Eating Well with Atopic Dermatitis

So many of our foods come with a lot of ingredients that we are not so sure about. We wonder if food can heal our skin. Relax, this is not one of those “fear food” articles – far from it. I like to eat healthy, and make good choices for my family. By offering a variety of well cooked, home-style meals, I have been able to do an elimination diet with an adult in my family, and with a toddler. That helps me know which foods hurt, and which ones help our skin.

While it’s not easy, I did find some foods that were an easy fix and didn’t cause a flare-up. I am happy to report that we are eating well with atopic dermatitis and nobody feels too deprived.

Trying an elimination diet

The first thing we did was an elimination diet. My daughter could have never done it alone with her little ones, so this grandma rolled up her sleeves and got busy in the kitchen. With the little one, we just kind of hid our personal snacks that might cause allergies for her. Then we cooked a lot. Once we got the hang of it, we were amazed at how good we were eating! We all enjoyed the healthy meals!

By cooking wholesome fresh foods, we managed to lose a little weight too. Processed foods contain extra salt and sugar that we didn’t need anyway. We created a week's worth of recipes and then hit the grocery store. By shopping in the produce and meat section, we avoided the potential allergens.

Let me encourage you by offering up a few of my family favorites. Many of these can be cooked in a crockpot or are one dish meals. There is no real secret to cooking them. You can easily find recipes online or use your kitchen skills to put it together.

Easy home-style meals

• Grilled chicken and veggies with rice
• Stuffed peppers with baked potatoes (we use coconut oil instead of margarine)
• Beef tips stew with carrots, potatoes, and onions
• Ground beef with peas and carrots
• Chicken skillet stirfry with frozen veggies
• Turkey breast with carrots and potatoes
• Homemade soup made with bone broth and veggies
• Baked salmon and sweet potato
• Any type of salad green tossed with olive oil based dressing

Easy desserts

• Fresh fruit is always in style
• Gluten-free cake mixes that are egg free
• Fruit pops from the frozen aisle
• Chocolate avocado mousse

Certain foods have been found to nourish your skin. By adding these into your diet, you can rest assured that you are healing from the inside out.

Foods that may help atopic dermatitis include:

• Salmon
• Tuna
• Fish oil
• Cabbage
• Tomatoes
• Onions
• Salad greens
• Broccoli
• Kiwi
• Pineapple
• Apples
• Blueberries
• Avocado

If you are in doubt about any of the foods listed, you may want to try an elimination diet. Talk to your dermatologist or allergy specialist first. Find out if they have any suggestions to help you eat well with atopic dermatitis. We found that most doctors encouraged us to be pickier eaters, while one doctor said it wasn’t worth the trouble. In the end, we did what was right for our family and made it work. What is important is that your home is filled with love and relaxing family meal times. That is the most healing thing of all.