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Foods to avoid for good skin
Is your skin acting out despite the extensive skin treatments? Does your stomach usually remain upset? Chances are, you are not focusing on maintaining a healthy diet! The foods we eat affect not just our digestive system but also our skin's appearance. In this blog, we will talk about the link between your skin and dairy and processed products. We will also talk about foods that affect your gut health and are destroying your body slowly
4 Types of Foods that Affect Gut Health
1. Red Meat
Consuming red meat in greater quantities can be harmful to your gut health. Consuming it triggers the growth of harmful gut bacteria. It can also increase cholesterol levels, clogging your arteries and increasing the chances of heart disease. [1]
2. Alcohol
What alcohol does is that it disrupts the number of bacteria that are present in your gut. As a result, harmful bacteria start to multiply. Avoid drinking heavily if you want to maintain a healthy gut.
3. Fried Foods
Since fried foods are cooked in saturated oils with trans fats, it becomes hard for the body to digest them. As a result, you may suffer from diarrhea, stomach aches and gas problems. Fried foods also stay in your Gastrointestinal (GI) tract for a longer time, making you feel bloated.
4. Caffeine
Coffee, soda and even large quantities of chocolate can disturb your body. Consuming more than the average amount of caffeine can disrupt your entire digestive system, give you diarrhea and keep you awake at night.
The Link between a Healthy GI System and Skin Appearanc
A healthy gut will not only keep your body healthy from the inside but also improve the appearance of your skin. One of the most popular methods of getting smooth, clean skin is to eat clean. Several studies [2] show the relationship between gut health and skin conditions. Foods that are bad for gut health, like red meat, alcohol, and caffeine, can cause inflammation in the GI tract's lining. As a result, the entire body gets alert. The bacteria can cause the immune system to go awry, causing inflammation in the whole body, including the skin.
To improve the appearance of your skin, you must control the inflammation of the GI tract. You can do this by eating leaner meats, adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet, limiting your caffeine and alcohol intake and keeping away from dairy foods. You can also explore an all-vegan diet [3] if you are very concerned about your skin and gut health.
Why are Dairy and Processed Foods the Real Culprits?
- Dairy
There is a strong connection between your skin and dairy products [4] that you consume daily. Dairy products contain natural and artificial hormones, whey protein and casein. These nutrients increase the level of certain hormones in our bodies that are responsible for sebum production. Hence, the more dairy products you consume, the likelier you are to have skin conditions like acne .
The three main culprits found in dairy products are [5] :
1 .Growth hormones: Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) is a hormone found in our blood as well as milk. Excessive milk consumption boosts the IGF-1 levels in our bodies and this leads to excess sebum production. Sebum can get trapped in our pores, clog them and cause acne .
2 .Artificial hormones: Many farmers inject cows with artificial growth hormones to increase their milk production. These hormones stimulate the cow’s milk and increases IGF-1 levels in it. When humans consume milk from treated cows, it boosts their IGF-1 levels, triggering acne in the process.
3. Milk proteins: The two milk proteins, whey and casein, can be harmful if taken frequently or in large quantities. Whey increases the insulin levels in our blood and casein boosts IGF-1 levels. As a result, you can start experiencing more acne breakouts .
- Processed
Processed food lacks essential nutrients that your body needs to improve the appearance of your skin. When you consume many processed foods, you start losing the healthy glow from your skin since your cells don't get proper nourishment.
Conclusion
A healthy gut equals healthy and glowy, better-looking skin! No matter how many expensive skin treatments you get, if your gut is unhealthy, it will show on your face. Stay away from harmful foods that affect gut health and watch your skin problems slowly disappear!
References
- Wang Z, Bergeron N, Levison BS, Li XS, Chiu S, Jia X, Koeth RA, Li L, Wu Y, Tang WHW, Krauss RM, Hazen SL. Impact of chronic dietary red meat, white meat, or non-meat protein on trimethylamine N-oxide metabolism and renal excretion in healthy men and women. Eur Heart J. 2019 Feb 14;40(7):583-594. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehy799. PMID: 30535398; PMCID: PMC6374688.
-Salem I, Ramser A, Isham N, Ghannoum MA. The Gut Microbiome as a Major Regulator of the Gut-Skin Axis. Front Microbiol. 2018;9:1459. Published 2018 Jul 10. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2018.01459
- Paula’s Choice. EXPERT ADVICE/SKINCARE ADVICE/NATURAL SKINCARE. Does a Vegan Diet Benefit Skin?
- George Citroner. Are Sugar and Dairy Bad for Your Skin? Here’s What We Know. October 11, 2019.
- Medical News Today. Dairy and acne: What is the relationship? Medically reviewed by Debra Sullivan, Ph.D., MSN, R.N., CNE, COI — Written by Hannah Nichols on May 11, 2020.
