I did some research last night on a possible chronic case of eczema or psoriasis, which I've been "battling" for nearly 10 years. It's always been intermittent and discrete, so I've never really pursued a solution or treatment. However, recently (like within the past 2 years), it's become more persistent and more noticeable.
After extensive research (that goes beyond last night), I've found a few avenues to try. I'm sharing this with my blog readers, because I know these particular skin ailments are fairly common.
It looks as though eczema is often the symptom of food allergies. The primary allergies which express themselves as this chronic skin condition are:
Wheat (Gluten)
Soy
Dairy
Yeast
Sugar
Nickel (found in a lot of foods)
Clearly it's not dairy that I am reacting to, as the condition worsened around the time I eliminated dairy from my diet. I don't eat much wheat, but there is gluten in most meat substitutes. On that same token, I have a high-soy diet (between tofu, seitan, edamame, and tempeh), and I can probably trace some skin condition back to my late teens, when I began eating soy products, so this might be the smoking gun. I eliminated yeast once, and didn't note a remarkable difference in the condition, but it wasn't as bad back then. I didn't begin consuming products with yeast in them, on a regular basis, until about 2 years ago, another correlation. The sugar claim is unclear, as I couldn't find a resource that specified if this was refined cane sugar, all cane sugar, or any kind of sugar source. Evidently, nickel is in a lot of my diet (nuts, legumes, some fruits, soy, etc).
So here's the plan:
Since I'm doing this 10-day cleanse, anyway, and have eliminated everything except nuts from the list, I should notice a difference in the severity of my skin ailment. If it clears and remains clear for 2 weeks, I will gradually reintroduce each food back into my diet, a week at a time, to test for reactions.
In the meantime, I've read a lot of success stories from others who suffer from the same discomfort, after adding Acidophilis to their daily supplements, as well as relief from Aquaphor Ointment. Today, I stopped at Earth Fare and picked up a bottle of Probiotics with Acidophilis to try.
I'm also concerned that I may be allergic to garlic, so if all else fails, I will eliminate that and see where it leads. My fingers are crossed that this isn't the culprit, because I adore garlic and use it in most of my cooking (and un-cooking!), and it's SOOO good for you!
My meal plan today is unimpressive, due to my pressing schedule:
Smoothie
Larabar(s)
Cashews
Water
and probably lots of raw veggies and hummus for work snacks.
Dinner was much better than anticipated! I got to leave work a bit early tonight, so I stopped by Greenlife Grocery and splurged on everything in their Living Foods display. We had raw Pad Thai, Mixed Spring Greens, Raw Falafel, "Saag Paneer," Sprouted Lentil Salad, "Tuna" Salad, Wakame and Hemp Salad, and (drum roll please...)
ReplyDeleteRaw Strawberry Cheesecake and a Raw Apple Tart!
I decided on this "sampler platter," because I wanted to see which we liked and which we didn't, and which I might want to try to "replicate" (aka improve).
I have ideas brewin'...
Lara bars are great - but they are very expensive...if you have a food processor - I can give you some great recipes (or you can just read her labels) and make your own!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I have a lot of great raw recipes that would be suitable for grab-n-go snacks, but it's the time contraints I'm up against. At this juncture, the expense is worth the time saved. Also, there's a grocery store here in Asheville called "Amazing Savings" and it's the discount version of Whole Foods. You can get a a box of Lara Bars for $5!
ReplyDelete