We all know the importance of living a healthy lifestyle but it’s not always that easy to maintain, is it? When you’re busy with work or family obligations when there are loved ones struggling or you just simply have so much on your plate that you barely have time to shower or sleep, what happens? You neglect your body, your peace, your rest, your diet, your sanity.
Don’t you just hate it when doctors tell you to reduce your stress, go for a walk, take a yoga class or take a nap? How exactly do you do that? If you’re a mom and you have two kids who need you for everything, you work full time and you have a demanding husband or family, is it possible to reduce that stress? Don’t get us wrong, it truly is a must but realistically sometimes it’s not something you can do immediately.
I’ve sought out various physicians to help me help my own body and most wanted to let it be saying, “You don’t need anything; your breakouts aren’t that serious,” Or they wanted to over-treat my occasional breakouts saying, “Here’s six months worth of antibiotics or meds to alleviate your symptoms.” I don’t want to suppress my symptoms and I don’t want to ignore them! I want to help my body by giving it the vitamins and minerals it needs for balance and harmony, if not in the outside world, at the very least on the inside. Why do we have to use medication right off the bat? If we catch on to it early enough, can’t we give our body the missing elements for it to function happily?
It’s incredibly beneficial to balance our good and bad hormones, bacteria, yeast and so on. I believe that life is about keeping a good balance; you can’t avoid the world and take a nap, and you can’t be consumed by it and ignore your body completely, right? Oftentimes we may have a particular organ or system that needs more attention, for example our Liver, and we can help to support these organs or systems simply by giving out body the right fuels and nutrients it needs to function at its very best.
So, we’ve decided to partner up with a brilliant Naturopathic Doctor to find other ways to strengthen our body and to create perfect balance. If we can’t permanently reduce “stress triggers,” at least we can wash away its negative footprint in our body. This way we’re being proactive through the tough times until we are at the point where we can live the healthy lifestyle we crave.
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I know when I have a ton of activities going on, I tend to get breakouts, allergic rashes and my face feels extra sensitive. So I asked Dr. Jones, who has had a keen interest in naturopathic dermatology for nearly 20 years, “What’s going on with my body and what can I do to counterbalance the harmful effects of stress?” Here’s what I’ve learned…
The top 3 causes of most, if not nearly all, skin conditions are:
- Hormones
- Bacteria
- Inflammation
Starting on the Inside
Acne
Excess hormones lead to oily skin and oily skin results in buildup in the pores. The buildup creates the best environment for bacteria to flourish. Bacteria causes inflammation, resulting in blemishes, cysts, comedones and so on…
Causes:
- Hormones
- Bacteria
- Inflammation
Cure From Within:
1. Liver Detoxification –
Hormones: a detox balances the harmful excess hormones in the liver. When the liver is overwhelmed with hormones and toxins, it can’t excrete, breakdown and flush away buildup, resulting in persistent breakouts.
2. Herbal remedy to eliminate bacteria –
- Bacteria: Practitioners of alternative medicine say grapefruit seed extract possesses antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties.
3. Probiotics –
- Bacteria and Inflammation: Probiotics are the supplement form of the beneficial bacteria that should live in our intestines. They restore the balance of good and bad bacteria that’s found in the gut. Ideally, we want around 80% good guys covering the intestinal wall. We will always have a certain percentage of bad. The goal is to crowd out the bad guys with the good.
Taking antibiotics, poor eating, medications, poor diet and sugary foods, alcohol and stress all affect the good to bad balance in a negative way. From birth to death, and everywhere in between, probiotics are essential for everyone. Having a good balance boosts your immune system, decreases the chance of allergies, reduces obesity, helps with absorbing vitamins and minerals, eases depression and helps mental illness, lessens arthritic symptoms of inflammation and pain and seriously reduces irritable bowel syndrome symptoms in sufferers.
Rosacea
With rosacea, excess fluid and proteins leak out of the blood vessels and eventually overwhelm the lymphatic system, which cannot drain the leakage away fast enough. This results in fluid buildup in facial skin, or facial swelling.
Causes:
- Bacteria
- Inflammation
- Weakened Collagen Fiber
Cure From Within:
1. Herbal remedy to eliminate bacteria –
- Bacteria: Tap into the antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties of grape seed extract.
2. Probiotics –
- Bacteria and Inflammation: As we said, probiotics are the supplement form of the good bacteria that should live in our intestines. Taking probiotics can create balance between the good and bad bacteria and help us achieve the desired level (80%) of beneficial bacteria covering the intestinal wall.
3. Grape Seed Extract: Strengthens Collagen fiber
- Grape seed extracts may reduce the symptoms of poor circulation, decreasing the swelling caused by suppressed lymphatic drainage. It helps to stabilise capillary walls and prevents them from becoming increasingly permeable. It also wards off the destruction of collagen by reinforcing the natural cross-linking of collagen fibres. This collagen matrix structurally supports connective tissue, capillary walls and blood vessels.
Additionally, our friend grape seed extract helps maintain elastin, which is another important protein in connective tissue that supports joints, organs, muscle and blood vessels. Not only will strengthening blood vessels address rosacea, it may also stop the formation of varicose veins.
Rashes
Rashes are a histamine reaction sometimes triggered by food or environment but, nevertheless, caused by inflammation in one or more organs.
Causes:
- Stress Hormones
- Bacteria
- Inflammation
Cure from within:
1. Liver Detoxification
- Hormones: Icohl Plus balances the hormones in the liver to get rid of the excess that is causing harm. When there are too many hormones and toxins, the liver gets overwhelmed and can’t eliminate the buildup, resulting in inflammation in some organs. The skin is the largest organ in the body, so you can see why it would be a concern.
2. Herbal remedy to eliminate bacteria –
- Bacteria: Inflammation causes bad bacteria to flourish. Grapefruit seed extract possesses antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties, reducing bad bacteria and building an army of good bacteria to decrease inflammation.
3. Probiotics –
- Regulates Bacteria and Inflammation: You’ve probably noticed a trend here but probiotics are so, so important and balancing the bacteria in the gut helps with an array of conditions, including reducing inflammation and thus rashes.
Topical Solutions for Skin Concerns
Now that we have the insides covered, let’s dive into what our skin’s needs are in terms of topical vitamins and minerals. In most of the cases listed above (acne, rosacea and rashes), oil plays a big role in slowing down the skin’s healthy functions. So, before we can put in vital vitamins such as vitamins A, E, C, we have to get the skin ready!
First, let’s talk a bit about the anatomy of our skin. Skin consists of many layers and cells all responsible for something different. All of these cells and layers are in constant communication with each other to ensure that a smooth ship is sailing at all times. Anything that happens on the surface of the skin will be transmitted down to the deepest layers, and your body will react and respond accordingly.
Healthy skin is smooth, firm and tight, even in colour, tone and texture, and hydrated and strong naturally. These are the main principles of stellar skin. Damaged skin consists of cells that are dysfunctional or not working in harmony. When skin cells begin to die or become damaged, the vitality of the skin is lost, which results in its inability to create collagen and elastin as it should.
When we feed the skin from the surface with the wrong products or tools, the communication will work its way down, telling your cells, “Hey, I have a lot of water from this moisturizer!” or “I have a lot of oil from this moisturizer,” and while that might sound like a good thing, it’s not. It is actually quite harmful to the functioning of your cells!
What ends up happening, is that the body will react to all this water or oil by shutting off the delivery of the nutrient to the skin naturally. Once the cells become overfed, they get sleepy and lazy (kind of like we do during the holidays). Making matters worse, usually around age 30, our skin starts the natural aging process and these cells get lazy and sleepy all by themselves.
Without the delivery of water and nutrients to the cells, the body is no longer able or willing to create new collagen and elastin. With ZO, we’re focusing on the restoration of healthy skin. All of ZO’s products contain a whisper of retinol, which is active vitamin A — the essence of life of every cell within your body.
When the particles from ZO enter the skin and penetrate the lazy cells, the cells are jolted awake and start functioning optimally again, including delivering the water and nutrients that the skin needs. These new, stronger cells will then start to make collagen and elastin once more and your skin’s hydration will come from within.
Just like when you were a baby, you’ll see this function revealed in the skin as new generations of cells are created to replace the damaged, dead or dysfunctioning cells. By giving the skin the right elements, which are in abundance in the ZO Skin Health System, we’re giving our body the tools it needs to restore the health and vitality of our complexion.
Want to get your skin ready for the new year? Let us create your customized routine to fit exactly what your skin needs. Schedule your consultation at NuAGE today and learn what our Vancouver naturopathic dermatology offerings or the ZO Skin Health line can do for you.
