Which Foods Cause Eczema? It Depends!

Which Foods Cause Eczema

Which foods cause eczema? It depends. Discover your unique body type and digestive bacteria balances and you'll discover dietary factors that cause eczema for you.

While eczema seems to be predominantly triggered by a reaction between unhealthy skin (i.e. thin skin, skin that has a diminished acid mantle, skin that is doing a poor job in providing proper barrier functioning) and some sort of irritant, there are a number of ways in which foods cause eczema:

nutritional deficiencies contribute to poor skin health which, in turn, negatively impacts the skin's ability to do its job properly
improper dietary intake plays a role in creating an imbalanced ratio of good to bad gut bacteria (i.e. dysbiosis) which can exacerbate skin issues
due to poor skin health, certain foods actually act as an irritant and become one of the causes of eczema.

Eczema Diet Recommendations

When determining which foods cause eczema and bringing correction to eczema symptoms, first complete the Candida Survey. Determine if gut bacteria imbalance may be contributing to eczema skin symptoms and, if dysbiosis is a factor, follow the Candida Foods List as the basis for your eczema diet. In addition, use Candida supplements and follow the information in Begin Within Natural Skincare's Candida section to help minimize cleanse symptoms and to determine when and how to re-introduce certain foods.

If yeast overgrowth is not an issue, eat according to your metabolic type. In particular, with all of the body types, an eczema diet would include an abundance of vegetables, with up to 50% raw. Include regular amounts of vegetable-source proteins, poultry, 1-2 servings of low-mercury content fish per week, and, depending upon body type, modest amounts of red meat. As well, drink lots of purified water.

Not sure of your body type?Take the Dietary Needs Assessment and then follow the recommended dietary intake for your P, S or B body type. When dysbiosis is not an issue, body type appropriate fruit, as well as whole non-gluten grains (i.e. brown and wild rice, organic sprouted non-gluten breads) can also usually be eaten in moderation on an eczema diet.

Food to Avoid With Eczema

Regardless of body type and degree of Candida overgrowth, it seems there are certain foods to generally avoid with eczema. Items on this "which foods cause eczema" list include:

citrus (both whole fruit and juices)
gluten (the protein found in a variety of grains including barley, rye, oats and wheat)
sugars (both refined and whole/natural)
coffee
black tea
fried and processed foods
dairy products
nuts may be a problem for some people so test for individual responses.

Also avoid alcohol as not only does most alcohol negatively impact Candida levels, it impairs liver function which in turn compromises the body’s ability to balance hormones, detoxify and deal in an efficient manner with our nutrient intake. All three factors can compromise skin condition. A liver cleanse may also be in order.

Daily Nutritional Supplements to Consider

Recommended dosages of particular supplements vary by age (i.e. children should use reduced amounts, depending upon age and size, 1/2-2/3 of the adult amount) and circumstance.

Supplements should be discussed individually with a qualified nutritionist or health care practitioner or the most essential ones simply purchased as Begin Within Natural Skin Care's Eczema Pack. In general, however, supplements that can be helpful in the holistic management of eczema skin symptoms include:

Vitamin A (10000 IU a day of Vitamin A and 25000 IU a day of beta carotene)
Zinc (50-100 mg)
Selenium (200 mcg)
Vitamin B complex (50-100 mg with at least 20mg of B2—riboflavin)
Vitamin C with bioflavonoids (2-3 g)
Vitamin D (400 IU)
Vitamin E (400-1200 IU)
Lecithin (1 tablespoon three times a day-lecithin is part of normal cell membranes)
Glyconutrients (¼- ½ teaspoon)
Essential fatty acids (omega 3 oils-especially EPA found in krill and fish oil—as well as omega 6 oils found in evening primrose oil, may increase health of cell membranes and relieve symptoms)
Greens/probiotics (½-1 teaspoon-an organic super green food/probiotic helps with healthy re-colonization of the intestinal tract or an individual probiotic supplement)
Bee pollen (like greens, bee pollen provides B vitamins as well as a range of amino acids and trace minerals)
Digestive enzymes that include lipase
Coconut oil (1-3 tablespoons, by mouth as in a smoothie or used in cooking)

By following this simple series of steps you should be able to more accurately determine your own list of which foods cause eczema, know which foods to avoid with eczema and be able to follow your own personalized eczema diet. Following your eczema diet for 2-4 weeks should begin to produce positive responses. If you begin to gradually reintroduce foods from the Healthy Foods List and notice skin problems again occurring, remove the offending foods. Return strictly to the eczema diet for a number of additional weeks when you can again attempt to reintroduce other healthy foods.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out Begin Within Natural Skincare's other Eczema pages:

Start with Eczema Skin Symptoms
Take a look at Eczema Causes
and then Home Remedies for Eczema
Be sure to also take a look at the generalized page on Bad Skin

For supplement and skin care shopping pages related to Eczema see:

Eczema Pack
Candida Pack
Skin Vitamin Shop and if you live outside of North America,
International Skin Vitamin Shop

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