Healing blemishes can be one of the trickiest tasks even for experts. Recent studies have shown that there is a connection between gut health and blemished skin.

The skin has a very important role to play. It functions as a protective barrier against harmful bacteria and germs from entering the body.

It is important to monitor the health of our skin and pay attention to what it is communicating to us through its reactions.

Poor lifestyle choices, diet, chronic stress and lack of sleep can all hurt our skin’s ability to function. Sensitive skin can be a reaction to something that’s upsetting it from the inside out.

Recent studies have shown that blemish-prone sensitive skin can indicate an imbalance in the gut microbiome, which means that the fermentation process isn’t working appropriately.

To get clearer, smoother and less reactive skin, many have turned to healing the gut and addressing any other underlying imbalances. Here are the top 10 ways to heal your gut and improve blemish-prone sensitive skin from the inside out.

Why Gut Health is Important

Proper digestion relies heavily on a healthy gut, acting as a hub where nutrients from food are absorbed into the body. Think of your gut as a vital engine in your body’s digestive system, ensuring that nutrients are processed efficiently and waste is eliminated effectively, all to keep you looking and feeling your best.

The Connection Between Blemished Skin and Gut Health

The link between your gut and your skin is significant because they both contribute to managing your immune system.

Your gut serves as the control center for all of your body’s functions. If there are any problems in your gut, they could be reflected in your skin. This is because your gut is where nutrients are absorbed, and it houses your gut microbiome.

An unhealthy gut can disrupt the balance of your microbiome, leading to skin issues like acne. The bacteria in your gut break down food and produce essential nutrients, such as B vitamins, vitamin K, vitamin E, and amino acids.

When your gut microbiome is imbalanced, it can result in various problems, including inflammatory skin conditions like acne, eczema, and psoriasis, as well as allergies, mental fatigue, and weight gain.

2. Visit Your Doctor to Rule Out Any Medical Conditions

Before you start to change your diet, add supplements and start a new skincare routine, it’s important to rule out any medical issues that might be contributing to your sensitive skin. This means visiting your doctor and getting any necessary tests done.

Some common medical conditions that can cause sensitive skin include hormonal imbalances, conditions like rosacea or eczema, allergies, psoriasis and diabetes. If you know what the cause of your skin issues is, you can start to address it and heal your gut at the same time.

And if you do have a serious medical condition, like diabetes, it’s important to talk to your doctor before making any drastic changes to your diet or skincare routine. If you’re on any medications, it’s also important to talk to your doctor before making any changes to your diet.

3. Find Missing Nutrients To Clear Blemishes And Improve Gut Health

If your body is lacking certain nutrients, it can lead to inflammation, redness and breakouts. Make a list of every part of your diet that might be lacking, and try to find easy ways to add those nutrients back in.

For example, if you’re not getting enough B vitamins, you will experience low energy and may notice that you have more cravings. B vitamins are essential to serotonin production, and serotonin is what keeps hunger at bay.

If you’re not getting enough B vitamins, you may notice changes in your mood, like being crabby and having cravings for sugar.  If you notice any changes in mood, focus, or energy levels, try adding foods rich in B vitamins, like whole grains, legumes, avocados, nuts and seeds.

Stay away from alcohol and coffee if you’re low on B vitamins, as both can interfere with nutrient absorption and gut health.

Additionally, if you’re not absorbing the nutrients you need from your food, it could be because of something called a leaky gut. Leaky gut is a condition where the lining of your digestive tract becomes inflamed. This allows bacteria and toxins to get into your bloodstream.

When this happens, your body thinks that it has to take action, which can lead to it producing antibodies and inflammation. A leaky gut is caused by an imbalance in your gut microbiome. It can lead to a myriad of issues like food sensitivities and nutrient deficiencies.

To heal leaky gut naturally try to find self-care practices, reduce your stress, and make sure you’re getting adequate nutrition from your diet.

4. Find Natural Ways To Reduce Stress, Clear Blemishes, and Improve Gut Health

Chronic stress isn’t just bad for your health, it’s also bad for your skin. It’s easy to see how stress could lead to blemished skin, but not everyone recognizes the connection. When you’re stressed, your body goes into fight or flight mode.

It’s an evolutionary response that can be traced back to how humans used to survive. In modern times, it’s not necessary to be in this state of hypervigilance, but your body doesn’t know that.

It thinks you’re in danger and that you need to be ready to fight or run away from it. When your body is in this fight or flight mode, your digestive system takes a back seat. It’s common to feel digestive issues like bloating and gas when your body is in this state.

Mental health does not get as much attention as physical health, but it is equally important for clear skin. It is common for people with acne-prone skin to feel stressed out, either because they have acne or because they think they have acne.

Chronic stress can hurt your skin because it can cause your hormones to go haywire. In this case, your body is not producing enough of the right amount of hormones, or producing too much of the wrong amount of hormones.

Additionally, high levels of stress can cause your body to produce more oil and make your skin more sensitive to acne-causing bacteria. There are several different ways that you can manage your stress to help improve your skin health.

For example, you can meditate, practice yoga, take some time to be alone in a silent room, try a breathing exercise, or journal about your feelings.

5. Try an Elimination Diet To Clear Blemishes And Improve Gut Health

If you’ve been struggling to find the cause of your sensitive skin, an elimination diet might be able to help you out. An elimination diet is a short-term diet that removes certain foods or ingredients from your diet so that you can see how they affect your body.

Elimination diets are common in the dermatology community because they’re a great way to identify any food allergies or sensitivities that you might not have otherwise known about.

An elimination diet can also help you to identify if you have a gut health issue, like a bacterial imbalance. If your skin clears up when on an elimination diet, you’ll know that there’s something in your regular diet that’s causing your sensitive skin.

Some foods that are common allergens include gluten, dairy, eggs, peanuts, soy, shellfish and seeds, like sesame. An elimination diet is designed to help you identify foods that are causing inflammation in your body and skin.

You eliminate certain foods from your diet for some time, then slowly add them back in to see how your body reacts. This is a great way to find out what foods are causing acne on your skin, and also how foods are affecting your mental energy, sleep, mood and physical energy.

While this diet can be beneficial, you should always talk to a doctor or nutritionist before starting any new diet to make sure that it is right for you. A word of caution: be careful when trying to self-diagnose your diet based on your acne.

An acne diet should be about anti-inflammatory foods, not foods that cause inflammation like dairy and gluten. Make sure you know the difference between foods that cause acne and foods that combat acne.

6. Try Anti-inflammatory Foods and Spices for Gut Health

The connection between inflammation and blemished skin is a pretty straightforward one. If your gut is producing an excess of inflammation and your skin is your largest organ, it’s going to be affected.

You can help to reduce inflammation in your gut and skin by adding anti-inflammatory foods and spices to your diet.

When you’re choosing spices and herbs, make sure they’re organically produced and as fresh as possible, because they contain the highest amount of antioxidants and other nutrients.

Also, choose organic to avoid exposure to pesticides and other gut damaging substances. And when you’re adding certain herbs to your meals if they are cooked, remember to add them at the end of the cooking process, since high heat can destroy their beneficial compounds.

You can also add raw herbs to cold-pressed juices or smoothies.

Some of the best anti-inflammatory foods and spices include:

• turmeric
• ginger
• garlic
• cayenne pepper
• cumin
• cinnamon
• black pepper

7. Fasting To Clear Blemishes By Improving Gut Health

When you fast, the intake of food and drinks is stopped, which causes the digestive system to go into “rest and repair” mode. This redirects the energy from digestion to giving the body the focus it needs to repair and heal.

Intermittent fasting is a great way to cleanse your body and improve your skin. While it can be tough to push through at first, once you get past that initial hunger pang, you’ll start to feel cleansed and more energized.

There are many different fasting protocols that you can try, like the 5:2 diet, intermittent fasting and 16:8 fasting. Focus on eating lots of anti-inflammatory, nutrient-rich foods throughout your fast, to make sure that you’re not missing out on any important vitamins and minerals.

8. Get Enough Vitamin D To Clear Blemishes and Improve Gut Health

Vitamin D is crucial for healthy skin, yet it’s often overlooked in skincare routines. This “sunshine vitamin” is produced in our bodies when we’re exposed to direct sunlight. It plays a vital role in various aspects of health, from mood regulation to cognitive function.

Maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D is essential because it acts as a hormone in the body. Low levels can disrupt hormone balance, leading to inflammation and potentially blemished skin. Consulting with your doctor can help determine your daily vitamin D needs.

Vitamin D has numerous important functions, including bolstering the immune system, promoting healthy cell growth, regulating hormone levels, strengthening bones, and enhancing skin health.

Insufficient vitamin D can result in reduced antimicrobial peptide production, potentially contributing to acne. Additionally, vitamin D is crucial for skin hydration, making it beneficial for individuals with dry or acne-prone skin to consider supplementation.

You can get vitamin D from:

• direct sunlight exposure
• eating foods like mushrooms
• taking supplements

9. Exercise Regularly To Clear Blemishes and Support Gut Health

Your skin plays a crucial role in protecting your body and reflects your overall health. Maintaining its health and hydration is essential, achieved through a balanced diet and regular exercise.

Exercise triggers the release of endorphins, which can reduce stress levels that may impact sensitive skin. Additionally, it aids in metabolism, facilitating toxin elimination and reducing inflammation associated with skin blemishes.

Regular exercise supports mental well-being, lowering stress hormone levels like cortisol, which can otherwise increase oil production and lead to acne.

Improved blood circulation from exercise helps keep skin hydrated and clear. Avoid exercising too close to bedtime to prevent increased oil production and skin sensitivity.

The best types of exercises for reducing inflammation are low impact and calming:

• yoga
• pilates
• tai chi

10. Improve Your Sleep Habits To Clear Blemishes and Boost Gut Health

Our skin is a large organ, and needs resting time to recharge and repair, so when it doesn’t get enough rest, it can be affected. When you don’t sleep enough or get poor quality sleep, your body can’t repair itself properly, which could cause your skin to break out.

Chronic sleep deprivation can also cause your body to produce more of the hormone cortisol, which can lead to inflammation, breakouts, dark circles and wrinkles. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, it’s important to make sure that you fix this issue if you want to heal your gut and skin.

Conclusion

These are all excellent ways that you can heal your gut to improve your complexion. In addition to adjusting your diet and getting enough sleep, drink more water, get outside more and surround yourself with positive, healthy people.

However, the best way to clear your skin is to start with healing your gut, so start implementing these tips today.