Dry skin and relentless itching are a very common problem, especially in the wintertime. It seems that the older you get, the more this becomes a problem, at least for most. What exactly is going on with your skin? We all know that wintertime tends to make it more prevalent, but why? Is it more than dry skin? Are there more implications to your overall well-being? Is there more to managing it than applying lotions, oils, and other topical remedies?
Dry skin, including dandruff by the way, is a very common problem in society especially in the winter. Myself, I have dealt with the issue since my high school years and to be honest, it just seems to get worse as I age. I see individuals that are older than myself dealing with it as well, and indeed, it seems to get worse and many times becomes quite debilitating for some. Dry, itching skin with flakes and cracked hands and feet. Some even develop secondary infections, requiring medications or even corticosteroids to aid in resolving the itch. There has to be more to the story, right? Indeed there is!
I’ve been like many, using lotions over the years and even special oils including coconut and Jojoba but with little improvement. In truth, many times the situation just got worse. As an alternative practitioner, I had to step back and question why? What became evident to me was that these oils were not only a surface remedy, but considering their nature, they were actually drying out my skin even more. Thus, the itching got worse, not better. In fact, if I skipped a day, my skin improved. It made sense and I had to change my ways.
Alternative medicine is pretty neat when you can grasp the concepts. In the world of Ayurvedic medicine, there are three doshas (vata, pitta, and kapha), which are somewhat like constitutions or body types and beyond the scope of this article. Ayurveda views us as being predominantly kapha in our infant and younger years, think about the pudgy babies with moderate body fat and plump skin. Then, as we grow into our teenage years, the fire inside of us and hormones surge. This is the pitta years and generally extends into our late 20’s. Then, we start to age and the vata years kick in. Vata is characterized by being a dry, cold, and very light quality. Thus, as we age, our skin becomes drier, looses its elasticity and begins to retract, thus the sunken eyes in the older folks and appearance of blood vessels as if the skin is transparent. Our body fat reserves start to fall off and allow the Vata quality to predominant, thus thinner or leaner body conditions as many age and the frailty of bones.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, dryness in the body from skin to constipation is viewed as being a ‘blood’ or ‘yin’ deficiency. Yin is the cooling and moisturizing aspect to the body, gained from proper fluid intake but also a proper diet that includes fruits and vegetables. Many of these proper foods contain low glycemic carbohydrates that are often very complex in their nature. They bind water in the body and in the digestive tract, helping to rehydrate the body but interestingly enough, these same complex carbohydrates have huge health benefits including immune function, energy, inflammation, and even cancer protection. Yin foods also benefit the female aspect to all of us, thus are heavily used for women to boost and support health but are also vital to men.
Okay, so what’s the deal with your skin? Well, if you have dry skin then more than likely your body is dry. Obvious yes, but most just view this dryness as being on the skin, but it goes much deeper. If the skin is dry, then the rest of your body is as well. This may mean constipation, a dry mouth, stiff joints, or even a slowed mind and lack of proper mentation which includes conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s or other general cognitive issues. Now, your body is ‘dry’ year-round, but the wintertime is just making it more evident or obvious. Wintertime is the Vata time of the year, cold, dry and light with winds. This Vata quality of the season brings out the Vata quality in you! But the problem isn’t just there in the winter. It is there year round, but the other seasons just pacify it. Like summer and humidity adding moisture and easing the issue.
Improving Your Dry Skin and Enhancing Your Overall Health from the Inside
Everything comes from within you. This could be a state of mind and accomplishing something or it could be resolving a health condition. The solution is within you not outside of you! This includes dry skin. Seems like it is an external problem, but the problem is inside of you, literally! The solution lies inside of your body. Fix the ‘inside’ and the ‘outside’ will improve over time, after all, it has taken years to get to this point, right??
How do you do this? Many options.
First, realize that if there is excess Vata quality, then we must pacify it or balance it. This means that we shift the body to the other two doshas or take in qualities that are the opposite. Thus, if Vata is cool, dry, and light in nature, we consume warm, moist, and more healthy and heavy foods. This may mean steamed vegetables instead of cold smoothies. Beetroot is a great example of a moisturizing food, especially when cooked, as are sweet potatoes. Both of these foods also tonify or improve the Yin status in your body, based on TCM. These are just two examples of foods that be consumed.
It is important to keep in mind that you need to analyze your entire diet. Why? Because more than likely you are eating a diet that is producing the situation or at least encouraging the internal and external dryness. If you drink sodas or drinks full of sugar and preservatives, then you are drying out your body. Coffee and teas, in excess, are also very drying to the body and stimulating. Excessive consumption of ‘hot’ foods loaded with spices will increase heat in your body and we all know that heat will evaporate moisture, right?? This is why some folks with constipation or signs of dryness often seem overly hot and often stimulated. Keep in mind also that other herbs may be drying or even heating to the body. This includes many adaptogens like Bacopa, Ashwagandha, and many others. While they are highly beneficial, they are also drying and thus, if your body is dry already, it may worsen. In fact, Ashwagandha can help to alleviate or balance that excess Vata in your body by adding warmth, but it can have a drying effect so sometimes it is best to combine with foods or herb from the list below. This also applies to other herbs like Turmeric or Curcumin and Boswellia, which are used for inflammation and joint pain.
In the world of alternative medicine, there are many remedies that aid in resolving the issue from the inside out and have been used for centuries to improve overall health. Many of these foods and herbs are viewed as being ‘blood’ or ‘yin’ tonics and vital to supporting overall health on many levels. Keep in mind that most of these foods and herbs are not just ‘food’ but have a tremendous impact on overall health. Many are well known in the world of research for benefiting digestive health and the microbiomes, curbing inflammation and pain, enhancing immune function, improving mental health and even enhancing metabolism and body weight.
Top Yin foods and Herbs include:
- Oils in foods or during cooking (olive oil)
- Salt added to diet (if no health conflictions)
- Nuts including almonds, walnuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds
- Bananas, pears, and other moist fruits
- Asparagus or Shatavari (Cur-OST Silver Shatavari)
- Beetroot (Cur-OST Silver Beetroot)
- Goji Berry (Cur-OST Silver Goji Berry)
- Lions’ Mane (Cur-OST Silver Lion’s Mane)
- Reishi or Ganoderma mushroom (Cur-OST Silver Reishi)
- Marshmallow root (Cur-OST Silver Marshmallow)
- Black Sesame Seed (Cur-OST Silver Black Sesame Seed)
- Wild Yam (Cur-OST Silver Wild Yam)
These herbs and foods can have a tremendous impact on your dry skin and your overall health and well-being. Keep in mind that due to their nature, they can loosen the bowels, so do not use them in excess. Pay attention to how your body is responding. Many individuals also have underlying coldness and weak digestion, which may make matters worse as it is hard to digest some of these herbs and foods. In that case, I highly recommend adding a little bit of Ginger root to your meals or herb regimen to increase natural heat and warmth for digestive support. Another great one to add outside of Ginger Root is Nigella Sativa or Black Cumin. This is a nice warming herb for digestion but also benefits stress and your mind, helping to ease tension in the entire body with huge health benefits.
Internal heat is another concept that plays a major role as we age and overall dryness. I’ll try to keep this brief and address it in more detail in future articles. Heat is something that is vital to our body and energy for cellular function, however, in some cases there is too much heat and this excess heat literally dries up moisture. Where does it come from? Many causes with an improper diet being one of them with overly dry foods and drinks, along with overly heating or stimulating ones. Additionally, emotions play a major role and the more tension in the body, usually the more heat as this energy that you are stagnating and not releasing causes internal friction and heat. Over weight individuals also tend to carry excess heat due to the fat stores but also a very sluggish digestion and circulation.
It is important to keep this concept of heat in mind with overall health. Signs include constipation, excess gas with a foul smell, bowel movements with foul smell, overall bad body odor, sweating for no cause, bad breath, reduced urine production or urine with a very concentrated color, agitation, foul mood, and temper swings. Any sign of a burning sensation in the body also eludes to the presence of heat, which includes skin problems, ulcers, erosions, and overt bleeding. This heat equates to inflammation essentially, but will cause major cellular damage in the long-term. Suggestions? Get moving! Circulate that energy and meditate, changing your mind concept and focus. Change your diet. Eliminate drying and stimulating foods and drinks. If you feel you need a ‘pick-me-up’ then this signifies major energy or Qi drainage from your body. This is not resolved by energy drinks or high caffeine loads. Eat more fruits and vegetables, and less simple sugars. Drink more water and not sodas. In regards to herbs, there are many that can help to cool down that internal heat and detoxify your body. Many of these herbs are viewed as being ‘Yin or moisture protective’ because through their cooling process, they reduce the drain on the Yin. Some are drying as well, which you need to keep in mind and replace that Yin along with it with herbs above. Many of these herbs also tout tremendous benefits on your mind and cognition, not to mention huge benefits on circulation, metabolism and overall health. They can be added to the Yin herbs mentioned above.
My favorite ‘heat reducer and Yin protective herbs’ include:
- Amalaki
- Gynostemma
- Gotu Kola
- Bacopa
- Lemon Balm
- Olive leaf extract
- Shatavari
When you change your regimen and overall diet, your whole body will improve! Dry skin becomes a thing of the past, skin becomes radiant, tendons and joints more fluid and free, and the mind is more willing to work.
Here’s to your health! It is all in your hands!
Author: Tom Schell, D.V.M, CVCH, CHN