The Gut-Skin Connection
What Is Rosacea?
Rosacea is a skin condition that affects the face. It's marked by inflammation that causes reddened skin, visible blood vessels or a rash on the nose and cheeks, and skin thickening. Rosacea can also affect the eyes, making them sore, watery, or dry.
An estimated 14 million people in the U.S. have rosacea. Those with fair skin, women, and midlife and older adults are more prone to rosacea.
Rosacea symptoms can come and go, and there's no cure. However, there are ways to manage rosacea with diet and lifestyle habits, including supporting gut health.
Inflammation Is the Source
Inflammation contributes to skin redness and rash in rosacea. Like the gut, the skin has its own community of microbes (mostly bacteria), which may become disturbed and cause rosacea flare-ups. Rosacea may also be triggered by circumstances that cause blood vessels in the face to open up and result in reddened skin, including high temperatures, strong sunlight, alcohol, hot beverages, and spicy foods.
The source of the inflammation for rosacea may also lie far below the skin's surface. As disconnected as the two may seem, the gut plays a role in rosacea, according to a recent analysis.
Gut bacteria help regulate inflammation throughout the body, including in the skin. Gastrointestinal conditions can throw off the ratio of good to bad bacteria in the gut, allowing inflammatory substances to get into the bloodstream and result in rosacea symptoms. People with rosacea have a higher rate of infection with H. pylori bacteria, which causes bloating, pain, and stomach ulcers, celiac disease, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Trying these suggestions may have you well on your way to a healthy gut and healthy skin!
If you have rosacea and you also suffer from ongoing abdominal pain or diarrhea, or bloody stools, ask your doctor about your gastrointestinal symptoms. They may be connected to your rosacea.
Reducing Rosacea Risk
Every case of rosacea is unique. In addition to avoiding foods and lifestyle habits that bother your rosacea, you may benefit by supporting your gut health. Here's how.
Eat a high-fiber diet. Include a variety of plant foods, such as whole and lightly processed grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and lentils, to include 28 grams of fiber daily on a 2,000-calorie eating plan. Fiber feeds beneficial gut bacteria that produce compounds that fight inflammation and help prevent substances that trigger rosacea from getting into the bloodstream.
Consider probiotics: There's some preliminary evidence that taking probiotics, live bacteria that provide health benefits when taken in adequate amounts, may play a role in managing rosacea. However, the effects of probiotic supplements on gut health are strain-specific, which means you must take the type of probiotic that studies prove have the desired effect on gut health, not just any probiotic pill from your pharmacy or the internet. If you're considering probiotic supplements, talk with your doctor or nurse practitioner before taking them.
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