The adult eczema that I first experienced in 2020 and then recurred in 2021, I’m happy to say has never made a significant return. Embracing an anti-inflammatory diet and changing my sugar habits I know has supported this.
Especially foods and baking ingredients that have eat-from-the-rainbow polyphenols 🌈 and antioxidants.
…And below 👇 you can learn how to get better informed about anti-inflammatory foods to choose from in my free anti-inflammatory diet guide offer.
Because you get to choose and be your own health advocate.
And now after some years of personal history for me to look back on, I can share what has worked for me in my eczema skin flareup prevention journey.
…And I think could definitely help others… maybe you?
My hope is that I can inspire a healthier eating anti-inflammatory lifestyle for everyone.
And at the very least (if you find skin unwanted challenges), you know that the foods you eat can help be the transformative solution.
Because skin irritations as warnings are no fun.
And common eczema (that’s irritating) is different for each affected person, as we each carry a different body that expresses inflammation differently.
But everybody, as you age, can benefit from anti-inflammatory diet tips.🫶
Looking back to these more recent past years, there were moments when I saw the pink irritated skin wanting to flareup, but know better now since I nip-it-in-the-bud by preventative skin moisturizing (generously using daily lotion and self-care).
So any eczema possibilities went away within a TV commercial. The main point here is: eczema is about self-care. 🫶
And information is power.
It’s self-empowerment.
When you know what to do, that’s the difference between guessing… and maybe exacerbating the issue… or staying stunted, not knowing what to do or which way to go.
And specifically for eczema that’s a dry skin issue.
That can worsen with hot or cold weather that’s often on the forecast.
Our skin is the largest organ in the body. And it needs lots of moisture.
Anything preventing that can be a culprit to disturb the balance in any part of the skin that covers our entire body.
Sometimes we forget and can detail care for our cars or belongings better than our own bodies.
And eczema skin can be sensitive like new baby skin, so it needs TLC.
It’s tricky because it shows up differently and on different parts…
Where it can look like a sunburn or frostbite, or acne variations. Either way, I knew the irritated skin cause is from being outdoors earlier that day or pollen-related allergies.
But that hasn’t stopped me from all day hiking… I think you gotta live a little, weigh the benefits, and pick your battles wisely!
Again, this is how being informed is power.
Because you’ll know it’s the same cause.
…Like when there is irritation on my typing fingers. That’s where eczema began in 2020. And now when I see a pinkish glow light up there, I know right away what to do…
I reach for moisturizer as the quick remedy.
So if you ever have question about whether it’s eczema on your skin, maybe this could be the answer…
Give your skin a drink of a water with (non-clogging) moisturizers (like you would consume for your body and to avoid headaches). 💦 Water is life.
Then repeat.
And even better, you can prevent eczema flareups with the foods you eat. And specifically anti-inflammatory diet foods that I’m passionate about.
Sugar for me is the biggest no-no. And I’m sure this is for many other sweet tooths out there.
A little sugar is okay, but the 25 grams (or about 2 Tbsps) allotment mentioned per day is too much for eczema (and anti-inflammatory living) from my experience.
…And is why I created my own baked low-sugar desserts that are based on my childhood dessert and catering work memories.
Because I would see on television food shows that I love, to add 1 cup of sugar in the mixing bowl or thereabouts, and sometime more. And a cup btw is 200 grams of sugar per recipe that would be doing your body no favors if you didn’t share the dessert.
And how do I know that too much sugar exacerbates eczema? Because when I tipped the scales on my body, enjoying the happy foods with sugar (that could easily be store-bought fruit juice or candy), I got the pink light warning.
…The same warning that I accidentally itched when I didn’t know better in 2020. I connected the dots.
And as sugar can show up on irritated, crawling skin, it’s even worse undetected in the body. Diabetes 2 is one of the fastest growing lifestyle diseases (that’s preventable).
So with body inflammations, it’s always about playing a game of not-tipping-the food scale (with inflammatory foods).
Any person who can’t eat sugar (diabetics) or is borderline can tell you how reading ingredients and labels becomes a part of grocery shopping life and daily meal prep.
And along those connecting-the-dot lines, eczema is a pre-health inflammatory condition warning.
…Where I’m actually glad I got that warning (as uncanny as that may sound as I ended up in the hospital)… because it got me to change my eating habits one food at a time. And grow even more healthy conscious.
Acute inflammation is a warning to chronic or recurring inflammation that’s a leading cause of chronic diseases (that are the highest causes of mortality). And an anti-inflammatory lifestyle will help prevent this.
So before eczema, I believed in an anti-inflammatory diet and that was the only diet book I followed… and then after my first eczema experience, I was completely sold.
And eating less sugar aligns with an anti-inflammatory goal of eating healthier.
I was on this low-sugar quest (finding the healthiest and lowest grams of sugar per cookie on the store shelves).
All sugars are not created equal in inflammation. Some types are perfectly fine for me (…and I’ll spell that out further below). Even though moderation and mixing-it-up (variety) is still a smart, healthy strategy.
So giving up all sugar is not really what I’m suggesting… I think that would be NO FUN and missing out on daily joy. Plus nature put sweet taste buds on the tip-of-the-tongue for a good reason.
And on my sugar journey, years before I did a sugar fast as part of the start of a new year with my church 🎉 and by my 30s, had cut out sodas, donuts, and drank less juices.
I hadn’t arrived to my desires, but year after year I was heading in the healthier direction.
And then in 2020, I started learning to bake sweets I’d never made before.
Today, all I make for sweet bake consumption are low-sugar recipes. Small amounts of fruit, honey, cinnamon, and monk fruit sugar can be all the sugar add.
You can always zhugh the sweet at the end, on top, or individual consumption.
Like for picky sweet eaters.
…Let them candy bar their own tops.
That’s something I learned about working in catering and party planning for hotels and restaurants for years. The zhugh is important.
It’s part of what is remembered and special. And each day should be an event.
In catering, I learned food details are the cherry on top. And love is in the details. A little sparkle you add that can be a honey glaze, orange zest, or a dusting of cinnamon can be the healthy dot and dash. And to prevent eczema with exclamation points. ‼️
It’s the little things that add much (but not much to eczema).
Balancing happy and healthy (and moderation) eating is how you strike the sweet spot.
Where you can splurge one day, challenge yourself to fast on the splurge the next day, and maybe upcoming days.
A sugar fast is a good challenge.
It starts in the kitchen.
I don’t have a bag of loose sugar waiting to be used and am intentional about what sweet snacks or ingredients I bring home these days.
Like coconut flakes or a variety of nuts that are just as easy to source gather.
I leave them in plain sight as healthy somethings food inspiration.
And those as examples of simple ways, I gradually got control of my sugar cravings.
It doesn’t have a hold on me or my taste buds. And it doesn’t have to on your either.
I’ve learned to confidently bake without table sugar from all my fun kitchen experimentation (that’s now been in 4 different home kitchens)
Being aware, aligned, and focused on inflammatory prevention is how I can breathe sigh-ingly… and report no lasting effect eczema flareups.
That’s aligned with healthy eating and an anti-inflammatory diet that follows food-as-medicine and eat-from-the-rainbow healthy principles. All while enjoying delicious food pairings that pleases a foodie.
Early in my 20s, I learned about antioxidants in a college semester I took off. I volunteered for the American Cancer Society down the street, where I remember their bright fruit food poster hung on my wall (for future inspiration?).
And funny (or ironically), whole foods didn’t go out of style. Decades later, they’re still around… and are still the superfoods. There’s so much nutrient-dense variety to choose from that the body loves.
It’s a winning proposition because the body and person is happy. 😊
And on that mission, I invite you to learn more about an anti-inflammatory lifestyle diet, eat-from-the-rainbow foods 🌈, and how to wisely eat your way toward anti-inflammation, anti-eczema, and your longevity.
You can get the FREE informational anti-inflammatory food guide that has hours of research condensed to easy food lists and charts, to inspire and align you to what healthy foods to choose from when you’re grocery food shopping and preparing meals. 🍽️
Stay happy & healthy!