THE MICROBIOME
For the microbiome to be healthy, the gut wall or skin must be in good condition. This is interesting feedback: the microbiome participates in the preservation of the intestinal wall and the skin, and depends itself on the quality of these surfaces.
So, what can be done to maintain the quality of the intestinal wall, the skin and the balance of the microbiome, with a global naturopathic vision?
1. Strengthen your microbiome with a healthy, varied and balanced diet:
- Eat fish rich in omega 3, especially small fish at the beginning of the food chain (sardines, anchovies, mackerel for example)
- Enjoy foods rich in Vitamin D, such as cod liver
- Have a varied seasonal diet
- Eat products rich in vitamins and minerals such as sprouted seeds, lacto-fermented vegetables, oysters for their zinc content and healing properties
- Reduce your consumption of fast sugars which feed the bad bacteria in your intestine
- Limit the intake of alcoholic beverages
- Eat a variety of vegetables every day, and prefer green vegetables rich in chlorophyll
2. Take care of your microbiome by limiting stress and anxiety factors:
Every day give yourself a 5-to-10-minute appointment with yourself, to stretch, breathe, meditate, etc. These techniques allow you to feel yourself inside, to release physical tensions and to deacidify your body.
3. The essential sport for a quality microbiome:
Every day try to put your body in motion: a conscious walk, a physical activity of your choice, allows the blood circulation to nourish well, oxygenate your intestines and your skin and help the lymph to circulate. The physical activity makes the liquids (blood and lymph) circulate in our body, helps our transit and moreover allows to calm the mind.
4. A microbiome reduced in preservatives and additives to be more optimal:
The quality of the products we eat and apply to our skin helps preserve and maintain a balanced microbiome. Preservatives and additives can distort the digestive and skin environment. Finally, avoid prepared foods as much as possible.
5. Taking care of your skin
An unbalanced skin microbiome can manifest itself through various symptoms such as a dull and irregular complexion, redness, fine lines, or daily discomfort. In addition to taking care of your microbiome from the inside, you can also use cosmetic creams containing prebiotics to act directly from the outside on your skin microbiome to strengthen it and thus fight more effectively against various unbalancing factors such as wearing a mask, pollution, or climatic aggressions for example.
WHAT CAN DISRUPT THE DIGESTIVE MICROBIOME?
An imbalance of the microbiome can be favored by certain factors such as:
- Poor diet (fast sugars, alcohol, etc.)
- Certain illnesses/infections
- Taking certain medications (certain antibiotics)
- The stress
For the skin microbiome, acidity, environmental pollution, UV rays, stress, unsuitable cosmetic products, and even excessive washing can disrupt its balance.
By Isabelle Schillig, naturopath and culinary coach in Uriage or at a distance: http://naturopathe-uriage.fr