W30 shopping list for eczema: low-hist or FODMAP?

[Meggerz5987]

Hello wonderful whole30 people!

I have done two successful w30s in the last year. It has changed my life and been such a blessing!

'm 27 years old, exercise regularly (crossfit, running, swimming, rucking) and serve as a vocalist for the Army.

However, one thing I can't seem to kick is dyshidrotic dermatitis, an AWFUL kind of eczema. It has plagued my hands in various severities for years. I can't take it anymore.

I've been on various oral contraceptives (birth control) for the last 10 years; it has literally just dawned on me that that may be a contributing factor, since I started having trouble with the eczema around the same time I started OC; this might explain why the last two Challenges hadn't really eliminated it. I was also coming off prednisone during 1 of the challenges and feel that may have confused my perceived results of the challenge. I even still have some candida on the corners of my mouth that won't go away!

I have been on allergy immunotherapy for two years and occasionally take Allegra and singulair on shot days (1x month or when allergies really bother me). They have made a world of difference to my environmental allergies.

I never had food allergies or skin issues until my late teens til currently;I feel because of the meds and problems I now have with my skin that I have a severe imbalance in my leaky gut and perhaps I've developed food intolerances and sensitivities. I need to reset my body but I'm not sure which specific foods ON TOP of the w30 list I should avoid.

All this being said, Bottom line up front: now that I'm off ALL meds, I want to do another challenge but am Unsure if I should stick to the regular foods list, the FODMAP food list, or the low-histamine one? I want to kick the daylights out of this eczema once and for all and heal my gut! Please help!

Thankyou! Army Strong!

-Megan

[Tom Denham]

The medical literature is not encouraging that diet will fix eczema, but I am afraid none of the research considers anything like Whole30-style eating. It is certainly worth the effort to pursue this. 

 

I am puzzled that you report having leaky gut and candida but say you have completed two successful Whole30s in the past year. I would have thought leaky gut issues would resolve by now. 

 

I routinely discourage people from going the Autoimmune Protocol route with their first Whole30, but you may want to consider the AIP approach. It is more restrictive, but resources for recipes have become readily available over the past few years. Here is a link to our AIP shopping list:

 

http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-shopping-list-AIP.pdf

 

You may also want to read through this article: http://whole30.com/2014/03/paleo-approach/

[Meggerz5987]

Thanks for the timely response, Mr. Denham!

The first challenge was in January 2014; it was also around the same time when coming off a bunch of SSRIs that the Army strongly advised I take over the prior 18 months due to some extremely unhealthy working conditions. All the medication did was turn my brain and body inside out and upside down (18 pounds gained in 4 months while being medicated). My eczema had cleared up a bit, but was still lurking about.

I completed the second challenge this past November; unfortunately, I was also coming off a very strong dose of prednisone (I went on it twice within two months because of how severe it was; I couldn't even close my hand to make a fist.) consequently, it seemed as if the flare ups returned that much stronger after coming off the prednisone, which also left me with the facial candida, probably as a result of the corticosteroid killing off a lot of "good" bacteria.

To clarify from my first post, there maybe some link, from the articles and journals I've poured over, between the use of oral

Contraceptives and eczema. Since my eczema didn't begin until around the same time I started taking an oral contraceptive, I thought that might have something to do with it; it would also explain the various stages of severity, since I've tried numerous brands and prescriptions of birth control.

With that being said, if this is in fact the case, that would explain why I'm all sorts of hormonally imbalanced, and may be contributing to what's going on in my gut. I'm hypothesizing that taking an OC, in addition to corticosteroids that have left me imbalanced (candida as a sign), has slowly caused me to develop food intolerances and/or sensitivities that I never had in the past.

Now that I've finally removed the constant (OC), my plan is to journey on another w30 with the AIP as a guideline, so I can restore/reset my gut and slowly (SLOWLY) introduce foods back into my

Diet and either determine whether or not they eventually can return regularly, or be removed permanently.

I've read and researched so much and tried so many medications and creams and doctors. Health care is particular in the Army and I'm looking at getting them to support me being seen by a different doctor as a second opinion (more naturopathic?) but I'm not sure it will be successful.

There's got to be a reason why the eczema is as bad as it is now compared to how it started. I have to at least try this, even if it is as a last resort. I've read a great deal about the AIP approach and will most likely take this route, while maintaining whole 30 guidelines.

I'm always open for new ideas or advice. Please feel free to share anything else that might be of use. Thank you again, Tom!

[leahcarn]

Do you have any foods that seem to cause flare-ups? That would give a clue as to what list to go by

[Tina R]

I am doing a candida cleanse and basically I can only have 1/2 a cup of berries or a green apple each day. No other fruit is allowed. I don't know if it's working yet but you may want to reduce your fructose (FODMAPS) on your whole30 and see if that makes a difference. I am also taking a rotation of antimicrobials to help kill the bad stuff and not the good stuff. I don't know what kind of rash I have on my hands but it gets worse with dairy. Also when I use my MI paste toothpaste or enamel improving toothpaste. These are dairy based. It also could be your soap, lotion, shampoo or a medication you are taking. It is so frustrating! Good Luck!

[Meggerz5987]

Thanks all!  As far as specific foods goes, I have a strong lead that one of the culprits may be nightshades.  Dairy doesn't seem to have a huge effect on me.  The dairy I typically consume is kefir, eggs, and aged cheeses like cheddar, asiago, parmesan, romano.  I occasionally cook with or consume greek yogurt as well.

I've read about a candida cleanse but don't know many specifics about it.  How long have you been doing it?  Has it proved helpful?  I may do a combination of AIP w30 and FODMAPS, but I also want to be able to eat food, lol.  Though eggs are one of my staples in my diet, I can handle the AIP w30 and will most likely be starting Monday, but combining that with FODMAPS might not leave me much to eat!  As far as fruit goes, I'm an avid banana eater (consume in morning or preworkout for more sustained energy), and maybe one other piece later in the day/evening.

 I use Dr. Bronner's castille soap for all hand washing and bathing; I may even start washing my dishes with it.  I use Trader Joe's dish soap, as well as their laundry soap, and allergen free dryer sheets.  I use high quality commercial salon shampoo, but I'm not having any issues with my scalp or hair.

What I can't seem to wrap my brain around (aside from my little aforementioned hypothesis), is how I now seem to have developed food sensitivities/intolerances/allergies and I NEVER HAD THEM growing up.  It's extremely disheartening.

Would you mind sharing more about the antimicrobial rotation? 

Hope everyone has a great holiday!
 

[Carlaccini]

I have had eczema long term as well.  It covered 60% of my body when I was a kid/teenager.  I honestly thought I "grew out of it" but instead things got much, much worse.  I developed roseacea and HS.  Unfortunately dairy is a huge factor for me.  I cannot consume even a little - I will pay for it for weeks.

 

I am 2+ years into whole 9 eating.  I have come to a point where I can eat nightshades occasionally (once or twice a week) Certain nuts bother me.  I need to stay far away from walnuts.  Eggs never really bothered me so I never thoroughly cut them out.

 

Since you have done 2 whole 30's already - doing an AIP does sound like a worthwhile thing to pursue.  It took me at least 9 months to figure out on how to keep my monthly migraines at bay.  Sugar was a huge factor for me.  I still wrestle with it.

 

Best of luck to you and wishing you a very Happy Holidays!

[ladyshanny]

I have nummular eczema on my arms and legs and dairy, even a smidgen of dairy wrecks me for 14-21 days.  It took me a LONG time to put that together because the reaction was so long lasting I figured it had to be something else, contact allergies or something.  But no....a speck of dairy = many days of horrible rash & itching/bleeding. Lovely. 

 

Never, ever do I discount food's contribution to our internal and external reactions, whether that reaction is immediate or long lasting or days later.

[praxisproject]

Food intolerances can have a lot to do with how leaky your gut is. I'm recovering from 35 years of eating gluten so my poor gut is quite leaky and even a bit of accidental dairy or grain can set me back a long way.

 

I've also been a long time prednisone taker and it affects your cortisone levels. Workouts in the evenings rather than mornings are better as your body's cortisol is naturally lower then. Mornings have the highest usually. I've found lifting heavy is better for my cortisol than cardio.

 

I would try staying off the dairy for as long as you can. If hormones are in play, eliminating cow hormones is important to restore your own balance.

 

Some things to think about:

• Bananas and avocados - latex allergy (which often manifests in the skin)
• Nuts with skins may be particular irritants, each nut has a different profile. Hazelnuts and Brazil nuts have different enzymes. Detoxinista has lots of info on phytic acid and soaking nuts.
• Pesticides on food
• Magnesium
• Vitamin and other deficiencies
• Hormones

A sneaky nightshade is the goji berry, watch out for these, they're often added in as a "berry" but they're not a berry at all.

 

One advantage to the AIP and doing reintroductions from there is that you'll know what you have reactions to. Unless you know you have a reaction to FODMAPs, an AIP would be better at diagnosis.

With FODMAPs and nightshades, for some people the volume is important, not just whether you have them. I used to have too many nightshades, but lowering my overall load has enabled me to keep having nightshades with no ill effects.

 

If it's possible, I'd get some baseline blood tests done before you start too

[Tina R]

Here is the candida cleanse that I am doing. http://thewholejourney.com/could-it-be-candida. The program is not free so you have to pay to get all the details but this should explain the basics. She had a discount on the program for Black Friday so you might want to keep your eyes open for future discounts. The anti microbial rotation is 4 days of Paul D' Arco tea with every meal, 4 days of olive leaf extract with every meal, 4 days of grapefruit seed extract with every meal and 4 days of oregano oil capsules with every meal. You do this rotation for 3 -4 times (48 - 64 days). The diet is similar to the whole30 but you can have some grains like brown rice a quinoa. No fermented foods including vinegar, no sugar or sweeteners except stevia or xylitol, no fruit except 1/2 cup of berries or 1 green apple. No coffee. Good luck!

[bell30]

I have had hand eczema for the last 6 years . I have had every steroid and non steroid cream the doctor could prescribe, had patch testing done to to identify allergens (turns out I was allergic to steroid cream) , replaced soap with Dermal 500,  and always wash up with kitchen gloves on( to avoid irritants)  none of this improved the situation - All the doctor could do was prescribe creams. I have also been eating a whole30 style diet for the last year. It never improved until recently when I started to include fermented foods and a specific probiotic supplement - L.Plantarum. After a month or so taking the L.Plantarum my Eczema has completed gone from the palm of my hand, I still have a small amount of dry skin on my little finger but this is slowly disappearing. 

 

This article is worth a read , its how I discovered L.Plantarum. 

 

http://mrheisenbug.wordpress.com/2014/01/27/l-plantarum-cured-my-eczema/