Healthy Skin Smoothie Recipe for Eczema (shown on 7 News)
The Healthy Skin Smoothie recipe is designed to calm the itch and hydrate the skin. It contains vitamin C, zinc and ingredients that assist in the healing and repair of the skin.
This recipe is an old favourite of mine. I love the addition of banana as it makes it sweet without needing sugar or other sweeteners (and my eight year old son will actually drink it!).
It's also low in salicylates as salicylates can irritate eczema. This is why this drink is free of green ingredients such as avocado, spinach and green powders, which are rich in salicylates which can trigger itchy skin in more than 60% of eczema-sufferers (and we don't want that!). I'm hoping to get the word out about salicylates and eczema so people can check if they have salicylate-sensitivity - this can save them a lot of pain and itchiness. Anyway, back to the recipe ...
Pawpaw contains the digestive enzyme papain, which is used in some digestive supplements to aid protein digestion. Papain also kills parasites in the gut. After antibiotic use or a bout of illness you can eat a serve of pawpaw daily to promote recolonisation of beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract.
Bananas are a fibre-rich and nutritious energy snack. While most other fruits are acid-forming and rich in problematic chemicals, bananas have unique alkalising properties, thanks to their high potassium content. Bananas are salicylate-free, with the exception of sugar bananas which should be avoided as they contain both salicylates and amines (itchy chemicals). While they contain some amines, they also supply their own amine/histamine-lowering nutrients magnesium and vitamin C so this nutrient-dense snack should not pose a problem for those who are mildly sensitive to amines.
Note you can adjust this recipe to suit your allergies and intolerances. For example, if you are sensitive to banana or pawpaw (or amines) you can swap them for peeled pear (the only fruit which is low in both amines and salicylates). Pre-freeze a peeled banana to make a cold smoothie. For best results, drink daily for 4+ weeks - it really works!
Photo: Georgie adding Skin Friend AM to the Healthy Skin Smoothie on 7 News, aired July 29th, 2016.
INGREDIENTS (SERVES 2 ADULTS; PREPARATION TIME 5 MINUTES)
1 slice pawpaw, peeled and chopped (A)
11⁄2 cups chilled non-dairy milk of choice (see list, below)
1-3 teaspoons organic flaxseed oil
METHOD: Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend on high until smooth.
- Quality organic soy milk
- Organic oat milk
- Home-made chick pea milk
- Home-made cashew nut milk
- Organic rice milk
- Dairy - cow's, goat's and all kinds of animal milks. Dairy products are pro-inflammatory and contain a range of animal hormones (including estrogen), lactose and second-hand antibiotics, which can affect the health of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Coconut milk/water - coconut is rich in salicylates and amines/histamines which can trigger itchy skin and worsen eczema (in more than 60% of people with eczema).
- Almond milk - almonds are rich in salicylates and amines/histamines which can trigger itchy skin and worsen eczema (in more than 60% of people with eczema).
This recipe is from The Eczema Diet (Exisle Publishing) and is reprinted with permission. Watch the 7 News video by clicking on the photo:
UPDATE: The Eczema Detox is now Karen's most updated version and you can read more on the difference between these two books here.
Products
At Eczema Life, we recommend nutritionist Karen Fischer's low food chemical program (The Eczema Detox) along with additive-free supplements for skin health and wellbeing.