Chapter 21
‘My skin is improving but I keep getting flare-ups. What am I doing wrong?’
After strictly following the diet and supplement routine, your eczema should show signs of improvement within two to four weeks and your eczema should be mostly or completely clear around the two-month mark. On saying this, if you have suffered from eczema for many years your body may take longer to heal. Read the following list of examples to see what may be affecting your results.
If you eat red meat or carbohydrates such as muffins and spelt bread then it’s important to balance these meals with alkalising vegetables at some point throughout the day (not necessarily within the same meal). You can do this by eating eczema-safe vegetables and by drinking Tarzan Juice or Healthy Skin Juice (my eczema patients say these juices keep their eczema from returning). You can also eat a serve of Alkaline Bomb Salad or one of the potato-based soups to promote acid–alkaline balance. If you are an adult, you have the option to do the 3-day Alkalising Cleanse (or do it once a month if necessary) and make the Therapeutic Broth at least once a fortnight so you can flavour your meals, soups and casseroles with this nutritious alkalising broth.
Also ensure you are drinking enough filtered water and if you live in an area where tap water is unsafe to consume (such as some European countries), drink bottled (non-carbonated) natural spring water.
For example, one of my eczema patients (an eight-month-old baby) was following the diet along with his breastfeeding mother, and his eczema partially improved but did not completely heal as expected. The mother had a hunch to also take rice out of their diets (as her son’s eczema worsened after the introduction of baby rice cereal), and two weeks later the eczema on her son’s face completely cleared up. This was unexpected as rice allergy is very rare. In this patient’s case we substituted rice with barley, oats and quinoa. Instead of rice bran oil the mother used refined safflower oil (no antioxidant and not ‘extra virgin’) as this oil has a high smoke point, making it ideal for cooking. And instead of rice malt syrup she used real maple syrup, golden syrup or barley malt.
Other unforeseen sensitivities to Stage 1 foods include salicylate-containing foods. Carrot, sweet potato, cos (romaine) lettuce and beetroot could pose a problem if you eat great amounts and are highly sensitive to salicylates. Eating too much parsley (such as Parsley Pesto) may cause reactions if you are salicylatesensitive. In rare cases, even though you are taking amine-lowering supplements (vitamin C, vitamin B6, quercetin) you might still react to amines from trout, tuna, banana, pawpaw and papaya, and papaya may also contain salicylates.
If you suspect you’re eating some things you are sensitive or allergic to, take them out of your diet for two weeks or more and see if your skin improves. A month later try the foods again, adding one new food every three days, and record the results in your diet diary. If you have no clue what foods (or beverages) may be affecting your skin then varying the diet can help. For example, have no gluten (spelt, oats, rye, barley) for two weeks (eat rice instead) or have no rice for at least two weeks, and so on.
There are a few ‘party food’ recipes in this book, such as birthday cake, and these should only be eaten in moderation, on special or rare occasions. If you’re eating any unhealthy foods on a regular basis, this can affect your results. For treat guidelines read ‘Occasional treats’.
A six-month-old child I was treating for severe eczema was making improvements. Then his mother reported he woke up in intense pain and scratched so much that he bled and she was very concerned. She said the only thing that had changed in his routine was the use of teething gel the night before at bedtime. Teething gel is rich in salicylates and is not eczema-safe. for suitable alternatives to teething gel.
Make sure you are using a skin cream that doesn’t irritate your skin. It is a process of trial and error to find the products that are right for you. Do this before you begin the Eczema Diet so you can tell if your skin cream is affecting your skin. Allergies to skin care products can also develop over time. Read Chapter 7, ‘Skin care products, make-up + daily regime’ for more information on skin care products and their ingredients.
Skin irritation can be caused by bubble bath and most soaps, and chemicals in your environment may affect your results. To check if you are minimising chemical exposures and using a gentle skin care routine, read Chapter 8, ‘General recommendations for eczema’ and Chapter 7, ‘Skin care products, make up + daily regime’.
If you/your child is a fussy eater and won’t eat the food or vegetables in this program, then this program may be difficult to complete. The supplement regime can help to partially heal the skin (especially the glycine) but supplements work best when combined with the Eczema Diet. Read ‘Fussy eating habits’.
If you are vegetarian or vegan you may be eating vegan/vegetarian patties that are not eczema-safe. Tempeh, vegan patties/sausages and other meat substitutes can contain additives, soy sauce and/or natural flavourings and herbs so they are not eczema-safe. If you are vegan, you may be using an iron supplement that is plant- or herbal-based and rich in salicylates, which can cause flare-ups. Read ‘Vegetarians and vegans’.
Work stress, relationship stress, emotional stress, and any kind of long-term stress can prevent your skin from clearing up. Stress can block enzyme reactions in the body and cause increased inflammation in susceptible individuals. If you are going through serious pain, grief, loss or have been through any kind of trauma, you may need to speak to a trusted psychotherapist, psychologist or counsellor as they can help you work through emotional pain (this may take time, so be patient and kind with yourself).
Some of the most enjoyable ways to release stress include playing sport or going for a run (soft sand jogging is beneficial), and aggressive sports such as boxing, which releases pent-up tension, are ideal. Furthermore, you can also watch funny movies and do deep breathing exercises. When breathing techniques are done correctly (and there is a great technique called ‘throat breathing’ which needs to be learnt first), you can switch your nervous system from ‘fight or flight’ to ‘rest and digest’ mode. When done correctly, breathing exercises can reduce feelings of stress, improve sleep and promote energy and stamina while exercising, to name a few. Read Breathe for Life by Sophie Gabriel for more information on breathing techniques (refer to ‘Resources’).
Stress also triggers the production of acid in the body so if you are stressed you will need to eat plenty of vegetables (refer back to Example 1, for recommendations).
Taking supplements that contain herbs or vegetable extracts such as broccoli can cause flare-ups if you are sensitive to natural chemicals such as salicylates. Herbal preparations can be great for all sorts of health problems but they are not suitable for use during the Eczema Diet, Stage 1.
Another problem that can occur is when you combine the Eczema Diet with other information that you may have read online or received from a friend or relative, and then incorporate this information into your program. The Eczema Diet has been carefully designed for eczema and each food has been researched and chosen for a specific reason—all other foods may cause flare-ups.
Sulphur is an essential element for making proteins in body cells, hair and nails and the sulphur in vegetables can assist the liver in its role of cleansing the body of toxins, which is why vegetables feature heavily in the Eczema Diet. While most people can eat sulphur-containing foods with no problems, a few are highly sensitive to them, particularly garlic and onions (leek and spring onion/scallions are part of the onion family). Sulphur-rich foods include brussels sprouts, cauliflower, asparagus and eggs. If you are highly sensitive to sulphur you may not be able to tolerate alpha-lipoic acid although the dosages recommended in the supplement section are at a lower dosage and should be well tolerated.
If you suspect you are reacting to any of these foods, take them out of your diet for two weeks or more and see if your skin greatly improves. If you are taking these nutritious foods out of your diet ensure you are taking an eczema supplement containing quercetin and vitamin C.
It’s useful to keep a diet diary where you record the meals you eat and rate how your skin looks at the end of the day. For example a patient of mine kept having occasional flare-ups, although her skin was improving on the Eczema Diet. I checked her diet diary and she was drinking herbal tea (which I had recommended for other skin conditions in my book The Healthy Skin Diet), so she was advised to stop drinking it. She was also eating lollies whenever she felt tired. When she stopped consuming these her eczema cleared up. A diet diary can be found at the back of this book.
Citric acid, a baking ingredient that replaces the tangy taste of lemon, may also cause reactions in highly sensitive individuals.