My, what beautiful Skin Flora you have

When we are talking about healthy aging here at Qi, we look at both external and internal influencers. Skin Flora is a hot topic around here, and it is affected externally and internally.  

Externally the Qi beauty system addresses skin flora, inflammation and damage to trigger natural  repair. 

1. Facial Treatment - Normalising skin pH, triggering biological activity to stimulate skin repair
2. DIY Home Kit - Triggering the organic healing response for biological repair and normalising skin pH. 
3. Products - Natural and Organic ingredients contain essential vitamins, minerals and nutritional support to feed, nourish and protect the skin.

After this, we look at skin flora internally_ skin irritants, allergens, or triggers that may be effecting the skin due to diet and lifestyle. To do this, we look at the guts microbiome.  

Studies reveal that the guts microbiome has a systemic impact on the body, and has an affect on the flora of the skin. These studies suggest that prebiotics and probiotics have the ability to boost the antioxidant capacity of cells to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation - a key process in combating chemical oxidative stress that contributes to accelerated aging. Pre and probiotics that boost the gut microbiome have been shown to assist balancing the flora of the skin and improve the skin barrier function, thereby improving the function of the skin, the formation of anti-aging compounds, Collagen I and III, Elastin and Laminin.  

To naturally balance the gut microbiome all we need to do it maintain a low GI diet*. High GI foods can contribute to compromised gut flora causing oxidative stress, cellular inflammation, and weakened skin barrier function. Inflammatory skin conditions such as acne, rosacea, psoriasis, and eczema have been linked to an imbalance in skin flora, and the guts microbiome. For some people, allergens may induce the same inflammatory response.  

The study also suggested that natural ways to reduce the affects of inflammation triggered by an imbalance in gut and skin flora are diets containing fish, shellfish and other sources of natural Omega 3, high levels of fatty acids like those found in avocado and Olive Oil, and Antioxidants from tea and vegetables. 

GI - Glycemic Index is the rate at which a food impacts blood sugar. Ideally, we want to consume foods that release sugar slowly (GI index of 55 or lower) to maintain stable insulin levels and minimise oxidative stress on the body. 

Keywords: Gut microbiome, glycemic index, collagen III, Low GI diet, GI Index, Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, aging, gut flora, skin flora,