Everybody enjoys having youthful and healthy skin. Unfortunately, if
you live where winter is typically cold and dry, you know firsthand how
skin changes for the worse. But if you follow some important, basic skin
care principles, you can soothe thickened, dry and scaly skin.
Your Skin Needs Nutrients
You may remember a time when your skin was at its most beautiful and
youthful—smooth, resilient and blemish-free. What made it healthy? It
was largely due to the absorption of crucial nutrients. To remain soft,
elastic and healthy, your skin requires optimal nutrition.
Optimal nutrition refers to the foods that build healthy tissue and
are not inflammatory in nature. Not included in this category, for
example, is refined sugar with its adverse effects on skin (noted in
scientific literature).
Sugar causes a long list of skin harm:
- Causing premature aging due to a decline in tissue elasticity and
function. Essentially, the more sugar you eat, the more elasticity and
function you lose. [1]
- Boosting the uncontrolled growth of Candida albicans yeast infections. [2]
- Decreasing the amount of growth hormones in the body. [3]
- Wrinkling the skin by changing the nature of collagen. [4]
- Playing a causative role in the formation and continuation of acne. [5]
- Promoting “leaky gut” syndrome and intestinal dysbiosis (disrupted
milieu of gut microbiology, including yeast); increased intestinal
dysbiosis is associated with the severity of eczema in children. [6]
Helpful Nutrients
The micronutrients needed for healthy skin include: omega 3 fatty
acids, lauric acid (in coconut oil), fiber,
phytonutrients and the B vitamins as well as vitamins A, C and E.
These nutrients are mostly in whole foods such as nuts, leafy green
(and colorful) vegetables, fresh fruits, seeds and legumes. Fish is
important, too.
You don’t have to memorize which micronutrients are in which foods.
Just remember that whole, fresh foods are all generally high in
micronutrients, so make them the primary foods in your meals.
Eliminate processed, refined, chemicalized, fake foods. Avoid white
bread, white rice, white sugar, processed meats, processed cheeses,
dairy products and juices that are not fresh. Do not eat hydrogenated
and trans-fatty foods such as burgers and french fries. Eliminate
processed and altered foods that are packaged in boxes, cans or bottles.
Beware of crackers, cookies, chips, puddings, sodas, sugary cold
cereals, TV dinners, frozen pizzas, etc.
Eliminate Internal Inflammation
Thick, dry, scaly skin characterizes a condition called eczema, which
is most prominent in winter. However, eczema is not just from dry and
cold air. To me, it is definitely a sign of poor nutrition. It is also a
sign of an immune hypersensitivity (allergic) reaction being expressed
outwardly.
This low-grade allergic inflammatory process is much like other
chronic inflammatory illnesses; the skin displays signs of it. Because
inflammation comes from internal processes, there may be a need for
internal detoxification. That’s why my patients report their skin to be
clearer and smoother than ever after a liquid cleanse.
Consider also how dandruff (seborrheic dermatitis) is not even a dry
condition, but represents an oily skin condition that is flaky and
scaly. Conventional medicine maintains that the cause of this is
unknown. Newer wisdom says it is really a sign of an internal allergy or
nutrient deficiency. Dandruff clears up after a liquid cleanse followed
by nutrient-rich, mostly raw, “cleansing” food nutrition. This
combination is the most important path to healthy skin.
Keep Skin Hydrated
Your skin’s moisture level can be compromised by over-cleaning with
harsh soaps containing chemicals. These can strip your skin of oils it
needs to keep hydrated. Pools and hot tubs can do this, too, because of
their chlorine and bromine content.
Lotions, creams and ointments applied topically are always a good way
to help reduce the effects of dry, cold air. They contain nutrients
that can penetrate directly to where they are needed most.
Look for products with
hydrating agents such as
hyaluronic acid, collagen-building proteins,
healing herbs and minerals.
To great skin and feeling good,
Michael Cutler, M.D.
Easy Health Options
[1]
Cerami, A, et al. “Glucose and Aging.” Scientific American. May 1987:
90. Also, Lee, A T. and Cerami, A “The Role of Glycation in Aging.”
Annals N Y Acad Sci. 1992; 663:63-67.
[2] Crook, WJ.
The Yeast Connection. (TN: Professional Books, 1984).
[3] Gardner, L, Reiser, S. “Effects of Dietary Carbohydrate on Fasting Levels of Human Growth Hormone and Cortisol.”
Proc Soc Exp Bioi Med. 1982; 169: 36-40.
[4] Dyer, D. G., et al. “Accumulation of Maillard Reaction Products in Skin Collagen in Diabetes and Aging.”
J Clin Invest. 1993; 93(6): 421-422.
[5] Selva, D.M., et al. “Monosaccharide-induced Lipogenesis Regulates the Human Hepatic Sex Hormone-binding Globulin Gene.”
J Clin Invest. 2007;117(12):3979–3987. Found online at:
http://www.jci.org/articles/view/32249
[6]
Aleshukina AV. Intestine dysbiosis and atopic dermatitis in young
children. Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol. 2012 Sep-Oct;(5):84-9.
[Article in Russian]
advantages that conventional sauna treatments are unable to match.