctions become open. Endotoxins and undigested food particles can go into your blood stream where they cause an immune response and inflammation. That’s where we get allergic reactions. By eliminating some of those foods that are irritating the gut, you’re helping to heal you gut lining and reduce those reactions and inflammation. If you’re intolerant or allergic to certain foods, it does really help for a period of time to eliminate those foods from your diet. Then you can heal your gut and slowly reintroduce those foods into your diet when they’re not going to cause such an immune and inflammatory response.”
Fermentation was once a really foreign concept, but we’re seeing it pop up more and more in the shape of Kombucha. Is Kombucha really beneficial for the gut and the skin?
“Kombucha is amazing. When you think about the scobi, it’s a symbiotic colony of yeasts and bacteria. It’s been used for centuries for its incredible health benefits, so yes, I think kombucha is very healthy. I find that some of them on the market have a lot of sugar in them, so I would be looking at the sugar content of the kombuchas that you’re drinking. Go with a reputable brand who know what they’re doing in terms of fermentation.”
What are some simple changes we can begin to implement daily to improve the health of our gut?
“Removing processed food and sugars from your diet is a really good start. Using filtered water too, because of the chlorine in water. It’s put there by authorities to protect us from harmful bacteria, but our bodies then become the filter for the chlorine. Think about what the chlorine is doing to the echo-system in the gut- if it kills bacteria, it’s affecting our good gut bacteria. Stress is such a big one. There are so many studies showing how stress can affect our alter our microbial balance- not in a good way- so try to implement some daily stress relief.”
