Our Philosophy

The Beauty Chef was founded on the philosophy that ‘beauty begins in the belly’®. We believe that health and beauty are inextricably linked and that, when we are healthy on the inside, your skin radiates a natural glow that no amount of cosmetics can replicate. The first step to healthy, radiant skin is balancing your digestive health.

“It doesn’t sound very glamorous but the gut is where the seeds for health and beauty are planted”, says Carla.

“Clear, radiant, glowing skin and general wellbeing occur when you cultivate healthy gut flora and feed your body nutrient-dense food,” she says.

If you are not eating well, or more importantly, not digesting your food well, then your skin will not be receiving the nutrition it needs to keep it healthy and glowing.

Your skin, body and microbiome need to be nourished properly with amino acids, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, antioxidants, prebiotics and probiotics; all of which can be obtained from unprocessed wholefoods as well as easily-digested and assimilated lacto-fermented foods.

Carla believes that food has a medicinal effect on your body. “It doesn’t just feed your cells. A healthy diet rich in prebiotics and probiotics also feeds the good microbes in your gut where 70 per cent of your immune system resides. Thus your immune system is influenced by the microbes contained in your food”.

“The gut is where you make neurotransmitters, metabolise hormones, neutralise pathogens, eliminate toxins and manufacture nutrients. So the state of your microbiome has a profound impact on your mood, weight, skin, immunity and overall wellbeing”.

Research shows that friendly probiotics such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria promote gut immunity (therefore reduce the severity of skin allergy conditions such as eczema), reduce skin inflammation (a leading cause of prematurely ageing skin), boost cellular antioxidant capacity, defend the lining of the intestine, increase the bio-availability of nutrients and improve the assimilation of nutrients such as amino acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Prebiotics and probiotics, found in all of The Beauty Chef’s products, work together synergistically to improve gut health and boost your immune system.

Prebiotics are non-digestible food fibres that help boost the growth of friendly bacteria by feeding them.

Probiotics are live bacteria (and yeasts) that are beneficial to your gut health and overall health. Probiotics also support your body’s detoxification and elimination pathways. They directly neutralise certain chemicals and toxins so that they don’t have to be processed through the liver. This helps to ease the burden on your liver and skin. A happy gut means a healthy immune system, healthier bowels, healthier skin and better absorption of nutrients.

‘Beauty begins in the belly®’ is the holistic cornerstone for The Beauty Chef’s nutrient-dense, wholefood, probiotic and prebiotic inner beauty remedies formulated to support gut health and feed skin from within.

“For good health, the gut requires a proliferation of good bacteria, which can be found in abundant supply in fermented foods,” says Carla.

More and more research is linking skin issues to the disruption of normal gut flora. Carla says, “where there is gut inflammation, there will be skin inflammation and a decline in collagen and elastin”. Studies are also showing that people who have a healthier gut microbiota have a healthier fatty acid profile in their skin, which she says, “means their skin is more hydrated, plump and radiant”.