Shikha Gupta, a Hormonal Expert Nutritionist and a Health Coach who has done PG in Clinical Dietetics and Hormonal Healthcare Courses from IIM (USA) has worked for the last 10 years with top Bariatric Surgeons & leading hospitals in Mumbai. Today, Shikha has treated 2000+ patients across the globe. And hold a promising community of 121k+ people on Instagram.
Tried every treatment and remedy you came across to reduce your skin pigmentation? But no results?
Skin Pigmentation/Hyperpigmentation is a condition that makes some areas of your body darker than your actual skin tone.
It affects various parts of the body, like your cheeks, forehead, back, elbow and around lips etc.
There are many factors that can cause skin pigmentation. Some of them are listed below along with actions plan to correct them:
1. Insulin Resistance:Our skin is responsive to insulin. So, any changes in insulin are going to show up on your skin.
Skin pigmentation is one of the early signs of insulin resistance. It happens due to excess melanin (which provides pigment/tone to the skin) production. Melanin is sensitive to insulin.
So, higher the insulin levels due to insulin resistance, more the melanin production, and darker the skin becomes.
Action Plan:
a. Cut down on refined sugars, refined flour, milk, jaggery, and honey.
b. Have enough healthy fats in your diet like ghee, coconut oil, coconut, olives, nuts and seeds, and nut butters.
c. Be physically active.
2.Estrogen Dominance:Estrogen and Progesterone are important female sex hormones that regulate your cycles. If there is an imbalance between the two, mostly higher estrogen levels as compared to progesterone higher the chances of having skin pigmentation as skin is responsive to high estrogen levels and increases melanin production.
Action Plan:
a. Cut down on refined foods completely like refined oils, flour, salt, and sugar.
b. Avoid soya and its products.
c. Include lots of cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, radish etc.
3.SluggishLiver/Clogged Liver:Estrogen is continuously metabolized in the body. It is broken down in the liver before it is thrown out of the body. If your liver is sluggish or clogged it will not effectively break down the estrogen.
This could also be one of the reasons for estrogen dominance in women.
Action Plan:
a. Include lots of green leafy vegetables and bitter foods like bitter gourd, cruciferous vegetables, etc that supports liver health.
b. Have 1 glass of green vegetable juice every day for detoxification of the liver.
c. Avoid refined and processed foods completely.
4. Adrenal Fatigue:Adrenals are the glands that sit on the top of each kidney, and their primary job is to regulate Cortisol hormone (helps in managing stress).
But, if you are facing chronic and ongoing stress related to your work, home, relationships, etc for long periods, your adrenals become exhausted and produce low cortisol hormone resulting in Adrenal Fatigue.
Low cortisol levels lead to the release of ACTH (Adrenocorticotropic hormone)which further triggers high melanin levels causing skin pigmentation.
Action Plan:
a. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep.
b. Have lots of Vitamin C rich foods like amla, lemon juice, orange, broccoli, capsicum, etc.
c. Stay away from electronic devices an hour before going to sleep.
d. Work on managing your stress levels.
5. Thyroid Disorders: Some research studies show that thyroid disorders can cause a wide range of skin problems and one of them is skin pigmentation. It could one of the early signs of thyroid disorders.
Action Plan:
a. Maintain adequate iodine levels in the body as it is important for the proper functioning of the thyroid. Some good sources of iodine are eggs, cruciferous vegetables (in cooked form), sea vegetables, strawberries, and fish.
b. Watch your exposure to environmental toxins present in perfumes, soaps, cosmetics, cleaning agents used for the house, etc, as they block iodine from doing its job.
c. Avoid the consumption of soya and its products.
So, therefore you need to understand what is causing skin pigmentation and work on it to see improvement in your skin.
Without treating the root cause you cannot expect relief from this problem. Consider consulting your healthcare provider to know what is causing your skin pigmentation.
