Eczema is a common skin condition, also known as dermatitis. The skin becomes inflamed, dry, itchy, and covered in red scales and is both unsightly and uncomfortable. But, there is a new treatment in town.

Inflammation is an underlying factor to eczema and makes the condition worse. Because of the way that probiotics can control inflammation, they may.

Inflammation and Your Skin

Millions are affected by eczema every year and dealing with the condition is a daily struggle. Not only can it be painful and uncomfortable, but the appearance of it causes people embarrassment and a desire to stay hidden.

In severe cases, the sores can even bleed, causing more stress and discomfort. Inflammation is a common underlying factor of eczema, which gives us insight into the best way to handle the condition.

Systemic inflammation goes beyond the typical inflammatory response designed to eradicate infections. In some cases, inflammation becomes chronic and travels around the body targeting healthy tissues.

These autoimmune conditions, like eczema, are difficult to treat unless you go right to the source. In many cases, the inflammation is triggered by an unhealthy gut, which means restoring balance can reduce symptoms.

Most people are aware of how inflammation can cause internal damage when it gets out of control. Your skin is no different. An unbalanced gut that brings inflammation to your intestines also causes damage to the intestinal walls.

This allows for more permeability, and toxins can escape. Excess toxins flowing through your blood are easily secreted through the pores of your skin, causing irritation and inflammation.

When you have a condition like eczema, any irritation or inflammation triggers flare-ups and discomfort. Because your skin is exposed to many toxins from the environment around you, you want to limit the amount of inflammation as much as possible.

By promoting gut health, you can protect your skin from the inside, which using topical ointments to relieve your skin from the outside.

Healthy Gut Means Healthy Skin

When it comes to probiotics, they are mostly known for the benefits they provide for gut health. The impact probiotics have on inflammation has caused them to get attention for inflammatory-related diseases, and made the best probiotics supplements even more popular than before.

Probiotics help to boost your immune system and provide better direction as to what is harmful and what is not. Because eczema is triggered by a faulty immune response, a more efficient immune system will serve to reduce eczema flare-ups. This is part of what is meant by the term “the gut-skin axis.”

In addition to this, environmental toxins can exacerbate eczema but if your immune system is functioning at optimal levels, these toxins will be eradicated without distressing your skin.

The Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle

Living an anti-inflammatory lifestyle is the best way to boost gut health and protect your body from inflammatory-related conditions like eczema. Here are some important tips to remember:

Stay Active

Regular exercise helps fight inflammation in two ways. It contributes to weight loss and reduces the number of inflammatory chemicals in your body. Obesity triggers inflammation so cutting your weight is the first advantage. As levels of inflammatory markers are additionally reduced through regular activity, the chances of inflammation are dramatically reduced.

Focus on Fat

Certain fats are good for you while others are not. Trans fats like those found in fried and processed foods are pro-inflammatory. In addition to those, fats and oils that are high in omega-6 fatty acids should also be limited. Inflammation can be triggered by an imbalance in fatty acids, so you want the ratio to always tip in favor of omega-3s. These are found in healthier fats (in fish and nuts) and induce anti-inflammatory effects instead.

Cut the Bad Habits

Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption both triggers inflammation. Smoking elevates the levels of C-proteins which are pro-inflammatory molecules and increases blood pressure which promotes cytokine activity. Alcohol interferes with blood sugar levels which induce insulin resistance and inflammation. When you cut back on both, your risk for inflammation decreases and conditions like eczema can be treated more efficiently.

Change Your Carbohydrates

Refined carbohydrates and sugars trigger inflammation and the presence of free radicals. Oxidative damage caused by free radicals exacerbates skin conditions just as easily as inflammation, and cutting these foods out can make a big difference. These foods also contribute to weight gain and those extra fat cells stored around your body only invite more inflammation.

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Fill your diet instead with fresh fruits and vegetables as well as part of an anti-inflammatory diet. Fresh produce also happens to be full of phytonutrients, which are powerful plant nutrients that are designed to fight inflammation and oxidative damage.

Add a Little Seasoning

Turmeric is a flavorful compound that can spice up your meal and reduce inflammation. The main ingredient, curcumin, has long been used in traditional medicine to treat inflammatory conditions like arthritis and eczema.

As a spice, turmeric supplement, or made into a topical cream, turmeric can relieve eczema pain by reducing inflammation.

The Bottom Line

Continual inflammation can wreak havoc on your body, including your skin. When it comes to your skin, this can not only cause wrinkles and aging, but your risk for infection and vulnerability to inflammatory diseases like eczema is increased.

Probiotics support your immune system and given that eczema is an immune system reaction, the potential for probiotics to help is very real. Probiotics also help control inflammation by promoting gut health, and an overall reduction in systemic inflammation can bring relief from eczema flare-ups.

There is no reason to let eczema interfere with your life when probiotics can help balance your gut and protect your skin.

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