I’ve been seeing a ton of skin issues with my patients lately, so I thought it would be helpful to share 5 of my best tips for radiant skin with you today, because who doesn’t want clear, youthful-looking skin every day?!
Most skin issues stem from internal toxicity or imbalance (often a gut microbiome imbalance, acid reflux or mold toxicity), rather than what you’re putting onto your skin externally. But certain skincare products can definitely cause breakouts and rashes as well, especially for those of us with sensitive skin.
Skin issues—from acne to rashes of all kinds to excessively dry or oily skin—are all linked with having too many bad bacteria, yeasts and fungi in the gut, and not enough good ones (aka lactic acid probiotic bacteria).
This sort of gut imbalance is very common in the US and around the world now, and it’s fueled by our excessive antibiotic use (in medicine and in our food), diets full of highly processed junk food, and chronically high-stress lifestyles, yeast overgrowth among other factors.
The result can be experienced as anything from various types of digestives issues such as irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, autoimmune diseases, skin issues and more.
Many people don’t realize that their skin issues are related to an internal imbalance, and they try to resolve it by trying new skincare product after product, often to no avail. But the good news is that there are many all-natural ways to help balance your gut microbiome and therefore your skin from the inside out.
Implementing a few of these strategies consistently can go a long way in strengthening your digestion and giving you the skin that you’ve always dreamt of. So let’s dive into my 5 top radiant skin strategies!
1) Stick to an Anti-Inflammatory Skin-Friendly Diet
My top recommendation for radiant skin shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
What we eat is very closely linked with every aspect of our health, including our skin health. So I recommend avoiding inflammatory foods as much as possible—ones like dairy, wheat/gluten, soy, eggs, and processed foods. Alcohol is also super bad for skin and health in general, so it’s best to keep it to a minimum or avoid it altogether if you want that youthful glow.
Instead, focus on eating an abundance of fresh fruits & vegetables, gluten-free whole grains, nuts, seeds and clean proteins like legumes and grass-fed/wild-caught meat and seafood (once a week). Organic is best!
Eating this way the majority of the time will help tremendously with establishing and maintaining a healthy gut microbiome and giving you all of the nutrients that your skin needs to truly thrive. You’ll be amazed at what this one change (when done right) can do for your skin, and for every single aspect of your health. A diet full of whole foods can literally make you glow!
2) Eat Kimchi Daily to Balance Your Gut Microbiome
Kimchi is my favorite functional food, as it does so much to support our gut and skin microbiome and our overall health, thanks to the billions of probiotic bacteria in every serving, along with the organic acids, vitamins, and minerals it contains.
It’s been shown to help with eczema (atopic dermatitis), and it helps to heal leaky gut conditions, preventing any unwanted wastes, acids, or bacteria from getting into the bloodstream—a major contributor to skin issues, allergies, and autoimmune conditions.
My new book The Kimchi Diet is the best way to help you start incorporating kimchi into your daily diet for optimal results. In it, I share everything you need to know to make and enjoy your own kimchi at home, the traditional Korean way—all clearly outlined in my simple 8-week program which includes a new batch of kimchi every 2 weeks.
If you’re new to kimchi or fermented vegetables in general and want to start adding it into your diet, I recommend starting with just a tablespoon or two per day at first and slowly working up to about a ½ cup per day. Increasing the amount you consume slowly over a few weeks or months will help to minimize any digestive discomfort you may experience as the kimchi works to reinoculate your gut with billions of lactic acid bacteria.
The result? Better digestion, clearer skin, more energy, sharper thinking, and much more!
3) Support Your Digestion With Enzymes
Digestive enzymes can be a huge help in resolving skin issues if you’re having problems digesting your food completely—which unfortunately is very common these days.
Your body produces its own digestive enzymes, but it may not be producing enough of them or all of the right ones, due to various factors like stress, nutritional deficiencies, etc.
But by taking a digestive enzyme supplement (one with betaine HCL and ox bile to ensure protein and fat digestion) at the beginning of your meals, and you’ll begin to experience more complete digestion and absorption of your macronutrients, which can lead to clearer, healthier skin in a matter of weeks.
4) Protect Your Skin’s Microbiome With Natural Soaps
Did you know that we have an entire microbiome on the surface of our skin? And that we have different types of bacteria and other microorganisms living in different areas of our body? For example, there are certain microbes that live in our belly buttons vs. our armpits vs the skin on our face or our scalp.
It’s not a pleasant thought for most of us, but just as the microbes in our gut are critical to our digestive and overall health, so are the ones living on our skin. So it’s important to treat your skin gently with natural skincare products that won’t strip your skin of its natural oils and won’t kill off all of the microbes living there.
I love our probiotic cleansing bar, as it does an amazing job of protecting the skin and supporting a healthy skin microbiome!
5) Purigenex Intensive Collagen Serum & Mask Kit
So many people ask me what’s my skin secret…do I get any fillers or Botox, and the answer is an emphatic “NO! I’m totally free of fillers, injections, laser treatments, facelifts, etc.!”
My favorite skin secret for the past 11 years has been applying Purigenex Collagen on my skin and now at almost 57 years old, my skin looks better than it did in my 40’s!
Our flagship Intensive Collagen Serum & Mask 8-week kit is medically engineered to be transdermally absorbed, with the world’s most highly purified form of collagen. It helps to reduce the signs of aging and dramatically improves cell turnover as it activates the body’s own collagen production.
Try adding my 5 skin favs into your life, and tell me if you start feeling and seeing a difference in a few weeks—vibrant, glowing skin, naturally…
And if you’re ready to learn more, click here to get free access to my Skin Secrets Mini-Series, where I reveal the exact steps that I took to heal my 2nd-degree sunburn in one hour and make my skin look 10 years younger!
Michael Dam
