Skin condition. Why does it happen and how to deal with it naturally
Acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, dermatitis, so called chicken skin, its all different skin conditions. However, the cause of most of these are all similar.
We all feel very self conscious when we see acne arise on our skin or some eczema on our child’s elbow. But why does it happen? We can blame our diet and lifestyle habits for skin problems. Normally a skin problem is the body’s way of telling something is not right inside our body.
Some causes for skin problems include:
Diet high in sugar, processed food and bad fats
Not enough water, leafy greens and antioxidants
Diary or gluten intolerance
Allergies to certain foods like egg, nuts, wheat etc
Gut imbalance, or leaky gut syndrome
High stress levels
Possible parasites
Heavy metal toxins
Vitamin or mineral deficiency
Allergy to chemicals in beauty and household products
How do you manage a skin condition without taking cortisol creams and other medications:
Firstly have a look at your or your child’s diet. Eliminate all sugar, processed food and bad fats. Avoid gluten and diary for 3 – 4 weeks. Increase consumption of vegetables, especially green leafy veggies, and healthy fats like avocado, olives, coconut oil. If there are no changes, do a complete elimination diet of gluten, wheat, diary, eggs, nuts, soy and citrus. Continue on this elimination diet for another 3 – 4 weeks.
Avoid hot spicy foods.
Drink enough good quality water, avoid caffeine, alcohol and sugary drinks.
Avoid putting on commercial creams and lotions, rather put organic coconut oil on if it is red and irritable. Calendula cream, aloe vera and tea tree oil products is also very smoothing.
Don’t take hot baths or showers, but rather use luke warm water. Hot water might irritate the skin more. Avoid saunas.
Avoid chemical loaded soaps, laundry detergents, other house hold products. They can all irritate the skin and make the condition worse.
Do light to moderate exercise, rather than high intensity. Get some sunlight. Better blood circulation and Vitamin D to affected areas can help clear it up.
Manage your stress levels with yoga, meditation and relaxation.
Consider supplements. Some supplements are great for specific conditions.
Probiotics for gut health
Evening primrose & Omega 3
Zinc for acne
Vitamin C, E, zinc for skin healing
Citrus bioflavonoids for small broken veins in face & legs*
If you have tried a few suggestions and just don’t seem to get relief, it might be worth having a check up with a functional medicine practitioner or nutritional therapist to look deeper into causes like leaky gut, parasites, heavy metal toxicity etc.
Listen to your body, and try to find the cause of the problem rather than to just treat the symptom – skin condition.