Sarah Holgen MS, CNS
Part 1. Skin Clues: REDNESS - What is your skin telling you about your health?
Redness is unanimous across the board for inflammation of all kinds. The most exciting part is finally figuring out WHY, so it can be corrected, and the skin can heal and glow again.
I believe all non-genetic skin issues can be resolved and resolved completely if we understand what your body is trying to tell you. There is hope! The skin's main clues are color and texture and if you can determine what your skin is showing you then you are headed towards healing.
After all, the 4 basics of inflammation are heat, swelling, pain and you guessed it, REDNESS! Its one of the tell-tale signs that something is causing chronic inflammation in the body. #skinclues
Inflammation that shows up in the skin can be due to a variety of things:
1.Chronic stress causing inflammation
2. Food intolerances causing inflammation
3. Hidden Infections causing inflammation
4. Mold Toxicity causing inflammation
5. Poor detoxification or toxin overload causing inflammation
Recent research (2019) suggests that there is a dose-dependent relationship between psoriasis and metabolic syndrome, an inflammatory disease that affects almost 1/3 of all Americans. And not just psoriasis, all kinds of other skin issues like follicular hyperkeratosis (raised red bumps along the backs of the upper arms), angry acne, skin tags and generalized dry red skin on any part of the body.
PMID: 31824416.
Some of the best places to start addressing skin redness are listed below:
1. Start tracking your food intake. Remember this phrase, “eat today how you want to feel tomorrow” and it applies to the skins appearance too. Why? Because our skin is a direct link to our digestion and elimination systems and a stuffy gastrointestinal system equals stuffy, irritated skin. Consume less refined grains and dairy and see if there are any improvements in the total inflammation your body is able to tolerate right now.
2. All the previously mentioned health offenders of redness can also cause nutritional deficiencies that can present as inflammation and redness.
So to summarize, inflammation causes redness regardless of the source of that inflammation come from. So how do we fix this?
Well since the skin moves in a “inside towards the outside” direction, or as herbalists call a bottom-up movement, using expensive face creams and make-up are only getting to the surface. We want the redness to go away from the inside not just cover it up with makeup or expensive face serums (The red problem light is still blinking under the foundation). The skin receives its nourishment from the inside so fixing inside problems fixes outside problems. Its honestly the simplest thing and the most complicated all at the same time.
The single biggest thing I recommend is changing what you can control instead of what you can't. For example, if you're low on funds you will not be able to afford more expensive supplements but you do have control over how much sleep you get!
Things that you are in control of:
-Amount of sleep
-Avoiding inflammatory foods
-Keeping your routes of elimination open as much as possible which means pooping and sweating every single day.
In the mean time, what #skinclues can you find on yourself?!
Part 2: Next Post - Dark, Dull or Blueish skin #skinclues.