While many of us now understand that the gut contains probiotics which help us fight infections, prevent food allergies and autoimmune diseases, help us digest and assimilate nutrients, as well as many other functions, most of us do not know that the skin also contains probiotic cultures.
The ancient texts of Ayurveda stated that the probiotic cultures on the skin help you to receive pranic energy from the environment for keeping both the skin and the body healthy. They do this by transforming the lunar energy from the moon (known as soma) into Ojas (a compound which gives great strength and immunity).
The friendly bacteria on the skin also create a physical barrier function to protect the skin and at the same time prevent hazardous effects of environmental toxins, such as radiation, EMF’s, and chemical toxins. They also support immunity on the skin by preventing infections from growing on the skin. And they give the skin lustre and a healthy glow.
In much the same way you could develop autoimmune diseases and allergies if you lost the friendly bacteria in the gut, the same thing happens on the skin if they lose their friendly bacteria: you could develop autoimmune reactions on the skin such as all kinds of eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis. Here are some of the etiological factors which can destroy the friendly bacteria on the skin:
— use of antibiotics, both internally and externally on the skin
— skin care products containing parabens and other harsh chemicals
— chemical peels
— drinking too much alcohol
— eating processed and acidic foods
— eating or applying high sulphur containing materials
— too much sun exposure without healthy protection
— synthetic perfumes
How will you know if your friendly bacteria on the skin are in trouble? You’ll get the following symptoms: dryness, roughness, premature aging, recurrent infections, allergic reactions and autoimmune reactions on the skin and thinning and scaling of the skin as the skin loses its protective barrier of probiotic cultures. You could also develop premature wrinkles and an overall lack of glow on the skin.
So if we want to balance out these friendly bacteria in the skin and give them every opportunity to regrow, we have to first understand the influence of Vata, Pitta and Kapha in the skin.
Just like we need food to balance Vata in our bodies, the skin needs food to balance the Vata in the skin. The specific subdosha of Vata which supports healthy skin function is known as Vyana Vata. Lowfat diets, vegan diets, and intermittent fasting would make Vyana Vata go high, which could dry out the skin causing possible destruction of the probiotic cultures there. Keep in mind that Vata is the element of dryness and lightness, so a diet too dry or light could aggravate Vata and dry out your skin, starving the friendly bacteria in the process.
Second, the pitta, or heat in the skin needs to be balanced. The pitta subdosha associated with the skin is known as Bhrajaka Pitta. So to balance this we need to eat a pH balanced diet, one which is alkaline, and avoid processed foods, all of which create an acidic sweat which can burn the friendly bacteria on the surface of the skin. This is why coffee, alcohol, processed foods, deep fried foods, bad vegetable oils, onions, garlic and hot spicy foods can burn out your delicate probiotic cultures on the skin.
The final controlling factor of the skin, the lubricating factor, is Kapha, and the specific subdosha of Kapha which affects the skin is known as Shleshaka Kapha. Shleshaka kapha is nourished by mucilaginous type foods, spices and herbs. The best foods and herbs to nourish shleshaka kapha are slimy in nature, such as okra, marshmallow root, taro root, slippery elm, and arrowroot. Friendly bacteria love to eat these types of foods, which is why they are known as prebiotics. We also need to keep moisture and good fats in the skin by eating high quality pasture-raised non-homogenized boiled cow’s and/or goat’s milk, ghee, olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds.
So again, if you want to grow the good bacteria on the skin, you need food, moisture and a good environment to feed them. These fats and prebiotic type foods supply all 3.
Now this is important — if you lose the friendly bacteria on your skin, infection can develop — all kinds, such as fungus, bacteria, and viruses. The approach of modern medicine is to give antibiotics either internally or antibiotic creams used externally on the skin. But we have to be very careful when dealing with these delicate probiotic cultures on the skin. The trick is that we need to use a bacteriostatic approach, not a bactericidal approach.
Bactericidal means it destroys bacteria, both good and bad. Bacteriostatic means that you artfully want to create a good environment for the good bacteria to thrive while at the same time creating a bad environment for the bad bacteria. For example, we use special herbs, such as neem — it has the intelligence to kill the bad bacteria while keeping the good bacteria intact. But you still must be careful with neem — for example, neem oil can act like an antibiotic and be too potent and become bactericidal. So we use neem in formulas and teas, but surround it with cooling and lubricating herbs and spices to prevent its bactericidal effects.
This is why we have special clays made to absorb the acid toxins, some herbs to pacify the autoimmune reactions on the skin, herbs to bind the acid toxins and take them out, and herbs to clean the sweat. We also have to direct the toxins away from the skin and into the urine so the skin doesn’t have to take the load of too many acid toxins coming through it.
And the best news of all is that my teacher and mentor, Vaidya Rama Kant Mishra, whose specialty was Dermatology, spent several months developing prebiotic and probiotic creams for both the face and the body. These were very difficult for him to formulate to keep the probiotic cultures intact within the creams, but in 2011 he finally perfected it and I have been incorporating these creams in my practice ever since. As a result I have been able to treat very resistant skin infections and autoimmune conditions, such as MRSA, psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis and fungal infections.
So if you are suffering from some chronic skin infections or autoimmune reactions on the skin and are taking repeated doses of antibiotic creams, but the infections keep coming back, it is important for you to understand about the probiotic cultures of the skin and how to keep them intact so that you can fix your skin conditions both from the inside, by fixing the friendly bacteria in the gut, and on the outside as well, by providing a good environment on the skin so these delicate cultures can grow which will treat your autoimmune tendencies and skin infections by going to the root of the problem.
Thank you,