Exercise

Introduction

It's no secret that exercise is great for overall health. Exercising can help to manage weight, decrease cholesterol, blood pressure, and the overall risk of disease. It is an important component of any health plan. The below article covers specifically what exercise can do for both skin and gut health.

Exercise and Skin Health

A quick search on google suggests that exercise can be good for the skin. One study published in 2021 looking at skin moisturizing effects from exercise amongst Japanese university students found that increased activity habits may help to prevent dry skin.

A study published in 2023 suggested that aerobic training may be an effective anti-aging strategy for aging skin, although the authors set out in their study to better understand how resistance training supported the health of the skin by comparing the two.

Both resistance training and aerobic training were found to improve skin elasticity and upper dermal structure. However, the resistance training in particular was found to reduce both inflammatory factors that circulated within the skin and enhance the dermal extracellular matrices. What does this mean? Training with weights may decrease inflammation in the skin and also strengthen the cellular scaffolding that gives skin it’s structure. Essentially, skin may appear more youthful after one begins to exercise.

A letter to the editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology reported on a meta-analysis of research on skin outcomes following exercise. The analysis found that various forms of exercise (high-intensity aerobic exercise, calisthenics, vigorous exercise, and low-impact exercise such as walking) reduced skin thinning, decreased skin aging, reduced the risk of psoriasis, healed venous leg ulcers, and reduced the risk of skin cancers.

What’s important to note is that exercise does have an impact on hormones and tends to increase androgen hormone release. Androgen hormones include Testosterone, Androstenedione, DHEA, DHEA-S, and DHT. In addition, moderate to intense exercise may provoke an increase in circulating cortisol, which may be associated with oxidative stress. So, what does this mean? While exercise can be very supportive of skin health, if not done in balance, it could prove to be detrimental to skin health. What’s most important it seems is to have variety in an exercise routine. Mix weightlifting with aerobic activity throughout the week, have days and/or moments of high-intensity mixed with days and/or moments of low-intensity, and ensure you recovery days are built in. Also ensure that your diet is supporting your exercise routine. Make sure you’re eating enough and including healthy foods (plenty of fresh fruits and veggie, legumes, beans, whole grains, nuts, and water) in your week. Bottom line, recovery is just as important as the exercise.

The American Academy of Dermatology Association also has recommendations for protecting the skin during a workout because they suggest that working out may increase the risk of acne flares, skin infection, and other skin issues. They suggest the following when working out:

• Drink plenty of water before, during, and after your workout

• Avoid wearing makeup.

• Protect your skin from UV rays (choosing a product that says “non-comedogenic” or “won’t clog pores”)

• Choose fabrics that are moisture-wicking.

• Use a clean towel if you want to pat your skin dry after a workout.

• Disinfect shared equipment and clean your own equipment regularly.

• Use a cleanser that contains salicylic acid after working out.

• Avoid deodorant/antiperspirant that contains “aluminum chloride” which can clog, or block sweat ducts.

Exercise and Gut Health

Research has shown over the years that exercise can benefit the gut by increasing the number and diversity of different types of bacteria that reside within. Some research even suggests that exercise boosts the growth of specific types of bacteria like those that help to boost brain function and decrease depression and anxiety. Research also seems to show that exercise promotes a healthy gut microbiome regardless of other influences such as diet.

As usual, there is a caveat. A review published in 2021 suggested that while moderate endurance exercise reduces inflammation, improves body composition, and leads to positive effects on the gut microbiome, intense exercise may have the opposite effect. Intense exercise may increase the permeability of the gut (promote leaky gut) and diminish the thickness of the mucus in the gut, essentially inviting unwanted pathogens to enter the blood stream, thus causing inflammation. The report also goes on to state that training can both reinforce these effects or introduce new ones, meaning the body can learn to adapt to intense training without harmful effects in the gut, as evidenced in endurance athletes.

The same report goes on to say that the makeup of the gut microbiome can also effect sports performance. In the review, distance runners were provided a cocktail of probiotics and it was found they were able to run further before feeling fatigue.

Recent animal studies have also suggested that bacteria in the gut have the power to activate nerves in the enteric nervous system (the nervous system of the gut) which can stimulate the desire to exercise. This is a start towards explaining why gut bacteria have the potential to boost performance, however more high-quality human evidence is required to make a firm conclusion.

Another group of researchers looked at a similar mouse model. They took marathon mice (mice that are bread to be athletic and are considered super-runners) and they wiped out their healthy gut bacteria. Following the course of antibiotics, when the researchers gave them access to run freely, the usual mileage of the marathon mice fell steeply, averaging 21% less distance every day, and barely rebounding during the 12-day course of the study. How is this even possible that the gut microbiome would have such an effect on the desire to exercise? Research suggests that it is due to the gut-brain axis and specifically microbe species in the gut that have the ability to affect how much dopamine is released by the brain.

Much more research is needed to further understand how this works and also translate this evidence into humans. Be advised however, if you just don’t feel like exercising, maybe your gut health could use some fine-tuning!

Before you get too comfy blaming your gut microbiome for your lack of exercise, keep in mind this may be a chicken and egg situation. What came first; the lack of motivation to exercise or an imbalance in the gut microbiome? Fear not because scientists suggest that exercise may be its own best motivator. When someone works out, they have the ability to positively affect their microbiome, increasing and diversifying the species of bacteria present. So, maybe don’t wait for your gut health to be improved before you feel motivated to work out. Go work out and watch your motivation and enjoyment of exercise increase!

Some Ideas

The below are some ideas on how you can support the health of your gut microbiome, support your exercise routine, and therefore support the health of your skin and gut!

• Begin an exercise routine that includes low, mid, and high-intensity exercises. If you don't already exercise, start slow. Consider working with a trainer to get some ideas for a routine and work out a balance of different types of exercises that will best support you.

• Include weightlifting in your exercise routine.

• Eat more fiber (check out the fiber article in the Macronutrients section). Aim for 30+ grams of fiber per day and choose whole grains, seeds, nuts, beans, legumes, fresh fruits, and veggies.

• Add fermented foods to your daily routine like sauerkraut, kefir, and kimchi.

• Work with your doctor and dietitian to understand if a probiotic supplement is right for you.

Happy exercising!

References

Abbott. (2023, May 5). How Are Exercise and Gut Health Related? Retrieved from https://www.nutritionnews.abbott/healthy-living/active-lifestyle/how-are-exercise-and-gut-health-related-/

American Academy of Dermatology Association. (2021). How your workout can affect your skin. Retrieved from https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/skin-care-secrets/routine/workout-affect-skin

Clauss, M., Gerard, P., Mosca, A., & Leclerc, M. (2021). Interplay Between Exercise and Gut Microbiome in the Context of Human Health and Performance. Frontiers in Nutrition, 8:637010. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.637010

Cleveland Clinic. (2021). Androgens. Retrieved from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22002-androgens

DeCesaris, L. (2021, January 31). How Different Exercises Affect Women’s Hormones. Rupa Health. Retrieved from https://www.rupahealth.com/post/exercise-affects-on-womens-hormones

Hill, E. E., Zack, E., Battaglini, C., Viru, M., Viru, A., & Hackney, A. C. (2008). Exercise and circulating cortisol levels: the intensity threshold effect. Journal of endocrinological investigation, 31(7), 587–591. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03345606

McNamara, M.P., Cadney, M.D., Castro, A.A., Hillis, D.A., Kallini, K.M., Macbeth, J.C., Schmill, M.P., … & Garland, T. (2022). Oral antibiotics reduce voluntary exercise behavior in athletic mice.

Behavioural Processes, 199:104650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104650.

Monda, V., Villano, I., Messina, A., Valenzano, A., Esposito, T., Moscatelli, F., Viggiano, A., Cibelli, G., Chieffi, S., Monda, M., & Messina, G. (2017). Exercise Modifies the Gut Microbiota with Positive Health Effects. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity, 2017, 3831972. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/3831972

Nishikori, S., Yasuda, J., Murata, K., Takegaki, J., Harada, Y., Shirai, Y., & Fujita, S. (2023). Resistance training rejuvenates aging skin by reducing circulating inflammatory factors and enhancing dermal extracellular matrices. Scientific Reports, 13, 10214. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37207-9

Penn Medicine. (2022, December 14). Gut Microbes Can Boost the Motivation to Exercise, Penn Medicine Study Finds. Penn Medicine News. Retrieved from https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2022/december/gut-microbes-can-boost-the-motivation-to-exercise

Reynolds, G. (2023, March 8). Don’t feel like exercising? It could be your microbiome. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/03/08/exercise-microbiome-motivation/

Reynolds, G. (2023, August 6). For better skin, try lifting weights. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/08/02/younger-skin-weight-lifting/

Ryosuke, O., Yoshie, S., & Hiromi, A. (2021). The association between activity levels and skin moisturising function in adults. Dermatology reports, 13(1), 8811. https://doi.org/10.4081/dr.2021.8811

Yeh, C., Flatley, E., Elkattaway, E., Berger, L., & Rao, B. (2022). Exercise in dermatology: Exercise’s influence on skin aging, skin cancer, psoriasis, venous ulcers, and androgenic alopecia. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 87(1):183-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2021.07.023