Hey friends, Gubba here.
Growing up, my diet was… not great. I thought fat was the enemy, so I filled my plate with low-fat, processed foods and thought I was being healthy. I remember being taught in health class that eggs were “bad” because they were full of cholesterol. Can you believe that? Looking back, it feels like such a failure in the education system.
But here’s the truth: fat isn’t the enemy. And those “low-fat” labels? They were usually slapped on foods full of sugar, seed oils, and chemicals. That way of eating didn’t make me healthier—it made me sicker, and my skin showed it.
We’ve all heard the phrase “you are what you eat.” But what if I told you that your skin—the way it glows, breaks out, or ages—is one of the clearest reflections of that truth?
Think about it: teenagers today are eating more processed food than ever before, and acne is more common than ever. Is that really a coincidence?
For years, I thought skincare was all about what I put on my face—creams, serums, toners. You name it, I tried it. But no matter how much money I spent, my skin was still dull, reactive, and breakout-prone. My younger self struggled because I didn’t understand this one truth: your skin isn’t just a surface to be polished—it’s a mirror of what’s happening inside your body.
The Gut–Skin Axis: Why Internal Health Shapes External Glow
Your skin and your gut are more connected than most people realize. Scientists call this relationship the gut–skin axis.
When your gut microbiome—the trillions of bacteria in your digestive tract—is imbalanced, it triggers systemic inflammation. And where does inflammation love to show up first? Your skin.
A 2021 review in Frontiers in Microbiology confirmed that gut dysbiosis (imbalanced gut bacteria) is strongly linked to acne, eczema, and rosacea.
When your gut is balanced, your skin benefits with fewer breakouts, more resilience, and a natural glow.
The Antibiotic Connection
Here’s an important piece most people miss: medications like antibiotics absolutely wreck your gut microbiome.
Why? Because antibiotics don’t discriminate. They kill the harmful bacteria but also wipe out the beneficial bacteria your body depends on for digestion, immunity, and skin health. This leaves your gut vulnerable to imbalance, inflammation, and overgrowth of “bad” microbes.
Since your skin and gut are connected, this disruption often shows up as acne, dryness, or unexplained irritation.
That’s why it’s so important to rebuild your gut with probiotic-rich foods, whole ingredients, and avoiding unnecessary antibiotics. Your skin will thank you for it.
Foods That Harm Skin
Seed Oils and Oxidative Stress
Modern diets are flooded with seed oils—canola, soybean, corn, sunflower, safflower. These oils are unstable and prone to oxidation.
When they build up in your skin cells, they make your skin more vulnerable to UV damage, inflammation, and premature aging.
A 2019 study in Free Radical Biology and Medicine showed that oxidized seed oils accelerate skin damage under sunlight, making you burn faster and age more quickly. Isn’t that interesting? The sun isn’t the real problem—it’s the unstable oils in our diet that amplify the damage.
This explains why people eating seed-oil-heavy diets often struggle with chronic skin irritation and sensitivity in the sun.
Processed Sugars and Breakouts
Sugar spikes insulin, which increases sebum production and triggers inflammation. A 2007 clinical trial published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that participants who switched to a low-glycemic diet saw significant improvement in acne.
So yes, sugar doesn’t just show up on your waistline—it often shows up on your face. Sugar is also addictive, beware!
Packaged Foods and Hormonal Chaos
Most packaged foods are filled with preservatives, additives, and hidden seed oils. These disrupt hormones, and hormone imbalance is directly tied to acne, melasma, and even premature aging.
Foods That Heal Skin
The good news? Just as food can harm your skin, it can also heal it.
Grass-Fed Butter, Raw Milk, and Pasture-Raised Eggs
These are loaded with fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, which are critical for collagen production, cell repair, and youthful elasticity.
A 2012 study in Dermato-Endocrinology showed that vitamins A and D play vital roles in skin immunity and repair.
On my homestead, I’ve seen firsthand how swapping seed oils for real fats—like butter, milk, and eggs—creates visible improvements in skin health.
Collagen and Amino Acids from Meat and Bone Broth
Your skin is literally made of collagen. Bone broth provides the amino acids glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, which rebuild collagen and keep skin elastic.
The best part? Bone broth is easy to make from scraps you’d normally throw away. Here’s how I do it.
Fermented Foods for Gut Balance
Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir, and kimchi flood your gut with probiotics. A balanced microbiome reduces systemic inflammation, and that often translates into calmer, clearer skin.
Personally, I love kefir. It has the texture of a smoothie and gives your gut a boost of probiotics in every sip.
Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables
Nature gives us exactly what we need at the right time.
- Summer berries and cherries = antioxidants to protect against UV stress.
- Tomatoes = lycopene, which reduces sunburn.
- Leafy greens = carotenoids that shield against oxidative damage.
Eating with the seasons isn’t just a quaint homestead practice—it’s real skin medicine.
How Food and Skincare Work Together
Here’s the trap many fall into: some believe diet alone can fix skin, while others think skincare products alone will do it. The truth? It’s both.
Your skin thrives when it’s nourished from the inside with whole foods and protected on the outside with non-toxic, nutrient-dense skincare.
That’s why I always recommend pairing a healthy diet with Arvoti’s Whipped Tallow Balm. Just like butter and eggs feed your skin internally, tallow balm feeds it externally—with the same stable fats and vitamins your skin recognizes.
Why Tallow Balm Is Essential for Complete Skin Health
Think of your diet as the foundation of a house. Strong, yes—but a house isn’t complete without walls and a roof. Tallow balm is that finishing structure for your skin.
Even with a nutrient-rich diet, your skin still faces:
- Environmental toxins in the air
- Harsh weather (wind, cold, sun)
- Stress that depletes antioxidants faster than food can replace them
Tallow balm provides direct nourishment at the surface, sealing in hydration and protecting against damage. Its fat-soluble vitamins and stable lipids immediately:
- Strengthen the barrier
- Calm redness
- Lock in moisture
- Guard against free radicals
Inside + outside = real skin healing.
That’s why I use my Arvoti’s Whipped Tallow Balm daily, along with my oil cleanser and serums. My diet lays the groundwork, and tallow balm finishes the job.
My Personal Experience with Diet, Skincare, and Tallow
Once I cut out seed oils, processed foods, and sugars—and focused on seasonal, ancestral foods—my skin began to shift.
But the real transformation came when I paired that diet with my tallow balm. My skin didn’t just look softer or more hydrated—it became resilient, balanced, and truly healthy. No store-bought cream ever gave me that.
That’s the power of living in alignment with nature: choosing real food for the inside and real skincare for the outside.
5 Frequently Asked Questions About Diet and Skin
Q1: How long does it take to see skin changes from diet?
Most people notice improvements within 4–8 weeks, but full skin turnover takes around 3–4 months.
Q2: Do I need to cut all seed oils to see results?
The less, the better. Even drastically reducing them while adding nourishing fats makes a big difference.
Q3: Can food alone replace skincare?
No. Food builds the foundation, but topical care protects and strengthens the barrier. Both are essential.
Q4: Are supplements as effective as whole foods?
Supplements can help, but whole foods deliver nutrients in the right ratios, with cofactors for absorption. Whenever possible, choose whole foods first.
Q5: What’s the best “starter swap” for better skin through diet?
Replace seed oils with butter, tallow, or olive oil. That single change can dramatically reduce inflammation in your skin.
