Suffering from skin issues? Your belly could be to blame.
"You need to look at the health of the body as a whole," says beauty nutritionist Paula Simpson. "If your digestive system is not healthy, for example, then you will not absorb and assimilate nutrients to promote a healthy body (and this also includes your skin)."
Clinical research around nutrition and its effects on health has gained momentum in recent years. Many health and lifestyle brands have begun incorporating "good" bacteria – otherwise known as probiotics – into supplements and foods. Probiotics such as L. acidophilus are found in yogurt, and are very beneficial. The understanding is that these "good" bacteria can help balance the digestive tract, promoting healthier digestion and enhancing the detoxification process.
Simpson addresses factors that may contribute to problematic skin by utilizing specific ingredients in ZSS Z Skin Systems, a line of nutricosmetics. Referencing traditional practices and use of botanical-based ingredients in Eastern medicine provides alternate methods for clinical skin care than those typical in the United States.
"To support healthy skin from a nutritional perspective, this is a multifaceted approach over what topical skin care can provide," Simpson explains.
To discover which ingredients work both individually and synergistically to promote healthier skin, she analyzes the anatomy and physiology of skin, as well as how it changes over time. The aging of skin is caused by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
According to Simpson, two key factors come into play.
Supporting Gut Health:
Maintaining a well-balanced digestive tract is essential to good health — and to the well-being and appearance of skin.
"There is a strong correlation between poor gut health and chronic skin conditions. This is known as the gut-brain-skin axis," says Simpson.
Rebuilding and promoting healthy microflora within the gut using pre- and probiotic supplements may help build skin immunity, reduce irritation and decrease the symptoms of chronic conditions such as acne.
Antioxidants:
Skin is highly susceptible to environmental stressors that deteriorate skin structure and function.
"Zexanthin is a naturally occurring carotenoid antioxidant that (unlike many antioxidants) is effectively digested and absorbed into skin tissue. Because it reaches the skin, it can function as a primary antioxidant to help neutralize and combat stressors that can damage skin at the cellular level," says Simpson.
In order to provide these beneficial antioxidants, the ZSS dietary supplements incorporate naturally-derived ingredients.
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