Inflammation: How It Affects Your Skin?

We hope you had an amazing holiday season with loved ones – and treated yourself to some traditional holiday treats.  But, now it’s the time to get your skin and body back on track.

Over indulging during the long holiday season can lead to inflammation throughout the body, including skin. Here are some simple and easy-to-implement holistic skin care tips to give your skin a little holiday rehab.

What is Inflammation?

In ideal circumstances, inflammation is a good thing. It’s vital part of the immune system’s response to injury and infection. When the body is under assault, it responds by signaling the immune system to heal and repair damaged tissue, as well as defend itself against viruses and bacteria. Without it, infections could become deadly and wounds would linger.

Inflammation can be characterized as acute or chronic. 

Acute Inflammation

Acute Inflammation is a short-term response and occurs at the precise place where the problem exists such as a cut on the knee, sprained ankle or sore throat.  It includes redness, swelling, and sometimes heat, pain and loss of function according to the National Library of Medicine. As the body heals, the acute inflammation gradually subsides.

Chronic Inflammation

Chronic Inflammation is much different than acute inflammation.  It can have long-term and whole-body effects.  It’s also called persistent, low-grade inflammation because it produces a steady, low-level of inflammation throughout the body

Low levels of inflammation can be triggered by a perceived internal threat, even when there isn’t a disease to fight or an injury to heal, and sometimes this signals the immune system to respond. As a result, white blood cells swarm but have nothing to do and nowhere to go, and they may eventually start attacking internal organs or other healthy tissues and cells. 

Researchers are still working to understand the implications of chronic inflammation on the body and the mechanisms involved in the process, but it’s known to play a role in the development of many diseases such as heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, cancers and skin disorders.  And when the inflammation is in the skin, which is the body’s largest organ, it can affect not only your health, but also your looks.

How Inflammation Affects Your Skin

While inflammation is a necessary component for skin to functions properly, too much of it can wreak havoc on your skin and make it take a turn for the worse. 

Chronic inflammation results from a sustained immune cell mediated inflammatory response within the skin itself. This inflammation is long lasting and can cause significant and serious tissue destruction. Inflammatory skin conditions affect over 35 million Americans who annually spend over $2 billion to treat their symptoms. (1)

Chronic inflammation is the number-one cause of premature aging from the inside out.  When the skin is constantly living in an inflamed state due to a poor diet and other lifestyle factors, the effects become apparent on the surface of the skin, as well as deep beneath it.  

This nonstop cycle of inflammation can show up on the surface as an occasional rash accompanied by skin itching and redness, to chronic conditions such as dermatitis (eczema), rosacea, seborrheic dermatitis, acne, and psoriasis. In dry skin there will eventually be a breakdown of collagen and elastin which will show in fine lines and wrinkles.  With rosacea, you will see inflammatory papules and pustules and an overall redness to the skin.

Besides looking for clues in the blood, a person’s diet is the leading contributor to chronic inflammation so it’s important to maintain a healthy lifestyle to keep inflammation in check.

Read More: Reduce Inflammation by Skin Type

Foods That Cause Inflammation

The Leaky Gut Theory of Why Animal Products Cause Inflammation

Read More: Why Meat Causes Inflammation

How To Get More Plants In Your Diet

There’s no question that plant-based diets are on the rise: Between 2000 and 2017, dairy consumption fell 24%. And market research firm Mintel reports that plant “milk” sales (such as almond, coconut, and oat milks) rose more than 60% between 2012 and 2017. Thirty-six percent of consumers and 60% of millennial’s buy plant-based “meats.” And two-thirds of Americans surveyed say they have reduced their meat consumption in at least one category over the previous three years—mostly red and processed meat. (2)

There are many reasons for a shift toward plant-based eating. Whole-food, plant-based diets are associated with lower body weight and a reduced risk of several chronic conditions, including heart disease, the nation’s top killer of both men and women, as well as cancer, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cognitive decline.

One of the most powerful steps you can take to improve your health, boost energy levels, and prevent chronic diseases, including skin disorders, is to increase the about of vegetables and fruit in your diet or move toward a plant-based diet. 

If you’ve been thinking about moving toward a plant-based diet, but don’t know where to start, then consider this: Plant-Based Primer: The Beginner’s Guide to a Plant-Based Diet

Antibiotic Treatments

In a recent study out of the University of Cardiff, 40 percent of eczema flares were treated with topical antibiotics, and found that there was no meaningful benefit of those treatments. Another study out of the Mayo Clinic found that antibiotics used to treat eczema, psoriasis, acne, and rosacea didn’t treat them any faster or better than standard treatments.

So why aren’t antibiotics working to solving your skin disorders? The most important thing to grasp about any topical applications is that all of them are merely palliative.  As effective as some of them are in soothing skin disorders, they do not get to the root cause of the disorders. If you are looking to achieve healthy skin. The first thing you must do is fill your plate with nutrient rich foods, then use these same health-conscious decisions about your personal care products. 

Taking Care Of Your Skin Requires Some Knowledge and Work

As a wellness advocate and the product developer here at LATIV Natural Skin Revival, I believe in using nutrition and nature as your first choice in achieving healthy skin. After all, my 40+ year journey in dealing with chronic skin disorders brought me here.

My goal is to reduce the use of drugs and expenses by offering natural products at a fraction of the cost, and to ultimately lower health care costs with a proactive approach that drives change by empowering people to take control of their health. In doing so you not only save money, but you also have an increase in energy, an improved outlook on life, and a transformation to a healthier body that will in turn give you healthy glowing skin.

I formulate products around knowing what natural ingredients work and work safely because they can provide several health benefits.

  • Improve the function of the body and the skin.
  • Keep the skin moist and hydrated.
  • Balance the production of sebum.
  • Increases collagen production, that gives skin strength and elasticity.
  • Reduce fine lines and wrinkles, inflammation, and redness.
  • Rejuvenate, repair, and heal skin safely – without side effects.

Natural Treatments:

Written By: Mary Ellen Wank, Wellness Advocate and Founder of LATIV, Natural Skin Revival DISCLAIMER. If you’re considering alternative medicine to ease the signs and symptoms of chronic skin disorders, talk with your health care provider about the pros and cons of these approaches.

Recommended Readings:

Eyelid Dermatitis (Eczema) Symptoms, Cause & Treatment
Banish Bloating, Clear Skin, and Feel Amazing
Eczema Psoriasis: How to Protect Your Over-Washed Hands
Why Eczema is on The Rise in Children
5 Foods That Trigger Eczema
How Your Gut Affects Your Skin
Food Allergies & Intolerances That Cause Skin Disorders

January 4, 2023 6:16 pm

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