Detox - a Natural Way to Support Your Body and Promote Radiant Skin

Our skin is often a reflection of our overall health. If you frequently experience acne or blemishes, it might signal an underlying issue. This could range from dysbiosis—an imbalance of harmful versus beneficial bacteria in the gut—to a lack of microbial diversity. It could also be linked to poor dietary choices, where excess sugar and processed ingredients trigger inflammation throughout the body. Additionally, if your liver isn’t adequately supported, it may struggle to detoxify harmful metabolites, further affecting your skin and overall health.

In North America, it’s common to prioritize convenience over nutrition when it comes to food choices. After a long workday, the thought of shopping for groceries and preparing a meal can feel overwhelming, leading many to reach for quick, processed foods. Unfortunately, these convenience foods often provide empty calories that contribute to inflammation, bloating, and, over time, more significant health issues.

This is why it’s important to occasionally give your body a break from these habits. Nourishing your body with nutrient-dense foods can help build strong cells and support vital bodily functions. By supporting your liver, you reduce the burden of detoxifying not only the natural byproducts of your metabolism but also the toxins introduced through processed foods.

A detox doesn’t necessarily require supplements, but they can be helpful in supporting liver function and elimination pathways, such as sweating, regular bowel movements, urination, and respiration. By aiding your body’s natural detoxification processes, you can reduce inflammation, as there are fewer toxins your body needs to defend against. Additionally, many detox supplements contain antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that neutralize reactive oxygen species (ROS), further decreasing inflammation.

A way you can do a gentle detox is by eating only whole foods - so nothing processed. If you are currently doing this and are still experiencing skin issues, you can also try eliminating foods that tend to cause sensitivities. You can discover your food sensitivities by doing the Elimination Diet, or by doing a Food Sensitivity Test with your Naturopathic Doctor (read more about Food Sensitivities here).

If you are still not noticing any improvements, I would recommend seeing a Naturopathic Doctor to help guide you since there’s most likely something else going on. To book an appointment with Dr. Charmagne, you can click the link below.

Happy Detoxing!

~Dr. Charmagne

Related blogs:

Understanding Food Sensitivities

Detoxifying to Support New Beginnings - Part 1

Insulin Resistance and Your Immune System

References:

Conforti C, Agozzino M, Emendato G, Fai A, Fichera F, Marangi GF, Neagu N, Pellacani G, Persichetti P, Segreto F, Zalaudek I, Dianzani C. Acne and diet: a review. Int J Dermatol. 2022 Aug;61(8):930-934. doi: 10.1111/ijd.15862. Epub 2021 Aug 22. PMID: 34423427.

Meixiong J, Ricco C, Vasavda C, Ho BK. Diet and acne: A systematic review. JAAD Int. 2022 Mar 29;7:95-112. doi: 10.1016/j.jdin.2022.02.012. PMID: 35373155; PMCID: PMC8971946.

Melnik BC. Linking diet to acne metabolomics, inflammation, and comedogenesis: an update. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2015 Jul 15;8:371-88. doi: 10.2147/CCID.S69135. PMID: 26203267; PMCID: PMC4507494.

Liu, Y., Zhao, Y., Gao, X., Liu, J., Ji, F., Hsu, Y. C., … Nguyen, M. H. (2022). Recognizing skin conditions in patients with cirrhosis: a narrative review. Annals of Medicine, 54(1), 3016–3028.

Improving Skin Integrity

Fall and winter are notoriously dry in Calgary. You can often hear about how people are experiencing dry hands and eyes, eczema flares, and constantly needing to put lotion on. This is a thing we just accept living in Calgary. However, did you know that you could support your skin, so it doesn’t have to feel the dryness that comes every fall through winter?

There are some healthy oils, and vitamins you can be taking to support your body through the fall and winter to keep them nice and hydrated. I’m sure you’ve heard of fish oil by now, and yes, that is one of the healthy oils I’m talking about. Healthy oils are important for you to be taking regularly during this time (and maybe a month before) to maintain the integrity of your cellular membranes. Cellular membranes are made up of fats, these fat produce a boundary that keeps your organelles where they need to be (inside your cells). This boundary is fluid, and moves. If you eat saturated fats, the fluidity of your cell is disrupted, and it isn’t able to operate like it can when it is able to move as needed. This is where the healthy fats come in: fish oil, olive oil, evening primrose oil, GLA oil, etc. The one I generally recommend is fish oil, along with suggesting you use olive oil in your salad dressings.

So now you have a strong, fluid cell membrane. That’s great! But is it nice and plump and hydrated? This is where making sure you are well-hydrated comes into play. Being well-hydrated keeps your cells working optimally, and allows them to eliminate waste effectively. Imagine working in a cramped factory, where you can hardly move. That is similar to what it would be like working in your cell if you aren’t hydrated. So make sure you are drinking your water, especially during this time. You can check if you are well hydrated by looking at the colour of your urine - is it clear, pale yellow, or dark yellow? The goal is to have pale yellow urine. Note: If you are taking a B Complex, your urine will always be dark yellow.

Moisturizing as soon as you are finished with your shower is a quick and easy way to lock in the hydration. Otherwise, your skin will feel dry afterwards, because the water on your skin is evaporating, stripping your skin of moisture. You can either use a lotion or oil (I like to use olive oil with some lavender essential oil when my skin is really dry).

Lastly, a good B Complex can also help keep the integrity of your skin. The different vitamins do different things, but together, they work together to work on a number of things in your body (I also recommend this to patients for an energy boost). Vitamin B1 can be helpful for irritated, acne prone or dry skin, whereas vitamin B2 can help improve your skin tone (fun fact: this is the vitamin that causes your urine to be neon yellow). Vitamin B3 helps your skin retain moisture and prevent water loss. Vitamin B5 also helps to retain the moisture of your skin, as well as helps to heal wounds. Vitamin B7 (aka biotin) is known to be helpful for your hair, skin and nails. Vitamins B9 and 12 help your red blood cells, which are essential for delivering nutrients and oxygen to your whole body. Remember that B Complexes will turn your urine dark yellow, so if you are dehydrated, understand what your body feels like when it’s hydrated, then start to incorporate a B Complex.

This fall, see for yourself how these can help your skin feel much better and more hydrated. Share below if you have other things you do for yourself to keep your skin hydrated during the fall and winter.

~ Dr. Charmagne

Hypnotherapy and Skin Disorders

Have you ever noticed that your skin flares up when you're experiencing a lot of stress? Do you pick or scratch your skin more when you're stressed or nervous? Have you noticed that you experience more pain from the same stimulus when you're stressed? Stress can affect your skin health, especially for those prone to skin disorders (eg. eczema, acne, etc). This is why the term psychodermatology was created to describe the interplay between the brain and skin, mediated by several systems (eg. neurotransmitters, hormones, and cytokines) (Shenefelt, 2021). 

Stress causes our nervous system to release different messengers to talk to our bodies. These messengers can be in the form of catecholamines (ie. epinephrine and norepinephrine from the Sympathetic nervous system) or cortisol from the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis (HPA Axis). Together, these messengers increase skin inflammation, itching, impair skin barrier function and wound healing, and suppress the immune system (Graubard, et al, 2021). Stress also changes how we behave. We may not always be conscious that we are doing or experiencing these things, but we are. It's similar to how when experiencing nervousness, your heart rate, and breathing increase. You don't do that consciously - your body does it for you, but if you were to consciously slow your breathing down, your heart rate would also return to baseline. This is where mind-body medicine can shine because we are working with your mind to heal your body (ie. addressing your stress, behavioural changes, and perception).

Hypnotherapy is wonderful mind-body medicine that can be utilized for a number of different things. In today's blog, we're using it to reduce stress, and support your body to heal. Hypnosis is the intentional induction of trance to access the unconscious mind for a specific purpose (Graubard, et al, 2021). Hypnotherapy is very useful when the skin disorder is related to inflammation linked to stress (eg. eczema, psoriasis, etc) (Shenefelt, 2021). Some uses of hypnotherapy in dermatology include reducing discomfort from itching or pain, changing dysfunctional habits (eg. scratching), promoting healing, and reframing cognitive and emotional dysfunctional patterns related to skin disorders (Shenefelt. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28511826/). Hypnosis allows the mind to accept suggestions that are aligned with the person receiving it (eg. someone can suggest you rob a bank, but you wouldn't). For skin, these suggestions can include reducing pain and itching, reducing harmful behaviours (eg. scratching or picking skin), and aiding in healing the skin (Graubard, et al, 2021).

In a study for hypnotherapy and atopic dermatitis, there was a statistically significant improvement found in scratching, discomfort, and sleep disturbances. They also saw a 60% decrease in the use of corticosteroids in 16 weeks (Stewart, Thomas; 1995). 

If this sounds like something you would be interested in utilizing, click the link below to book a complimentary Meet and Greet.