I have many people to thank for their input during the creation of the Eczema Diet. Firstly, my daughter was the inspiration for this research and she helped design two of the dessert recipes. My children, Ayva and Jack, are the first people to test my recipes and they have helped me to grow in so many ways so I dedicate this book to both of them.
Over the years, my patients and readers have inspired me to continue researching eczema. In particular, a boy called Jacob whose mother wrote to me months after their initial consultation to tell me of the pain and embarrassment Jacob had suffered while he had eczema and how happy they both felt when Jacob’s skin healed. The before and after photos of Jacob brought tears to my eyes and I resolved to continue with my work. I really appreciate the feedback from my former patients and I admire their dedication to follow the diet and improve their skin (and on occasion, tell me straight what’s working and what isn’t!). Thank you all for your feedback, especially Mary Washington, Amanda Essex, Linda Balfour, Natalya L., Bianca Rothwell, Anandhi Krishnakumar, Claudine Hardy, Meaghan Ottewill, Karma Montagne, Bronwyn Air, Jenny Bangor, Lyn McPherson, Cathi Firth and Anna Kluge. And thanks to Bianca Rothwell for forwarding a couple of her recipes so I could pass them onto other eczema sufferers.
My mother is my greatest support and I owe her a mountain of gratitude for her advice, love and encouragement, and my dad, for his interest in health—both of you have provided me with a strong foundation to persevere in my field of work, which I adore.
I really appreciate the words of support from Professor Gary Leong, director of KOALA Healthy Life Clinic at the Mater Children’s Hospital—thank you for your testimonials and encouragement over the past three years.
I want to thank Professor Michael J. Cork, Head of Academic Unit of Dermatology Research and Les Hunter from The University of Sheffield, who kindly supplied the ‘brick wall model of the skin’ diagram. The liver detoxification data obtained from HealthScope Pathology in Melbourne, and the scientific research on eczema, allergies, nutrients and food intolerance were instrumental in creating and refining this program, so I’d like to thank all scientists and medical researchers for publishing their valuable work. The Eczema Association of Australasia does a wonderful job supporting eczema sufferers and I’m grateful for their newsletters, support and online information.
I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to Selwa Anthony for believing in my writing and to Benny St John Thomas and the team at Exisle Publishing for publishing my books and for making them look beautiful. A special thank you goes to my editors Anouska Jones and Karen Gee: I feel so blessed to have editors who understand health and they enhance my work in so many ways.
This has been a long process and I’m sure my eczema research will continue. I wish I could have supplied more recipes in this book but the present ones took me ten years to design and refine. To increase variety, I encourage you to experiment with the eczema-safe ingredients and design additional recipes for yourself, and if you’d like to see your eczema-safe recipes (and your name) in the next book you can submit your recipes for review via my website. Thank you for reading my books and for entrusting me with your health. May your eczema heal swiftly.
Warm wishes,
Karen