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Are Autoimmune Issues Causing Skin Problems?

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Sometimes skin issues manifest from what’s going on inside your body. In those cases, you have to take care of what’s going on inside in order to make it go away for good. That might mean changing your diet, drinking more water, or addressing underlying health problems. Are autoimmune issues causing skin problems? Here’s what you need to know.

An autoimmune disease develops when your immune system, which defends your body against disease, decides your healthy cells are foreign. As a result, your immune system attacks healthy body cells. Almost any of the tissues in the body can be affected – often, it’s the skin.

Autoimmune diseases are increasingly common. You’ve heard of many of them – Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and multiple sclerosis are among the most common autoimmune diseases. Psoriasis and eczema are two skin diseases caused by inflammation of the gut and liver.

Inflammatory autoimmune issues can lead to skin problems. You can lower inflammation with a few simple lifestyle changes!

You can lower inflammation with a few simple lifestyle changes!

Sadly, these issues are often masked rather than treated from the source.
In How to Stop Attacking Yourself, Dr. Mark Hyman explains,

Autoimmune conditions are connected by one central biochemical process: A runaway immune response also known as systemic inflammation that results in your body attacking its own tissues.

As physicians we are trained to shut off inflammation with aspirin, anti-inflammatory medication such as Advil or Motrin, steroids, and increasingly more powerful immune suppressing medication with serious side effects.

But we are not trained to find and treat the underlying causes of inflammation in chronic disease. Hidden allergens, infections, environmental toxins, an inflammatory diet, and stress are the real causes of these inflammatory conditions.

How to Reduce Inflammation

Reducing inflammation in the body, especially the gut and liver, can be done with a few simple lifestyle changes:
  • Identify food allergies. Eating foods you’re allergic to triggers an extreme inflammatory response. Common food allergies include corn, soy, dairy, nuts, and wheat. Try an elimination diet or get an allergy panel with your healthcare provider if you think you might have food allergies.
  • Promote gut health. Eat plenty of healthy fats and probiotics to promote healthy microbial balance in the gut.
  • Exercise regularly.
  • Eat more anti-inflammatory foods like fatty fish, non-starchy vegetables, and plenty of water.
  • Destress. Stress increases inflammation, so practice relaxing techniques like yoga, mindfulness, and massage.
  • Get tested for heavy metal toxicity. These environmental toxins trigger an immune response and tax the adrenals.
  • Use protective, nourishing skin care. Protecting skin from environmental toxins is key  – without using chemical-laden skin care that the body has to work even harder to detox! skin solution is rich in vitamins and antioxidants that nourish and protect skin as you cope with inflammation.