Clear Skin from the Inside Out
Have you ever considered how gut health or internal health can affect your skin health? If you’re feeling frustrated by unresolved skin issues or you’re dealing with ongoing skin concerns, there are ways you can support your skin from the inside out. When it comes to skin health, it really goes much deeper than that first external layer. What we really have to do, like with everything, is look at the whole picture, the whole person and dig deeper into what’s going on internally. Your skin is telling you things, your skin is talking to you, and it can give you clues about what is going on internally. In this post, I’ll share ways to troubleshoot skin issues and tips about how you can get clear skin from the inside out.
Clear Skin from the Inside Out
Have you ever considered how gut health or internal health can affect your skin health? If you’re feeling frustrated by unresolved skin issues or you’re dealing with ongoing skin concerns, there are ways you can support your skin from the inside out.
When we go to the dermatologist for a skin issue - whether it be acne or eczema or rashes - it typically gets treated as something that’s very surface level. We end up getting prescribed things like topical creams, steroids or even antibiotics and look at skin health as an isolated issue.
When it comes to skin health, though, it goes much deeper than that first external layer. What we really have to do, like with everything is, look at the whole picture, the whole person and dig deeper into what’s going on internally. Your skin is telling you things, your skin is talking to you, and it can give you clues about what is going on internally.
For me personally, I had acne breakouts, eczema, and ongoing skin issues in my teens, and I was put on low-dose antibiotics for almost a year. This definitely ended up causing a lot of other downstream issues for me, but I didn't realize it at the time. Hormonal birth control is also commonly prescribed to help with any kind of hormonal acne or skin issues as well. These medications can actually have long-term effects on our body, nutrient stores, and our gut. I see so many others who, like myself, went through this process and tried so many different things to deal with skin concerns without ever really addressing what was going on internally in the gut until additional symptoms started to show up.
The gut connection and troubleshooting your skin
Gut health isn’t often considered as a factor for skin health, but the two are actually very closely related. Within our gut, we have trillions of bacteria, and we want everything in our gut to be in harmony, like a little ecosystem. Usually, it is, but sometimes certain things can cause this ecosystem to get out of balance.
Antibiotics are one example of something that can disrupt the gut ecosystem by killing off bad bacteria but also killing off beneficial bacteria as well. Gut imbalances can also be caused by things like an inflammatory diet or lack of beneficial foods feeding the good bacteria in our microbiome. Stress also has a huge impact on our body and especially our microbiome. Once that gut ecosystem is out of balance from stressors, medications, diet, etc. overtime things can really start to snowball and we may begin to experience more downstream issues resulting from this disrupted ecosystem.
Inflammation and skin reactions
When we wind up with this inflamed environment in our gut, something called “leaky gut” or intestinal permeability can occur. In the presence of intestinal permeability, things that are within our gut ecosystem “leak” out into areas that they're not supposed to be.
When bacteria, toxins, and large food particles get through the gut lining, our immune system that lies around the lining of the gut goes on high alert and it begins to activate an immune response or inflammation. The immune system becomes overloaded with all that it has to contend with, and it can set up a whole host of not only immune issues but detoxification issues as well. It's our livers’ job to help detoxify the body, but if our liver is really overwhelmed dealing with inflammation or the consequences of leaky gut it can get backed up and congested. When the liver is backed up our body must look for other ways to detox.
This is one of the ways our skin can be impacted.
Our skin is the largest detoxification organ in our body. If the liver and detox pathways are backed up, then our body might start detoxing through our skin causing breakouts or other skin issues.
Additionally, if you are not properly breaking down and absorbing the food you're eating because your gut is compromised or inflamed, you don't have sufficient stomach acid or you don't have the ability to digest fats for example, then you're likely not getting all the nutrients you need from your foods. Often with skin issues, nutrient deficiencies can play a major role.
As with so many facets of health, it often comes back to the gut, so if you are dealing with any kind of skin issues like acne, eczema, or rashes, you can see how it's 100% worth considering this relationship between gut health and skin health.
So what do we do about this?
It really comes down to supporting the terrain in the digestive system to bring things back into balance. We sometimes just think about food, but it’s really about how our body is breaking down and digesting that food and understanding what’s going on in the intestinal terrain.
When it comes to healing skin issues, I've been there and I know how frustrating it can be. Check out the podcast below to hear more tips about how you can get clear skin from the inside out. And if you’re dealing with skin issues feel free to leave me a comment below!
PREFER TO LISTEN? TUNE INTO THE LIVE WELL PODCAST BELOW (AND DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE SO YOU'LL NEVER MISS OUT!)
Click here to listen in iTunes
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If we haven't met before, I'm Christina Tidwell and I'm so excited that you're here! I am a RN & Functional Nutrition Practitioner that helps those with autoimmune disease, hormone imbalance and gut issues heal without overwhelm so you can feel better in your body in a way that honors your unique needs and feels sustainable for the rest of your life.
If you suffer from:
Fatigue and energy crashes
Brain fog
Poor digestion
Painful periods and PMS
Symptoms of autoimmunity
Stress and overwhelm
...and aren't getting the support you need, I’m here to help guide you! My job is to clear the overwhelm, help you put the pieces of the puzzle together and co-create a sustainable path forward to help you reach your goals and feel better in your amazing body. When we work together you can’t fail.
In my health & nutrition coaching programs I support you in the quest to get back into balance by listening to your story, understanding your needs, getting to the roots of imbalance in the body and co-creating a sustainable path to healing together. These sessions weave together functional nutrition and science, lived experience, mindset shifts, and intuitive guidance for a unique and full-spectrum approach to nutrition counseling and holistic health.
I always offer free 20-minute discovery sessions to get clear on your major health concerns and identify what’s standing in your way. Click the button below to set up your free consultation and we can create a plan of action specifically for you.
Heal vs. Ideal
This post shares how we have to go through the "heal" to get to the "ideal." If we feel like "heal" is where we are going to be forever and we don't like it, we bust through it and don't spend enough time there in order to allow our tissues, immune systems, and selves time to truly heal in the way that’s needed. I hope this concept of "heal vs. ideal" will help put the health choices we make into perspective.
Heal vs. Ideal
When we're dealing with health issues we might find ourselves doing things like elimination diets, avoiding alcohol, going to bed early, etc.
We start to make these changes and then might begin to think, "Oh man this sucks! If I have to live like this forever it's not worth it!" This may then lead us to abandon all of the practices we were doing simply because we don't want to live a life of "restriction" forever.
And then we find ourselves back at square one with all of our symptoms still there, trying to find a more sustainable way to be healthy.
Have you ever felt this before? It can be so frustrating! And a cycle I see many of my clients get stuck in.
I worked with a client who had Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) who was finding that intense exercise was causing her to flare-up and have more pain. She knew she had to reduce exercise, but it felt really challenging because being active and outdoors was a big part of her identity.
Instead of taking a break from strenuous exercise, she kept pushing through her pain because she wanted to keep living her life which is something we can all relate to. What she was noticing was her pain was getting worse and worse.
In our work together we spoke about this concept of "heal vs. ideal" to help put the health choices we make into perspective.
For my client, the "ideal" place of where she wanted to be and how she wanted to live was being able to hike and do more strenuous outdoor activities. This "ideal" place is really about where we want to be which might include eating many diverse foods, being able to have a cocktail when you feel like it, exercising how you want to, etc.
What I want to highlight is that we have to go through the "heal" to get to the "ideal." If we feel like "heal" is where we are going to be forever and we don't like it, we bust through it and don't spend enough time there in order to allow our tissues, immune systems, and selves time to truly heal in the way they need.
When I work with clients in 1:1 coaching we move through the "heal" place effectively and with guidance so you can move more quickly towards the ideal - where you ultimately want to be.
To learn more about this concept watch the video below or tune into the latest episode of The Live Well Podcast!
If you are looking for support to break the cycle of feeling “on or off the wagon” and finally find more ease and sustainability in your life, I can help! I always offer free 20-minute discovery calls to see if we’re a good fit for coaching and how I can help you identify and break through the blocks standing in your way towards vibrant health. Click here to schedule your complimentary call today!
Click here to listen in iTunes
Click here to listen in Stitcher
If we haven't met before, I'm Christina Tidwell and I'm so excited that you're here! I am a RN & Functional Nutrition Practitioner that helps those with autoimmune disease, hormone imbalance and gut issues heal without overwhelm so you can feel better in your body in a way that honors your unique needs and feels sustainable for the rest of your life.
If you suffer from:
Fatigue and energy crashes
Brain fog
Poor digestion
Painful periods and PMS
Symptoms of autoimmunity
Stress and overwhelm
...and aren't getting the support you need, I’m here to help guide you! My job is to clear the overwhelm, help you put the pieces of the puzzle together and co-create a sustainable path forward to help you reach your goals and feel better in your amazing body. When we work together you can’t fail.
In my health & nutrition coaching programs I support you in the quest to get back into balance by listening to your story, understanding your needs, getting to the roots of imbalance in the body and co-creating a sustainable path to healing together. These sessions weave together functional nutrition and science, lived experience, mindset shifts, and intuitive guidance for a unique and full-spectrum approach to nutrition counseling and holistic health.
I always offer free 20-minute discovery sessions to get clear on your major health concerns and identify what’s standing in your way. Click the button below to set up your free consultation and we can create a plan of action specifically for you.
Are you Constipated?
This might come as a surprise to you, but a normal bowel movement is supposed to happen one to three times per day. If you are not having a normal bowel movement every day or it's every other day or sometimes even three to four days, that's the sign that you are constipated. Also, if you are having a hard time eliminating straining to eliminate having hard stools or incomplete elimination, or you have fatigue or brain fog or even aches and pains elsewhere in the body, it can be a sign that you're not eliminating fully and that you are indeed constipated.
Are you Constipated?
I’m excited to dive into this (very sexy) topic of…constipation! When it comes to digestive issues, constipation is actually a really, really common one I see frequently with my clients. (I have to laugh also at the photo my amazing assistant chose for this post!)
Firstly let’s define what a normal bowel movement even looks like to know where you fall on the spectrum!
This might come as a surprise to you, but a normal bowel movement is supposed to happen 1-3 times per day. If you are not having a normal bowel movement every day or it's every other day or sometimes even three to four days, that's the sign that you are constipated. Also, if you are having a hard time eliminating, straining to eliminate having hard stools or incomplete elimination it’s a sign that you're not eliminating fully and that you are indeed constipated.
Eliminating fully is really important in order to get out toxins from our body. We eat food, it's broken down and absorbed, we get all the nutrients we need from it and we want to get rid of everything else that we don't need. If you are not eliminating 1-3 times per day or fully eliminating, waste is getting backed up in your system. This not only causes digestive issues like gas and bloating with waste backing up and allowing things to remain stagnant in the gut, but it also doesn’t allow us to get toxins out of our body.
Bowel movements are one of the main ways that we get toxins, and also certain hormones like estrogen, out of our body. Once the liver processes estrogen for elimination, it is up to your gut to move it out! If you are experiencing constipation, there is a good chance your estrogen isn't making its way out, but instead, going back into circulation in the body. High level of estrogen in the body, or an imbalance of estrogen and progesterone, can lead to things like PMS symptoms, fibroids, heavy periods, and many other symptoms that come with this estrogen dominance.
So check in and see just where you are at! Sometimes we don't know until we use a tool to track our digestion and see, oh, actually, yeah, I haven't gone in two days or I didn't go today or I went once but it really doesn't feel like I'm actually getting everything out. You can download my free Food and Symptom Journal to get started!
Common causes of constipation
Common causes of constipation are:
Food allergies or sensitivities
Lack of good bacteria in the gut
Intestinal permeability or damage to the mucosal lining of the gut
Dehydration
Thyroid or other hormone imbalances
You can see that it really depends, like so many things, on what the underlying cause for the individual is. This means that you're going to address constipation differently depending on what’s going on for you. That being said, there's the three easy things that I always look at first when it comes to troubleshooting constipation.
3 easy ways to troubleshoot constipation
Hydration. Our digestive system needs water to function properly. When dehydrated, our digestion slows down and our stools become harder to pass. A good rule of thumb is to divide your weight in half and drink that many ounces of water per day. This will of course vary depending on your individual needs, climate and how much you sweat!
Get enough good fats in your diet to help lubricate the digestive system. (Think olive oil, avocados, fatty fish, coconut oil, coconut meat, olives, etc.)
Increase fiber. Fiber is really important for supporting our digestive process and add bulk to the stool. Fiber is the main food for the 70-100 trillion microorganisms that live in your digestive tract. And when you eat plenty of fiber, it’s harder for pathogenic bacteria to grow in your digestive tract. A simple way to get in more fiber is to load up on good veggies like these roasted root veggies or sautéed kale throughout the day! To see what works for you I recommend slowly increasing your fiber intake. Don't feel like you have to like dump a ton of fiber and just start eating a ton of raw veggies. In these colder months I liked to include warm, cooked veggies for fiber which are a bit easier on the digestive system. Sometimes I like to have the “one, two, three” rule where you have one veggie at breakfast, two at lunch, three at dinner. See if you can experiment with that!
Click here to listen in iTunes
Click here to listen in Stitcher
If we haven't met before, I'm Christina Tidwell and I'm so excited that you're here! I am a RN & Functional Nutrition Practitioner that helps those with autoimmune disease, hormone imbalance and gut issues heal without overwhelm so you can feel better in your body in a way that honors your unique needs and feels sustainable for the rest of your life.
If you suffer from:
Fatigue and energy crashes
Brain fog
Poor digestion
Painful periods and PMS
Symptoms of autoimmunity
Stress and overwhelm
...and aren't getting the support you need, I’m here to help guide you! My job is to clear the overwhelm, help you put the pieces of the puzzle together and co-create a sustainable path forward to help you reach your goals and feel better in your amazing body. When we work together you can’t fail.
In my health & nutrition coaching programs I support you in the quest to get back into balance by listening to your story, understanding your needs, getting to the roots of imbalance in the body and co-creating a sustainable path to healing together. These sessions weave together functional nutrition and science, lived experience, mindset shifts, and intuitive guidance for a unique and full-spectrum approach to nutrition counseling and holistic health.
I always offer free 20-minute discovery sessions to get clear on your major health concerns and identify what’s standing in your way. Click the button below to set up your free consultation and we can create a plan of action specifically for you.
Live Well Podcast | Ep #69 The Secret Language of Healthcare with Robin Shapiro
Robin Shapiro is nationally recognized as a pioneer in the Health Advocacy Movement. After two decades in the health communications and biotechnology fields, she founded several companies designed to elevate the voice and experience of patients. She applied her unique communications experience to innovate in the area independent health advocacy. Based on these businesses, she has dedicated the rest of her career to helping patients find their voice to improve their care. Join us as we speak about how to navigate the healthcare system and get the care you deserve!
I have Robin Shapiro co-founder of the Washington State Health Advocacy Association (WASHAA) on The Live Well Podcast to speak about how to get the care you deserve when managing chronic illness.
Robin Shapiro is nationally recognized as a pioneer in the Health Advocacy Movement and an absolute wealth of knowledge and experience. After two decades in the health communications and biotechnology fields, Robin founded several companies designed to elevate the voice and experience of patients. She also has a new book out, The Secret Language of Health Care: How to Ask for the Care You Deserve. Join us as we speak about how to successfully navigate the healthcare system and get the most out of your care!
LISTEN BELOW (AND DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE SO YOU'LL NEVER MISS OUT!)
Click here to listen in iTunes
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SHOW NOTE:
0:00 Intro
6:08 Robin talks about The Washington State Health Advocacy Association (WSHAA) that supports those with chronic illness.
8:07 “There are certain things that smart people do to make the most of their limited time with their doctor”
9:24 Free Download: Appointment Checklist to prepare for your doctor’s appointment
12:10 Robin speaks about what to do if you don’t feel like you’re getting the support you need from your doctor:
Take someone with you (family member, friend or health advocate)
Choose another doctor who supports you better
“Ask your doctor to listen deeply to you rather than writing notes into their computer.”
20:30 Robin explains how taking charge of her own care transformed her condition
“I was in so much pain, I couldn’t walk and I said to my rheumatologist, ‘What about diet?’ It reduced my pain by 80% in a very short space of time,”
21:24 Consider a care team:
“Not one person is going to give you everything you need to be a healthy person.”
“A specialist is a partialist, they are experts looking at one piece of the picture.”
24:50 Journaling your thoughts is therapeutic and is medically supported by recent studies: Opening Up by Writing it Down by James W. Pennebaker
29:34 Robin discusses her book The Secret Language of Health Care: How to Ask for the Care You Deserve by Robin Shapiro
37:26 Christina explains her main goal of the work she does now: “I worked in the hospital for long enough and I want to make sure people do not have to be there unless they absolutely have to.”
40:40 How to contact Robin - www.robin-shapiro.com
If you loved this episode, I'd be honored for you to give me a rating on iTunes. This helps me to get content out to others who are interested in getting control of their health through diet, lifestyle shifts and personal empowerment.
If we haven't met before, I'm Christina Tidwell and I'm so excited that you're here! I am a RN & Functional Nutrition Practitioner that helps those with autoimmune disease, hormone imbalance and gut issues heal without overwhelm so you can feel better in your body in a way that honors your unique needs and feels sustainable for the rest of your life.
If you suffer from:
Fatigue and energy crashes
Brain fog
Poor digestion
Painful periods and PMS
Symptoms of autoimmunity
Stress and overwhelm
...and aren't getting the support you need, I’m here to help guide you! My job is to clear the overwhelm, help you put the pieces of the puzzle together and co-create a sustainable path forward to help you reach your goals and feel better in your amazing body. When we work together you can’t fail.
In my health & nutrition coaching programs I support you in the quest to get back into balance by listening to your story, understanding your needs, getting to the roots of imbalance in the body and co-creating a sustainable path to healing together. These sessions weave together functional nutrition and science, lived experience, mindset shifts, and intuitive guidance for a unique and full-spectrum approach to nutrition counseling and holistic health.
I always offer free 20-minute discovery sessions to get clear on your major health concerns and identify what’s standing in your way. Click the button below to set up your free consultation and we can create a plan of action specifically for you.