Around the holidays, we’re usually offered a ton of tempting junk food – especially sweets. From cookies to pie to candy, it seems like there’s sugar everywhere at this time of year. When you’re surrounded by sweet treats at holiday parties and family gatherings – and even at work – it’s important to know how sugar can impact your health, so you can make good decisions about what to put into your body.
To support your skin health, it’s essential to pay attention to the health of your gut microbiome – the balance of bacteria that live in your digestive tract. As I frequently discuss, your gut microbiome has a huge impact on all aspects of your health, including your skin health. In fact, it’s one of the main influences on your overall well-being. Unfortunately, mainstream medicine has a tendency to overlook this factor. But a large – and increasing – number of research studies prove that your gut microbiome is a crucial aspect of your health.
The bacteria in your gut are fed by the food that you eat, and you can have a huge impact on your gut microbiome simply by changing what you eat. In fact, these changes can occur fairly quickly. Research has shown that sugar can impact your gut microbiome in multiple ways, which in turn can have a strong influence on your skin health.
How does sugar affect your gut microbiome?
Research has shown that eating processed sugar promotes the growth of certain bacterial species that are associated with increased inflammation. The changes in the microbiome cause certain types of white blood cells to disappear from the intestinal lining, leaving you less protected against infections and causing disruption of your immune system function. Many skin conditions involve inflammation – eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea are some common examples. When your gut bacteria promote more inflammation, this can increase the risk of flares of these conditions.
Sugar also affects your gut microbiome in another way. Your intestinal lining is normally protected by a mucus layer, which protects the cells that line the intestines from being damaged during the digestive process. Sugar has been found to promote the growth of bacteria that break down mucus.
When the protective mucus is broken down, then damage can occur to the cells of the intestinal lining. This leads to inflammation in the intestine, which can allow substances that normally would be blocked by the lining to instead make it through into the bloodstream. This is known as “leaky gut.” When you’re experiencing leaky gut, substances that trigger allergic reactions and inflammation can pass into the bloodstream from your food. This can impact the function of your immune system, and can lead to flares.
Do you have to avoid sugar completely?
It’s clear that sugar is not great for your gut microbiome. So does this mean you have to completely avoid sugar forever? No more of grandma’s holiday cookies, your aunt’s famous pecan pie, or chocolates from the little bowl at the office?
Well…not necessarily. If these things bring you joy, then you don’t necessarily have to avoid them completely.
Although sugar can damage your microbiome, consuming it in moderation should be okay for most people. Just make sure that you set a reasonable definition of “moderation.” It’s really easy to think, “It’s okay to have a little sugar”...only to find that you’ve eaten a sweet treat every single day from Thanksgiving through New Year’s.
To avoid this, decide on a limit to how much sugar you’ll have. For example, you could choose to have a sweet treat just once or twice a week throughout the holiday season. When you do have a sweet, have just one – one cookie, one piece of pie, one piece of candy. Take the time to truly savor that treat. When you eat it mindfully, paying close attention to each bite, you’ll likely find that just one is enough.
For some people, sugar can be addictive. If you find that, after you eat one cookie, you simply can’t stop yourself from having three more, then completely avoiding sugar might be a better plan for you. Having one cookie might just make things harder on yourself. You know yourself best. If you’re able to enjoy just one cookie, then go ahead and enjoy it. If it’s impossible for you to do that, simply decide to skip it and to have something else instead, like fruit.
Protect your gut microbiome to support your skin health
Eating too much sugar can cause unhealthy changes to your gut microbiome, although a little bit is okay. Some people find it’s easiest to completely avoid sugar, because eating just a little makes it tough not to eat more. Others choose to set limits for themselves, then mindfully enjoy the occasional sweet treat. The important thing is to avoid going overboard with sugar – especially during the holiday season, when sugar is everywhere.
Inside Mind Gut Skin Academy, I share more about how to create a skin-friendly diet. I’m also available for health coaching. If you’d like more personalized advice on how to create an eating plan that will work well for your life, along with any other aspects of your lifestyle you’d like to work on, please send me a message through the site, and I or someone from my team will get in touch with you to schedule.
I’m wishing you a joyous holiday season that’s sweet in all the right ways.
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