Dry skin on keto

[kasper]

One thing that worked for me on zero carb when the skin around my eyes was really dry was to add a little starch (rice or potato). it works because the mucus lining inside the gut has been lost because of the lack of starchy carbs. Please don’t ask me why that has an effect on your skin but in my experience it does. Good luck.

[shawnkuplin]

I’ve actually thought of this. I remember Richard talking about losing mucus, and my allergies and now very occasional colds are severely less noticeable with keto, which points toward this. I’ve become totally afraid of starchy veggies and non keto foods, though. I’ve been totally compliant for almost 2 yrs. Maybe, I need to see if I can stay keto with the minimum effective dose.

[shawnkuplin]

I looked it up, and will give it a try. How did you use it when zero carb? Mix it with drippings to get a gravy? Thanks so much!

[JustPeachy]

One year, a couple years into ZC, my skin went dry. On an educated hunch after browsing around and reading various things, I started supplementing iodine, using several drops a day of Lugol’s in water. The dryness went away very soon after and never came back. I discontinued the iodine after a couple months.

I suspect that a lot of our food supply is iodine depleted, particularly out here in the Midwest.

My skin had always been notoriously lousy, even as a child. Once I began supplementing with Iodine, all of the dryness, cracking, ridges in my nails, dandruff etc. began clearing up, healing from the inside if you will. I just wish I’d been supplementing years ago instead of spending decades of money on lotions and soaps that never worked. I believe people are more deficient than they suspect.

[sethro77]

Have you considered looking at your lipid ratios? As in how much of the fat your consuming is monounsaturated, polyunsaturated (omega 6 or omega 3), or saturated? You want a good amount of monounsaturated fats in your diet as these will further reduce inflammation and reduced inflammation will help with dry skin issues … This can make a huge difference in skin moisture… Also… Electrolyte balance… Make sure your potassium to sodium ratio is adequate or this can also lead to dry skin… Just two quick ideas/ tips off of the top of my head… Oh… And the obvious… You have to consume more water than usual on keto as the lower insulin does cause your body to flush sodium and water leading to dehydration if you don’t keep up your water Intake.

[CampWoman]

We are in British Columbia, Canada. I think age has a lot more to do with it than keto. If anything since switching to the keto lifestyle, I’ve had less break outs, less eczema (almost nil), less inflammation and very clear/healthy skin. My asthma I’ve had since childhood has virtually disappeared and no fluid in my lungs. I’ve been told I’m glowing.

What I use in the winters (Jan to Mar only) is pure shea butter in tiny amounts. I’m on the go most of the time 6 days a week and one application in the morning lasts all day. I sometimes dab on a little after a shower in the evenings but I have no issues with broken or dry skin. Just putting this out there in case it helps anyone else.

[Aqua_chonk]

omega 6 or omega 3

This.

I realized my ratio of 3 to 6 sucked so now I down 4 teaspoons of cod liver oil every morning just before the Daily Keto Latte and do my best to get at seafood whenever I can.

[atomicspacebunny]

Wanted use the latest response to update thread on keto and itchiness & dry skin:

Video by Dr. Berg and itchiness on keto.

Most of the itchiness looks more centered around natural sources of B vitamin (I use brewers yeast as my primary organic source of B’s) deficiency or depletion along with potassium?

The other most notables mentioned by Berg is amount (70% calories of dietary fat does not equal 70% volume) of fat being consumed and its connection to the liver and bile production[1] and the bodies physiochemistry not being accustomed to these dietary fat changes as to overwhelm the liver and gallbladders limited production of bile (cholestasis[1]) with too much dietary fat in the beginning transition stages (maybe even later if too much fat is overwhelming the liver and the gallbladders production of bile?) into keto and that is going to reflect on the skin in the way of itchiness, there is a very very tight connection between liver, bile, cholesterol, sun exposure (photosynthesizing cholesterol into vitamin D) skin health and itchiness?

Bile is like the bodies laundry detergent (berg) what breaks down the fat when it meets the mucosal barrier in the small and large intestines thus accumulating in the skin[1]; hence itchiness?

Are You Itching on a Ketogenic Diet?

References:

[1] “…The skin itches, possibly because bile products accumulate in the skin. …” …Merck Manual