The Dr. Hyman Show
Why Your Skin Is Begging You to Heal Your Gut First
Mon, 26 May
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Skin issues like acne, eczema, and rosacea are deeply connected to internal imbalances, especially those originating in the gut. It is important to explore diet—particularly sugar, refined carbs, and dairy—because it can drive inflammation, insulin resistance, and hormonal disruption, all of which contribute to poor skin health. Topical treatments and antibiotics may provide short-term relief, but they often disrupt the skin and gut microbiome, worsening conditions over time. A Functional Medicine approach focuses on restoring gut balance, identifying food sensitivities, and supporting detoxification pathways with nutrient-dense foods, supplements, and lifestyle practices. Addressing the root causes not only improves skin but also promotes systemic healing and resilience. In this episode, I speak with three of our doctors at The UltraWellness Center—Dr. Elizabeth Boham, Dr. Cindy Geyer, and Dr. Todd LePine—about why, when it comes to skin care, we need to look inside the body first. Dr. Elizabeth Boham is Board Certified in Family Medicine from Albany Medical School, and she is an Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner and the Medical Director of The UltraWellness Center. Dr. Boham lectures on a variety of topics, including Women’s Health and Breast Cancer Prevention, insulin resistance, heart health, weight control and allergies. She is on the faculty for the Institute for Functional Medicine. Dr. Cindy Geyer received her bachelor of science and her doctor of medicine degrees, with honors, from the Ohio State University. She completed residency in internal medicine at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y. and is triple board certified in internal medicine, integrative medicine and lifestyle medicine. Dr. Todd LePine graduated from Dartmouth Medical School and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, specializing in Integrative Functional Medicine. He is an Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner. Prior to joining The UltraWellness Center, he worked as a physician at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, MA, for 10 years. Dr. LePine’s focus at The UltraWellness Center is to help his patients achieve optimal health and vitality by restoring the natural balance to both the mind and the body. His areas of interest include optimal aging, bio-detoxification, functional gastrointestinal health, systemic inflammation, autoimmune disorders, and the neurobiology of mood and cognitive disorders. Dr. LePine enjoys skiing, kayaking, hiking, camping, and golfing in the beautiful Berkshires, and is a fitness enthusiast. This episode is brought to you by BIOptimizers. Head to bioptimizers.com/hyman and use code HYMAN10 to save 10%. Full-length episodes can be found here: Treating Acne From The Inside OutChoosing Skin Care Products that Won’t Make You SickTreating Adult Acne & Rosacea From The Inside Out
Chapter 1: What is the connection between skin health and gut health?
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What you're eating is so much more important than what you're putting on your skin.
Yeah.
You know, the food that you're putting in your mouth is so much more important than what topical things you're putting on your skin. And so it made us start to have this conversation, which I thought I was saying all the time, but that I think sometimes people don't realize or understand or the connection is not made.
That how important what you're choosing to eat every minute of the day, you know, how much that impacts your skin.
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Chapter 5: What are the dangers of common topical treatments for skin?
Chapter 6: How does stress impact skin health?
that's on our skin.
So wait, you have a microbiome on your skin is what you're saying.
I know, it's kind of cool, huh? Not only in our digestive system, but lining our skin. And so those medications, though they can be helpful in the short term, in the long term, they're damaging, they're getting rid of all of those good bacteria, which are really important first line of defense. And so then you create a dysbiosis or an imbalance in the good and bad bacteria on your skin.
And then that just makes you more prone to getting more acne in the future. So it may be okay in the short term, but it's not getting to that underlying root cause.
It's true. And so we put on antibiotics on the skin. We put on these agents that dry it out like benzoyl peroxide, which are most of these acne products. And if that doesn't work, we give people oral antibiotics, which not only describes the facial microbiome, but also the gut microbiome.
And what we know now in functional medicine and in medicine in general, if people paid attention to the research on acne, is a lot of it starts in the gut.
Yes.
So if I see someone with skin problems, the first thing I think of, what's going on in their gut?
Absolutely.
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