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FEATURE
WOMEN WITH GUTS
By Clare Lamberth
Nowadays, the Gut/Skin link is undeniable. Clinics everywhere have seamlessly integrated questions about digestion alongside questions on oil flow and hydration into their skin consultations. Yet, so many Therapists still struggle to fully understand the connection, why internal supplements impact the external skin, and how they can better help their client’s skin by treating it from within? Beauty Biz Editor, Clare Lamberth, has gathered together the industry’s “Brains Trust” on all things skin & gut health, Chiza Westcarr, Carla Oates, Janine Tait and Fiona Tuck, to fill in some of the gaps and gain a better understanding into how gut imbalances occur, and ways we can help to effectively treat our client’s skin inside & out.
CHIZA WESTCARR - NUTRITIONAL SKINCARE ACADEMY
Can you explain to us how exactly gut health affects the skin? There’s been a growing awareness in the media and in the public’s consciousness about the importance of gut health. What people may not 14
Beauty Biz Year 12 Issue 4
know however, is the close connection that gut health has to skin health. This is all due to the cross-talk or communication that occurs between the gut and skin microbiota. The microbiota refers to the trillions of microbes, made up of bacteria, fungus, yeasts, viruses and archaea that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract and cloak every nook and cranny of our skin. These microbes are so diet-dependent that what we eat has a dramatic effect on their health and therefore our overall health. Fibre is the food of choice of gut microbes, and so a plant-based diet high in vegetables is key, along with moderate well sourced protein and good fats. Fibre from the foods we eat does not get digested, but rather passes from the small intestines where nutrient absorption occurs, into the large colon where it is fermented and then converted to short chain fatty acids (SCFA), metabolites that serve as fuel for cells lining the gut, as well as have an anti-inflammatory effect throughout the body. The Western Diet, made up of highly refined, processed carbohydrates, such as cakes, lollies, soft drink, burgers, deep fried foods, flavoured milk drinks, and foods lacking in fibre, has a dramatic effect on gut microbial health. It causes the depletion of fibre-loving ‘good bugs’ and the rise of opportunistic, potentially disease-causing ‘bad bugs’, that drive inflammation which is at the root of conditions such as coeliac disease, diverticulitis, obesity, mood disorders, such as anxiety and depression, inflammatory skin conditions, to name a few.