Is Your Lifestyle Affecting your Skin?
Are your daily choices having a negative impact on your complexion?
Is your lifestyle affecting your skin health? Are your daily choices having a negative impact on your complexion? Before spending money on exogenous skincare products, procedures, or treatments in the quest for better, healthier skin, you might consider the following first. Everything to gain, nothing to loose.
‘What’s your skin telling you’.
Breakouts, rashes, spots and irritation. If you're fed up with acne, rashes, breakouts or skin that just doesn’t want to calm down no matter what you’ve tried, Sadly, you’re not alone. Between 30% and 70% of people worldwide experience some form of skin problem. And it’s not just our skin. Our hair, nails, even our eyes all reflect inner health and well-being, or ill-being.
Before I share my Bare Skin edit’s, 5 ways to having better skin without having to spend anything. Stripped back skin care advice, without more products. I want to shine the light on a few things. Because, When it comes to skin health, the real action often starts on the inside. Your skin is more than surface-deep. It's a reflection of your internal health - The following 5 play a huge role in our skin's health and often lead to enjoying clearer, calmer, more radiant skin.
The following 5, I learned the hard way. The following 5 are golden and continue to guide me to WholeHealth Wellness, today and on…. Some took me a long time to fully learn, appreciate, adapt to and practice consistently.
I’d like you to access them, now, today. I don’t want you to have to wait a second longer. I want to help you have access to what I had to earn for myself the long way round.
Why? Because like me, you too might not be looking in the right place at the moment. And it’s really worthwhile knowing a bit more about some of these less obvious causes. Often the choices we are making everyday, day in and day out, in our life, could be the very same things responsible for ‘that’ skin concern, or issue that’s holding us back. Preventing us from enjoying ourselves more.
’Often the cause of a skin concern might be ‘an inside job’
Chris Kresser, M.S., L.Ac., is a renowned expert, leading clinician, and top educator in the fields of Functional Medicine and ancestral health at Adapt Naturals. He believes that when it comes to skin health, the real action often starts in the gut. And that our digestive system’s health might just be at the root cause of our unhappy skin:
’Researchers call it the "gut-skin axis"—a bidirectional pathway that connects your digestive system to your skin through immune, hormonal, and nervous system signalling’.
He goes on to explain that our gut is home to trillions of microbes that influence not only digestion, but also inflammation, immune function, and nutrient synthesis.
When our microbiome is disrupted—whether by poor diet, stress, antibiotics, or other factors—it can lead to an imbalance in our microbes called ‘dysbiosis’ and an increased tendency to ‘leaky gut’ or intestinal permeability.
The gut affects the skin indirectly by influencing nutrient absorption and hormone balance—both crucial for healthy skin. In short: if your gut is inflamed due to poor lifestyle choices, diet, stress, antibiotics, or other factors, your skin will likely follow. Once addressed, skin can often significantly improve. Sometimes dramatically.
if you’d like to read more from Chris Kresser, you can head over to his website: https://chriskresser.com
So what can we do?
We start to improve our Whole-Health and Wellness, And when we do, one of the most frequently reported bonuses is that it also leads to clearer, calmer, more radiant looking skin.
Let me share my Bare Skin edit’s, 5 ways to having better skin without having to spend anything. Stripped back skin care advice, without more products.
Starting with:
A nutrient-dense, whole foods diet
A nutrient-dense, whole foods diet can significantly improve our skin health. How? By providing essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that support skin repair, hydration, and protection against damage. Eating nutrient dense, whole foods can also help reduce inflammation in general and potentially mitigate skin conditions associated with internal imbalances. It's a win, win.
How to go about it? Essentially, it's about maximising the nutritional value you get from what you eat. A nutrient-dense diet focuses on consuming foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients while being relatively low in calories, saturated fat, added sugars, and sodium.
A whole foods diet emphasises consuming foods in their most natural, unprocessed state. It prioritises fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and minimally processed animal products, while minimising or avoiding processed foods, added sugars, unhealthy fats, and refined grains. This approach to eating is not a strict diet but rather a way of choosing foods that are as close to their original form as possible.
Reducing ultra-processed foods, alcohol, and added sugars
One of the best ways to stop eating ultra-processed foods (UPFs), is to focus on No 1 ‘A nutrient-dense, whole-foods diet’ alongside cooking more meals at home and being more mindful of food labels and food choices.
These dietary changes can lead to reduced inflammation, fewer breakouts, improved hydration, and a more youthful appearance by minimising *glycation, regulating hormones, and supporting the skin's natural repair processes.
*Glycation is a natural process where sugars in your body, like glucose, attach to proteins, forming harmful new molecules called Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs)
Reducing reliance on UPFs by swapping them out for healthier alternatives can significantly help the transition away from eating these unhealthy foods.
Managing stress through daily movement, breathwork, or mindfulness
Reducing our overall stress levels, can significantly improve our skin's health by decreasing inflammation, regulating oil production, and promoting better healing. Stress also triggers the release of hormones like cortisol, which can lead to an increase in oil production (eg. potentially worsening acne), inflammation, and slower wound healing. By learning how to manage our stress levels, through techniques like exercise, mindfulness, breath work and sufficient sleep can counteract these effects, leading to clearer, healthier-looking skin
Prioritising 7–9 hours of sleep and a consistent circadian rhythm
Making sure that we are getting enough, good quality sleep is crucial for healthy skin. Allowing it to repair, regenerate, and maintain its protective barrier. While we are sleeping, the body increases blood flow to the skin, delivering essential nutrients and oxygen, while also boosting collagen and hyaluronic acid production, which are vital for skin elasticity and hydration. On the other hand, insufficient sleep, sleep deprivation can lead to an increase in cortisol (yes that stress hormone again) levels, inflammation, and impaired skin barrier function, potentially resulting in issues like premature aging, dull lifeless skin and acne.
Good skin. We need good, quality, sleep.
Including fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, or kimchi
Including fermented foods into the diet can help to positively impact skin health due to their probiotic content and ability to improve gut health, which (as we heard earlier) is closely linked to the condition of our skin. Probiotics, beneficial bacteria found in fermented foods, help to keep the gut's microbiome in balance, which in turn can reduce overall inflammation and improve the condition of our skin. It can work towards improving skin conditions like acne, eczema, and psoriasis. In addition, fermented foods can aid digestion and nutrient absorption, further contributing to having great healthy skin
“Your skin is more than surface-deep. It's a reflection of your internal health.”
We are not compartments. We all function at our best when ‘all’ of us is in best health. Our Mind, Body and Energy working with us rather than against. WholeHealth Wellness.
Even if you don’t currently have any skin health issues, by choosing healthier, smarter options today, you’re investing in yourself now and in your skin’s health future.
Help create a better, happier, best version of ‘you’. Choose to take action today by supporting yourself to make healthier lifestyle choices. Start now.
Each positive step you take ‘today’, no matter how seemingly small, will move you closer to realising your full health and wellbeing potential. WholeHealth Wellness.
If you’d like to learn more about ‘Is Your Lifestyle Affecting your Skin’ for yourself and others, or you need support with another aspect of your Health & Wellbeing journey. Please use my contact form to get in touch.
Professionally trained and qualified to support people with their Life’s journey.
Helping you achieve success and fulfilment in all areas of your life. Best wishes always - Julie