5 Foods to Avoid if You have Eczema

It doesn’t seem that conventional medicine puts enough emphasis on specific dietary advice when it comes to alleviating or preventing certain conditions and diseases. One particular application that diet can have a profound effect on is skin health. Yes, taking care of your skin from the outside in using such tools as good natural soap, skin toner, peels, creams, and other moisturizing/cleansing/antibacterial practices is essential.

However, what you put in your body is just as important and in some cases may even lessen the need for so many outside-in treatments. Consider these 5 foods to avoid if you have eczema and see if there are less out breaks, itching and discomfort alleviated but such dietary changes. Note: Do not be discouraged if you do not see results right away. It usually takes about twenty-one days for your body to re-set.

Eczema: The Quick Facts

The prevalence of eczema is random as this inflammatory, auto-immune conditions can affect just about anyone at any age. It is estimated that roughly 15-20% of children and 1-3% of adults worldwide are afflicted by eczema. 

Most causes of eczema include:

• Genes
• Parents afflicted
• Food allergy
• Asthma 
• Hay fever

Symptoms are:

• Itching
• Redness
• Rash
• Blisters
• Skin oozing
• Dry skin

Trigger Foods 

These 5 foods to avoid if you have eczema show how sometimes adjusting your diet can mean the difference between suffering or not. The best way to determine a specific food response is to avoid each for 21 days.

Cow’s Milk

There is some evidence that consuming cow’s milk could induce an eczema response. there are not many studies on this theory and for good reason as milk is a highly lucrative food and any threat to the industry could be detrimental to profits. 

This is the conclusion from an archived study titled ‘Milk-responsive atopic dermatitis is associated with a casein-specific lymphocyte response in adolescent and adult patients’ published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology,

“A specific T-cell-mediated immune response to casein [cow’s milk protein] can be found in the blood of adolescent and adult patients with milk-related exacerbation of AD [atopic dermatitis aka eczema]. In contrast to house dust mite-specific T cells, casein-specific T cells of adult patients who respond to cow’s milk with worsening of AD produce little or no IL-4. [Interleukin-4, an inflammatory response]”

Eggs

Another major food staple could be responsible for eczema outbreaks is eggs. According to a study published in Food and Agricultural Immunology,

“In atopic dermatitis patients, the food allergy to egg was confirmed in 18% of patient; in another 5% of patients we confirmed food reactions to egg without positive results of specific IgE [proteins that fight germs] to molecular components of egg and/or to extract specific IgE to egg.”

Gluten

The protein gluten, found in wheat and some other grains, could be responsible for certain individual eczema flare-ups. Although not a response by everyone, avoiding gluten could help some suffering with tis skin condition. 

According to Dr. Peter Lio, assistant professor of dermatology and pediatrics at Northwestern University in Chicago, founding director of Chicago Integrative Eczema Center and member of NEA’s Scientific Advisory and Board of Directors,

“For patients who have dermatitis herpetiformis (the specific skin condition related to Celiac disease caused by a specific reaction to gluten), it’s often very straightforward. If they avoid the gluten, the skin generally stays clear.”

Fish

Another favorite in many diets is fish but for some this animal food may not fair well when compromised by eczema. A study published in the journal Nutrition showed a significant association between fish consumption and nasal, visual, and skin conditions. It was found that,

“In contrast to our hypothesis, fish intake was associated with increased risk for allergic rhinitis/pollinosis, allergic conjunctivitis, or atopic dermatitis in women and risk for allergic rhinitis/pollinosis and atopic dermatitis in men.”

Citrus

That’s right, simply eating citrus such as oranges could be problematic for eczema. In the top ten triggers for eczema reported by Hanna Sillitoe, a personal skin struggle blogger,

“Oranges and orange products including clementines, tangerines and orange juice are a rich source of two itchy chemicals: salicylates and amines. According to a 2006 study, 36% of eczema sufferers experience a worsening of eczema symptoms when they eat amine-rich foods such as oranges.”

Talk to your physician or naturopathic doctor about working on avoiding these and other foods to lessen eczema suffering.

Sources:

https://healthguides.cnn.com/finding-solutions-for-eczema/9-foods-to-avoid-with-eczema?did=t1_rss7

https://www.healthline.com/health/eczema/eczema-facts-and-figures#1

https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(97)81053-6/fulltext

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540105.2021.1924631

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0899900718307160

https://www.hannasillitoe.com/pages/about-hanna

Photo by Kristina Nor: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-a-person-s-hand-scratching-on-his-flaky-skin-in-black-and-white-3219517/