About 50 million Americans struggle with acne each year. One of the greatest barometers for what is going on in your body is your skin. Many pieces of advice from “specialists” for those suffering from skin conditions include adjusting the diet and regulating hormones.

However, all those with acne know too well that there are no one-size-fits-all acne treatments. 

As more research is being conducted on the bacteria in the gut, scientists are closely observing the link between the gut and acne. The findings show that taking certain foods can help improve or harm your gut resulting in breakouts.

Learning the connection between your gut and acne is the first step to helping your skin and eliminating breakouts.

How Gut Health Affects the Skin

Your skin and gut microbes-collection of bacteria and viruses residing in your gut-have an intimate relationship called the skin-gut axis. 

According to gut microbiome expert Dr. Aisling Dweyer, both organs are crucial for keeping your body healthy and protecting it against infections. Often patients with gastrointestinal diseases experience corresponding issues on their skin, proving how closely linked gut and skin health are.

While the skin gut-axis relationship works both ways, the key regulator here is the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome has both good and bad bacteria, but usually, good bacteria are more than bad.

Your gut microbiome aims to help promote proper digestion, absorb vitamins and nutrients, and regulate weight. The gut microbiome also helps maintain the intestinal barrier by limiting the entry of bacterial by-products and other toxins from entering your bloodstream and potentially reaching your skin.

The intestinal barrier should open naturally to allow nutrients to flow. In this case, it is perfectly normal for your gut to leak. However, your intestinal barrier will be weakened when an imbalance between good and bad bacteria occurs- referred to as dysbiosis.

What’s the Connection Between Gut Health and Breakouts?

Dysbiosis can cause inflammation and lead to the release of inflammatory messengers referred to as cytokines which contribute to breakouts. The inflammation caused by dysbiosis can also cause a leaky gut, which is a condition in which your gut lining becomes damaged, allowing bacteria by-products to pass through.

Research shows that once toxins and bacteria by-products enter your bloodstream, they can trigger the development of acne.

One type of bad bacteria from your gut is the Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxins, which have wreaked havoc on skins. High levels of LPS interfere with wound healing, making your breakouts worse. 

LPS also has an association with acne vulgaris making it more likely for you to react to E. coli lipopolysaccharide endotoxin ( E. coli LPS). High reactivity to E. coli LPS means you are prone to get fibrin micro clots, resulting in small scarring of the tissues.

How to Improve Gut Health and Deal with Acne

The only way to improve your gut health and get rid of breakouts is to adjust your diet. What you eat affects the gut microbiome and can help tighten the leaky gut, thereby reducing acne.

The following are ways in which you can improve your gut bacteria.

Incorporate a Diverse Range of Foods into Your Diet

Your gut is filled with diverse bacteria which play different roles in the body and require certain nutrients to thrive. Research shows that the more diverse bacteria you have, the more healthy you are.

Eating diverse foods will contribute to diverse microbiomes. According to Sonia Fonseca, a researcher at Quadram Institute, feeding the microbes in our gut with diverse foods will create a comfortable environment for them to thrive.

Higher Fiber Foods

Foods rich in fiber are key to maintaining a healthy gut, improving blood circulation, and transferring nutrients to the skin cells. Consuming 30g of food fiber daily can help promote glowing skin by clearing inflammation that causes acne and eczema.

Fiber is found in different plant foods. If you want to boost your fiber consumption, eat peels and skins of different fruits and vegetables. Fiber has both bulk-forming and water-holding properties, which help clean the gut and lower cholesterol levels in the body.

Consuming Probiotics and Prebiotics

Having dysbiosis means that you need probiotics and prebiotics. An imbalanced microbiome plays a big role in promoting breakouts. So maintaining a good balance between bad and good bacteria is a great step toward improving the health of your skin.

Probiotics are good bacteria that promote good health in your gut and immune responses. They help rebalance the gut microbiome by replenishing good bacteria and pushing out the bad bacteria.

Prebiotics, on the other hand, are food consumed by good bacteria. When you take in more prebiotics, the count of good bacteria in your gut will increase and thereby balance the gut microbiome.

Good sources of prebiotics and probiotics include:

• Kefir
• Kimchi
• kombucha
• Miso
• Sauerkraut
• Tempeh
• Asparagus
• Bananas
• Chicory
• Garlic
• Jerusalem artichoke
• Onions
• Whole grains

Avoid Excessive Sugar Consumption

Too much consumption of sugar or sweeteners can lead to gut dysbiosis. A study has shown that consuming too many sweeteners increases the number of bacteria associated with metabolic diseases.

Since too much sugar and sweeteners don’t have any use in the body, it is expelled mostly through sweat or urine. When expelled through sweats, the sweeteners can cause blockage of pores and cause breakouts.

Most people are unaware that the sugar content in gummy vitamins and other chewable supplements negates the good effects of the supplements. Binto vitamins and supplements have no added sugars or sweeteners to ensure you get the full benefit of the supplement.

Taking natural sugar is one way to prevent and eliminate acne. Good source of natural sugar is from:

• Sugar cane
• Sugar beets
• Apples
• Oranges
• Carrots

Eliminate Unnecessary Use of Antibiotics

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that doctors unnecessarily recommend 30% of antibiotics to patients. Even though antibiotics help deal with bacteria infections, unnecessary consumption of antibiotics isn’t recommended.

Antibiotics can disrupt the gut microbiome and affect your immunity by altering metabolic activity and making them resistant to medication.

Taking Vitamins

Besides eating foods rich in nutrients, you can take vitamins to help increase friendly microbes in the gut. According to Jess Shand, a Naturopathic Nutrition practitioner, vitamins are a missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to ensuring gut health.

Taking supplements can also replenish good bacteria and help eliminate bad bacteria from the gut. Most skin products nowadays include a dose of prebiotic fiber as the essential ingredient to help improve your skin and Binto’s synbiotic is a mix of both a pre and probiotic fiber blend. 

Boost Your Gut’s Good Bacteria with Binto Supplements

Eating a balanced diet filled with fruits and vegetables will surely improve your gut health, but you need more than that. Adding supplements that have been proven to improve your skin can go a long way in getting rid of breakouts.

Binto supplements help women struggling with acne from an unhealthy gut by replenishing friendly bacteria and eliminating bad bacteria. Binto supplements contain high-quality ingredients that help your skin depending on the type of condition you have. If your skin is going through a rough patch, our specialists and dieticians will guide you on the kind of supplements that can boost your gut health and promote healthier skin. Schedule an appointment with us today for a one-on-one with our specialists.