The breakout out of nowhere, the rash that cannot be explained, or the dryness that has you up at night. These changes in the skin can be frustrating and confusing when we don’t know the reason behind these changes. The skin is the largest organ of your body and reflects the health of your inner world. It is how we show up to the world around us and can be a source of discomfort when it is aggravated, almost angry.
The skin is one of the detox pathways of your body and is often the easier one to choose when the others are blocked. For example, if you have had a history of constipation, diarrhea, or any form of intestinal discomfort and the body is having a hard time eliminating, it will choose the skin to remove some of that toxic load leading to symptoms like acne.
In the winter months there are many stressors that can play a role in aggravated skin. Due to the colder weather outside and the use of heat inside creates a dryer atmosphere contributing to dry skin. Changes in food habits, the colder it gets, the more comforted we want to be through our food, especially around the holidays leading to food choices we know cause inflammation in the body. Less outdoor time leads to more indoor pollution and less vitamin D, creating a more toxic load for the liver to deal with and a more compromised immune system needing extra support.
Below are ways you can navigate the stressors of winter to support your skin…
1. Eat warm whole foods in the form of soups and stews
This gives your digestion a break and creates more warmth in your body while supporting your microbiome changes in the winter.
2. Eat more keto in the winter
Winter is the perfect season to increase the healthy fats that support your skin and take the stress away from the body by regulating blood sugar levels. Winter is a time where there are less fruits and vegetables available therefore a great time to build in this variation. By adding healthy fats, you feel more satiated and therefore can make better choices in your meals to avoid the processed foods that can inflame the skin.
3. Red Light Therapy
This light therapy increases collagen production while supporting the skin elasticity. It increases the microcirculation within the skin helping to speed up repair, even complexion and support better hydration of the tissues. With the increase dependency on blue light as it gets darker earlier; red light can be a tool to keep your body in the intelligence of the natural circadian cycle by using it in the morning and evening time. The light supports the communication of the various hormones that are regenerative in nature and can help deepen sleep to further focus our bodies time in recovery.
4. Oil it up!
Massaging your skin with sesame oil in the winter hydrates the skin while nurturing it at the same time. Your skin being the largest organ is also a great way to get nutrients into your body.
5. Support your liver and your gut microbiome
Liver herbs such as dandelion root, nutrients like glutathione, and spices like turmeric support your liver’s ability to detoxify, taking the stress away from the skin. Prebiotics and probiotics can help support your microbiome which is the key player in your cravings that can lead to poor food choices. Supporting these two systems allows movement of toxins through your bowels rather than you skin.
