Have you tried everything for your skin — the serums, the elimination diets, the expensive creams — and still can’t shake the breakouts, dullness, or redness that keep coming back?
What if the answer isn’t in your bathroom cabinet at all, but in your bowel?
I know that might sound like a strange place to start. But as a gut health naturopath in Australia, after years of working with clients on complex gut health conditions, one of the most consistent things I see is this: when the bowel isn’t working well, the skin often isn’t either.
Let me explain why.
First, what does “not working well” actually mean?
Constipation is one of those words people use loosely, but clinically, it covers more than just not going to the toilet. You might be constipated even if you go every day. Signs include:
As a gut health naturopath in Australia, I draw on peer-reviewed research, including the Rome IV criteria — the gold standard framework for defining and classifying constipation.
- Stools that are hard, dry, or pellet-like
- Needing to strain to pass a bowel motion
- A feeling of incomplete emptying — like there’s more that needs to come out
- Going fewer than once a day, or less than three times per week
- Needing to use your fingers, press on your perineum, or use laxatives regularly to go
One in four Australians are affected by constipation — and chronic constipation in particular is one of the most under-investigated conditions I see in my telehealth practice.
As a gut health naturopath in Australia, I work with people every day who have been told their results are normal — yet something clearly isn’t right
Not sure if what you’re experiencing counts as constipation? My guide Get Things Moving walks you through the Rome IV criteria that clinicians use to define constipation — plus a simple at-home transit time test that reveals how fast (or slowly) your gut is actually moving. Get instant access here
What actually happens when your bowels aren’t cooperating?
When your bowel isn’t moving as it should, the effects ripple far beyond the bathroom. Here’s what’s happening beneath the surface.
Your microbiome shifts
Slow transit time changes the environment in which your gut bacteria live. Research shows that a sluggish bowel is associated with a reduction in beneficial bacteria — particularly butyrate-producing families like Lachnospiraceae and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii — while methane-producing organisms can increase. Methane itself further slows motility, creating a frustrating cycle that makes things progressively harder to shift.
Reduced butyrate means less fuel for the cells lining your gut wall — which brings us to the next problem.
Your gut lining becomes more vulnerable
Constipation is associated with increased intestinal permeability — what many people know as “leaky gut.” When transit is slow and the microbiome is disrupted, the integrity of the gut lining can be compromised. This allows substances that should stay inside the digestive tract to pass into the bloodstream, triggering low-grade systemic inflammation. This is one of the key mechanisms linking poor bowel health to symptoms that seem completely unrelated to digestion — including skin conditions.
The link between leaky gut and skin conditions like acne, eczema, and rosacea is one of the most compelling areas of emerging gut health research.
The gut-skin connection is real
The gut skin connection is now well-established in the research. Your skin is an elimination organ. When your primary elimination pathway — your bowel — is sluggish, your skin can end up bearing some of that load.
Chronic constipation has been linked to acne, eczema, rosacea, psoriasis, and dermatitis. This gut skin connection is one of the most common things I investigate as a gut health naturopath in Australia — and one of the most rewarding to resolve. I’ve seen this play out clinically time and again: clients who’ve struggled with skin issues for years finally get their bowel working properly, and their skin improves in ways no topical product ever achieved.
The downstream effects go wider still
Beyond the skin, a constipated bowel can contribute to:
- Hormonal imbalance — oestrogen that should be eliminated gets reabsorbed via the gut, which can affect cycle regularity, perimenopausal symptoms, mood, and more
- Mental health and sleep — the gut-brain connection is bidirectional; a struggling gut can contribute to anxiety, low mood, and disrupted sleep
- Energy and fatigue — reduced short-chain fatty acid production affects cellular energy at a fundamental level
- Bloating and abdominal discomfort — often a direct result of slow transit and microbiome changes
- Haemorrhoids and anal fissures — caused by chronic straining
- More serious complications over time, including faecal impaction and a researched association with increased colorectal cancer risk
And it tends to compound itself
The longer the stool sits in the colon, the more water is reabsorbed — making it harder and drier, and harder to pass. The natural urge to defecate weakens over time. Straining becomes the default. This is why addressing constipation early and understanding the why behind it matters so much.
What your gut health naturopath in Australia wants you to know
The good news is that constipation is rarely something you just have to accept. There are usually identifiable drivers — whether that’s diet, hydration, movement, gut microbiome imbalance, SIBO, pelvic floor dysfunction, stress, or something else entirely. As a SIBO naturopath and gut health specialist, I use microbiome testing, breath testing, and a thorough case history to uncover exactly which of these drivers is at play for you — because that changes everything about the approach.
Some places to start:
- Bowel positioning — using a footstool to bring your knees above your hips when sitting on the toilet puts your colon in a far more anatomically ideal position for elimination
- Hydration — aim for 2–3 litres of filtered water daily; constipation prevalence increases with lower water intake
- Fibre — both soluble and insoluble fibre play different roles in keeping things moving; helpful food inclusions include kiwifruit, flaxseeds, oats, dragon fruit, and berries
- Movement — regular physical activity has a direct positive correlation with bowel movement frequency
- Magnesium — magnesium bisglycinate or citrate can support the osmotic draw of water into the bowel and ease stool passage
- Vagal tone — your vagus nerve plays a key role in gut motility; practices like diaphragmatic breathing, cold water exposure to the face, and humming can help stimulate it
Want the complete evidence-based picture? Get Things Moving covers all of this in depth — including the 10 root causes of chronic constipation that are routinely missed (SIBO, gut microbiome dysbiosis, pelvic floor dysfunction, hormonal drivers, and more), the specific foods with the strongest clinical evidence for constipation relief, and foundational strategies you can start today. Every recommendation is backed by peer-reviewed research and drawn from real clinical practice as a gut health naturopath in Australia. [Download your copy for $37 AUD]
When self-help isn’t enough
If you’ve tried the basics and things still aren’t shifting, that’s a sign there’s something deeper to investigate. SIBO, pelvic floor dysfunction, microbiome imbalance, and a thorough case history can reveal drivers that self-help approaches simply can’t address — and this is where working one-on-one makes a real difference.
Get Things Moving includes a dedicated section on knowing when professional investigation is the right next step, and how to have that conversation with your practitioner. If you’re ready to get answers now, this is exactly what I do. As a gut health naturopath in Australia, I help people get to the bottom of what’s driving their constipation — and finally get things moving.
You can also support your bowel daily with [BetterMe Tea] — my naturopath-formulated herbal tea designed to promote healthy gut function and ease of elimination.