Did you know that the health of your skin is connected to the health of your gut?

You can put all the healthiest products (ahem…) on your skin & have the perfect routine, but if your gut is in poor condition you may find a limit in your skin’s ability to heal.

What really goes on in your gut.

The lining of your gut is known as the mucosal barrier. Problems in the lining can affect other areas of your body. Essentially, it’s like having skin on the inside of your body. Running from your mouth to your anus, it processes the external inputs (food, drink, non-food substances), and breaks them down into particles your body can use. Any toxins, pathogens, and non-useful particles are kept moving through until they’re eliminated.

In this post, we’re focusing on the small intestine, located between the stomach & the large intestine, and the workhorse for breaking down nutrients so they can be absorbed in your body.

The chemical barrier acts as an additional line of defense against the pathogens & toxins that pass through. The cells of the gut lining produce Secretory Immunoglobulin A (SIgA), which works as a chemical barrier along with the physical barrier of the enterocytes (see below). SIgA is an antibody that binds to toxins, pathogens, bacteria, and viruses as they move through the gut, neutralizing them & preventing them from ever coming into contact with the mucosal barrier. While several antibodies are produced, SIgA is the most abundant.

In a compromised gut, the amount of SIgA being produced is greatly reduced, thus allowing more toxins to come in direct contact with the walls of the gut, and for pathogens to take up residence or toxins to accumulate. Over time, the increased wear & tear break down the already compromised walls even further.

The physical barrier is known as the mucosal barrier and is lined by a single layer of cells called enterocytes that, in a healthy gut, are joined closely together (the connections are known as “tight junctions”). This keeps toxins, large food particles, etc., from getting through and into the rest of your body. However, 20 feet of small intestine is not enough to absorb all the nutrients your body needs, so it increases its surface area with tiny, finger-like projections called villi. As food is broken down into usable particles by digestive enzymes, they are absorbed through the villi and into circulation, nourishing your body.

One of the ways that the mucosal barrier becomes compromised is through flattening your villi. This reduces the amount of nutrients that your body absorbs, resulting in malnutrition. More importantly for our purposes, the tight junctions between cells loosen up in a compromised gut, allowing antibodies, toxins, pathogens, large food particles, etc. into the body. This provokes an immune response as your system leaps to respond to the unwelcome invaders.

What the gut has to do with your skin.

Some signs that you may have issues in your gut are acne, eczema, psoriasis or other skin irritations, belching, heartburn, gas, stomach irritation, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), pale floating stools, and brain fog.

If you are dealing with skin issues, we have RELIEF for that. But, if the above symptoms seem way too close to home, see your doctor and try some of our suggestions to make changes today.

What to do about it

[hint: you could start today]

Since we love helping you get the skin you’ve always wanted, here are some ways to make those changes. Because everything in your body is connected (the thigh bone’s connected to the…), below are a list of ways to detox and support your whole body which will in turn support your skin. Woohoo.

Feeling lost?

No worries. Over the next few weeks we'll go into greater detail on our blog, so follow along.

If you are dealing with skin issues, we have products for that. But, if the above symptoms seem way too close to home, see your doctor and try some of our suggestions to start making changes today. Making one little change today can help change tomorrow.

You've got this.