Healthy eating Archives - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Dyshidrotic Eczema – Printable Anti-Inflammatory Food List

Dyshidrotic eczema is a specific type of eczema marked by inflamed skin marks caused by dry skin triggers. It’s related to general atopic eczema and like a sunburn with dry skin and blisters. And these days have been more dry so it can happen more often.

But there’s more causal facts to the condition behind the hood than just dryness, where self-care is just part of the solution.

And if this is something you or others you care about face in life for weeks or seasons, then knowing how to shorten flareups (or better yet prevent them altogether) is the best happy daily life answer.

For starters, you can do something empowered about it with food-as-medicine!

…Where eat-from-the-rainbow foods are real skin medicine and cures in a bowl. 🥣

Healthy food is something I believe in wholeheartedly. And if I were to leave here tomorrow, I would not regret eating healthy foods at all, as I make them delicious (it’s in my former catering-self blood!).

For dyshidrotic eczema, a starting anti-inflammatory food list like this specific one can be turned into a tasty menu!

This healthy good grocery food list is one you can print out for your grocery shopping. …And on this site, I always share what healthy flavors I pair and recipes so you can make them daily for your bowls and plates… and I mean daily, where the easy-to-source healthy foods do the heavy lifting as flavor and texture ingredients.

And where eczema symptoms are made better eating these anti-inflammatory foods (and worsened with unhealthy foods).

In the dyshidrotic eczema case, clear blisters are clear signs to this type of eczema caused often by environmental and/or genetic factors.

…Plus, a natural earth metal you’ll learn more about below. 👇

While flareups are temporary, an anti-inflammatory diet helps restore the inflammatory skin symptoms sooner, as long as you don’t itch-n-scratch.

And you do baby yourself in self-care and moisturize skin often like you would prioritize changing a diaper.

And as you gain experiences and grow, eczema of any sort gets easier along with your reflexes to help restore to normal.

I know this deeply as I entered this unknown with my first few eczema lessons. They looked slightly different, but had the same common skin inflammation at the core.

And since those early years, I’ve learned so much and about which food-as-medicines, help or hurt. I’m a talking and walking test case under the microscope.

And as life is changing so fast these days, I’m constantly adapting to and refining my options to the evolving ingredients that end up in processed grocery foods. And so should you!

And while sorting through which foods are good (in this ever-changing food landscape), may be overwhelming, the silver lining is you get to build a good relationship with anti-inflammatory healthy foods that you might not otherwise have put in your cart.

You get to healthy eliminate and re-evaluate.

You wise up to what certain healthy foods that are good… but that you don’t want to eat too much of…

…Like go-to plant-based foods that are healthy in general, but (downer alert) come with natural negative plant baggage.

And more on that below, so you can focus on the positive foods!

Variety and moderation is still the best general answer.

Being more food and ingredient selective is also a healthy opportunity to detox, lose weight, and eat more fiber.

Wild salmon, lean chicken, white rice, sweet potatoes, turmeric, bananas, berries, probiotic Greek yogurt, honey, and bell peppers are examples of my good food-as-medicine, any day, year-round, any time and any condition.

These were good footprints in my childhood, and they are good now… and you too will find clues from your tracks as to what good foods are good for you now.

Some good foods can be surprising, like bell peppers was for me. Ring the bell please! 🫑 And oolong tea daily works, and is even better for a few reasons than green tea (…which btw, they come from the same plant source that looks like an ordinary bush with green leaves).

And those good foods and beverages become effective partners for healing the body and skin. They’re friendly, edible medicine.

And your custom list should give you grocery food confidence, knowing you buy the right stuff.

Confident positive thoughts put your mind at ease and help lower stress in the body (through the mind-body connection) that can play a big part in whether you have eczema flareups, not, or never.

Besides lowering stress and foods, what also helps is lowering sugar.

Low-sugar recipes are enjoyable (not compromising in taste) and using healthy food alternatives.

And less sugary tastes help lower your body’s sugar addictions and daily cravings.

I went from an addicted sweet tooth to not needing daily sugar… and definitely not 1/2 cup of sugar or more in dessert recipes.

And you can too if that’s your mission as sugar does your body no favors.

But you already knew that… because that’s healthy eating wisdom for all peeps.

And something you’re probably not aware of for dyshidrotic eczema flareups, the biggest trigger factor of them all is high nickel foods.

That’s something few people talk about, so I’ll give you what you need to know here…

Nickel is a naturally occurring metal found in soil and plants, as a micronutrient. And it’s in the water and everywhere on earth, so being surrounded, it’s easy to start an allergic storm.

…And that’s why you hear some people are allergic to wearing certain gold or silver jewelry. It’s because of the nickel metal mixed in, that’s the job of the alchemist (great book by the way!).

…And maybe why it’s a good thing we don’t carry coins around as much today in our climate erupting era.

And worse than metal to touch is ingesting nickel foods that are all around.

Some surprising nickel foods are healthy anti-inflammatory foods like plant-based cocoa, chocolate, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains.

And as healthy food confusing as this can sound, memorizing a list of general anti-inflammatory foods won’t be good for dyshidrotic eczema symptoms in general.

Better to use a known food list like the one above, at least as a start.

The good news is there’s a large food variety you get to choose from (and for dyshidrotic eczema inflammation).

If you have a skin flareup, skip those food offenders until you’re in the clear.

And don’t be afraid to test some healthy foods that can be “maybe” foods for your body.

Like eggs for some types of eczema?

I believe it would be tragic to give up a healthy food you love that you didn’t need to.

And while you’re having a skin flareup…

If you enjoy the food, don’t feel skin irritation, and nothing lights up, then take that as a good sign.🚦Put that on your grocery food list.

…Like based on research first, I found iffy eggs, grapefruit, and corn tortilla are all good with me. And wasabi too… wasabi! I’m lucky because I’m not naturally allergic to any foods under ordinary circumstances.

And if I didn’t at least try when tested (because I was scared, which is not my M.O.), I’d be missing out. And I’m a Joy of Missing Out type. And that’s healthy!

But Baker-me also played smart safe away from all flours for a temporary elimination diet, and felt better about it because most flours (whole wheat and gluten-free) are high in nickel. It’s not the gluten that’s the potential trigger for me, it’s the nickel!

…And that may be for you too?

So it’s a good idea (and a gift?) to be able to see (as in test and try) what your body below your neck thinks about the food you eat.

And then you won’t be wondering (scared?) and stuck in habits eating the same boring foods all your life.

Variety is the spice of life! And the way to how you can love the taste of healthy foods. Plus spices.

Our ancestors tested foods-as-medicine centuries ago, long before we came along and they saved them from their small, temporary ailments.

They didn’t have the same variety, environment, and processed gluten and dairy like we do today.

Those triggering factors vary in degrees between people and eczema types. We all have different skin.

But superfoods are good for most skins.

…Like broccoli, organic berries, apples, avocado, wild salmon, potatoes, and minimally processed foods like quinoa and white rice.

Idea: You can make white rice balls and serve with low-histamine foods like lean chicken, bell peppers, and root vegetables that you can add to a plate or a tasty turmeric soup bowl.

And if you’re craving sweets, try an applesauce fruit roll, a lemon strawberry trifle parfait, or no-flour Pavlova fruit dessert.

These are great example of celebrating healthy food tastes while telling inflammatory symptoms to take a hike!

And for beverages besides water, maybe try a freshly squeezed guava or watermelon juice. I also like to add fruit to my coffee like watermelon to my coffee. And to enjoy fruits in my daily brunch meals that include: orange coffee and oven bruleed grapefruit as part of my tested jam.

Bloating Symptom Foods – Low FODMAP

Bloating symptoms from acidic foods are no fun that trigger and bother the gut lining. Following a low FODMAP list of food helps to recover quicker.

low FODMAP foods for bloating symptoms.

It’s a part of living.

And when you feel bloated, that’s not the time to try new foods.

When that happens, restoring the gut with a list of healthy, and selective food choices that will please and soothe the tummy is the fastest remedy.

It’s easy to do when you know what to do and which foods are safe.

And following a low FODMAP diet (at least temporarily) is a good food map to follow.

You can start with simple foods, but that’s generally good for 1-3 days and then you want to get back to some other foods with vitamins and minerals.

When you have bloating flare-up, that can also be a time to do a digestive reset, supporting a healthy eating lifestyle.

The safer foods to eat are mostly all plant-based and anti-inflammatory. 🌱

So a low FODMAP diet can be a reset diet to optimize healthy eating year round.

It helps to lowering gut acidity that can show up as heartburn, upper GI inflammation, or lower bloating abdominal discomfort.

Many of our American or Western world diet foods are higher acidity and can tip the cause to a condition called GERD… that I can attest to feels like amped up heartburn. Like eating tomatoes often is not acidic helpful, even though it’s a healthy food.

…So it’s good to keep a handy list of Low FODMAP foods that won’t 🌱 exacerbate stomach acidity.

Some foods are tricky.

Coffee is one such example. It’s a Low FODMAP healthy ingredient. But the way it’s prepared (like as a regular hot brewed coffee) makes it more acidic.

That’s why daily home cold brew coffee is my safer choice so I don’t have to give up the healthy caffeine starter. Cold brew is easy to make and an easy tweak change from regular coffee. But I still cushion with food like a banana. 🍌

Because I learned from my experiences that coffee alone on an empty stomach can play gut havoc.

Another example is nuts where walnuts and peanuts can be good and okay… that is, assuming you can even eat nuts.

But then other types of nuts, like cashews can be digestive havocs.

There’s no specific, easy rhyme or reason way to remember which foods are better and ones to avoid (other than with a handy list) or from memory recall from your past experiences.

And, I’ve had many adult experiences.

Where even healthy foods and that are good for triggered food bloating gut issues, that didn’t play well with my gut.

It was timing related.

Your gut looks at what else is not digested in the gut or if you have an empty stomach. Those can be sensitive times for the gut, and can cause heartburn symptom triggers.

Or if you eat at a time you don’t normally eat that breaks routine like just before bed. The gut likes a break and then in the morning likes to have an an opener.

Like you waking up, the gut is waking up to a new day.

And with any food going down at the wrong time to the gut, we can feel poked and burdened with the weight of lead after it goes down. It’s always after the chewing part in the gut.

Which is important too, to try and chew your food more to be able to digest foods better.

…Early on, we relied on a B.R.A.T. diet that were simple to digest foods: bananas, rice, apples and toast. It was easy to remember and you didn’t have to break out a list.

It was so short and easy to remember that I also added yogurt on my stomach-friendly list.

Yogurt has probiotics and protein.

And finding the lowest sugar (no added sugar) yogurt option optimizes the good bacteria count.

And the B.R.A.T.Y. (I added the “y”) simple digestive diet still works today.

But these days… NOT ALL SO SIMPLE with all the food choices we have.

So a personal bloating food or Low FODMAP list that works for your palate and body is good to compile, so you can reach for the safe decisions made when needed. You can even set the list in your pantry cupboard for your emergency convenience.

I keep a label on my Five-Spice and this article list as my reference.

Another one that has worked for me that’s a bit controversial is apple cider vinegar that naturally is an acidic ingredient.

But it works for heartburn symptoms. It’s best to mix apple cider vinegar with water.

It’s a passed down tip from those of the past and I was brave enough to give it a try.

In my world, it works. But everyone is different. So it’s always good to test.

How it works…

Apples cider vinegar signals to the stomach to stop producing acid that it does. And if you have heartburn symptoms, if you try, you may even get some burping up trapped gas that’s needed relief. Babies burp a lot. Adults need to too.

Our bodies are all about being counterintuitive mystery curve balls where the best proof is our baby steps and trial-and-error.

That’s how we learn specifics that work in our lives.

We test the apples…

And apple fruit is another one that is low FODMAP food questionable depending on the apple type (for us apples).

I like unsweetened applesauce as it’s like baby food so there’s no issue.

But another tip is do not, not eat. Your stomach will work better with some food.

Most guts aren’t happy on an empty stomach and that delays our happy restoration.

Our guts have been very forgiving… otherwise none of us would be still be on the planet.

Variety in food helps our gut.

And is a good diversifying principle of not putting all your eggs in one basket.

Eggs, btw, are generally ok too. 🥚

And even if we make a one-time triggered bloating food mistake, we can cushion with foods and ingredients that are generally safe on a low FODMAP list, including:

-bell peppers and most veggies

-avocado

-many fruits (and believe it or not… green bananas are lower FODMAP than soft, ripe ones).

-Yogurt (low-sugar Greek yogurt)

-quinoa, oatmeal, cooked soft rice (e.g. white rice)

Amaranth is one grain I discovered to be super gut-friendly. It has a Cream of Wheat bowl texture… but is gluten-free.

If you’re a sourdough or bread making person, for Low FODMAP you can even add amaranth to your whole grain roll or bread loaf.

And, some other Low FODMAP list adds:

-herbs/spices: fennel (in Five Spice powder), anise, peppermint

-teas: green, black, and some herbal teas (chamomile, chicory root, peppermint).

Peppermint tea is something I always keep in my “food-as-medicine” cabinet. It does wonders for some stomaches and other body aches like headaches. If it’s heartburn you’re experiencing, it will not feel like it’s helping so much and then it’s good to use food variety with the teas in the list above.

I have found peppermint is good for middle (or general) stomach aches and ginger tea is good for upper-stomach pains (e.g. bloating or heartburn) and chicory is good for lower stomach or upper intestine discomfort. But again, test on yourself.

And instead of reaching for candy or sugar sweets, you can chew on an anise star (like licorice) or make a simple applesauce blueberry cobbler.

Eating low FODMAP foods are healthy foods so you can eat them when you’re feeling 100% too. You can also check out a GERD grocery list to help healthy food guide you next time you’re food shopping.

Cinnamon Donut (Baked) – Low-Sugar

Donut baked with low-sugar cinnamon and honey is a way to love the original fried dough dessert that tastes amazing. 🍩 And these are made with healthy flour and ingredients. Recipe below.

The hole is credited to a sea captain on the waters in 1847.

Holed-donuts even look a bit like life preservers 🛟… and his story (and history) goes like this: the captain wanted more even cooking all around, so he punched a hole in the middle.

Then years later, donuts became “oily cakes” from the earliest donut shop recorded on land in the U.S.

And today, you can avoid oil and water (in cooking) by easy baking low-sugar donuts.

And you get more of an even bake like I did, using your special pans.

I used my Nordic Ware for this baking project that would hold up to any heated baking wars inside the oven. 😊

When you mix in whole wheat flour, you’re getting more fiber and protein than all-purpose flour. It’s a small tweak you can make in your cakey dough recipes.

The dough-batter will be a little darker in color.

I grew up on whole wheat sandwiches so it was an easy substitute for me.

You can see it holds up well in the pan of whole and hole donuts. With holes too, you get double the w(hole), plus more.

And sometimes a low-sugar healthy sweet cinnamon donut hole bite is all you need to fulfill the sweet tooth inside the pie hole (mouth).

When I worked with food event planning in Lebanese restaurants, one of the more popular desserts was Awamat (donut holes).

So this is where it can get confusing… is the hole the space in the middle of the donut or the donut round hole? 😁

In my party planning days 🥳, it was the round holes.

Those were often the choice for birthday parties or special dinner events that could be built up into a Croquembouche display (like a Christmas pine cone tree 🌲).

Holes in the middle can’t do that as they’re just air.

So the solid holes was something special and new to me. 🍩

Another new change I learned: donuts aren’t just for breakfast anymore like they used to be.

And the decked out party cinnamon donut holes I worked with were made with honey instead, and zhughed with saffron that gave a tangy tasting top.

…Plus a pretty interesting look with the stringy red strands.

In reminiscing about those special event donut days, this is my low-sugar healthy whole wheat version of the donut that you can decorate for any sweet occasion. You can make these anytime.

And add a melted chocolate glaze to the top, add rose tea buds, or a low-sugar chocolate frosting.

You can also try a coconut donut with a chocolate glaze.

Celebrate! And Mabrouk as we’d say… that means Congratulations! 🎉

Healthy Whole Wheat Cinnamon Donut - Low-Sugar

When you want a sweet bite, these fill the hole with a low-sugar, healthy baked snack.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, lebanese

Servings 4

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1-1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup milk of choice
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp honey (or maple syrup)
1 tbsp light extra virgin olive oil
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp cinnamon spice
additional cinnamon for zhughing (optional)

Instructions

Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients until fully combined.
Roll 8 balls with hands and add to baking sheet pan (or make 2 donut rings and 4-5 1" balls).
Bake on 350°F/180°C for about 20 minutes. Don't overbake. Tips: With whole wheat flour, you'll tend to think that it may not be baked through so time is more reliable. About a few minutes or 5 minutes before finished, you can also flip the donut bottom to top of the pan, and see that the bottoms are slightly darker and finish your bake more evenly. Or for the donut holes, have fun rolling them around!
For a simple glaze, save your egg white and add a splash or water. Glaze donuts about 5 minutes before end of bake. You can also add a melted chocolate, light honey, or maple syrup glaze after the donut pan is cooled. Or simply zhugh with a dusting of cinnamon.