How Trauma Affects your Gut & Skin

If you’re new here I’m going to start with the gut brain axis. If you aren’t new here you probably have seen my many posts or previous writings about the gut brain axis.

The gut houses trillions of microbes known as microbiome or microbiota. With a healthy balance of these tiny microbes comes a healthy immune system. But what happens with lifestyles, stress, food, etc these communities of microbiota can get disrupted which is then called “dysbiosis”. Dysbiosis leads to leaky gut and leaky gut is when the toxins pass through the protective lining of the gut, the lining of the gut protects the body from bad stuff passing through. When the gut becomes leaky - the inflammatory substances (like lipopolysacharides) are able to directly into the blood stream and cause chronic inflammation thus leading to chronic diseases.

Healthy microbiota produce things like short chain fatty acids that assist in regulating immune functions. So when there is dysbiosis there is likely a chance that the GI system is unable to produce these beneficial short chain fatty acids to help prevent disease and/or encourage and support healthy immune functions.

Trauma especially unresolved trauma deregulates our nervous system and in turn deregulates our microbiota. Trauma increases cortisol, there are cortisol receptors in the gut immune cells and enteroendocrine cells. Cortisol changes the gut microbiota by changing available nutrients which also impacts microbiota diversity.

Stress from trauma decreases blood and oxygen flow, increases digestive tract inflammation, disrupts the balance of the beneficial microbes in your gut.

I’m writing about this as a Whole Body Skin Therapist because of the gut brain axis and the gut skin axis thus the gut brain skin axis. But knowing how stress can affect your gut thus your skin is important in my efforts to assist people in taking of their skin and of course body in a holistic way.

As a certified Functional Medicine Health Coach I was trained in ways to regulate the nervous system to manage stress. As a certified Esthetician and nutritionist I'm able to coach you through your skin goals through whole body approach. To schedule an in person or virtual consultation click the button below!