Welcome!

I get asked questions. A lot of them! Some are frequently asked… therefore I thought it might help you to have this information, because you may have some of these same questions.

This guide is meant to be just that, a guide. It’s not a suggestion to do all of these things. It’s not meant to make you more anxious!

My goal in creating it is to give you a place to find a wide range of information to help support you along your journey to resolving eczema.

Much of this information applies to adults as well.

This page is dynamic, so check back often to see what’s new!

You didn’t start out as a practitioner, you were actually a patient, and have struggled with loved ones’ health problems. Can you tell us more about your story?
You talk about going back to basics and addressing the foundation. What does this mean and how does it apply to rashes like eczema?
How are gut problems (even without gut symptoms) and skin rashes related?
How is stress a trigger for health problems like skin rashes?
Elimination diets are often recommended for skin rashes. What’s your take on them?
How do you address skin rashes like eczema in babies and children?
What can pregnant and nursing moms do if they and/or their baby have skin rashes?
In your opinion, what’s one of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to heal their rashes?
What’s the biggest mistake even alternative-minded practitioners make in tackling chronic health problems like these?
Why do you think conventional medicine is failing people with chronic health issues these?
Can you speak to the guilt parents and especially moms have when they have little ones with skin rashes?
What supplements are best for eczema in kids?
What are the problems with using steroid creams, and what are other topical options?
How do you feel about using steroid creams and other conventional means to address symptoms?
What 3 things can you do right now to start rebuilding healthy skin?
What’s the problem with using topicals that include red clover on little ones?
How long will it take to resolve skin rashes?
What testing do you recommend to identify the root cause of the problem?
What are the differences in an infant gut microbiome compared to adults, and what are we looking for in the stool?
Does resolving gut imbalances address food allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances?
Does undigested food in stools point to problems with digestion, and can a digestive enzyme supplement address this?
Can mom pass triggers for skin rashes through breast milk to her little one, beyond food related triggers?
If mom is nursing and is on a protocol for her own health concerns, how does this affect little ones?
What is the difference between triggers as allergens versus contributors to increased gut permeability (i.e. dairy)?
My child might be allergic to our family pet, do I need to get rid of our fur baby?

1. You didn’t start out as a practitioner, you were actually a patient, and have struggled with loved ones’ health problems. Can you tell us more about your story?

I find that so many of us in functional medicine have experienced our own health challenges which we’ve had to take matters into our own hands to find solutions for.

My personal story is a long one. I won't go into deep details but I’ll give you a summary. As a child I struggled with feeling different because of A congenital defect. I was also frequently ill with things like strep throat and ear infections, which of course came along with lots of antibiotics. as a teen I experienced significant physical as well as emotional traumas (a car accident that put me in the hospital for 2 weeks, sexual assault, and multiple surgeries for various reasons, including reconstruction for my congenital abnormality). In my twenties, after a divorce (so more emotional trauma), I developed severe IBS. Over the years my health continued to deteriorate. Like so many I started using diet restrictions to manage my symptoms. Overtime diet restriction became a coping mechanism for me because I felt like everything was out of control, I ended up nearly hospitalized for disordered eating. The crazy thing was that I did not even realize this was happening until I ended up in Urgent Care with what I thought was a horrible flu. It was the physician, a conventional physician, I saw that day who helped me realize what was happening.I didn't have the flu, my body was shutting down because I was starving. And through all of this my symptoms that I was trying to manage with diet continued to get worse. This is why I am so passionate about spreading the word That food is not the root cause of the problem and continuing to blame food causes more harm than good. We know our bodies run off of nutrients from Foods we eat, and if they are missing imbalances develop and symptoms and health problems follow. in order to resolve my health problems I've had to address my gut health, expand my diet and nourish my body, I've had to undergo multiple surgeries to repair damage caused by IBS, or really I should say the habits I created to manage it, and the hardest part has been to deal with the emotional aspects of my past.

Another significant motivator For me to do what I do is my father. He was diagnosed with psoriasis as a child. By the time he was 30 he developed psoriatic arthritis. He is in his seventies now and has taken a conventional medicine approach. I have watched his continued deterioration because the root cause of the problem has not been addressed. He is so deeply rooted in his current Medical model of addressing his disease that a different approach and doing the work needed to address root causes of the problem really aren’t options for him. And I think something important to recognize is that addressing root cause problems of our health concerns is not easy. It takes patience, persistence, and consistency. it also requires jumping into somewhat unknowns which is challenging for a lot of people, especially when they are conditioned to believe that conventional medicine is the only viable option. Conventional medicine is an important factor in healthcare and it's life-saving. However we can't medicate away, or surgically repair root cause imbalances like poor or inadequate nutrition, poor lifestyle habits, and chronic stress, all of which can be root cause problems of chronic and complex health conditions.

Because this is hard and I know what it's like to struggle alone and feel like there is no support, I want to be that support for others. I want to help them find the root causes of their symptoms and health problems so that they can be addressed. I want people to beat their symptoms and health problems. I want people to know that they don't have to struggle and suffer, and they certainly don’t have to go at it alone.

No one should have to go through this, and babies certainly shouldn't be spending their first years suffering. So many give up and accept what they are told, "It's just something you'll learn to live with." That's not an acceptable answer to me. Symptoms we have, including skin rashes, are the body's cry for help that something is wrong. We can figure out what's wrong, address it, and bring balance back to the body to help it heal.

When we are doing this, it's different in babies versus, adults and even older kids. And of course mom is often breastfeeding, or might even be pregnant.

2. You talk about going back to basics and addressing the foundation. What does this mean and how does it apply to rashes like eczema?

I have found in my clinical practice That there are three foundational aspects to health that need to be in place for all else to work the way it's supposed to, and this includes what's happening with our skin.

Number one we need to make sure that our bodies have the fuel they need to do everything they are supposed to do including building and repairing healthy skin. Healthy skin requires a lot of different nutrients, and these come from Foods we eat. This means we need to eat rather than restrict. I have repeatedly seen clients’ skin rashes get worse the more restrictive their diets become. This is also extremely problematic in children because they are growing and developing. I do recommend keeping processed foods, gluten, dairy, and eggs out of the diet, especially with eczema because these are common triggers, Whether there are identified food allergies (IgE reactions) to them or not. Just because someone doesn't have an identified allergy, doesn't mean that item won't cause reactions. I’ll mention too that I have not seen these restrictions solve the problem in my clients, although I know it does for some. However it often goes much deeper and food is not the root cause of the problem. So the clients that I see most of the time have already tried diet to solve the problem, to no avail.So we need to look deeper.

Number two we need to see what's happening in the gut. Health begins in the gut! It's where 70-80% of our immune system is located, and it plays a huge role in how we detox. This is important to understand for a number of reasons and I'll talk about a few of them.

If we have gut problems we can't digest and absorb nutrients from the foods we do eat. This means we could be eating everything we are supposed to for building and repairing healthy skin but it's not going to matter much because the body won't be able to use those nutrients.
Also, 70-80% of the immune system is a lot! This means if there are gut problems it can significantly impact how the body reacts to potentially triggering substances, whether that's food or environmental triggers, or what have you. There’s a paper on this (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515351/ 2008), titled Allergy and the gastrointestinal system, by Vighi et. al. This is important to understand with eczema because it is often classified as an allergic condition, and it often comes along with allergies and asthma, known as the atopic Triad.
If there are gut problems there are often detoxification problems. In order for detoxification to function appropriately, we need good gut health. There is something called the gut-skin access, And there is epidemiological evidence showing a clear association between gut problems and skin conditions. This happens via increased gut permeability (which we know as leaky gut).When there are problems in the gut (We're talking about abnormal gut Flora, bacterial/ fungal / parasitic overgrowth, for example), inflammation can develop in there leading to hyperpermeability of the gut lining, which allows toxins to escape from the gastrointestinal tract and enter the bloodstream, Leading to an environment of systemic inflammation, which means inflammation throughout the body. Once these toxins are in the bloodstream they can trigger all sorts of health problems, including skin conditions. In particular there’s a study in Nature from 2019 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-41149-6 2019) by Reddel and colleagues finding that higher levels of certain gut bugs lead to continued production of endotoxins called lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which trigger those inflammatory responses and alter gut permeability, a phenomenon seen in people with eczema.

Number three, chronic stress. Chronic stress can affect the body in a variety of ways and it's a trigger for many people with skin rashes.

Chronic stress can come from:
- Restricted diets, over exercise, injury, gut problems, illness and disease of any kind, including skin rashes, and other physical assaults;
- Prescription medication use, environmental pollutants, pesticides and processed foods, and other toxic exposures; and
- Personal, relationship, financial, work related concerns, and other emotional and mental hardships. Even though little ones may not have work, financial or relationship stress, they can feel yours.

Often a combination of these types of stressors are happening at the same time.

Chronic stress wrecks your skin barrier, and changes the way your immune system works, leading to allergies. These are major problems in those with skin rashes. A paper (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3051852/ 2011) by Leizmann et al., Stress, atopy and allergy, and another paper (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18606083 2008) by Arndt et al. Stress and Atopic Dermatitis, describe this relationship.

In a nutshell these are three foundational aspects I focus on with my clients. I like to think of it in terms of building a house and you can't build a house without a strong Foundation. If there are cracks in your foundation your house is going to fall down.The same goes for your body. If there are cracks in your foundation your body is not going to function the way it's supposed to.

3. How are gut problems (even without gut symptoms) and skin rashes related?

There are a variety of mechanisms linking gut problems to skin problems.

If we have gut problems we can't digest and absorb nutrients from the foods we do eat. This means we could be eating everything we are supposed to for building and repairing healthy skin but it's not going to matter much because the body won't be able to use those nutrients. This is because our bodies run off of nutrients from Foods we eat, and when they are missing symptoms and health problems can develop, including skin problems.
70-80% of the immune system is located in the gut, and this is a lot of the immune system! This means if there are gut problems it can significantly impact how the body reacts to potentially triggering substances, whether that's food or environmental triggers, or what have you. There’s a paper on this (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515351/ 2008), titled Allergy and the gastrointestinal system, by Vighi et. al. This is important to understand with eczema because it is often classified as an allergic condition, and it often comes along with allergies and asthma, known as the atopic Triad. This contributes to the scientific body of evidence that problems in the gut are a root cause for not just eczema, but other allergic conditions.
If there are gut problems there are often detoxification problems. In order for detoxification to function appropriately, we need good gut health. There is something called the gut-skin access, And there is epidemiological evidence showing a clear association between gut problems and skin conditions. This happens via increased gut permeability (which we know as leaky gut).When there are problems in the gut (We're talking about abnormal gut Flora, bacterial/ fungal / parasitic overgrowth, for example), inflammation can develop in there leading to hyperpermeability of the gut lining, which allows toxins to escape from the gastrointestinal tract and enter the bloodstream, Leading to an environment of systemic inflammation, which means inflammation throughout the body. Once these toxins are in the bloodstream they can trigger all sorts of health problems, including skin conditions. In particular there’s a study in Nature from 2019 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-41149-6 2019) by Reddel and colleagues finding that higher levels of certain gut bugs lead to continued production of endotoxins called lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which trigger those inflammatory responses and alter gut permeability, a phenomenon seen in people with eczema.
- This gut hyperpermeability situation is also how food sensitivities develop. There's a great paper “Alterations in intestinal permeability” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1856434/ 2006), Arrieta et al. that talks about the impact leaky gut has on systemic disease.

Any and all of this can be happening, and there may be NO gut symptoms at all! The majority of my clients with skin complaints have no digestive symptoms at all. AND when we check the gut (with a comprehensive digestive stool test), there is ALWAYS gut dysfunction. I have not had 1 client with skin complaints that did not have some findings on stool testing!

4. How is stress a trigger for health problems like skin rashes?

Chronic stress can affect the body in a variety of ways and it's a trigger for many people with skin rashes.

Chronic stress can come from:
- Physical: Restricted diets, over exercise, injury, gut problems, illness and disease of any kind, including skin rashes, and other physical assaults;
- Chemical: Prescription medication use, environmental pollutants, pesticides and processed foods, and other toxic exposures; and
- Emotional: Personal, relationship, financial, work related concerns, and other emotional and mental hardships. Even though little ones may not have work, financial or relationship stress, they can feel yours.

Often a combination of these types of stressors are happening at the same time.

Chronic stress wrecks your skin barrier, and changes the way your immune system works, leading to allergies. These are major problems in those with skin rashes. A paper (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3051852/ 2011) by Leizmann et al., Stress, atopy and allergy looks at Imbalanced stress-responsiveness being at the core of exacerbated allergic disease.

Another paper (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18606083 2008) by Arndt et al. “Stress and Atopic Dermatitis”, talks about stress coming from internal bacterial infections, and psychological stressors causing eczema flares. Researchers found that stress impairs skin barrier function and shifts the immune system towards an allergic response. AND they found that people with eczema may have a genetic predisposition to more stress in the form of abnormal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function (HPA access function).

5. Elimination diets are often recommended for skin rashes. What’s your take on them?

A true Elimination Diet is undertaken for somewhere between 21 to 30 days in order to identify foods that trigger symptoms. After that amount Of time the idea is to reintroduce Foods one at a time and in a controlled manner to determine if they are symptom triggers.

What is often missed in this process is that food is not the root cause of the problem. What's important to understand is that if there are food sensitivities, There is increased gut permeability. When there are gut problems (like abnormal gut Flora, bacterial/ fungal / parasitic overgrowth, for example), and keep in mind there might not even be any Symptoms, inflammation can develop in there leading to hyperpermeability of the gut lining, which allows toxins to escape from the gastrointestinal tract and enter the bloodstream (including endotoxins from gut bugs, and food particles), Leading to an environment of systemic inflammation, which means inflammation throughout the body. Once these toxins are in the bloodstream they can trigger all sorts of health problems, including skin conditions.

So it’s underlying gut problems that lead to food sensitivities, Which then can trigger symptoms like skin rashes and rash flares. And because it’s not just food particles in the bloodstream, it’s also endotoxins, we may be erroneously blaming food!

In particular there’s a study in Nature from 2019 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-41149-6 2019) by Reddel and colleagues finding that higher levels of certain gut bugs lead to continued production of endotoxins called lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which trigger those inflammatory responses and alter gut permeability, a phenomenon seen in people with eczema. Also, There's a paper “Alterations in intestinal permeability” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1856434/ 2006), Arrieta et al. that touches on the relationships between leaky gut, food antigens and other toxins, and systemic disease.

Something else important to keep in mind is that our bodies run off of nutrients from Foods we eat. We need nutrients in order to build and repair healthy skin, as well as to grow, develop, repair, function, and thrive. When nutrients are missing the body doesn't have the fuel it needs to do everything that it needs to do, including building and repairing healthy skin. It's really counterintuitive what we're led to believe. We are led to believe that if we take more and more Foods out of our diet that we will get resolution of our symptoms and health problems. If you have removed common trigger foods, and by that I mean processed foods, gluten, dairy, and eggs when we're talking about Eczema, and it's not helping,It's time to dig deeper to find root causes, And stop blaming food.

Many clients I see, by the time I see them, have been on very limited diets for extended periods of time, and their symptoms have gotten worse. This is not a coincidence. What happens is someone takes Foods out of their diet and has improvements for a time. But the underlying issue which is gut hyperpermeability is still present. Overtime more food sensitivities are going to develop, and the diet will get smaller and smaller.That's because Food is not the root cause of the problem. I want to point out that food sensitivities are different from food allergies and food intolerances. Food sensitivities are IgG reactions, and allergies refer to IgE reactions. IgE reactions are also tied to gut problems, but can be life threatening, whereas IgG reactions are not life threatening. Food intolerances are like lactose intolerance for example, where the body is lacking an enzyme to break down and process the food.

So back to how I feel about elimination diets, I think a short-term one carried out appropriately can be helpful to identify triggering Foods. you can remove these triggering foods from the diet while you work to address the underlying cause of the problem.I do not advocate for long-term restrictive diets of any kind. And I have had personal experience taking restrictive dieting in the name of Health improvements to the extreme and suffering health consequences. I also see this daily in clients and potential clients. It breaks my heart, and it can also be devastating in children who are growing and developing and should not have dietary restrictions. Of course processed foods, added sugars, and eczema triggers like gluten, dairy, and eggs are exceptions. If whole, real foods are triggering symptoms, especially if there are no identified IgE allergies, it's important to explore why. again food isn't the root cause of the problem!

Here’s the thing too, when we eat, Digestion creates die off of bugs in the gut. This is normal. When there is gut hyperpermeability those toxins escape into the bloodstream, so we blame food because we’ve eaten and symptoms develop, but it can actually be due to endotoxins.

A study from Pendyala and colleagues, “A High-Fat Diet Is Associated With Endotoxemia That Originates From the Gut” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3978718/) Found that eating a western style diet, a standard American diet, caused a 71% increase in endotoxin activity after one month. So of course this is another reason why we do want to focus on eating a diet rich in whole, real foods. What this means is eating foods that do not come in packages, and are in their actual forms. An apple looks like an apple, spinach looks like spinach, brussels sprouts look like brussels sprouts. The best tip for following a whole, real foods diet is to shop the perimeter of the store, load up on non starchy vegetables first, hit your butcher counter for quality animal proteins (grass fed, free range, organic, wild caught, pastured, etc. versus conventionally raised versions). Stay out of the isles, which is where you find packaged foods, and beware of “healthy” foods disguised as standard American favorites. Eat vegetables and bananas, not chips made from them. Eat legumes, not legume pasta. Anytime we change the form of the food some processing is involved, and that processing can change the nutrient content, or nutrient value, of the food, or introduce toxic substances.

I feel about food sensitivity testing...

IgG sensitivities. I do not typically recommend it. And that is because if someone is sensitive to many different foods again taking more and more of them out of the diet is not the solution to the problem, and when this is happening we know there are food sensitivities. We've got to look deeper, at the gut. I recommend that deeper look at gut health as the place to focus resources.

Also, I find that food sensitivity testing often picks up foods people never eat!

6. How do you address skin rashes like eczema in babies and children?

Start with diet and remove common trigger foods. This includes processed foods, gluten, dairy and eggs (those common eczema triggers). We can also look at the environment and consider endocrine disrupting chemicals for example, which adversely affect hormones, and increase the toxic burden on the body and impact skin (and overall) health.

EDCs are found in pesticides, metals, additives or contaminants in food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, plastics, water, soil and personal care products. They can be found in conventional dairy, fish, eggs and meat (this is why quality Grass fed, free range, wild caught, pastured, and organic animal foods are where to focus). There are natural endocrine disruptors too, like soy, and they have even been found in breast milk.

The most common categories of EDCs are:

PCBs and dioxins - found in pesticides
Flame retardants - found in plastics, paint, furniture, electronics, and even food
Dioxins - found in conventional meat
Phytoestrogens - found in soy
Pesticides - found in food, water, and soil
Petrofluorinated chemicals - found in non-stick cookware and some food packaging
THALATES (Phthalates) - found in plastics, food packaging, cosmetics, cleaning products (look out for anything with fragrance or perfume in it)
BPA (bisphenol A) - found in plastics, food packaging, and food and drink containers
UV filters - found in sunscreens and cosmetics
Parabens - found in deodorants, possibly polyester fabrics

While this is an overwhelming list to avoid, all you need to do is use common sense to minimize exposure. Here’s what you can do now to help:

Read labels on everything, including personal care/personal hygiene products (lotions, deodorant, cosmetics, perfumes, feminine hygiene products, etc.)
Filter your water
Avoid plastic (even if they say BPA free), and instead use glass, steel, or ceramic containers
Detox!
- Eat foods that support your detox pathways
- Sweat/sauna
- Hydrate
Eat organic where possible to eliminate pesticides in your diet
Avoid using pesticides at home, on your lawn and in your garden
Take your shoes off in the house so as not to track in toxins from outside
Steer clear of chemical cleaning products, and anything with “fragrance” in it including candles, laundry products and air fresheners
Open your windows regularly to let stale air out and increase natural ventilation into your living and/or work space
When cooking, use your vent hood
When showering, use bathroom fans

If baby has skin rashes, is under 6 months of age, and is mostly breastfed, I’ll take a closer look at what’s happening with mom. We start with diet and the environment.

I often find that mom, once we start digging deeper, struggles with her own health concerns including skin rashes, gut problems, or any number of autoimmune conditions. In these cases baby can be affected by imbalances mom is struggling with. This can be nutrient imbalances (insufficiency or deficiency). If mom’s diet is restrictive, maybe she’s on an elimination diet for her symptoms and health problems, that means baby may not be getting the nourishment needed to build healthy skin, or everything else baby’s little body needs to do in order to grow, develop, repair, function and thrive. If mom isn’t getting enough B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, B6 and B12) as well as vitamin A, C and D for example, baby may not either. Sometimes cleaning up the environment and minimizing toxic exposures, and getting mom on a healthy, full and complete diet helps. And if not, then I like to see what’s happening inside mom, and we do that with a comprehensive digestive stool test.

When it comes to putting a nursing mom on a protocol to resolve what’s happening in her gut, there is a lot that can be done, and there are some safe supplement options that can be used. This is a very case by case basis and absolutely something you should not do on your own. Make sure to work with a qualified practitioner that understands what can be done in nursing moms and how that affects baby, because it does. I worked with a family. the two little ones struggled with eczema, the youngest was still nursing, and Mom was on pretty intense gut protocol. mom was working with another practitioner. As Mom implemented various supplements, we saw die off symptoms in the nursing little one.

If baby is over 6 months old, we start with diet, and then we may conduct stool testing. As long as baby is nursing, we also explore mom‘s diet, and her gut. Once kids are not nursing anymore, we focus more directly on them of course.

We can also look at topical options to help soothe angry skin. My favorite recommendations are listed on a page on my website, and I can provide that link too: https://jennifercarynbrand.com/skin/topicals

They are:

Mother Dirt products (probiotics for skin)
Apple cider vinegar and Dr. Bronner’s for scalp and hair, here’s a comprehensive guide
Indigo calm balm
Topical B12 cream (0.07%) has been shown via research to be helpful (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19368512) and I’ve had some clients get relief from it
CLn for cleanser contains sodium hypochlorite, which is found in bleach and is the component of bleach baths that makes it helpful for some people, in particular, if there is a tendency towards high colonization of staph on the skin (common with eczema) and sodium hypochlorite can help combat this.
Dove Sensitive Beauty Bar, This is something that dermatologists recommend. It's actually ph balanced for the Skin Barrier. The skin is acidic. Most cleansers, and even water, are basic, and this adversely affects the Skin Barrier, which is even more problematic, and already disrupted with eczema.
Sunflower seed, jojoba, hemp or rosehip oil for all over moisture (oils that are rich in omega 6 fatty acids are hydrating when used topically). The chemical structure of omega-6 fatty acids is what lends to their hydrating properties for the skin.
Skin soothing baths
- Colloidal oats
- Epsom salt
- Rice starch
- Bleach
- Baking soda
Emu oil
MegaSporeBiotic, a spore-based probiotic from Microbiome Labs, open a capsule, use oil of choice on the skin, sprinkle on a little MegaSpore, massage it in and leave it on

There are some products I avoid topically too, and those are:

Coconut oil - It’s a potent antimicrobial, and can kill off good bugs, leading to a disrupted skin barrier. It isn’t effective as an emollient (rough skin softener), occlusive (barrier protector) or humectant (moisturizer), and it may clog pores. This means it’s not a good option for moisture. While some people find it helpful, generally it is not something I recommend for topical use. Because of its antimicrobial properties, it can be helpful with acne however.
Red clover - Is found in many products that are promoted for use with skin rashes. Red clover is also recommended for menopausal women because it’s a phytoestrogen, meaning it can raise estrogen levels in the body. This is not something we want to do in little ones!
Essential oils - These are very often recommended for topical use. Essential oils should never be used on the skin, and if you or your little struggle with skin rashes or other allergic conditions, avoid using essential oils all together, including diffusing them. Essential oils themselves can cause skin rashes and allergic reactions, among other symptoms. Especially when we are talking about people who already have allergic conditions such as eczema. They should never be used on sensitive skin or broken skin (both are typically the case with skin rashes). Some are antimicrobial and we have a skin microbiome like we do a gut microbiome. A disrupted skin microbiome (if we are “too clean”) can lead to disrupted skin barrier function, which leads to skin rashes. Very few studies have examined the safety of these oils for pregnant or breastfeeding women, who are usually advised to avoid them.

Remember that skin health is an inside job. Addressing diet, and the skin barrier are important parts of the journey to healthy skin, But we should not forget that we need to look deeper for root cause imbalances contributing to the problem.

7. What can pregnant and nursing moms do if they and/or their baby have skin rashes?

If pregnant:

EDCs are found in pesticides, metals, additives or contaminants in food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, plastics, water, soil and personal care products. They can be found in conventional dairy, fish, eggs and meat. There are natural endocrine disruptors too, like soy, and they have even been found in breast milk.

The most common categories of EDCs are:

PCBs and dioxins - found in pesticides
Flame retardants - found in plastics, paint, furniture, electronics, and even food
Dioxins - found in conventional meat
Phytoestrogens - found in soy
Pesticides - found in food, water, and soil
Petrofluorinated chemicals - found in non-stick cookware and some food packaging
THALATES (Phthalates) - found in plastics, food packaging, cosmetics, cleaning products (look out for anything with fragrance or perfume in it)
BPA (bisphenol A) - found in plastics, food packaging, and food and drink containers
UV filters - found in sunscreens and cosmetics
Parabens - found in deodorants, possibly polyester fabrics

While this is an overwhelming list to avoid, all you need to do is use common sense to minimize exposure. Here’s what you can do now to help:

Read labels on everything, including personal care/personal hygiene products (lotions, deodorant, cosmetics, perfumes, feminine hygiene products, etc.)
Filter your water
Avoid plastic (even if they say BPA free), and instead use glass, steel, or ceramic containers
Detox!
- Eat foods that support your detox pathways
- Sweat/sauna
- Hydrate
Eat organic where possible to eliminate pesticides in your diet
Avoid using pesticides at home, on your lawn and in your garden
Take your shoes off in the house so as not to track in toxins from outside
Steer clear of chemical cleaning products, and anything with “fragrance” in it including candles, laundry products and air fresheners
Open your windows regularly to let stale air out and increase natural ventilation into your living and/or work space
When cooking, use your vent hood
When showering, use bathroom fans

Because healthy skin comes from within, we can do a comprehensive digestive stool test for mom to find out what’s happening in the gut. While pregnant we do turn to food-based interventions to resolve identified imbalances. This is not the time for a classic gut protocol that includes certain supplements, but there are strategies that can help.

For example, eating foods rich in quercetin (breastfeeding moms can eat more of these foods to give baby the benefits), a natural antihistamine and powerful antioxidant found in plant foods, can help. Quercetin stabilizes mast cells, and this is important because unstable mast cells release histamine causing itching, rashes, and leaky gut. Foods rich in quercetin include:

Broccoli
Spinach
Kale
Apples
Blueberries
Cherries

A study by Little and colleagues in 2017 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5630244/) titled “Update: Can breastfeeding and maternal diet prevent atopic dermatitis?” found that a maternal diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, and vitamin D is associated with a lower risk of eczema in children, therefore eating a whole, real foods diet, that is anti-inflammatory and rich in antioxidants is recommended (for mom and baby once baby starts eating solids) and includes:

Vegetables and fruits
Quality sources of protein from grass fed, free range, pastured, wild caught and organic animals. We want to avoid conventional animal products, those are the problem.
Healthy fats like omega 3s from fish and flaxseed, olive oil, avocados and avocado oil, coconut oil, ghee and grass fed butter
No/low added sugar

We can also eat foods that have antimicrobial properties (which can be helpful when we have gut dysbiosis). Herbs and spices, small amounts of coconut oil, garlic, and raw honey are examples.

If based on testing we do find an infection that can be treated conventionally, that can be important consideration. A lot of parents are adverse to using conventional prescriptions. Something to remember is that they are there for a reason. Long-term use can be problematic, but short-term use can be helpful, and indicated. Think of it this way, it’s like breaking the glass in case of an emergency. It’s there if you need it.

This leads into another important consideration. If your little one is struggling with skin rashes, is uncomfortable, constantly scratching, can’t sleep, etc., don’t be afraid to use something prescribed by your doctor like Benadryl to help them sleep and give them relief, or a steroid cream to manage a flare. Again short-term use of these medications can help get over the hump. There is no need to suffer through and bear it. These interventions can also be helpful while addressing the root cause of the problem because doing so is not an overnight process. The common trajectory I see in practice is that flares become fewer and farther between and when they do happen they are less severe and go away faster. It's gradual. This means that throughout the process something might be needed for relief and sometimes conventional interventions can really take the edge off to get through those tough times.

Interestingly a lot of moms get relief from their skin rashes and even other autoimmune conditions because pregnancy changes the way the body works, including immune system function, and can send some autoimmune diseases into remission.

Another important point is that food is not the root cause of the problem. It might be a trigger however. If removing processed foods, gluten and dairy, and any identified IgE food allergies doesn’t help, removing more and more foods from the diet is not the answer. The body runs off of nutrients from food we eat and when they are missing imbalances develop and symptoms and health problems follow, including skin rashes. This is because nutrients from food we eat allow our bodies do everything they are supposed to do including grow, develop, repair, function, and thrive. I have seen skin rashes get worse as the diet becomes smaller in both adults and little ones. This is why it’s important to identify and address root cause issues that might be causing the problem.

With increased metabolic needs associated with pregnancy for mom and your growing baby, this is certainly not a time to restrict your diet!

If nursing:

If baby has skin rashes, is under 6 months of age, and is mostly breastfed, I’ll take a closer look at what’s happening with mom. We start with diet and the environment.

That food first approach is important in nursing moms just as it is during pregnancy. For example, eating foods rich in quercetin, a natural antihistamine and powerful antioxidant found in plant foods, can help. Quercetin stabilizes mast cells, and this is important because unstable mast cells release histamine causing itching, rashes, and leaky gut. Foods rich in quercetin include:

Broccoli
Spinach
Kale
Apples
Blueberries
Cherries

Vegetables and fruits
Quality sources of protein from grass fed, free range, pastured, wild caught and organic animals. We want to avoid conventional animal products, those are the problem.
Healthy fats like omega 3s from fish and flaxseed, olive oil, avocados and avocado oil, coconut oil, ghee and grass fed butter
No/low added sugar

We can also eat foods that have antimicrobial properties (which can be helpful when we have gut dysbiosis). Herbs and spices, small amounts of coconut oil, garlic, and raw honey are examples.

When nutrition is not enough, I like to see what’s happening inside mom, and we do that with a comprehensive digestive stool test.

If baby is over 6 months old, we start with diet, and then depending on the unique case, we may conduct stool testing. As long as baby is nursing, we also explore mom‘s diet, and her gut.

BUT we do also want to start with a food first approach.

8. In your opinion, what’s one of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to heal their rashes?

Focusing on diet alone, or environment alone, or topical options alone. And not at all addressing root cause imbalances.

There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle and everyone’s puzzle is different. There is absolutely no one size fits all plan, and one off recommendations don’t do the trick. Just because something worked for your best friend, your neighbor, someone else you've heard about, doesn't mean it's going to work for you. Unfortunately it's not that simple.

A holistic protocol is needed to address skin rashes.

9. What’s the biggest mistake even alternative-minded practitioners make in tackling chronic health problems like these?

Good question. Not hearing your clients/patients, and not digging deep enough. EVERY piece of information may be a clue. For example, I have a client that has been using a topical moisture product on her little one. Her little one has nut allergies. The products she was using had shea butter in it. Shea is a nut and if there are nut allergies, shea may be a problem. She didn’t know this. As practitioners we need to remember to explore what goes in, what goes on, and what’s around the client/patient, take into account the individual presentation of the client and what’s happening inside (or what imbalances exist), and create a protocol that will address all these factors in a way that isn’t overwhelming for the client/patient. It’s a tall order for sure!

10. Why do you think conventional medicine is failing people with chronic health issues these?

Not connecting the dots… When we take a functional approach to health, we are looking at how symptoms are tied to systems and all systems are connected. This is important to understand, and skin problems are no exception. They are a perfect example of how conventionally we fail to look deeper for root causes. Even allergies are not the root cause. Allergies themselves are another symptom. For example when we are talking about atopic conditions of which eczema is classified along with allergies and asthma, there is a body of scientific evidence linking them to problems in the gut. 70 to 80% of the immune system is located in the gut microbiome. This means that imbalances there can have a significant impact throughout the body creating immune system dysregulation, leading to atopy and health problems like eczema, allergies, and asthma.

Pascal and colleagues, 2018, “Microbiome and Allergic Diseases” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6056614/) note that it is well established that the microbiome can modulate the immune response, and the microbiome can be considered a therapeutic target for treating inflammatory diseases, such as allergy.

As well, Vighi and colleagues, 2008, “Allergy and the gastrointestinal system” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515351/), note that the GI system plays a central role in immune system homeostasis.

So rather than addressing eczema with topical creams or immune modulators, allergies by avoidance, or asthma with steroids, by exploring what’s happening in the gut and resolving imbalances there, we can also help support the immune system, and stop the dysfunction at its source. This is important because not addressing root causes leaves them active to continue to wreak havoc.

11. Can you speak to the guilt parents and especially moms have when they have little ones with skin rashes?

Many parents feel like it’s their fault that their little ones are struggling. It pains me to hear it in their voices, see it in their faces, and listen to them go over the laundry list post potential things they feel they've done wrong. I have a mom who was told by their allergist that she caused their little one’s dairy allergy by restricting it from the diet.

Know this. I have seen babies born C-section, that are formula-fed, and that have skin rashes. I see just as many vaginally born and breast-fed babies with skin rashes as well.

Parents, it is not your fault! I have seen every combination of factors. It’s beyond frustrating when you’ve done ‘everything right’ and your little one still struggles. It causes so much worry and guilt when you feel like there is something you did that caused the problem.

Know that there is a deeper root cause issue, and it is not your fault.

12. What supplements are best for eczema in kids?

This really depends on the age of the child.

When kids are 2 to 3 years of age and older, there is a lot more we can do with supplements to help resolve imbalances and root cause problems.

With younger children and babies, certain probiotics can be more helpful than others. We can also include prebiotics, and depending on the unique situation other nutrients may be helpful. There are even some herbal formulas we can use to resolve gut problems available for very little ones.

Please work with a professional knowledgeable here.

If mom is nursing, this is also where it may be more appropriate to see what’s happening with her, and work through her to positively affect the little one. In my really little ones that are completely or mostly breastfed, we start with mom.

13. What are the problems with using steroid creams, and what are other topical options?

Common treatments for eczema include over the counter and prescription topical medications. Topical steroids when used short term and appropriately can help get through tough flares as you’re working to address root causes of the problem.

Long term use can be problematic and can cause red skin syndrome, topical steroid addiction, or topical steroid withdrawal. This can be debilitating, even worse than eczema, and it can be mistaken for worsening of eczema symptoms.

Your skin can become addicted to steroids, which also are endocrine disruptors, meaning they can cause hormone imbalances, including in the adrenals. This can be even worse in kids because their systems are still developing.

Diluting a topical corticosteroid does not reduce the risk, and a diluted topical steroid can lead to overuse, increasing the risk.

However, never feel bad about using medications when you need to. Think of it as ‘breaking the glass in case of an emergency.’ That’s what they are there for. It’s long-term use that becomes detrimental.

I do have some favorite topical recommendations that are not steroids, and I can provide a link to a page on my website where I have these listed: https://jennifercarynbrand.com/skin/topicals

Mother Dirt products (probiotics for skin)
Apple cider vinegar and Dr. Bronner’s for scalp and hair, here’s a comprehensive guide
Indigo calm balm
Topical B12 cream (0.07%) has been shown via research to be helpful (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19368512) and I’ve had some clients get relief from it
CLn for cleanser contains sodium hypochlorite, which is found in bleach and is the component of bleach baths that makes it helpful for some people, in particular, if there is a tendency towards high colonization of staph on the skin (common with eczema) and sodium hypochlorite can help combat this.
Dove Sensitive Beauty Bar, This is something that dermatologists recommend. It's actually ph balanced for the Skin Barrier. The skin is acidic. Most cleansers, and even water, are basic, and this adversely affects the Skin Barrier, which is even more problematic, and already disrupted with eczema.
Sunflower seed, jojoba, hemp or rosehip oil for all over moisture (oils that are rich in omega 6 fatty acids are hydrating when used topically). The chemical structure of omega-6 fatty acids is what lends to their hydrating properties for the skin.
Skin soothing baths
- Colloidal oats
- Epsom salt
- Rice starch
- Bleach
- Baking soda
Emu oil
MegaSporeBiotic, a spore-based probiotic from Microbiome Labs, open a capsule, use oil of choice on the skin, sprinkle on a little MegaSpore, massage it in and leave it on

There are some products I avoid topically too, and those are:

Coconut oil - It’s a potent antimicrobial, and can kill off good bugs, leading to a disrupted skin barrier. It isn’t effective as an emollient (rough skin softener), occlusive (barrier protector) or humectant (moisturizer), and it may clog pores. This means it’s not a good option for moisture. While some people find it helpful, generally it is not something I recommend for topical use. Because of its antimicrobial properties, it can be helpful with acne however.
Red clover - Is found in many products that are promoted for use with skin rashes. Red clover is also recommended for menopausal women because it’s a phytoestrogen, meaning it can raise estrogen levels in the body. This is not something we want to do in little ones!
Essential oils - These are very often recommended for topical use. Essential oils should never be used on the skin, and if you or your little struggle with skin rashes or other allergic conditions, avoid using essential oils all together, including diffusing them. Essential oils themselves can cause skin rashes and allergic reactions, among other symptoms. Especially when we are talking about people who already have allergic conditions such as eczema. They should never be used on sensitive skin or broken skin (both are typically the case with skin rashes). Some are antimicrobial and we have a skin microbiome like we do a gut microbiome. A disrupted skin microbiome (if we are “too clean”) can lead to disrupted skin barrier function, which leads to skin rashes. Very few studies have examined the safety of these oils for pregnant or breastfeeding women, who are usually advised to avoid them.

Remember that skin health is an inside job. Addressing the skin barrier is an important part of the journey to healthy skin, But we should not forget that we need to look deeper for root cause imbalances contributing to the problem.

14. How do you feel about using steroid creams and other conventional means to address symptoms?

Topical steroids when used short term and appropriately can help get through tough flares as you’re working to address root causes of the problem.

Diluting a topical corticosteroid does not reduce the risk, and a diluted topical steroid can lead to overuse, increasing the risk.

However, never feel bad about using medications and conventional treatments. Remember that antibiotics can be lifesaving! Think of it as ‘breaking the glass in case of an emergency.’ That’s what they are there for. It’s long-term use that becomes detrimental.

15. What 3 things can You do right now to start rebuilding healthy skin?

I have found in my clinical practice That there are three foundational aspects to health that need to be in place for all to work the way it's supposed to, and this includes what's happening with our skin.

Number one is nutrition: we need to make sure that our bodies have the fuel they need to do everything they are supposed to do including building and repairing healthy skin. Healthy skin requires a lot of different nutrients, and these come from Foods we eat. This means we need to eat rather than restrict. I have repeatedly seen clients’ skin rashes get worse the more restrictive their diets become. This includes your elimination diet to manage symptoms, And any diet that removes Foods food groups and categories of foods can become problematic. This means that your healthy diet may just not be healthy for the needs of your body. This is also extremely problematic in children because they are growing and developing. I do recommend keeping processed foods, gluten, dairy, and eggs out of the diet, especially with eczema because these are common triggers, Whether there are identified food allergies (IgE reactions) to them or not. Just because someone doesn't have an identified allergy, doesn't mean that item won't cause reactions.

If we have gut problems we can't digest and absorb nutrients from the foods we do eat. This means we could be eating everything we are supposed to for building and repairing healthy skin but it's not going to matter much because the body won't be able to use those nutrients.
Also, 70-80% of the immune system is a lot! This means if there are gut problems it can significantly impact how the body reacts to potentially triggering substances, whether that's food or environmental triggers, or what have you. There’s a paper on this (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515351/ 2008), titled Allergy and the gastrointestinal system, by Vighi et. al. This is important to understand with eczema because it is often classified as an allergic condition, and it often comes along with allergies and asthma, known as the atopic Triad.
If there are gut problems there are often detoxification problems. In order for detoxification to function appropriately, we need good gut health. There is something called the gut-skin access, And there is epidemiological evidence showing a clear association between gut problems and skin conditions. This happens via increased gut permeability (which we know as leaky gut).When there are problems in the gut (We're talking about abnormal gut Flora, bacterial/ fungal / parasitic overgrowth, for example), inflammation can develop in there leading to hyperpermeability of the gut lining, which allows toxins to escape from the gastrointestinal tract and enter the bloodstream, Leading to an environment of systemic inflammation, which means inflammation throughout the body. Once these toxins are in the bloodstream they can trigger all sorts of health problems, including skin conditions. In particular there’s a study in Nature from 2019 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-41149-6 2019) by Reddel and colleagues finding that higher levels of certain gut bugs lead to continued production of endotoxins called lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which trigger those inflammatory responses and alter gut permeability, a phenomenon seen in people with eczema.

Number three, chronic stress. Chronic stress can affect the body in a variety of ways and it's a trigger for many people with skin rashes.

Chronic stress can come from:
- Restricted diets, over exercise, injury, gut problems, illness and disease of any kind, including skin rashes, and other physical assaults;
- Prescription medication use, environmental pollutants, pesticides and processed foods, and other toxic exposures; and
- Personal, relationship, financial, work related concerns, and other emotional and mental hardships. Even though little ones may not have work, financial or relationship stress, they can feel yours.

Often a combination of these types of stressors are happening at the same time.

So make sure to eat for healthy skin, address gut health, and manage stress. For ways to accomplish these foundational factors, I can provide resources to share.

16. What’s the problem with using topicals that include red clover on little ones?

I have seen topical products recommended for eczema relief that contain red clover. If you look up red clover you will find that it is indicated for skin rashes. However it is also indicated for menopausal women to increase estrogen levels (it contains isoflavones, which are phytoestrogens, compounds similar to the female hormone estrogen, and phytoestrogens are endocrine disruptors). Using something on your little one that affects hormones, i.e. is an endocrine disruptor, is not ideal.

17. How long will it take to resolve skin rashes?

Everyone’s health journey is different. No two clients of mine have had the same exact protocol, root causes, or combination of imbalances. I've had some little one's skin rashes resolve over the course of a few months. Others, it can take a year or more.

It depends on so many things, here are just a handful of factors:

How long it's been happening
What root causes we identify
What imbalances are present
How consistent we are with interventions (some of this is out of our control, we can't control everything)
Finding the right combination of interventions to address those imbalances (no two people have the exact same protocol)
Being able to pivot when needed (success is NOT a straight line)

The most important part of this journey is to remember it takes patience, persistence and consistency. Don’t. Give. Up.

18. What testing do you recommend to identify the root cause of the problem?

There are typically multiple contributing factors to the problem, however I get the best results in my clients when we start exploring what’s happening in the gut. We do this using a comprehensive digestive stool test. There are different ones from different labs that can be helpful. My go to however is GI Map.

This is a test you can order on your own, but you will need somebody that is trained in how to interpret the results and create a protocol help you.

To order your GI Map test

>>CLICK HERE<<
Go to Order Tests
Search for GI Map
Use my practitioner code to place your order and purchase your test kit: R-AFIT
When your test results are ready you’ll get an email from DirectLabs (approximately 10 days after your sample arrives back at the lab). The email might go to your spam/junk folder so keep an eye out for it.
You will need to access your results and share them with a practitioner to interpret them and create your protocol

This test can be done when pregnant, nursing, and at any age. This testing is best done at two years of age and up, however this leads to another important point, which is understanding the differences between an infant gut microbiome and a mature gut microbiome. If less than 2 years of age, the interpretation of the test results is different compared to someone 2 years of age and older.

Depending on your unique situation, other types of functional testing may be helpful.

19. What are the differences in an infant gut microbiome compared to adults, and what are we looking for in the stool?

The infant gut microbiome is not mature until ages 2 to 3 years. That said, with cases that are not resolving in babies younger than this, we can check the little one’s gut. When we do we expect to see higher relative abundance overall, while it is not normal to have high relative abundance in adults, we expect this in infants. So in an infant stool test, we looking more for things that are not supposed to be there like high-levels of H. pylori, C. diff, or parasites for example, impaired digestion, blood in the stool, gut inflammation, and altered immunity, or other imbalances that are not expected.

This is another area where it’s important to work with a qualified practitioner that understands these differences, how to interpret the testing, and what to do about it.

20. Does resolving gut imbalances address food allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances?

Food sensitivities:

If there are food sensitivities, there is increased gut permeability. When there are gut problems (like abnormal gut Flora, bacterial/ fungal / parasitic overgrowth, for example), and keep in mind there might not even be any gut Symptoms, inflammation can develop in there leading to hyperpermeability of the gut lining, which allows toxins to escape from the gastrointestinal tract and enter the bloodstream (including endotoxins from gut bugs, and food particles), Leading to an environment of systemic inflammation, which means inflammation throughout the body. Once these toxins are in the bloodstream they can trigger all sorts of health problems, including skin conditions. So when we address this, we can often eat foods again we were once sensitive to. I have many clients experience this, and so have I as I’ve worked through my gut imbalances. Keep in mind resolving imbalances and restoring gut health is not an overnight process. It can take upwards of a year or two. This is why we call it a health journey, not a health race.

By contrast, in a normal healthy gut, a new gut lining is “built” every 2-3 weeks (http://www.eurekaselect.com/88650). Gut healing in those without autoimmunity, food sensitivities or other inflammatory health problems varies, but can be from about 2-12 weeks once we are able to ID triggers and imbalances causing the inflammation and stop those processes from occurring (https://projects.ncsu.edu/project/swine_extension/jodle/OdlepubPDFs/PhysRevBarrierFn.pdf).

Also, remember everyone is different and has a different health journey.

Food allergies:

Allergies themselves are a symptom. There is a body of scientific evidence linking them to problems in the gut. 70 to 80% of the immune system is located in the gut microbiome. This means that imbalances there can have a significant impact throughout the body creating immune system dysregulation, leading to atopy and health problems like eczema, allergies, and asthma.

A 2019 paper (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-018-0324-z) by Feehley and colleagues found that healthy infants with certain strains of gut bacteria were protected against food allergy, and that intestinal bacteria are critical for regulating allergic responses to dietary antigens.

So there is strong evidence that by addressing gut imbalances, we can significantly and positively impact outcomes in food allergy.

Food Intolerances:

Food intolerances are the result of a lack of an enzyme needed to process a food. Lactose intolerance is an example, where the enzyme to breakdown milk sugar, lactase, is insufficient. This process does not involve the immune system. This isn’t something that can be resolved, but there are often supplements you can take to help. For example, histamine is a hot topic with skin rashes. It’s involved in allergic and inflammatory immune reactions in the body. There are enzymes that breakdown histamine (DAO, HNMT, MAO-B), but if they are deficient, histamine builds up and can do a number on our skin, especially when we are struggling with rashes. There are supplements that can help, as well we can lower our intake of histamine rich foods which are healthy in a lot of cases and are actually indicated for improving gut health like fermented vegetables and bone broths. Also gut bugs make histamine! Some bacterial probiotic supplement strains are histamine producing too. So often with histamine intolerance, it isn’t necessarily that the body is lacking enzymes to break it down, it’s that the body is overwhelmed with too much from too many sources and can’t clear it out fast enough.

21. Does undigested food in stools point to problems with digestion, and can a digestive enzyme supplement address this?

This depends! If you are seeing things in the stool like peas or a kernel of corn, this is pretty normal. And it really just means we need to eat more slowly and chew our food thoroughly. It's important to remember that digestion begins in the mouth an important first step is chewing. We have teeth for a reason! Before I recommend a digestive enzyme supplement I do like to confirm a need for it. This is something that can be done with a comprehensive digestive stool test.

22. Can mom pass triggers for skin rashes through breast milk to her little one, beyond food related triggers?

Yes! This is where things get tricky when we for example have a little one that is exclusively breast-fed and flaring with skin rashes. If mom has taken the known triggering foods out of her diet and there are still problems, it’s very possible that bugs from mom or their toxins are being transferred to baby. A 2018 study (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5863526/) by Holder and colleagues describes this. Breastfeeding is still healthy, it seeds the infant gut microbiome, and it is protective against different types of infections like C. Diff (not all keep in mind, in fact H. Pylori and candida may be transferred via breast milk), and I am not by any means recommending stopping breastfeeding, rather this is where we need to look deeper at what’s happening with mom to address root causes affecting baby.

Remember, breastfeeding is protective! Breast milk contains anti-endotoxin antibodies, meaning breastfeeding is protective against toxins released from some bacteria.

Moms ask how toxins get into breastmilk in the first place?? Toxins hang out in fatty tissue because they are fat soluble, and build up over years of exposure. When your body is making milk, it pulls on those fat resources, and the toxins there can be passed into breast milk (blood, urine, umbilical cord blood, and other body tissues and fluids too).

23. If mom is nursing and is on a protocol for her own health concerns, how does this affect little ones?

If mom has health problems, is on a protocol, and is breast-feeding it is very possible that baby can be affected. This is not necessarily a reason to stop breast-feeding, rather it’s an opportunity to explore and resolve health concerns mom has, which in turn benefits baby.

It’s important for parents, moms in particular, to recognize that it is necessary to take care of yourself! Doing so often gets lost because our little ones become the priority.

Here’s where it gets tricky, especially if baby also struggles with eczema for example. In these cases, it’s absolutely necessary to work with a knowledgeable practitioner because whatever mom takes, baby will too via breast milk.

As an example, I work with a family’s two babies. One was still breast-fed, both were struggling with eczema, mom was working with another practitioner and was on a gut protocol. Mom had a lot of imbalances, overgrowths, and infections in her gut. Her practitioner had her on an aggressive protocol considering she was breast-feeding her baby. When it came to the baby that was still breast-fed, we conducted a stool test on him and found a variety of imbalances. Not surprisingly some were similar to what was happening in mom’s gut.

What we did was put baby on a protocol, and did so slowly, even more slowly than I normally recommend, as we watched to see how he would react to what mom was taking.

Sure enough as mom had die off symptoms from the protocol she was on, she noticed symptoms in baby as well.

This is an example of why it is so important to work with a practitioner that can guide you through what is appropriate for you and your baby.

I must say that working with one practitioner for the entire family makes things more straightforward, although of course it’s not necessary.

Again I can’t stress enough how important it is to work with a practitioner that can tie together all the pieces of the puzzle to make sure that not only does everybody get better, but that they do so while staying safe.

24. What is the difference between triggers as allergens versus contributors to increased gut permeability (i.e. dairy)?

Recommendations have been to not introduce commonly allergenic foods to little ones until they are older. Those recommendations are changing because there is evidence that this may be contributing to the development of allergies, and that earlier introduction of foods like dairy (among others), may help lower the risk of developing allergies or eczema (https://www.jaci-inpractice.org/article/S2213-2198(12)00014-1/fulltext).

I have a client that was about 1 1/2 years old when we started working together. She had been covered in eczema since just a few months old. It started a day after she was given an antibiotic for a staph infection. We did some testing and found high levels of c diff toxin in her gut (which is commonly associated with antibiotic use [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6334067/]), we also found gut immune dysfunction and inflammation, among other findings.

Eighty percent of the immune system is located in the gut microbiome. Imbalances here can significantly disrupt the body’s immune system, and have been associated with allergic conditions like eczema, allergies, and asthma. There’s a paper on this (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515351/ 2008), titled Allergy and the gastrointestinal system, by Vighi et. al.

As we are working on her gut her eczema flares have become fewer and farther between, and when she does flare it doesn’t last as long. This is a typical trajectory that I see in my clients by the way. It’s not an overnight process, rather it’s a gradual improvement.

Even so, this case has been slow moving. Because of this, I was curious if this little one had any allergies, something triggering her flares that we were missing (even though we know food isn’t the root cause of the problem, and we’ve got test results showing gut dysfunction, it may still be a trigger). Mom took her to an allergist. The allergist wasn’t concerned about the eczema. The allergist was concerned that this little one did have an identified IgE dairy allergy. And she actually blamed mom for causing the dairy allergy because she had restricted it for so long. Mom of course was very distraught thinking all of this was her fault.

Sidebar here, avoiding dairy is a recommendation that’s pretty standard when there are skin rashes like eczema, and as this little one developed her rashes, mom removed dairy from her diet.

The allergists recommendation was to desensitize the little one to dairy. This entailed consuming it baked in muffins, and then gradually progressing to consuming milk.

From the perspective that IGE allergies can be life-threatening, I understand the doctor’s recommendation. The problem here is that dairy is inflammatory and can be a skin rash trigger whether there is an allergy to it or not. A reason is because it increases gut permeability (leaky gut), and leaky gut is a factor in eczema. A paper by Lerner and Matthias from 2015 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568997215000245) looked at this relationship. This is why removing dairy is recommended with eczema. Based on the testing we did in this little one’s gut, we did have high levels of inflammation, on an already dairy free diet!

I want to make 4 points. Number one, it is not mom‘s fault that her little one developed an allergy. Number two, dairy can be triggering for skin rashes for reasons other than identified allergies to it. Number three, mom was really lost because she understood all of this and didn’t know what to do given the conflicting trains of thought. The bottom line is that IGE reactions can be life-threatening. Eczema is not.

And four, do know that there are a lot of ways to get calcium in the diet, and other than dairy. Seeds, canned salmon, sardines, beans, lentils, almonds, collard greens, spinach, kale, broccoli, dried figs and oranges contain calcium. As well there are other foods that are better protein sources. You do not need to rely on dairy for these nutrients, or others as we are led to believe.

If you are in a similar situation, I hope this helps you understand it so you can make the best decision for your family. And to be clear I’m not making a recommendation either way!

25. My child might be allergic to our family pet, do I need to get rid of our fur baby?

It breaks my heart when families have to give up their fur babies because their children struggle with allergic conditions.⁠ Especially when they do, and it doesn't resolve the problem. ⁠

So... I'm super excited to share this study with you!⁠ ⁠

Researchers found that pet exposure during the pre and postnatal period was protective against allergic disease because it promoted greater gut microbiome diversity of good bugs, and lowered levels of some bad ones.⁠ ⁠

Remember, the root cause of allergic disease is gut problems.⁠ ⁠

Eighty percent of your immune system is located in your gut microbiome.

With gut problems, like a lack of microbial diversity of good bugs and increased levels of bad bugs, 80% of your immune system is at risk. That's a lot of your immune system to be negatively impacted.⁠ ⁠

An immune system out of whack equals an immune system gone haywire. ⁠ ⁠

An immune system gone haywire equals allergic diseases like eczema, allergies and asthma.⁠ ⁠

Is pet allergy the root cause of your child's allergic conditions?⁠ ⁠

Your little one may be triggered by your pet, but your pet isn't the root cause of the problem.⁠ ⁠

Before you give up your beloved fur baby, consider taking a deeper look at what's happening in the gut of your human baby.⁠

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