“The skin and gut are both parts of the immune system – a huge complex network of cells, organs, proteins and antibodies (known as immunoglobulins) designed to prevent your body from invasion by bacteria, viruses and parasites,” explains Glover.

The skin is the body’s largest organ, so it makes sense that it might be linked to the gut, given how widespread the impact of gut health is thought to be.

“Like our gut microbiome, our skin microbiome is a special ecosystem that is responsible for ‘controlling’ our skin. It is made up of a community of organisms that live on the skin including bacteria, viruses and fungi,” Glover says. “Just as there can be bad bacteria present in the gut, bad bacteria can also be found on our skin, with reportedly 1,000 different bacterial species and up to 80 different fungi species. Bacteria such as staph, strep and candida, commonly found in our gut, can also be found on our skin.”

“Scientists have found that people with acne-like rosacea tend to react to certain bacteria (eg bacillus oleronius), which can cause the immune system to overreact,” she adds, explaining that this, in turn, affects our gut health.

Gut-skin axis: an expert explains how gut health can impact the skin