Support Your Largest Organ – Your Skin

Did you know that your largest organ is your skin? And, do you realize the important role that this “wrap-around” organ plays in your life and your health?

In my naturopathic medicine studies I am learning more and more about the multiple roles that the skin plays.  It is one of the main organs that supports the release of toxins, with the state of toxicity being the main physical cause of dis-ease. It is important for you to keep the skin’s pores unblocked so that it can function easily in its innate ability to drain toxins, dead cells, and other chemicals from your body. I have noticed that whenever I use body lotions or creams I tend to notice a physical odor as well as occasional small red bumps on my skin as this important organ attempts to let go of normal acids and other wastes but finds the pores blocked by a lotion or cream.

The skin also serves to support the metabolism of squalene when in sunlight, as it synthesizes the solar energy to produce vitamin D rather than cholesterol.  Well-known cell biologist Dr. Bruce Lipton makes the analogy of the human body to the single cell body, where the outer skin of the cell keeps the outside environment out and the inside environment inside of the cell, while allowing communication in both directions. This metaphor makes sense, and it is up to us to keep this outer layer protected and healthy.

The skin communicates volumes  about your health and physical balance if you know how to read the messages it sends. I use these examples just as models that you might keep in mind as you notice any changes in your own skin texture.

1. When I was an adolescent I was stricken with horrible acne. It took years of investigation before I realized that I had an allergy to corn products, and to this day if I eat a meal cooked with corn oil I will have an acne break-out before I have even finished eating the affecting substance. This is the way that my body releases this food allergen as it also shows me that I have ingested something that it considers to be poison.
2. A friend suffered terrible hives all over his body for over six months following a colonoscopy procedure where his intestines had been scratched. When the toxins being removed through his intestinal track began to leach into his healthy system, the skin was not only the way that toxins were released, but it was also an indicator that he needed to take some conscious proactive steps to heal his condition. He limited his diet and introduced healing minerals in order to regain his health.
3. Recently I was with my 90-year old father for the first time in awhile and I was horrified to see that he had developed thick scales all over his body. He is on a combination of prescribed drugs, and it seems that his body is addressing these as though they are toxins in his system and trying to remove them. He has developed grey crusty layers on his hands, feet, arms, legs, back that are hard and sometimes break off causing him to bleed. They constantly itch and cause him discomfort.  Since he continues to overload his system with his daily meds the skin is currently unable to naturally dispel these poisons so they end up as layer upon layer of crusty scales. I wonder what the ramifications will be as his skin loses its ability to let go of both natural and self-induced toxins.

With society’s focus on beauty oftentimes over health, there are so many lotions, blemish cover-ups, body scents, make-up products, tanning creams, etc. that block the skin’s ability to do its job. If you focus first on de-toxifying your body and supporting your organs to let go of dead cells and other body toxins and residue, you will find that beauty will project from inside and you won’t need to lather on the layers anyway.

The most beautiful person I have ever met was a woman who was very conscious of her body and chose to give herself a daily enema to quickly clear out bodily toxins so that they were not held in the large intestine any longer than from the time they were formed. Her skin was spotless – no blemishes, moles, marks of any kind. She was a picture of health and beauty, and looked much younger than her chronological age. I am not endorsing daily enemas, but I would like to stress the importance of consciously supporting your body to detoxify itself easily and naturally using all of its innate abilities. And, supporting this biggest organ – your skin, is a good place to start!