https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBUixtBowt8
Our Personal Connection
There are a handful of things to do in order to have healthy skin. We are talking to people who are at all different levels of skin problems. Did you grow up, like Dr. Kyle Loveless did, with psoriasis all over your body? Dr. Kyle Loveless experienced psoriasis on his arms and head while also having overall flaky skin and dandruff. Did you grow up with acne, like Dr. Kyle Loveless did, or begin experiencing adult acne? When he became a teenager he experienced severe acne. His familiarity with skin issues comes from a background of heavily medicated creams and antibiotic use, including Accutane.
The Bigger Impact
If you are someone who struggles with skin issues then you understand how it affects every aspect of your life. Skin issues can affect what clothes you wear, your overall mood, your self-confidence, and much more. People who don’t experience skin issues may be unaware of how much it affects other’s well being. However, if you are the person experiencing skin problems you understand how uncomfortable you can feel inside your own skin. As a practice, we understand from a personal level how much these issues impact your daily life.
You may not be experiencing skin issues specifically, but maybe you are focusing on improving the health of your skin. Or you are focused more on the aging of your skin. Unfortunately, there are a lot of toxic products and medications that are advertised to accomplish “age-less skin.” We will give you a handful of tips to help and nourish your skin naturally from the inside out.
Quick and Easy Tip
Your skin is a direct reflection of what is happening inside your body. If you are having issues, the first thing we think about is your GI tract. That is where you absorb nutrients, fats, and necessary foods needed to produce good skin cell tissues. Your GI tract health is vital in fighting off bacteria and viruses. If your immune system, or GI tract, is in poor health then your skin will begin to reflect this. When your skin shows problems, it is using its innate response to cleanse your body. A quick tip we advise all patients to do is to stop using antibiotics on their skin. Your skin responds to viruses, bacteria, and anything in the air. It signals your brain in order to create part of the immune system to fight. If you rigorously wash your hands or use hand sanitizer, you are actually killing good bacteria on your hands needed to fight off infections. Your skin needs a certain acidity level to fight this, but the use of antibiotic creams and hand sanitizer disrupts the acidity levels. Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is a great resource for cleaning and washing your hands. Use a mix of ACV and water as an alternative to hand sanitizer to start with. Not only is ACV natural, but it complements your skin’s acidity levels. There is only one warning when using this: the smell is strong, but the benefits are stronger.
DIET
When it comes to diet, it needs to be individualized with how unique everyone’s body is. One person might do great with kale and spinach, while another may be allergic to both. We always suggest two major things when it comes to diet: testing and non-inflammatory foods. We offer a free inflammation ebook that explains what a non-inflammatory diet should look like. This essentially is cutting out all sugars, refined carbohydrates, grains, and processed foods. For example, when you consume sugar you are increasing inflammation which reduces your immune system. This also tears up your GI tract and as a result, will cause skin issues. This doesn’t just mean candy and ice cream, but also bread and pasta which are converted into sugar after they are digested. Another big thing to eliminate is gluten. Gluten causes a response that shuts down part of your immune system and activates inflammation. Consuming gluten, sugar, and inflammatory foods put your body in a chronic stress state which causes skin issues. Another big food group to avoid is conventional dairy and meat. When you consume these two things, instead of grass-fed organic kinds, you are also consuming hormones and antibiotics used by farmers for the animals producing the food. One last staple to avoid is bad fats. Fats such as canola oil and vegetable oil clog your pores and cause chronic acne.
While you eliminate these foods, you want to begin adding better foods to your diet. Foods great for skin health would be cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, arugula, and kale. Another great addition for your diet would be healthy organic fats such as avocados and grass-fed range-free meat. Coconut, fish, and cod oil are amazing for our skin by feeding our hormones what they need to produce and balance themselves. Fat is part of every cell in our body, so it is crucial to be feeding your body this nutrient daily. You also need to be hydrating your body, because dehydration alone can cause skin problems and aging. Not only should you be drinking water, but also should drink from a clean source without added fluoride and chlorine that tap water has. Reduce or eliminate caffeine and energy drinks.
Lastly, we recommend that everyone should take a food allergy test. This will tell you anything that you are eating, regardless if it is healthy or not, that is causing inflammation. Our testimony is when Dr. Kyle Loveless took this test along with a GI tract test and detected the foods he was eating regularly and eliminated those foods. Along with some supplements, he has gone two years without any signs of psoriasis.
SUPPLEMENTS
There are so many good supplements out there you can take for your skin. This is another thing that needs to be individualized from testing. Because everyone’s body is so different, it is important to know exactly what your body is deficient in or abundant in before adding additional supplements. An example of why testing is important would be if one patient had results showing an allergy to gluten while five of their supplements contained this, there may still be issues present. So before going all-in on supplements for the skin, make sure you understand where your body is at.
Quality is extremely important when it comes to supplements. You want to invest in quality over quantity. You should also be looking for clean organic supplements, similar to the foods you buy. If you do not check the quality, you most likely are consuming toxins, food dyes, and other synthetics.
- Vitamin D3
This is crucial for liver and hormone function. If either of these is not in good health, skin issues arise. It is also good for overall immune function. You can test your levels at our clinic to see whether there is an imbalance or not. Another way to get this supplement naturally would be sitting in the sun for an hour daily.
- Vitamin B
There is a huge depletion of vitamin B in our world today because of gut issues and decreased quality of food. A vitamin B complex is important because B vitamins are a part of every process in our body in terms of skin, hormones, and more.
- Collagen
Collagen is especially great for skin, but also for your overall health. It is like connective tissue, which our skin is, and helps repair and rebuilds it. Over time, our collagen decreases. Adding this supplement to your regimen will boost skin health over time.
- Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant. It is very important for your immune system and is one of the strongest antioxidants out there. Liposomal vitamin C liquid is easily digestible and helps boost your immune system as well.
SLEEP
When you don’t get the proper amount of sleep, you are more likely to have wrinkles and skin issues. This is because you are not allowing the body to repair itself, and instead are staying in more of a stress state. Not only is sleep healthy for the skin, but also healthy for your overall health. The recommended amount of sleep is 7-9 hours and for men is 7-8 hours. Women typically require more sleep due to our cycles and hormone production that requires more constant energy. There could be a hormone disruption simply by not getting the right amount of sleep your body needs at night. Sleep shuts down multiple systems that require energy and attention, such as your digestive system. Sleep is a time to repair health issues or interferences, as little as a sunburn to as big as scars and wounds.
Your sleep quality is also as important as the number of hours you get. Some tips we have for quality sleep:
- Buy blackout curtains to make your room completely dark.
-Put your cellphone up for the night 30-60 minutes before going to bed.
-Stay away from all screens (TV/Computer) because blue light keeps you in a fight or flight state.
-Avoid sugars before bedtime.
-Some people need to avoid exercising before bed.
-Eliminate the amount of EMFs you are exposed to. Replace your phone in the bedroom with an alarm clock. Or you can buy an EMF block or timer that will shut off the wifi overnight.
-Go to sleep unmedicated. If you need medication to sleep, there is a root issue you need to get to the bottom of.
If you would like more information on how to receive these tests and plans, please contact our office via email, phone, or in person.