Many eczema patients use all kinds of creams, pills and other remedies or methods to relief their eczema condition. But this does not target the root cause of the problem. Diet on the contrary works from the inside out and with the correct foods you can stay in charge of your eczema!
Eczema is not a contagious skin disease but just a strong allergic inflammatory reaction of your skin. Eczema is quite common. About 1.5 % of the population of for instance the Netherlands is suffering from eczema and it is not bound to any age. From babies to adults. But eczema is remarkably more prevalent amongst adolescents and young children. Often it is there from the birth onwards. Eczema can also come later in life, it is thus not bound to any age.
Eczema is characterised by red spots and a dry, flaky skin. With certain kinds of eczema bumps and sores can form. These can also be prevalent with a severe eczema condition. You often see people with eczema scratching their skin. The inflammation causes extreme itchiness and the dry skin and flakes only make this worse. Other allergies such as an oversensitivity for pollen (hay fever) and asthma are often paired with eczema but this does not have to be the case. Most types of eczema are heritable and are being passed down from parent(s) to child(dren). Before we start discussing how food influences eczema, first a little more about the possible causes of eczema.
Not much is known about the causes of almost every kind of eczema. With many eczema kinds the fact that it is heritable plays a big role. It is the case that factors of your surroundings also play a role. Stress for instance can make the condition worse, or a bad physical condition. Other environmental factors that might make the condition worse are heat and cold, oversensitivity for pollen and dust mites. But also certain kinds of food can make eczema worse. That is why below we will pay attention to food in relation to eczema and how you can reduce your complaints through eating healthy foods.
Food allergies are often connected to eczema symptoms. Patients have reported that eating certain types of food makes their eczema condition worse. Sugar appears to be one of the bad guys. The UMC in Groningen, the Netherlands, have conducted a research considering people suffering from atopic eczema and concludes that almost 35% of the people with this eczema condition is also suffering from a food allergy. That can almost not be a coincidence right? Below we make an overview of the dietary tips that can prevent an eczema outbreak and even relief some of the symptoms. This is not just a simply summary, but it is supported by many researches that specialists have done.
You can best avoid certain foods, so that your eczema can reduce. In any case you want to avoid dairy products (that includes cheese) and products that contain refined sugars. Often dieticians give you the advise to improve your diet. They advise you to only consume fresh, natural products and do not use ready made or processed foods. Use the tips below and after a few months you will notice that your skin starts to improve.
There are specific foods that contain the right properties and can relief symptoms of eczema. One of them is coconut oil, that is known for its anti-inflammatory function. The same goes for organic honey, ginger and turmeric. Besides these products will strengthen your intestinal flora. What makes coconut oil so special is that it recovers the fat percentage of your skin. This goes through till the deepest skin layers. You can smear the coconut oil on your skin but it is even better to eat 1 to 3 table spoons of coconut oil a day. Coconut oil is anyways healthy for everyone and is definitely recommendable.
Aloë Vera also appears to be an excellent ingredient to bring the symptoms of eczema down. And not for nothing the ingredient is used in numerous skin care products. Aloë Vera rejuvenates the skin and softens at the same time.
As we have written above, drinking water is often underestimated. Drink 2 litres of drinking water a day. For eczema patients it is especially important that your body and skin in particular stay moist. This makes your skin less vulnerable. If you dry out the skin, it is extra sensitive to inflammations.
