Got eczema? Don’t be ashamed, almost up to 20 percent of people develop eczema some time in their life. But just because you have it, doesn’t mean you have to keep it forever!
What many people might not know is that eczema is more than just “skin deep”. It’s not only about putting creams and steroids on your skin–that won’t help solve the problem!
The problem lies within you and in what you eat.
Eczema is an embarrassing affliction, but it’s often a side effect of something we are reacting to or that our body cannot handle.
Eczema is particularly aggravated by inflammatory foods, or foods that cause inflammation in the body. When our body is too full of inflammatory foods our body tries to flush out what’s causing the inflammation through various methods. Unfortunately for us, one of these methods involves pushing out the toxins and bacteria caused by inflammation onto our skin.
To start you on your non-inflammatory eczema free path, here are five secret foods that you may have never heard about, but should consider adding to your diet to help you fight against eczema.
1. Papaya
Sometimes the oldest secrets are the best ones!
Raw papaya has long been the secret weapon of our ancestors to effectively heal burns and skin diseases.
Papaya is rich in antioxidants and contains a special enzyme called papain that can kill dead cells and cure skin impurities. When mashed and applied directly on eczema, this fruit can help prevent the area from itching and lessen the redness.
Ripe papaya can be eaten raw, while unripe papaya can be cooked and added to salads.
A glass of papaya milk can also do wonders for your eczema! You can buy both ripe and unripe papayas for your eczema in most supermarkets or at fresh markets.
Include papaya in your diet or use it on your skin in order to speed up the healing progress with your eczema!
2. Sauerkraut
Make your own Sauerkraut at home!
One of the main causes of eczema is an unhealthy diet. Fermented foods rich in good bacteria are important to helping your body heal from the inside, and are one of the biggest beauty secrets for flawless skin.
Sauerkraut is high in the probiotics needed to make vitamin B and deliver nutrients into the body, helping your body heal and get rid of your eczema!
Sauerkraut can be made right at your home, or store-bought. Just make sure the ingredients are limited to cabbage, water, vinegar, and salt. Eat it with meat or fish, or mix it into your regular veggies for extra tastiness!
3. L-Glutamine
Gain new skin!
Usually used as a supplement for body builders or athletes, L-Glutamine is a under-recognized secret super food that can help your body heal from eczema.
As talked about in my Flawless Training, eczema has more to do with inside your body than it does on the outside. L-Glutamine is a powerful supplement that can really help to lessen inflammation in your gut, helping things move faster.
Consider taking L-Glutamine daily, to help the healing of your immune system and gut lining that may be affected by severe inflammation.
4. Turmeric
The secret eczema healing spice!
Turmeric is a spice that you can easily find next to the salt and pepper section of any supermarket. However, what many may not know is that this spice isn’t just good for your food, it’s good for your skin too!
Turmeric is high in antioxidants and has anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties as well. This herb has be applied directly on eczema to reduce swelling or cooked into foods for an oral ingestion. Turmeric has been also used to treat arthritis, cataracts, gallstones, psoriasis, and other inflammatory diseases.
Add turmeric into your diet by mixing it into foods or apply it with a bit of water as a paste directly onto your eczema to reduce swelling and itchiness.
5. Nutmeg
The oil from nutmeg can be extracted and used for instant eczema relief!
This tasty spice can surprisingly be used for more than just pumpkin pie! This simple tree nut has anti-inflammatory properties and has been used historically to cure diseases from stomach cramps to the plague.
Now while I won’t go as far as to solely relying on nutmeg for the plague, the healing properties of nutmeg can help lessen inflammation in your body. The natural oil extracted from the nutmeg nuts can be massaged into affected areas where your eczema is most red or swelling, to help reduce itchiness and discomfort.
Nutmeg oil can also help remove toxins from the body, and can increase blood circulation and stimulate the cardio-vascular system.
Buy pure, unfiltered nutmeg oil to use directly on your eczema for relief and to reduce the swelling.
If using nutmeg spice, mix with a little bit of water to make a paste and directly apply onto affected areas. Repeated use can help to keep your eczema from returning.
Reminder: While nutmeg has many health benefits for your eczema and in healing your body, be careful of taking it in high doses. If taken excessively, nutmeg can be toxic and may cause serious problems. While most suggest that under 30 grams a day (around 6 tablespoons), is fine, even this can be considered excessive.
Always consult a physician first before undertaking any new dietary advice, especially if you are under medication.
Eczema is a symptom of something much deeper!
Eczema isn’t just a skin problem, which is why you’ll find that it often doesn’t simply go away with a cream.
In reality it’s the way our body communicates by saying, “Hey, there’s something wrong down here!”.
If you want to fix your eczema then you need to get down to the real problem–the one inside you. Start by making better choices towards food, and eating non-inflammatory foods that will help heal your body and eventually, your eczema!
Did you enjoy this article on eczema foods? Got any to add? Leave me a reply below, I love hearing from you!
PS: Don't know where to start? Sign up to my free series The Clear Skin Plan !
Hi Christina,
Yes, your articles are all so informative – thank you!
Eczema is totally new to me, meaning I have had it less than a year now and I am 50. My story involves my mother passing away about 7 months ago. Immediately after her passing, voila – I get eczema. She had suffered from psoriasis, but my Dr. is quite certain this is eczema. Potentially, the pharmacist had also said, maybe stress is my eczema “trigger.”
Anyhow, although I remember reading one of your articles about alcohol, I wonder if you have a link to any other or a really informative read about wine, in particular. I know I drink wayyy too much wine and I am beginning to suspect the eczema is telling me, “umm, too much girl and we are going to let you know, via your skin.” I drink mostly red wine. Do you know if wine can be a particular trigger, for some people? I guess if I could and soon should give it up for a while, I would find my answer.
Here I am away on a holiday to an All-Inclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta and, no doubt, drinking all the wine they will happily serve me 😉 . I am so bad and totally need to make a change next week, upon my return home. Just saw today’s article from you and thought I would ask you for any link/information you have already shared, but I have missed the chance to read.
Thanks so much for any thoughts and totally at your convenience, of course.
I so believe in what you are sharing – all about our diets (yet I have been highly stressed for a good year now). Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Heather 🙂
Hi Heather! If alcohol is your trigger, the best thing is to reduce it for a while and see how your skin reacts. I published a guide on how to drink alcohol with eczema here (which is the one you were referring to?): Alcohol and Eczema
Also, since you mentioned red wine, you may want to see if you are histamine intolerant (reacting to the histamine in wine.) I published an article about that here: Histamine and Eczema.
Hope this helps! Let us know how it goes.
Dear Heather,
Inflamatory foods and alcohol can cause eczema and Christina’s articles are excellent, partly because they point out that skin issues are not just skin-deep. However, I am sure Christina would also agree that we take in orally is not the only factor in how our bodies behave. As a qualified psychotherapist I know that the body has a way of expressing the unspoken, undigested feelings that sit deep within us: don’t underestimate the link between your mother’s death, her psoriosis and your eczema. If you can find the thoughts and words to express the grief (and any other emotions related to your loss/mother), you may find that your body doesn’t have to do the talking. This is where a good psychotherapist can help. Wishing you all the best.
This page is amazing! Im 15 and from Australia and I’ve had eczema since i was born but for the past three years its gotton worse where ive had to take days off school. The weird thing is when i go to Lebanon (where im from) my eczema disappears!! I dont need no cream and my skin is perfect. While im here in Australia, ive tried some of these and ive felt much better!! Couldnt thank you enough xx Zahraa
Hi Zahra! So glad to hear that the suggestions have helped your eczema! See you around on the site 🙂
thank you so much for this information. I’ve decided to take the healthy way of dealing with my eczema and eliminating my diet all the way to vegan and gradually bring things back in to figure out the offending foods. also i deal with a lot of stress so i will be starting yoga this week to try to bring that down
Hi Valencia, it’s wonderful that you’re treating your eczema by getting to the root cause! Keep us updated on how things go.
Hi Christina. My 17 year old daughter has had eczema all of her life and we have successfully managed the flare ups over the years. However, this summer, it got much, much worse – wide spread and painful. It almost look like she had been burned over nearly her entire body. Re the L Glutamine, she finished a bottle of the brand you reference above having taken a rounded tablespoon twice a day. After finishing it, her eczema grew worse a few days later. We started another bottle and she is slowly healing. Is this something she should continue taking indefinitely at that dosage? THANK YOU for sharing your wisdom!
correction – 1 teaspoon of L Glutamine twice a day.
Hi Shauna, thank you for commenting. From your comment, it’s hard to say how much or how long she will need to take L-Glutamine for, as I don’t know your daughter’s background. Everyone is different, and this is an area where I would need to work closely with my clients in order to give the best advice.
That being said, if she’s seeing improvement with L-Glutamine at that dosage, then you can take it from there until her skin improves. Afterwards, she may not need it anymore, and getting L-Glutamine through whole foods like chicken, red meat, etc. may be enough.
same with my son, they are lacking a protein….Filaggrin (filament aggregating protein) is a filament-associated protein that binds to keratin fibers in epithelial cells.
Thank you so much for this extra help esp cause I was unable to afford your program ? but I’m truly blessed to have gotten this extra information thank you so much.
Hi Christina,
Thank you for sharing so much with us.
I have a question. I gave my son hydrogenated water to drink for 2 months before his eczema flared up and covered his whole body. He had mild eczema behind knees previous to that. In the process he was itching and scratching and then developed lichenification, then open wounds that were weeping. This went on for about 2 months. We changed our diet to only bone broths and vegetables (the safe ones).
One day we gave him papaya and within 5 minutes he broke out into intense itching and we had to rush him to hospital to get a hydrocortisone jab. He calmed down in a few minutes back to his usual itching self.
His skin is dry and you can see little whitish flakes or perforations.
My question is how come the papaya gave him such a reaction? Could it be because we were on a sugar free diet and when he suddenly had papaya which is sweet, that caused the reaction?
If his reaction was within minutes, then it sounds like he could be allergic to papaya.
i got eczema from my dad side, it is inherent in my family. my doctor told me that my problem is eating of no veg food and dry froots so she said to stop eating those and using coconut oil as much as i can.
as i am a bodybuilder, i have to take protein, glutamine and bcaa, so can i take these supplements, will it efect my eczema or not .
Thank you so much for this article. People often don’t want to hear it when I tell them Healthy foods is related to get rid of eczema, this will be a great resource to point them towards.we can also use this five secret foods to take care our eczema problems.Thanks for sharing such an informative post.
Hey Christina,
Glad to meet you… 🙂
Awesome and necessary post indeed.. I was unknown about this secret to get rid from eczema, you know. I really like this article. Each and every foods are really great beneficial to clear the eczema issue.
Really you have shared a great informative and necessary tip for us. And I will always be grateful to you because each and every food are more suitable for clear the eczema.
Don’t feel bad, one important thing I would like to share with you that after seeing Papaya my mouth starts watering, you know.
Thanks for sharing an amazing and informative post.. 🙂
Have a nice day..
– Ravi.
Hi Christina
Thank you so so much for your detailed information & examples on eczema
I suffered my whole life with this hideous disease with medical Dr’s unable to dictate anything more than cortisone creams ?
Just 3 days into diet change and throwing my cortisone creams out? I can see & feel a difference
First time in my life I see hope
I can’t wait to get on to your flawless program
You are an absolute gem – life saver – Godsent. –
thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Hi,
I am 45 years old and develop my eczema just a year ago, i went to different doctors and just gave me prescriptions that I think it is not good for the body, once I read about mangoosteen that can clear eczema, so i tried and after a week my skin started to clear and I am now in 2nd week and hope it will complete heal. I also do some detox too.
I developed severe eczema after a bad tooth infection followed by strong anti-biotic. The stress of the infected root was part of the perfect storm. I, too, believe too much wine also played a part. And yes, my body was screaming to stop. I’ve been pretty much alcohol free for 6 months. However, the eczema is constant. I’ve resorted to topical steroids and photo light therapy as I was an emotional mess from the lack of sleep due to scratching and the dread of showers and the 20 minutes of pain that followed the shower. I also have itchy scalp that has caused major hair loss. I stay focused on remaining cheerful while working 2 jobs and taking care of my small family. Thank you so much Christina for all of your help and advice! Your videos are great and thanks to you have altered my diet. I’m on Day 3 of NO SUGAR, no alcohol, no coffee, no white carbs, consuming healthy proteins….
Hi Christina,
Just to comment to Heathers post. I have had eczema on and off for the past ten years. My youngest son also struggled with eczema from very young. I have monitored both of us, especially times surrounding severe breakouts, and have found that alchol is most definitely a trigger. My last flare up was quite severe, with several flare-ups happening directly after socialising and with more than average amount of alcohol. I found that adding milk thistle to my regime, also helps a lot, as the liver takes a lot of stress of eliminating toxins, away from the skin.
Hi Christina thanks so much for your articles. It’s been less than a month since I found your website.
After watching and reading all the videos and articles I made some changes to my daughter diet and I stopped all the steroid creams OMG the change is amazing, even family and friends notice the difference. Finally there is no itching and infection and most importantly there is sleeping night without itching and waking up with clean sheets. It’s always used to be bloody sheets in the morning and that comes with infected skin. I’m so pleased with your help. Thanks so much.
Hey christina.
Thank you so much for this ad cause really it’s helping us. I did know that eczema had to do this the inside cause normally they would say it goes the genes or who ever had a skin problem in the family then it will also apply to you.
My eczema is not that bad but I struggle with my dry skin cause if I use different of body lotion to heal it and they all make my skin dry then it causes eczema again or something like ringworms and sometimes I would wake up with something like an insect bite then it becomes redish the 2days later it’s a pimple then later it leave a spot and goes to another place and I have spots all over my legs too. But I’m doing this diet too and I believe that it will help. Me….
Thank u so much
Vanessa
Hi christianA… i m so glad tat i found ur website… n i started with diet… i m off the steroid cream from 2 days… lets hope for the best… thank u
Thanks a ton Christina!
Great tips Christina! Thank you!!
I just found this site, so I can’t comment on these suggestions. I’ve had eczema for about 20 years. Seven years ago, I switched to a vegan diet ad it completely cleared up. But it has gradually come back. I just eliminated coffee 3 weeks ago and my skin has cleared completely! Very fast and dramatic result. Thought I’d share in case it helps someone else.
Thank you Christina!
Hi Christina, I am starting on your program and following some of the tips here, it has helped alot with the dry and itchiness. I would like to ask about using for the nether regions skin, I am able to manage other areas quite well now after a couple of weeks, I have avoided using steroid creams for large part of skin, however there is just one area which I cant manage so far and I need your help to advise which remedy is most suitable to that area.
.
Its all relevant just had an issue with white wine was drinking it instead of red and ive had rashes so stopped and drinking soms red and its fine apparently wine is very acid so good news.Tnank you for all of your i formation
Hey Christina,
I always thought, felt and knew deep down that my eczema was triggered what i eat. My issue is that I LOOOOVVE food and its extremely hard for me to quit certain foods or even add others. I have a hard time motivating myself even when i tell myself “dont do it” or “this is the last time”. What do i do? I lack motivation and for this is the cause of my “suffering”; which also keeps me with gaining weight. How do u do it and stay strong? Please help!
TeeTee
Hi there, As someone who loves food too, I totally understand what you mean! Recently though, I try to not tell myself “don’t do it” or “you can’t have it”. Because if I go into that mindset, I end up feeling bad I can’t have it, and then that makes me want it even more. You know what I mean?
When I did my program, instead of telling myself “you can’t have that food” I would tell myself that I could always replace it with something I liked just as much. For example, instead of using regular milk I found I could replace it with something I actually liked eating, like coconut milk or almond milk. Or instead of eating regular ice cream (and then feeling bad later) I found I could easily replace it with dairy-free ice cream (which ends up tasting just as good!).
In the end, I think it’s all about how you look at it. Try seeing yourself as someone who “can” instead of someone who “can’t”. It’s what I encourage my flawless members to do, and personally I found it makes a huge difference and gives me more motivation. 🙂
I’m so glad I found your site.
I’ve been getting frustrated with doctors who tell me eczema is incurable and there are no natural ways to get rid of it. They all buy into the pharmaceutical system. My son’s night time itches were getting really bad so I had no choice but to start him on the steroid stuff temporarily, but I’m hoping to keep him on this holistic path as well to maintain it. He is seeing a nutritionist and we are slowly trying to figure out what he needs to stop eating so we diminished processed foods and put him on a gluten free diet. I saw this article and found it very informative, but I am curious: what oil base do you use for the nutmeg oil? I can’t use almond oil because his blood test shows allergies to tree nuts.
Thanks in advance
Hi Christina, I am so glad I found your site! I am a fairly new eczema victim & looking for a natural treatment. I now have a problem w/ “weeping eczema”.& desperately looking for a treatment.
I am so glad that I found your website..Thanks.
.I suggested that some of my clients try some of these foods and have received some positive testimonials.
Hello im kevin currently dealing with this horrific skin condition i wrk at a fast food result an im a manger so we get free food so i eat alot from the fry station witch has soy bean grease 5 other people at my job caught eczema but theres gon but mine continues to get worse i cant even see my tattoos anymore so glad u posted this thank you i hope it works