- Ali
If beauty really is skin deep how many layers of beauty are there?
For me I really believe that beauty comes from within and that beauty is more than skin deep!
You can’t put rubbish into your body (processed food, drugs, refined sugar, alcohol etc) and expect to get health shining through. It would be madness to eat badly and then put expensive beauty products on your skin expecting a natural glowing skin. It simply won’t materialise. If your system is sluggish, then your skin looks sluggish too.
So where do you start? I think digestion is key to having great skin. I know my eczema cleared up once I got my digestion purring along and removed the foods I was reacting too. For me that was wheat, gluten and dairy (although I do still eat a little bit of cheese!).
I started by eating a much more balanced, wholefood diet. I actually thought I was pretty healthy before I started out on this journey but I soon realised that what I termed as healthy was actually highly processed. I now eat wholefoods (things that come from plants and trees) with some healthy fats and wild harvested fish, organic poultry and meat.I like to fill up on fruit and veg from Riverford Organics.
It’s a fact that a well-balanced diet can help with some common skin issues like breakouts, acne and blemishes - tissues that are related to the health of your intestine. The more you can feed your gut with healthy anti-inflammatory, probiotic rich foods like broccoli, fish, turmeric, live yogurt or kefir, root vegetables, avocado and green tea the more your skin will thank you.
The second thing I did was to add a pro-biotic, aka ‘good bacteria’ to my diet. I chose one from Arbonne, called Digestion Plus which is a pre-biotic, it feeds the probiotic while it takes a hold, I add them to my daily shake first thing in the morning or simply pour them under my tongue where they dissolve. These living bacteria are beneficial micro-organisms which we all have living in our digestive tract. They have been shown to help with clearer skin, redness, skin sensitivity and inflammation and I believe are essential to our overall health. The collections of bacteria in our systems make up the bacterial environment in our bodies and our skin and protect us against disease, support our immune system and help with the breakdown and absorption of nutrients.
Finally I ensured I eliminate every day - sorry I know, you thought I was writing about skin and this isn’t what you were expecting! Well it’s true. If you don’t go to the loo at least once a day (after every meal is preferable) then your system isn’t as healthy as it could be. My solution is to eat natural wholefoods which are naturally higher in fibre and to add a natural fibre from Arbonne called Fibre Boost. Most of us only get half the daily recommended amount of fibre in our diets, even if we are healthy, so adding an extra boost is essential. It’s a colourless, odourless fibre you can mix into anything from a drink, to your daily porridge or even soup. And mums love it too as kids will never know it’s there.
Once you’ve got the inside right you’ll soon notice a huge difference in your skin and that’s before you’ve put a lotion, potion or oil anywhere near it!
If you have questions or skincare concerns then please get in touch, my aim is to help you get the most out of your health and skincare.
“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it” - Confucius
Ali
