I remember it literally like it was yesterday. Not the memory I would have presumed be implanted into my mind – especially since I had no plans of being a doctor one day, but there it it is nevertheless.
I was 14-years-old, a freshman in high school, when my mom brought me to the dermatologist. For every teen’s nightmare: acne. I remember sitting there on the exam table having this pale – almost translucent – man with gray hair look at my face with keen observation.
Tears streaming down my face hoping that this man could help me when he confirmed what I already knew: acne.
I remember (again, at 14-years-old) asking if there was any diet I should be keeping or any foods I should be removing.
Definitive: no.
Hindsight is 20/20, I was fortunate to not have been prescribed Acutane, but instead a years’ worth of doxycycline and topical benzoic and salicylic acid.
I was told the doxy wouldn’t have any effect for at least a month, but when I started to see results within two weeks, the wheels were already turning; I didn’t need the antibiotics, the topical was clearly sufficient. But lo and behold, the attack on my gut was underway and wouldn’t cease for another year.
The best part was that I was already frequently being prescribed z-packs almost monthly for sinus infections.
The war was waged.
The truth is, the theory – yes, theory – behind acne is that it is all caused by a bacteria, hence the antibiotics. But if I were the gather an educated guess, I would say this is probably only 30% of the population. And truth be told, that is a generous percentage I’m doling out.
But when we begin to conceptualize what the gut is and what the skin is we get this.
Your entire GI tract is literally a tube – from mouth to anus. It is the outside world existing inside of you. So, wild to think, and I always trip up in my explanation of that. My best visualization is a pair of lined pants when the liner is pulled out and then try to put it back in.
Much like your skin is literally on the outside of you, the gut is no different, except it exists inside of you. This means that anything you take in from the outside world is meant to stay on the outside. It is when the lining of those pants (or your GI) gets hindered that issues arise. The parts that are meant to stay locked into the GI are now floating around to other parts of the body wreaking havoc.
Your gut is a microcosm of your skin: both contain their own microbiome each with varying micro-organisms tasked with very different jobs just given their locations. This is especially true because your GI is meant to extract nutrients from your food and use those nutrients to facilitate the functions of your body. Some of these nutrients are very important for skin health like: vitamin a, zinc, copper, etc. If there is any compromise in your body’s ability to digest food properly, then of course these important nutrients are going to fall by the wayside, and so, too, will your skin health.
As humans, we constantly see the outside parts of us: hair, skin, nails. So, when something is disturbed in these parts we immediately freak out and want resolution quickly. It doesn’t matter where you live or who you are, there is a degree of vanity that exists within humans and there isn’t anything wrong with that, it’s just a fact.
However, your body doesn’t see eye to eye with you on this. Your body’s priority is to keep you alive. This means making sure there is oxygen to breath, a heart to pump blood, etc, so, if there is injury or insult going on internally, such that is obtained via our gut from the outside world, your skin is by and large the last thing it wants to heal. The external parts of your body are secondary on the list so is it a wonder when things like acne, rashes, or other undesirable appearances arise and take a bit to resolve?
It is fair to specifically call out young adolescent girls – after all, I was one once. Acne is very common in this demographic especially about the time a girl starts to menstruate. Hormones are literally trying to figure themselves out since the pause button was hit at birth. The liver is a big detoxification organ responsible for removing extra circulating hormones so they don’t become problematic.
If you find that your acne likes to hang out on your jawline, that is very commonly an indicator it is being driven by hormones. Constipation is a big player in this realm since that is our primary means of elimination, especially of extra hormones. There’s the GI component again.
One of the biggest faux pas for adolescent girls is placing them on Acutane and/or birth control. Especially if their acne is likely hormonal. These toxic drugs are going to further gunk up the liver and while the skin might look better (I say might, because this isn’t always a guarantee on either of these meds) the inflammation is brewing and when you come off, the acne is likely to return because the issue was never resolved from the beginning.
Dermatology should be addressed from a holistic viewpoint. Sure there can be topicals, but addressing what’s under the hood is just as important.
Learn more about your gut health with this blog Learning to Listen: what is your gut trying to tell you?
