In August of 2015 we decided to "go paleo" in response to a total body eczema flare I had after the birth of our son in December 2014 (story shared
here). Within one month of eliminating dairy, grains and refined sugar from our diet I saw major improvement in my skin and my previously daily flares started decreasing in frequency and severity. While I do not have any diagnosed food allergies, I believe by eliminating these "inflammatory foods" from my diet has helped to eliminate inflammation in my skin and helped to regulate my blood sugar, immune system and in general has improved my health and mood overall. The paleo diet and lifestyle is not a
one size fits all is all about finding what works for the individual. I am still early on in my process of reintroducing foods, but generally speaking I do not eat dairy, grains, or refined sugar. If you are interested in learning more about the paleo diet and eating for autoimmune conditions, I encourage you to check out Dr. Sarah Ballantyne's blog,
The Paleo Mom and the
Whole 30 website. These have been great resources for me thus far.
My husband eats the Standard American Diet when he is on his own, but when we are together we eat paleo dishes. Our son eats some dairy, no refined sugar (except we tried to give him icing on a birthday cupcake, he didn't like it!) and no gluten. Our son has eczema also, which seems to be controlled with frequent moisturizing as well.
In addition to eliminating these foods from my diet, I have made many other changes that have contributed to my healing:
- Focus on getting consistent, quality sleep.
- Reduced/eliminated sources of stress in my life.
- Make time to rest and relax.
- Take two Epsom salt baths a week.
- Exercise more (this is not an enjoyable pastime of mine, working to exercise daily)
- Reduced frequency and duration of hot showers.
- Budget time to do things I enjoy.
- Moisturize multiple times daily (Current favorite: Cetaphil Restoraderm)
- Sleep with a humidifier every night.
Here are some entries related to my paleo journey:
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