Nourish your skin from within

By Halima Shaban

WHAt do you do to get a fresh skin? Reach out for oils and lotions to mask blemishes and spots or eliminate?

Neville Mandy, in his book Disease Free says: “If we are serious about having good skin, nourish it from within rather than from without.”

Dr David Ssali, a dermatologist at Dama Medical Clinic, says, those with bad skin should not ask: “How can I make my skin look good?” but rather, “what am I doing or failing to do that is causing me to have a bad skin?”

“The skin is a wonderful barometer of health,” he said. “If you are healthy, it glows. If your diet is incorrect, it may show blemishes or be oily or dry. if you have digestion problems, your complexion will be sluggish and muddy.”

Dirty system
Ssali says our internal organs get dirty and need cleaning. When we do not clean them, it can be reflected through skin problems and toxic related diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular arthritis and allergies.

“Our bodies, which are good housekeepers, naturally perform the process of eliminating neutralising toxins through the colon, skin, liver, kidneys, lungs and the lymph system.

“But over time, a variety of undesirable things like fats, mucus, old fecal matter, mineral deposits and toxic chemicals can accumulate in various organs and tissues of the body, affecting their operation,” says Ssali.

But, Ssali says the most important organ to look out for is the colon (large intestine) which is the body’s sewerage system. “If it is not looked after well, it can lead to most skin problems.”

WWW.keepwell.com reveals that poisons and toxins may get entrapped in your colon and become a breeding ground for bacteria. Blood capillaries lining the colon wall begin to absorb these toxins and poisons back into the blood stream.

“Blood then spreads the toxins to body tissues and organs, including the skin. This lowers the performance of our bodily functions and sets the stage for health and beauty problems,” Ssali says.

Symptoms
The symptoms will manifest in a multitude of ways, including sneezing, coughing, sinusitis, skin rashes, fever and diarrhoea.

Others include frequent unexplained headaches, back or joint pains, abnormal body odour, bad breath, coated tongue, food allergies, poor digestion, chronic constipation with intestinal gas, poor memory, anxiety, depression and chronic fatigue.

Ssali says this happens when you postpone visiting the toilet. Toxins ferment and decay in the colon. Some people eat all the time and do not give the colon a good rest in preparation for the next meal.

“Their colons are packed full like a sausage and colon muscles never rest because the colon is never emptied.”

The state of our stool is usually a very good indicator of the general state of our health.

“A normal person is supposed to visit a toilet twice a day and health stool should be light- coloured, airy, should float on water and should leave the body under minimal pressure,” Ssali says.

Remedy
Ssali says we must consistently keep our organs clean.

- Use pure water as the primary means of quenching thirst rather than tea, coffee or soft drinks. Water is the great cleanser of nature. Water helps eliminate toxins and reduce toxin build up.

- Avoid taking liquids with meals because they dilute the digestive juices, which hinder digestion.

- Eat largely natural unrefined foods that are free from preservatives, hydrogenated oils and other chemicals. Fresh fruits, whole grain products and steamed vegetables are useful.

- Adding certain supplements like fiber, vitamin C and other antioxidants, chlorophyll and glutathione to your diet can also stimulate detoxification.

- Move from an acid-generating diet to a more alkaline one. Acid-forming foods, such as meats, milk products, bread and baked foods and especially the refined sugar and carbohydrate products, will increase body acidity. This leads to more mucus production and congestion, whereas alkaline vegetarian foods enhance cleansing and clarity in the body hence a healthy skin.

- Herbs such as garlic, red clover, echinacea, or cayenne may also induce some detoxification.

- Spend time outdoors, either by exercising, relaxing or working in the garden. Sweating cleanses the pores of the skin to purify the body through enhanced skin elimination and niacin therapies.

- Rubbing your skin vigorously with a soft cotton towel after a hot bath. Natural fabric body brushes are also available for this purpose.