For the past couple weeks we’ve been celebrating my stepdaughter’s birthday. This means planning a party with foods I don’t normally keep in my every day diet. This also means baking (and eating) a cake, and then one week later baking (and eating) cupcakes.
Thankfully there was very little cake left over after her birthday party, but when we made two dozen cupcakes for just the three of us - there were a lot of leftovers.
And speaking of leftovers, while there wasn’t much cake left after the birthday party the week prior, there was definitely plenty of “party food.”
So here’s what happened - for a couple days after the party, my husband and I were eating party food leftovers. Then a couple days after that we had even more cake 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
If you haven’t heard me say it yet: Inflammation is the root of all disease.
Also, if you haven’t heard me say it yet: A food is either fighting disease or feeding it, there is no in between.
Some inflammatory foods are individual to a person. Others are true for all. Gluten, refined sugar, GMO corn, dairy. Those are some big ones.
In the case for anyone with eczema - this is an inflammation issue. And it starts in the gut.
An anti-inflammatory diet is one that consists of foods that LOVE on your gut - that DON’T contribute to inflammation in the body.
This is always something I have in the back of my mind, especially as someone who is very sensitive to inflammation in the body (hello, eczema. But also - hello, daytime fatigue!).
Cupcakes and “party food,” I’m (kind of?) sorry to say, are inflammatory.
I had to get those cupcakes out of sight so I’d stop eating them. Yes, I know my will power is weak sometimes, but that’s why those foods usually just don’t make it in my house!!
Treats that are still yummy and won’t make me feel cruddy:
- Fresh cut fruit and plain (NOT vanilla - look at that sugar content!) almond milk yogurt
- Celery or apple slices with almond butter (peanut butter is, unfortunately, inflammatory in nature)
- 70% dark chocolate- yes, this is considered a health food at 1 oz per day! Add some almonds in there to make it more filling! Or maybe melt it and dip your fruit in it?
- A homemade tea latte! Add a bit of frothed milk to your favorite tea 🫖
If you loved this blog post, there's more where that came from in my free Facebook group here. You'll want to get in there soon because that's where I'll be launching a 5 Day Eczema Relief Training in a couple weeks!
Can't wait that long? You can also grab my new guide on 5 Steps to Taming an Eczema Flare Up here to get a jumpstart!
Hi there, friends! It’s been a while. I disappeared there for a little bit (again!), and I wanted to explain why.
My main goal here is to help women with eczema overcome this struggle. It’s painful, embarrassing, annoying, disappointing and truly downright frustrating when you don’t know what the problem is.
So here’s what happened — first, I got pregnant (hello, morning sickness) so I disappeared for a bit. THEN my eczema came back. UGHHH this wasn’t supposed to happen, guys! I had just been posting about knowing your limits and saying it’s okay to eat *some* of your trigger foods in moderation once your eczema is under control. This is because for some of us, avoiding all our trigger foods all the time is really restricting and truly no way to live.
I was being SO hard on myself about the fact that I’m supposed to be the one you come to in order to get your eczema under control because I had been there and I got MY eczema under control. And then what happened?
PREGGO CRAVINGS. FRUIT is one of my eczema triggers. Well guess what? I haven’t been able to get enough fruit throughout this pregnancy. Plus I’m eating what seems like all the time and yummy high protein options don’t come with a large enough list when I'm avoiding my food triggers. So what have I been doing? Snacking on cheese.
So what you (or rather, I) have here is a perfect storm — zero restriction with my eczema trigger of fruit PLUS a daily intake of (albeit, organic) cheese which is inflammatory by nature. Because it’s yummy. And filling. And is supposed to actually be GOOD for you, but in my case my body’s just really sensitive to these things. And when you’re pregnant it’s a LOT harder to eat foods that aren’t super delicious just because you know they’re good for you.
Add those two things on to the fact that your immune system takes a hit during pregnancy (Hello, gut health. Remember, 70% of your immune system is in your gut!) and you have a triple threat.
So my eczema is back.
But here’s the thing..
I know WHY it’s back. I know exactly what happened and what I’m doing to cause this. So I actually do have complete control. And I’m even proving to you that what I’ve said up until now is 100% true, because when I don’t go by what I’ve taught you — MY eczema comes back too!
As I said above, eczema is painful, embarrassing, annoying, and when this baby comes out, I don’t want him or her to have a momma with dry, scaley, cracking, bleeding hands! So I’ve upped my probiotic intake, I’m taking more digestive enzymes, and I’m really, really trying to cut back on my cheese and fruit intake! And I really have seen a difference!!
So my message to you is when you get to the point of getting your eczema under control and then it comes back, DON’T do what I did and be super hard on yourself. Evaluate the situation and make changes where you’re able. You did it before. You can do it again. And I’m here to help. Because I get you.
If you loved this blog post, there's more where that came from in my free Facebook group here. You'll want to get in there soon because that's where I'll be launching a 5 Day Eczema Relief Training in a couple weeks!
Can't wait that long? You can also grab my new guide on 5 Steps to Taming an Eczema Flare Up here to get a jumpstart!
*Updating on July 1, 2023 to mention I'm divorced now, because I feel like that’s relevant 🙃*
Thinking back on my wedding day, I'm reminded of my motivation to eat cleaner & avoid eczema triggers. I knew there would be a LOT of pictures of my hands, nice and up-close. The last thing I wanted was for red, scaley skin to be in every picture from my wedding day.
I do not advocate for unsustainable, majorly restrictive diets. That’s not what our bodies were made for, but sometimes it’s necessary for a short period of time for your body to recalibrate.
Leading up to the wedding, I was restricting most fruits including fruit derivatives - palm oil (in most gluten free breads, crackers, baked goods, peanut butters, etc.), vitamin A palmitate (in most store-bought dairy alternative milks), grape-based vinegar & anything with avocado, olives or coconut. Anything with garlic or onions was out too.
I didn’t come up with this list on my own. I was tested for food sensitivities by a naturopathic doctor. That didn’t make this list any easier to follow.
And you bet your bottom dollar I indulged like crazy on the honeymoon - eating the foods I had been depriving myself of for so long.
That list of food sensitivities is not a fluke. When I eat too much of certain foods on that list, I’m destined for a flare up. But I’m learning my boundaries.
A year later, I'm able to eat some of the foods on my trigger list without having a flare up.
The trick is to know what your body can handle, and not to overdo it. And if your body starts to rebel whether in the form of an eczema flare up or an unsettled stomach, you know you need to pull back.
The moral of the story is I was desperate for clear skin on my wedding day, and for me that meant restricting for a bit. But not forever.
Variety is the spice of life. Your body craves variety. Feeding it the same 3 foods all the time is not only boring, but it’s not good for your body systems - including your immune system.
Your immune system depends on a healthy gut, and a healthy gut is made up of a diverse microbiome. A diverse microbiome is nurtured by a variety in diet.
So just remember - if you need to go on a special diet for a special reason for a short amount of time, that’s totally okay. But don’t forget to keep some variety in your diet, and your life for that matter!
If this was helpful for you, join my Facebook group where you can find more wellness tips – free of charge. <3
The first thing to know about living a sustainably healthy lifestyle is just that - it needs to be sustainable.
Holidays are filled with savory foods and sweet treats we don’t eat on any normal day. Enjoying a bit of all your holiday favorites a few days out of the year is NOT a big deal in the grand scheme of things!
Being healthy definitely has to do with the foods you eat, but the health of your soul is equally - if not more - important. Gathering with friends and family around the holidays can be SO nurturing to your soul. If you put the pressure on yourself that you “can’t eat this” or “shouldn’t eat that” - are you going to enjoy yourself as much? Of course not!
With that in mind, there are definitely quick, easy swaps you can make in recipes to make them a bit more healthful.
When it comes to dairy, I always prefer organic. Butter, milk, sour cream. It’s cleaner and higher quality.
When it comes to meat, I always prefer free range and organic. If you’re feeding 10+ people for example and you’re preparing a much larger than normal amount of meat - obviously cost matters. If the organic, free range option is just not financially realistic for the holiday, that’s okay. Don’t go broke over this!
When it comes to sugar/sweetener I always prefer natural options like pure maple syrup or honey. Coconut sugar is also a more healthful option than “normal” sugar.
When it comes to salt, I always prefer sea salt over regular table salt or iodized salt.
When it comes to corn products, choose non-GMO! GMOs wreak havoc on your gut.
Lastly, when you’re getting any kind of ingredient for a recipe or a boxed good, flip it over and check the ingredients. So often, there are unnecessary unhealthy ingredients added to something you’d least expect.
In the end, just enjoy your holiday! You can follow the suggestions above to feel better about the dishes you prepare yourself, but don’t beat yourself up over indulging in holiday foods on a special occasion! But maybe keep some digestive enzymes on hand just in case. :)
If this was helpful for you, join my Facebook group where you can find more wellness tips – free of charge. <3
You can also grab my free guide on 3 Easy Steps to Lose Weight and Feel Amazing here.
In Step 1 of My Gut Healing Journey and Step 2 of My Gut Healing Journey we talked about food. Food is so important, but the health of your gut is not just about what you eat.
It’s about what goes on your body. One of the first things almost anyone will tell you when it comes to eczema is to stop using products with fragrance on the eczema.
Fragrance is an irritant, but it’s also extremely bad for your gut health. Most fragrance (and we’re talking “fragrance” listed as an ingredient) contains phthalates which are endocrine disrupting chemicals. Your endocrine system produces hormones, and the majority of your hormones are housed in your gut!
That being said, it’s not only important to stop using fragrance on your eczema, but it’s also important to stop using it anywhere on your body! You can read more about that here.
Young Living is one brand in particular I trust 100%. I know there will never be synthetic or “natural” fragrance in their products. Anything that smells nice in their products is from clean essential oils made only with plant juice. It’s a wonderful thing.
Other brands may offer unscented or fragrance-free options. Apps like EWG Healthy Living and Think Dirty have helped me a lot in the store.
Makeups are also filled with ingredients that wreak havoc on your gut. To put things into perspective, Europe bans over 1300 chemicals from cosmetic products. The US only bans 11. Clean brands, while harder to find, do exist. Once again Young Living is my favorite for this one (they actually have a list of over 2000 chemicals they will never use in their cosmetics), but BeautyCounter is another brand I know that goes the extra mile to keep icky ingredients out.
Nail polish is another one I never thought I’d have to second guess. The big name brands are filled with harmful chemicals like Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, and Camphor. Look for 5-Free (even better is 6, 7, or 8-free!) nail polishes like Olive & June, Ella + Mila & Static.
The health of your gut is also directly related to your levels of stress. Your gut can only repair itself when it’s in rest and digest mode. If you’re in fight or flight all the time, that’s not good for your gut!
Taking time to relax, destress, breathe & just take time for you is so important. The main reason I started using essential oils (which I’m obsessed with now by the way) was to help me relax. You can read more about that here.
Getting enough sleep is important too! This is optimal rest and digest time! Taking your probiotic and then getting in bed to get 7-9 hours of sleep will do you SO much good.
If this was helpful for you, join my Facebook group where you can find more wellness tips – free of charge. <3
You can also grab my free guide on 3 Easy Steps to Lose Weight and Feel Amazing here.
