Read This Before You Change Your Diet for Eczema

When trying to experiment with a new diet for your eczema my best advice is to do your research and to learn from the success and challenges of others. There are many fad diets out there that claim to heal eczema. I've seen claims for veganism being a miracleworker for clear skin, which I have tried and had some success with for a period of time. I've also seen claims that the carnivore diet works really well and I have seen proof from other eczema warriors that it can indeed work for some people. In my opinion, it depends on who you are and how your specific body reacts to certain food.

Did a vegan diet work for my eczema?

When I was trying veganism for the first time in 2004, I was uninformed and I had not done the proper research needed to ensure that I would be well-satiated. I just knew that veganism had to do with not eating animal products, so I avoided them. But then, after about 3 months, I ended up becoming malnourished because I didn’t really research what I needed to create complete, balanced, and satisfying meals without animal products. (There were also way less options back in the early 2000s for vegans eating out.)

How did Traditional Chinese medicine change things?

I ended up turning to Traditional Chinese medicine and eating meat and eggs again according to my Chinese doctor’s recommendations and was able to clear my skin.

When I had another severe flare up in 2019 after solo traveling overseas for a year, my old TCM doctor had retired by then, so I turned to another Chinese doctor who was a lot more modern and familiar with Western concepts and popular trends in health who advised me to try going vegan again with her herbal formulas. Following her protocol, I did achieve clear skin.

What impact did the pandemic have?

But then the pandemic hit in 2020 and she closed her business for safety reasons. I hadn’t fully cleared my flare and the stress of the pandemic led me to eat a lot of sugar and comfort food to the detriment of my skin. I became desperate and looked elsewhere for relief as my skin had not fully healed yet. At the time, the keto diet was becoming really popular and I saw it promoted everywhere on social media, so I decided to try going keto.

What have I done since quitting veganism?

I found that after a few months of not having any Chinese herbs – and having a lot of high stress and anxiety from the pandemic and all of the social justice issues that were emerging like a volcano all over social media and in the real world around me — that it was hard to remain vegan. My skin continued to decline and worsen with a vegan diet despite my diligence. So after more research and watching Youtube videos on health and eczema, I decided to try eating animal products again and found that my skin came back to life. I realized that instead of trying to be very strictly identified with a fad diet, that it was better to just eat intuitively.

It has been almost 4 years since I’ve made the decision to eat intuitively and my skin has continued to stay healthy even without Chinese herbal formulas, which is nice for my budget.

I hope this offers a helpful perspective when it comes to choosing the right food and eating lifestyle for you.

What do you eat to heal? What foods harm your skin? Please sound off in the comments below, so we can learn from each other!