Acne, Insulin Resistance & the Gut-Skin Axis: What Your Skin Is Actually Telling You About Your Hormones

In this episode of Below Her Surface, Lily sits down with Adrian Adams, naturopath and functional medicine practitioner at Fugen Health, for a return conversation that goes deeper into the clinical mechanisms behind hormonal skin conditions.This conversation pulls back the curtain on what the skin is actually communicating when it breaks out, holds congestion, or shifts in texture and oiliness. Lily and Adrian move past the topical, the serums, the retinols, the dietary generalisations and go into the specific pathways: how elevated insulin drives androgen output, how a constipated bowel recirculates oestrogen, and why women who have addressed their PCOS markers still find their skin lagging behind.In this episode, Lily and Adrian explore:Skin as an internal report card: why what presents on the surface is always a downstream signal of something systemic, and how to read itHyperinsulinemia and the androgen cascade: how elevated insulin changes cellular output in the ovary, drives testosterone, elevates sebum production, and creates the conditions for cystic acneDesquamation dysfunction: why acne is not just an oil problem, how skin cell shedding becomes dysregulated, and what vitamin A deficiency has to do with RoaccutaneThe gut-skin axis: how dysbiosis and constipation create a toxin recirculation loop that worsens insulin resistance and drives androgen excess back through the systemFoods that dysregulate skin cell turnover: the specific proteins in dairy, gluten, and peanuts that mimic growth factors and accelerate the conditions for blocked poresOestrogen detoxification via the bowel: why fibre, bowel motility, and stool frequency are non-negotiable in hormonal skin clearanceWomen's bowel biology: why women are structurally more prone to constipation, how the premenstrual bowel slowdown compounds the problem, and what to do about itVitamin A supplementation: when high-dose retinol is appropriate, what serum retinol testing looks like, and the two contraindications that matterFor the woman who has been told her skin is hormonal and handed a topical cream. There is a protocol below the surface.Adrian AdamsInstagram:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠@fugenhealthWebsite: ⁠⁠www.fugenhealth.com.auConnect with LilyInstagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @lilycook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apply to work with Lily⁠⁠⁠Clinical Disclaimer:This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The content shared by Lily Cook and guests reflects general education and professional experience, not a clinical consultation. Always consult a qualified healthcare practitioner before making changes to your health protocol, particularly regarding supplementation.