Chris: Well, what I would say is that low stomach acid is a risk factor for SIBO because if the proteins aren’t broken down in the food we eat and the carbohydrates aren’t broken down adequately, then that can create an environment that’s more hospitable for bacterial overgrowth. And then that SIBO bacterial overgrowth or other, or despite this or other issues that can happen as a result, usually not exclusively because of stomach low stomach acid, but as one contributing factor, then those conditions are really what are driving often acne rosacea and other skin conditions. And it may in part be nutrient deficiency. I wrote an eBook a while back, as well a series of several posts, on the nutrients that are required for skin health, and there are a lot of them. It’s easy to see how just a deficiency of any of those could be problematic for skin. Maybe Lyndsey can link the website or directly to the eBook about the series of articles or the eBook.
I think in most cases it’s actually more the inflammation that’s caused by these GI conditions that is driving the acne rosacea. The skin is the biggest organ in the body. It’s always good to remember that. When there is inflammation in the body, the skin will often be affected for that reason.
There’s also research that shows that inflammation in the gut and elsewhere can contribute to leaky skin in the same way that it contributes to leaky gut. The skin is a barrier system just like the gut and when that barrier becomes inappropriately permeable, then it opens up the possibility of bacterial pathogens. As you know, acne is associated with a bacterium. It opens up the door for those bacterial—infection may not be the right word, but a kind of dysbiotic condition in the skin to happen, which leads to acne rosacea and also other skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. There’s also, I wrote in an article a while back and did a podcast on the gut–skin connection, so maybe, Lyndsey, you can dig those up and post links to those as well.