Eczema.com

When it comes around to a discussion of diet and health, I tend to get discouraged. It seems that nearly every food I enjoy—and, come to think of it, that’s a lot of food—is somehow bad for my health. I’ll be the first to admit that I probably should improve my diet a bit. However, it is simply impossible to avoid every food that may have an adverse effect.

The Problem of Food

Some people who suffer from eczema find that their eczema flares up in direct response to eating certain foods. Here is a list of the foods most commonly identified to cause eczema.

• Milk and dairy products
• Soy products
• Eggs
• Seafood
• Fruit  (mostly citrus fruits, but includes strawberries as well)
• Nuts
• Seafood
• Wheat products
• Edible chemical additives, including preservatives and food colorings

What to Avoid?

When you consider it, that’s a pretty exhaustive list. It would be extremely difficult to go through an entire day without consuming any of the ingredients. Besides, so much of the food that is easily available at the grocery store is laced with preservatives, colorings, and additives galore. To combat your eczema, it is not necessary to eliminate all of those ingredients. It is important, however, to keep track of what you eat, monitor eczema outbreaks, and try to narrow down the cause of your eczema. That way you can avoid the certain foods that may affect you individually.

Not Just Food

Remember, it’s not just food that can cause eczema. There are a variety of factors—some identifiable, some not—that cause eczema. Food-related eczema outbreaks have been identified in 10% of the children who experience eczema.