It’s rare, but sometimes TCM herbal medicine patients see little or no improvement in their skin symptoms after several weeks or months of treatment. When this happens, we need to investigate whether or not your body is absorbing and metabolizing your herbal formula properly. There is a chance that your treatment failure could be due to nutritional deficiencies resulting from an internal imbalance or a functional problem in your digestive system.
That’s why your TCM doctor or dermatologist may recommend that you also see a licensed nutritionist who is familiar with how nutrition and digestion impact skin health.
Not All Nutritionists Are the Same
It’s important to note that the term “nutritionist” is unregulated. That means people can call themselves a nutritionist whether or not they’ve had any experience or training. It’s also why the person giving advice on Instagram or in an online coaching program may not be the best choice.
That’s why it’s critical to seek out a nutritionist with the credentials of RDN (registered dietician nutritionist), CNS (certified nutrition specialist), or LDN (licensed dietician nutritionist), and one who has experience in working with patients suffering from skin conditions like eczema, TSW, psoriasis, or acne.
What A Nutritionist Considers
A good nutritionist will look at what is going on inside your body to investigate why your body may not be receiving the nutrition it needs. They will most likely ask for a blood, stool or other medical lab test to provide them with the information they need.
What are they looking for? They’re checking for nutrient levels, inflammation markers like cytokines, evidence of parasites or mycotoxins, the health of your kidney and liver function, and what’s happening in your gut microbiome. All of these factors can contribute to whether your body is able to absorb the right amount of nutrients from your food.
In addition to assessing lab tests, your certified nutritionist will take a comprehensive health history to find out what else may be contributing to your current condition. For example, you may be taking another medication that depletes a certain nutrient. You may have been exposed to mycotoxins in a moldy environment, or traveled somewhere that is known to be a risk for parasitic infections. Perhaps you’ve experienced a change in your environment or diet that is triggering an allergic or inflammatory reaction. Your history will provide the clues.
Once they see what is going on in your body, your nutritionist can get to work on helping you correct any systemic imbalances. Once your system starts to rebalance itself and receive the right nutrients, your cells can do the job they were meant to do. And once your cells are finally getting what they need nutritionally, you may find that your skin symptoms start to resolve on their own, or are more responsive to TCM herbal medicine.
What You Can Expect During Your Treatment Process
After considering your health history and lab work, your nutritionist might prescribe specific probiotics, supplements, or herbs. The supplements you receive will be targeted and prescribed at therapeutic levels much higher than what you could receive from food alone. Certified nutritionists will usually recommend high-quality supplements made by reputable companies that you can trust. And if you have a hard time swallowing pills, you can ask your nutritionist for powders, liquids, or capsule formulations that can be opened up and added into a protein shake.
You may or may not be given a specific diet. Not all nutritionists ask you to give up specific foods unless you have an allergy. In fact, they may ask you to simply add key foods that you’ve been missing in your diet. If you suffer from food sensitivities, it’s possible that correcting your digestive function and gut microbiome may actually help you enjoy those foods again over time as your system heals.
Your nutritionist may also recommend lifestyle changes such as breathing exercises (oxygen is a nutrient, too!), sleep adjustments to help you get the restorative rest you need, as well as tips to help you better manage stress.
Conclusion
Just like TCM herbal medicine, the treatment you receive from a licensed nutritionist has the power to rebalance your entire body, not just reduce specific symptoms. It’s worth working with a nutritionist no matter what other protocols you’re currently using, especially if you’ve found your condition unresponsive to other treatment.
NOTE: Because Amethyst’s client base is international, we often refer to nutritionists like Jennifer Fugo, MS, LDN, CNS, as she and her associates work online and can accommodate an international client base like ours.
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About the Author
Olivia Hsu Friedman, LAc, Dipl.OM, DACM, Cert. TCMDerm, is the owner of Amethyst Holistic Skin Solutions and treats Acne, Eczema, Psoriasis, and TSW. Olivia treats patients via video conferencing using only herbal medicine. Olivia is Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Acupuncturists, serves on the Advisory Board of LearnSkin, and is a faculty member of the Chicago Integrative Eczema Group sponsored by the National Eczema Association.