Foods That Heal and Harm My Eczema

Selecting food that won’t set off a flare in my sensitive skin can feel like walking on a minefield. Although the coast might look clear, you never know if your next step might be your last before you start tearing at your skin as it becomes inflamed more and more by the second because of something you ate.

In this article, I share my observations about my experience with certain foods that seem to heal and harm my eczema.

Disclaimer: These viewpoints are anecdotal and do not replace medical advice. Always be sure to check with your doctor or dietitian before making any drastic changes to your diet. Please take these insights as subjective opinions of my own that I am sharing only and not as guarantees that eating the following foods will give you the same experience as they happen to do for me.

Which foods trigger my eczema?

Sugar seems to be one of the worst offenders for me. Also anything with a high sugar content like honey and syrup seem to be very triggering and seem to lead to oozing rashes. Even though they are natural, the sugar content always sets off a flare for me. In terms of high sugar content with fruit, bananas can also be triggering for me. It seems to me that fruit that is both starchy and sugary is the worst for my skin. But fruit that has high sugar but also a high water content like berries and watermelon seem to be pretty harmless. I wonder if maybe the water content dilutes the sugar a bit?

High amounts of carbohydrates from grains — especially if they are processed—can lead to a lot of rash development and itchiness.

Hot, spicy food is always very disruptive to my skin. While a small amount of spice can be helpful for my digestion and enhancing the flavor of the food, too much heat leads to rashes that feel just as hot. So while I really love Indian food, it is not a cuisine that I can have on a regular basis.

Which foods are great for my skin?

Assuming that I'm not allergic to what I’m eating, food that is the least processed (like fruit and veggies) is great for my skin.

I find that food that has a high water content also seems to be helpful like fruits and vegetables and some grains, like rice and quinoa.

When it comes to proteins, I seem to do well with beef, pork, chicken, salmon and even shellfish. I know for some people shellfish is more triggering then fish without shells but for me that it all seems to be okay, especially after doing a deep detox with getting treated with Traditional Chinese Medicine for the first time in 2004 and drinking the herbal formulas. They were super bitter and stinky, but ever since taking them for a few years, I have been able to eat and digest seafood without a major flare-up.

I hope my observations and insights into my own, subjective experience with food and eczema are helpful to someone out there.

What are your trigger foods? Or healing foods? Would love to hear from more eczema warriors on what they notice about the food they eat and its effect on their skin. Please share in the comments down below!