You hear us talk about this all the time. Healthy gut equals healthy skin. Heal your skin from within. Fuel your skin from the inside out. It seems like an overwhelming task...especially when you walk into a grocery store and there are countless products touting that they are good for gut health or contain probiotics. Don’t worry, we got you girl! Here are a few tips to keep your skin looking fabulous!
Tip #1: Hydrate
Keeping your body hydrated is critical to skin health! Hydration not only keeps your skin moisturized but it also allows the body to flush out toxins. Your skin is your largest organ and like the rest of your body, it is made up largely of water. Water is also very important for the detoxification process. Water allows your kidneys to function properly and filter everything they need to. Dehydration can lead to inflammation, which in turn can lead to dry and itchy skin. No Bueno!
Your next question might be “how much water SHOULD I be drinking?” You can find lots of info about this all over the interwebs. Some websites say 8 glasses a day. Others say 3.7 liters (15 cups) for men and 2.7 liters (11 cups) for women. But as is the case in many things in life, there really is no exact formula for this. That’s why we prefer the “by weight” approach. “It depends on your size and weight, and also on your activity level and where you live,” Nessler says. “In general, you should try to drink between half an ounce to an ounce of water for each pound you weigh, every day.” For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, that would be 75 to 150 ounces of water a day. Remember to increase that quantity if you’re working out every day, or if you live in an extremely warm climate.
If you want to ensure that you’re drinking the cleanest water, free of toxins and contaminants that are typically found in tap water, we recommend that you check out a Berkey water filter. Berkey filters produce crystal clear water by removing heavy metals, pathogens, chlorine, and a list of many other contaminants that may be lurking in your tap water. And for an added hydration bonus: Take that fresh Berkey water and mix in a scoop of Vital Proteins Beauty Water for a collagen boost and a hint of flavor!
How can you integrate more water consumption into your day? Try these tips:
- Carry an insulated sports bottle with you. We personally love Healthy Human!
- Keep a glass of water on your desk at work.
- Keep a glass of water next to your bed, and drink the entire glass upon waking each morning! (CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!).
- Try to reduce your coffee intake each morning and replace it with water. Try replacing that afternoon java with a glass of VP Beauty Water instead!
- Drink small amounts of water throughout the day. Six glasses all at once isn’t good for you!
Tip #2: Collagen
Collagen helps to boost your skin's elasticity, and also provides extra protein, which is great for healthy skin, hair and nails. It's also great for healing leaky gut, and as we all know, a Healthy Gut=Healthy Skin!
Our friends over at Bare Bones Broth just launched their brand new Collagen Peptides, which provide a super convenient way to increase your daily collagen intake! It’s flavorless, mixes easily with water, is easily digestible, and it can be mixed into almost anything!
Here are a few of our favorite ways to use collagen peptides:
- Mix them into a smoothie.
- Mix them into your morning coffee or tea.
- Mix them into soups, scrambled eggs, or pretty much any food that will “hold” the powder.
- Mix them into your post-workout shake.
If supplements just aren’t your thing, you can also try integrating the following foods into your diet: bone broth, wild salmon, chlorella, leafy greens, eggs, berries, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, avocados, garlic and chia seeds. Many of these foods either aid the body in preventing the breakdown of collagen, and some actually help the body to synthesize new collagen!
Tip #3: Probiotics
Let's talk about the "P Word"...Probiotics! With so many products on the market promising you gut-healing properties (yes, we're looking at you, Activia yogurt!)...don't be fooled. Do your research! A good probiotic will help to build the population of beneficial bacteria in your gut and keep it healthy and thriving. Not only do probiotics improve the environment in your gut, but they also boost your immunity. It really is a win-win!
Two brands of probiotics that we personally recommend are Primal Blueprint Probiotics and Megasporebiotic. They both contain several strains of probiotics and are free of other crap often used as fillers. With these two, you just get the good stuff!
Eating more fermented foods is another great way to help build the population of good bacteria in your gut! Things like sauerkraut, kombucha (aka ‘booch), kefir and kimchi are all foods that include large quantities of beneficial bacteria. We’re also huge fans of Farmhouse Culture products, like their Gut Shots!
If you’d like to take your gut health to the next level, then let’s chat about prebiotics! Once you’ve re-populated your gut with beneficial bacteria, you’ll want to make sure to keep those little guys and gals Happy and Healthy! Prebiotics are essentially the “food” or “fuel” for the beneficial bacteria that live within your gut. Some examples of prebiotic foods are garlic, jicama, leeks, artichokes, under-ripe bananas, dandelion greens and onions. If you’d like to read more on this, please check out Dr Axe’s blog post.
Remember, without a healthy digestive system, your skin is unable to break down toxins and eliminate them. So taking active steps to improve digestion will make a world of difference in the health of your skin.
Tip #4: Balance Your Hormones!
Hormones have a HUGE impact on your skin health! And most things (like food and stress) play a key role in your hormone levels. When our hormones are out of whack, we can experience everything from the classic unexplainable mood swings to dry skin. But there are steps you can take to fix it!
First, look into working with a doctor who is trained in FDN, and is able to run a full hormone panel. You can find a local doctor HERE or you could also work with someone remotely! If you’d like to start smaller, check out Zesty Ginger’s “Healthy Hormone” group! In this program, they provide meal plans and guidance to help you to rebalance your hormone levels and get things back on track.
Next, get your thyroid tested! The thyroid, known by some as the “master gland”, controls many functions within the body. A dysfunctional thyroid can cause a myriad of skin issues, including
- Pale, cold, scaly, wrinkled skin
- Coarse, dry scalp and hair
- Absence of sweating
- Hair loss - scalp groin, lateral eyebrows, etc.
- Skin colour - ivory - yellow
- Puffy edema (hands, face, eyelids)
- Brittle thick nails
- Eczema
- Bruising
- Poor wound healing
Finally, get started detoxing your personal care products! Remember that many conventional skincare and haircare products contain chemicals that have been found to disrupt hormone function and be disruptive to the endocrine system. Be on the lookout for ingredients like: Formaldehyde, Fragrance, heavy metals, Parabens (Propyl-, Isopropyl-, Butyl- and Isobutyl-), Oxybenzone, DEA/TEA/MEA (Ethanolamines), Sodium lauryl (ether) sulfate (SLS, SLES), and Diethylene glycol (or DEG). So make sure you're using clean skincare products, like FATCO! If you have never tried FATCO products before, I recommend starting with the Travel Kit and adding a Fat Stick. That way you get to try a little bit of everything!
Tip #5: Eat your Vitamins
I have some fantastic news...you can actually eat your way to healthy skin! Focusing your diet on foods rich in Vitamins A, D, K & E will help to fuel your skin from the inside out. Don't forget to shop organic and local if at all possible, and you get bonus points if you grow some of these goodies in your own garden!
- Vitamin A: Carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, spinach, apricots, cantaloupe, liver and egg yolks.
- Vitamin D: Eggs, and fatty fish such as sockeye salmon, mackerel, sardines, and grass-fed, raw dairy products such as milk and yogurt.
- Vitamin E: Spinach, almonds, sunflower seeds, avocados, shrimp, rainbow trout, olive oil, broccoli, butternut squash
- Vitamin K: Dark leafy greens, scallions, brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus & cabbage.
That’s not too bad right? Just hydrate, add in some collagen & probiotics, balance your hormones and eat your vitamins! Ok, it might be a little much to do at one time but focus on adding one of the 5 elements each week you will be on your way to glowing skin in no time!
Thanks for reading! The first 5 people to read this and message us your favorite tip on Instagram @fatco will receive $10 off your next order of $50 or more. (We will update this once they have been claimed!)
XOXO,
