As someone who suffers from eczema, I know how frustrating the condition can be, especially during flare-ups. The good news is, if you are careful with the foods you eat, you can help ease the symptoms or even prevent flare-ups. Read on to learn more about the best diet for eczema for you to follow.
What Should You Eat? … and Avoid?
Eczema is caused by a number of reasons, one of which is inflammation. Since inflammation happens inside the body, eating anti-inflammatory foods would be very beneficial to you. Although it is always recommended to maintain a healthy, balanced diet, you can tweak your diet to help you manage this common skin condition well.
Foods to Eat
Although there is no specific diet for eczema, there are certain foods you can eat to ease the symptoms of this condition. In some cases, these foods might even help you avoid flare-ups depending on how your body reacts to them.
Here are the top foods to eat when you have eczema:
Anti-inflammatory foods
Since eczema is a skin condition commonly caused by inflammation, adding anti-inflammatory foods to your diet is essential. These foods help fight inflammation to either ease or avoid the symptoms of eczema.
They even have other amazing benefits to your health. Some examples of anti-inflammatory foods are:
- Colorful vegetables like red cabbage, broccoli, and carrots.
- Fatty fish like herring, sardines, mackerel, and salmon.
- Fruits like apples, blackberries, pears, cherries, and blueberries.
- Leafy, green vegetables like spinach, kale, and mustard greens.
- Monounsaturated fats like canola oil, flaxseed oil, and olive oil.
- Spices like garlic, ginger, saffron, and turmeric.
- Whole grains like quinoa, whole wheat bread, buckwheat, and brown rice.
- Beverages with polyphenols like green tea and coffee.
Probiotic foods
While it’s much easier to take probiotic supplements, there are many foods that are rich in probiotics too. If you can add these to your diet, they can potentially improve your condition:
- Kefir
- Kimchi
- Kombucha
- Miso soup
- Sauerkraut
- Tempeh
- Yogurt
Soothing and nutrient-rich foods
Finally, there are certain foods that may help soothe your eczema because of their rich nutrient contents. Even if you aren’t experiencing flare-ups, these foods would be a wonderful addition to your diet:
- Bananas to help relieve itchiness and provide you with potassium.
- Beets to help detoxify your body and even increase your body’s collagen production.
- Chicken or beef broth to help repair your skin thanks to the glycine content.
- Green onions to promote healthy skin thanks to the rich vitamin K content.
- Oats to help strengthen your skin thanks to its silica, zinc, and vitamin E content.
Foods to Avoid
While there are certain foods that can fit best into the best diet for the skin, other foods may have the opposite effect.
For instance, foods that are high in nickel tend to exacerbate the symptoms of eczema. Here are some examples of foods with high-nickel content that you might want to avoid:
- Beans
- Black tea
- Chocolate
- Citrus fruits
- Lentils
- Nuts and seeds
- Peas
- Shellfish
- Some types of spices, like vanilla, cloves, and cinnamon
- Soybeans
- Tomatoes
In some cases, the foods you eat may cause flare-ups because of the natural compounds they contain. These foods may have inflammatory effects or they might even cause allergic reactions, which is why your symptoms worsen. Also avoid these if you notice your flare-ups worsening after consuming one of these:
- Avocados
- Celery
- Deli meats
- Dried fruits
- Eggs
- Food products and condiments with added excess sugar like cereals, granola bars, soy sauce, ketchup, and other types of sauces
- Grapes
- Green apples
- Kiwis
- Hazelnuts
- Refined carbohydrates like white bread, white pasta, and white rice
- Saturated fats in full-fat dairy products, red meat, and poultry skin
- Trans fats in margarine, hydrogenated oils, and many fried foods
To have the best diet for your skin, it’s also recommended to limit your alcohol consumption. You don’t have to add and eliminate all of these foods right away. Instead, you can add or eliminate one or two foods at a time, then observe how these changes affect (hopefully improve!) your condition.
The Most Effective Eczema Diet Tips
Sadly, there is no cure for eczema. The next best thing you can do is to make some significant changes to your lifestyle and diet. Now that you know which foods to eat and avoid, let’s go through some helpful and practical tips to make things even better for you.
Try the Elimination Diet
Many believe this is one of the best diets for the skin because of how it works. The elimination diet involves eliminating a specific food or food group from your diet for some time—then reintroducing it to see how it affects your body.
Normally, you may experience eczema reactions about 6 to 24 hours after consuming a certain type of food. But for some people, the reaction may be delayed. To find out if a certain food triggers or exacerbates your eczema, try eliminating it from your diet.
For instance, if you are fond of eggs, stop eating eggs for two weeks. Throughout these two weeks, observe your body for any eczema symptoms. After that time, you can reintroduce eggs into your diet to see if it causes a flare-up.
If it does, then you may have to minimize your consumption of eggs. But if you don’t experience any adverse reaction, then you may try eliminating another type of food. Keep doing this until you have identified the food (or foods) that worsen your condition.
Cook Your Own Food
Another way to clean up your diet is by cooking your own meals. Although eating out and ordering food is easier and more convenient, you are never sure about the ingredients that go into your meals.
This tip is especially helpful if you plan to go on the elimination diet. By cooking your own food, you get to choose what to put on your plate and what to leave out of it. This may take some time and effort, but everything will be worth it in the long run if it can help you manage your eczema more effectively.
Give Supplements a Try
Finally, you can also take skin health-promoting supplements like Collagen Complex. Such supplements may help alleviate the symptoms of eczema or prevent flare-ups.
But if you choose to take a supplement, consult with your doctor first as they can give you advice on which supplements to take, how often to take them, and how to prevent the worsening of your symptoms because of wrong supplements.
Managing Eczema Through Your Diet
As you can see, managing eczema through your diet and eating habits is very simple. We have already gone through several eczema diet tips, but we’re not done yet! Here are a few more for you:
- Opt for foods that contain quercetin and micronutrients that give your immune system a boost. Some examples are onions, apples, and cherries. These can help relieve your symptoms and make your body more effective at combating medical conditions.
- Stay away from processed food and junk food. These contain ingredients that weaken your stomach’s lining and increase your risk of eczema.
- Combine turmeric with different ingredients for effective home remedies. Some of the best ingredients are coconut oil, aloe gel, milk, and Neem powder.
- Reduce your alcohol intake and quit smoking. These bad habits only increase your risk of experiencing flare-ups.
- Consider getting an allergy test. Your doctor can help you determine what triggers your eczema while giving you more advice on how to do the elimination diet.
Answering the Common Diet-Related Questions
Now that you are armed with knowledge about the dietary changes you can make to improve your eczema, it’s time to answer the questions running through your mind. That way, you will have everything you need to start changing your diet.
Is it possible to prevent eczema completely through my diet?
Unfortunately, no. But a healthy diet can help ease your symptoms or reduce the frequency of their occurrence. You can also adapt healthy habits like proper hygiene and regular exercise to manage your condition better.
Can I follow an eczema diet while I’m pregnant or breastfeeding?
Even though the diet recommended includes healthy foods, it’s best to consult with your doctor first. This is especially true if you plan to follow an elimination diet.
Can I make these dietary changes even though I am a vegetarian or vegan?
Absolutely! But in such a case, all you have to do is focus on plant-based foods.
Will changing my diet cure my eczema?
Sadly, it won’t. However, it will help make your condition more bearable.
Is there a way to completely cure eczema?
Being a chronic disease, you cannot cure eczema completely. What you can do is learn how to manage it through proper diet and lifestyle changes.
The Best Diet for Your Condition
Although there is no cure for this condition, following a proper diet can help you manage the symptoms and reduce the frequency of flare-ups. By following all of the tips you have learned here, you can start improving your quality of life. Once you learn how to manage your eczema through your diet, you will feel healthier and happier too!
The Bottom Line: Should You Add Supplements to your Diet if You Suffer From Eczema?
Myself and quite a few of my eczema suffering friends have had positive experiences with health supplements. It really depends on your skin reactions to dietary supplements. Also, exercise is just as important to implement with your diet.
Now that I carefully monitor my diet, I make sure I also take Collagen Complex as a nutrition supplement for my skin.
This collagen supplement keeps my flare ups at bay especially when I avoid foods that I personally have negative reactions to. Studies show that 2.5 – 8 grams of collagen for 8 weeks may give you less skin dryness and a significant increase in skin elasticity. I’ve actually had clear skin for a while now thanks to my routine. Anyways, I hope this helps!