It is believed that the right eczema diets can prevent flare-ups and reduce or even eliminate symptoms. Most sufferers will experience a reaction to a trigger food within two hours of eating it, but others will experience no symptoms 24 hours later. Since everyone is different, the list of unfavorable foods will vary from person to person. That means you might have to contend with some skin rashes during your trial and error period to create your list of foods to stay away from.
Identify your trigger foods
The most common foods that cause eczema are dairy, berries, eggs, wheat, gluten, nuts, citrus, soy, tomatoes, fish, and chocolate. The best way to determine which foods are causing your eczema is to serve yourself a small portion of one of those foods each day and allow at least 24 hours for a fair evaluation before trying another. Any foods that cause a rash are on your list of foods not to eat.
Popular eczema Diets
• Wheat Free Diet – For some, a wheat-free diet is enough to prevent eczema. These include refined wheat, whole grain, wheat bran, semolina, couscous, durum, stone ground, bulgar, einkorn, matzo, kamut, triticale and seitan. However, you can still enjoy foods containing amaranth, almond flour, brown or white rice, arrowroot, corn, tapioca, coconut flour, flaxseed, corn, quinoa, rye, and barley.
• Gluten Free Diet – There’s a common misconception that wheat-free and gluten-free are the same thing, but they’re not. Gluten is actually a plant protein. Therefore, while the list of foods is similar, gluten-free is a bit stricter. For example, a person following this diet to treat eczema could eat the safe foods on the list above, with the exception of rye and barley as they are of plant origin. You can safely eat frozen or canned vegetables as long as gluten has not been added as a preservative or thickening agent.
• vegan diet – Provided you don’t have any wheat or gluten allergies, a vegan diet has become a popular option for eczema sufferers. This eliminates most of the triggering foods like dairy, eggs, fish, and meat. Vegan diets are also recommended for current cancer patients and for the prevention of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol.
It’s important to understand that any particular diet may not be the best option for you. While you may find that wheat is to blame, there’s still a chance other foods can also cause rashes. It’s always recommended not to overdo it when trying new foods until you know how your body will react.
Don’t get discouraged if your list includes foods you love and can’t eat. There are many substitutes for any diet these days, so take this opportunity to expand your daily diet and love new things!
Thanks to Benjamin P Wills
