What can I eat to prevent my eczema?
FAQ: “Can you suggest what I should eat and avoid to heal my eczema?”
Karen Fischer, nutritionist from the Eczema Life Clinic says, "While everyone has different allergies and food requirements, we recommend going on a modified diet for 12-weeks.
More than 50% of patients with eczema have undiagnosed salicylate sensitivity and eating salicylate-rich foods makes them incredibly itchy. So it makes sense to begin on a low-salicylate diet to allow the body to heal, then re-introduce the foods and expand the diet."
Best foods for eczema
The best foods for eczema include ones that contain no salicylates or are low in salicylates, amines and MSG (glutamates). Once these foods have been avoided for a period of time*, it is easy to diagnose salicylate sensitivity, with a series of food challenges. {*12-weeks or more for people with severe eczema.}
Karen says "We are seeing a lot of new eczema patients with symptoms such as loss of hair and eyebrows, cracks at the corners of their mouth, poor sleep (insomnia), itchy skin and dry flaking skin and these are common nutritional deficiency signs."
"We recommend The Eczema Diet and a product called Skin Friend which offers nutritional support for people with skin inflammation. Skin Friend helps to correct underlying nutritional deficiencies that could prevent their eczema from getting better. After taking Skin Friend for a month, patients have reported renewed hair growth, less inflammation, softer skin, healing of mouth ulcers and cracks around the mouth, and their skin is no longer itchy."
Some of the best foods to heal eczema are low-salicylate fruits and vegetables, including red cabbage, pawpaw, peeled pears, peeled white potatoes, shallots, brussels sprouts, mung bean sprouts and garlic.
{Click here for access to the complete list.}
Worst foods for eczema
Some of the worst foods for eczema are the ones rich in three chemicals - salicylates, MSG and amines. These foods include tomato, grapes, broccoli, Chinese takeaway foods and many sauces.
Consuming yoghurt, soy sauce, fermented soybeans, chocolate, cheese and coffee causes a worsening of eczema symptoms, according to a Japanese study published in the Journal of Dermatology. After avoiding these foods for three months all the participants in the study had significantly reduced eczema symptoms.
For the complete food lists for eczema, sign up to our website for a free copy of the Complete Salicylate Food Charts {Click here} >>