People are always sending us private messages on the Young and Raw facebook page to ask how they can heal their eczema without using expensive and harmful chemical creams. I for one, have a lot of experience with the agony and embarrassment that eczema breakouts can cause.
For the duration of my childhood and early into adulthood, I suffered from extreme eczema breakouts on my legs, arms and hands. In adulthood, the breakouts localized to my hands and it got really bad. My hands basically looked like big giant scabs, my skin was always flaking off and I would hide my hands in public so people didn’t get grossed out (and trust me, they did get grossed out.)
I tried everything the doctors gave me, vaseline, coritsone, cotton gloves at night while I slept – but nothing seemed to work. The thing is, skin conditions are almost always caused by something internally. Eastern beliefs associate skin conditions to negative emotions, and in the west, we associate skin conditions to poor diet. Personally, I feel it is very likely a combination of both. Sitting here writing this, I am happy to declare that I haven’t had an eczema break out in years since following the principals below and I am almost certain that if you apply these in your own life you will experience the same results.
We asked our friend Yarrow Willard, Herbalist and Co-Owner over at HarmonicArts.ca about how they treat eczema. Here is what Yarrow had to share with us:
“For working with eczema, it is important to remember that the skin is one of the four major eliminatory organs (Bowels, Kidney, Lungs, Skin). Being that it is the largest of these eliminatory organs, it reflects the internal imbalances of body ecology most apparently. When we see eczema and psoriasis it is the tell tale sign that there is a shift needed inside to make changes to what we eat and how it is assimilated.
Typically the health of the gut and the liver are the first place to start. If these are managed properly usually the skin clears up. In the gut the imbalance is often linked to inflammation and Candida. Reducing or eliminating inflammatory foods and those that break down to simple sugars which candida and other non beneficial organisms feeds on is a must.
We suggest a detox/cleanse diet, using our Candida Combat and Digestive Elixirs 2 droppers full 2x daily, before meals. As the liver is the major organ that processes garbage and metabolizes oils in the body, it must be working properly as well. Often the liver becomes congested and backed up do to our modern food choices and habits. For this we use the Liver Elixir in the same way as the other tinctures. This cleansing program is ideal to do for 1 month, followed by a month of building with ferments and probiotics, then another of cleansing if necessary. For some they must stay on a candida diet for 90 days to really shift the imbalance. Hope that is helpful.”
10 Eczema Healing Principals to Follow
1. Avocado and aloe vera can be uses topically on a break out to help moisturize and heal the skin. Mix one or both together into a paste and apply to your skin for 20 minutes and gently wash off with warm water.
2. Swap out pasteurized dairy products for dairy free kefir, sauerkraut and other fermented foods. Pasteurized dairy can be overly acidic and the other potential hormones, chemicals can lower the immune system and aggravate skin conditions like eczema and acne.
3. Replace acid producing foods like grain-fed beef, pork and chicken for grass-fed meats, dark leafy green vegetables, whole fruits and sprouted nuts or seeds for a few weeks and see if you notice any improvement.
4. Swap out your oils for a cold pressed, organic, extra virgin coconut oil.
5. Eat more living foods – fresh juices, fruit & green smoothies, salads, and lightly steamed vegetables.
6. Drink green vegetable juices with ingredients like celery, cucumber, kale, parsley, cilantro and ginger.
7. Take a dairy free probiotic to support and re-build healthy gut bacteria. You can also have cultured foods like sauerkraut, coconut kefir and miso.
8. Avoid caffeine as it can aggravate eczema. Drink water instead, hydration is important.
9. Remove Gluten from the diet that may be hiding in packaged foods, breads, cereals and replace it with sprouted, whole grains or fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and seaweeds. You can find wonderful seaweed blends from HarmonicArts.ca
10. Eat foods rich in Omega 3’s like chia, hemp seed, and walnuts, (salmon if you eat fish). You can also find an oil like Udo’s oil or hemp at your local health food store. Spirulina is another great food for skin conditions, it’s rich in fatty acids and protein.
11. Bonus Tip. Reduce your stress by doing the things you love and following your bliss. If there are areas of your life that need healing, do what it takes to clear past wounds and embark on a new chapter in your life. There are some great meditations out there like the Ho’oponopono track, and wonderful books by authors like Harville Hendrix, Dr. Daniel Amen, Dr. Nathaniel Branden and NLP practitioners Richard Bandler. These authors have written amazing books on self-healing and self-growth.
Following these healing principles does not mean you will experience results overnight, but over time when you adopt these principles as part of your lifestyle your skin will follow suit. It took about 2 months for my hands to heal completely, so like anything – you need to give it time. Talk to your N.D or R.H.N about implementing these practices into your daily routine.
Have you healed eczema in yourself or a child naturally? Share your tips in the comments below!
Sheleana Aiyana
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