Published June 14, 2003 in the North Island Weekender
The skin is the largest organ of the body and is a real barometer for the health of the inside of the body. The color, texture and lesions of the skin all give clues of underlying deficiencies and organ weaknesses.
The most common skin complaint I see in the office is dry skin and I find that what tends to work the best is taking enough omega 3 and 6 essential fats. Many people are taking an essential fatty acid supplement but inadequate doses such as one or two capsules per day hardly amounts to one teaspoon of oil. High quality processing greatly reduces the chances of ingesting oil that has been exposed to air and light. Taking one tablespoon of Flaxoil alone or in combination with borage oil works wonders in about three months. My favorite brand of flaxoil is made by Flora, the one in a dark glass bottle. Children can take one teaspoon per day.
The second most common complaint I see is eczema, an itchy, rashy dermatitis that is often found on the inside creases of joints. The toughest case I had most recently was a baby of four months old who was covered in eczema. After three to four months of applying the flaxoil to the skin, having the baby ingesting small amounts and having the breast-feeding mom eliminate wheat and dairy from her diet the baby’s skin began to clear. It was hard going because it took so long, but the mother was very persistent and now the skin is 80% better. The possible cause in this situation aside from the genetic tendency, is that the mother may have had a long history of being deficient in essential fats in her diet. Another reason to have optimal nutrition before and during pregnancy.
Jacey, age 7, came into the office with eczema of her eyelids and a bumpy rash on the outside of her upper arms, a type of keratosis. I find keratosis very common in children and is attributed to vitamin A deficiency. I recommended that she take Carlson’s cod liver oil 1 tsp per day as well as eliminate wheat out of her diet. We also made sure that her general nutrition was good. It is important to that any cod-liver oil you take is purified as fish around the world are commonly contaminated with mercury, dioxins, and PCB’s. Carlson’s cod liver oil comes from Norway and every batch is checked for contaminants. Only rancid cod liver oil will bring back unpleasant memories of taking a foul fish tasting oil as a child! Jacey began to improve in one month.
John, age 70, came to me with a red rash that was like hives. I have seen these types of rashes clear very well with a yeast-killing program we call a candida program. The program I use is a very simple combination of grapefruit seed extract, garlic, acidophilus and a fiber along with a yeast and sugar free diet. Usually within three months this condition will be 80%-90% cleared. Many patients come in having tried such a program on their own and the results are not as dramatic and I believe this to be the difference in quality of the medicines and the time of day everything is taken.
Often teenage acne can be helped with grapefruit seed extract as it acts as a natural antibiotic.
In closing for general skin health it is important to keep hydrated with good quality water, avoid foods that contain bad fats such as margarines, avoid sugar and packaged foods that contain any number of chemicals as food additives and eat fresh vegetables high in color to provide anti-oxidants which are very good for the skin.
For aging skin I recommend creams that contain glycolic acid, DMAE, lipoic acid, Ester C as well as a good anti-oxidant supplement and I recommend PABA free sunscreen.
Dr. Pincott has been practicing naturopathic medicine since 1985 and is currently practicing in Campbell River. She can be reached at (250) 286-3655 or www.DrPincott.com