eczema

Plant Oils for Your Skin

Photo credit: Janine Joles

Photo credit: Janine Joles

Plant oils have been used throughout history for a wide range of reasons.

Certain plant oils have therapeutic effects and can help improve the health of your skin. In fact, if you or your child has skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis, plant oils may help balance, soothe, and repair damaged skin when used topically.

With skin rashes like eczema, use oils rich in linoleic fatty acids (omega 6-rich fatty acids) like sunflower seed oil, jojoba oil, hemp oil, and rose hip oil. Oils rich in oleic acid, like olive oil, can be drying.

*Patch test for reactions before broadly using any topical product.


Olive oil: anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, wound healing, anti-aging, protective against skin cancer


Sunflower seed oil: skin barrier repair, anti-inflammatory, protective against skin cancer


Grape seed oil: antibacterial, antioxidant, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, protective against skin cancer


Coconut oil: skin barrier repair, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, wound healing, anti-aging


Safflower oil: anti-inflammatory


Argan oil: skin barrier repair, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, protective against skin cancer


Soybean oil: skin barrier repair, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant


Peanut oil: skin barrier repair, anti-aging, protective against skin cancer


Sesame oil: skin barrier repair, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-aging, protective against skin cancer


Avocado oil: anti-inflammatory, wound healing


Borage oil: skin barrier repair, anti-inflammatory


Jojoba oil: skin barrier repair, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, wound healing, anti-aging


Oat oil: skin barrier repair, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant


Pomegranate seed oil: antioxidant, anti-aging, protective against skin cancer


Almond oil: skin barrier repair, anti-aging


Bitter apricot oil: protective against skin cancer


Rosehip oil: skin barrier repair, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-aging


German chamomile oil: skin barrier repair, anti-inflammatory


Shea butter: skin barrier repair, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant


What should you use on your skin? Everyone is different, and everyone is on their own health journey!

*Patch test for reactions before broadly using any topical product.


Reference:

Lin TK, Zhong L, Santiago JL. Anti-Inflammatory and Skin Barrier Repair Effects of Topical Application of Some Plant Oils. Int J Mol Sci. 2017;19(1):70. Published 2017 Dec 27. doi:10.3390/ijms19010070

Chemical Food Triggers Behind Your Skin Rash Flares

Photo credit: Skinterrupt

Photo credit: Skinterrupt

I had the honor of being interviewed by Jennifer Fugo, Clinical Nutritionist, Founder of Gluten Free School, the Healthy Skin Show, and Skinterrupt for her Podcast, The Healthy Skin Show.


During our interview, we discussed:


Identifying natural chemical triggers found in many healthy foods that may be behind your skin flares...

 

Why this happens, and...

 

What you can do about it.

 

Here's a hint...

  

It's NOT about removing all these foods from your diet.

  

In fact, elimination diets and restrictive diets over time cause even more health problems and worsening of your symptoms, including your skin rashes.

  

Here's the deal...

 

“It’s well known that the source of many skin problems lies in the gut."

 

In the episode you'll learn:

 

  • How impaired gut health impacts the skin’s health in a myriad of ways

  • The differences between food allergies, intolerances, and sensitivities

  • Some common chemical triggers you might want to watch out for in what you eat

  • Simple steps you can take to see if you have a food sensitivity

 

MTHFR And Methylation, How Your Skin Is Affected, And What You Can Do About It

Photo credit: Tatiana

Photo credit: Tatiana

MTHFR what?

MTHFR is an acronym for an enzyme called methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. This enzyme is involved in methylation reactions, which act like a switch turning genes on and off. Methylation is essential for biochemical processes, including those important for healthy skin, like:

  • Processing amino acids to make proteins

  • Using antioxidants

  • Detoxification

  • Breaking down histamine

The problem with MTHFR

If you have an MTHFR genetic mutation, methylation pathways may be adversely affected, which can cause problems like:

  • Inability to convert folic acid (synthetic B9) to folate, the active form needed for these reactions.

  • Glutathione (your body's master antioxidant) production can be impaired. Lower antioxidants increase inflammation (a driver for rashes like eczema). Glutathione plays an important role in liver detoxification too.

  • Methylation breaks down Histamine!

    • Your body makes histamine. It’s necessary for brain health and digestive health, and it’s released by immune cells when they are triggered.

    • Histamine is found naturally in many healthy foods.

    • Histamine is made by bacteria, like those in the gut, and histamine-producing bacteria are found in probiotic supplements.

    • That’s a lot of histamine! If methylation is impaired, it can interfere with how your child’s body processes it. If their body can’t, the excess can increase itching, rash flares, allergy-like, and many other symptoms.

What you can do about mTHFR

  • Avoid folic acid in food (it’s added to processed foods) and in supplements, so read labels. Ingesting folic acid with MTHFR can increase homocysteine, which increases inflammation (again a driver of rashes like eczema).

  • You can test for MTHFR through functional labs and your conventional doctor (request it). There are a lot of different genetic mutations that can exist with MTHFR, but the two that are considered most problematic are C677T and A1298C (AKA 677 and 1298). Remember, just because there’s a gene for something doesn’t mean it’s expressed. Only when it’s expressed does it result in symptoms.

  • Supplement with the active form of vitamins B9 (methlyfolate), B12 (methylcobalamin, adenosylcobalamin, hydroxycobalamin), and B6 (pyridoxine-5-phosphate/P5P).

  • Eat foods naturally rich in these nutrients like salmon, oysters, mussels, leafy greens, beef, organ meats, legumes, and eggs.

Skin Rash Food Triggers eBook

Skin Rash Food Triggers eBook

Uncontrollably itchy skin, rashes covering your child's body... You can't figure out what's causing it. You've tried it all.

  • Prescription skin creams and medications

  • Elimination diets

  • Every skin care product under the sun

  • Antihistamines

  • Baths and soaks

  • Coconut oil (it fixes everything, right?)

The list goes on, and none of it works...

The connection to gut health can be why. If your child suffers from chronic skin rashes, they have gut problems.

When there are gut problems, a variety of healthy foods can cause problems. Many fruits and vegetables trigger flares because they contain natural chemicals that some people react to. The list of these triggers is long, as you’ll see!

Learn what they are and what you can do about it.

Here’s a sneak peek at the table of contents.

Skin Rash Food Triggers e-Book Table of Contents

Skin Rash Food Triggers e-Book Table of Contents

Skin Rash Food Triggers Cheat Sheet

Photo credit: Romina Farias

Photo credit: Romina Farias

Uncontrollably itchy skin, rashes covering your child's body... You can't figure out what's causing it. You've tried it all.

  • Prescription skin creams and medications

  • Elimination diets

  • Every skin care product under the sun

  • Antihistamines

  • Baths and soaks

  • Coconut oil (it fixes everything, right?)

The list goes on, and none of it works...

The connection to gut health can be why. If your child suffers from chronic skin rashes, they have gut problems.

When there are gut problems, various healthy foods can cause problems. Many fruits and vegetables can even trigger flares because they contain natural chemicals that some people react to. The list of these triggers is long, as you’ll see!

Here are 3 of the 10 categories of food triggers for skin rashes like eczema and the common foods they are found in. This is not a complete list!

Salicylates

Examples of vegetables high in salicylates include (1):

  • Chili

  • Tomato

  • Zucchini

  • Broccoli

  • Artichoke

  • Cucumber

  • Spinach

  • Eggplant

  • Squash

  • Sweet potato

Fruits high in salicylates (1):

  • Apricot

  • Blueberries

  • Dates and dried figs

  • Grapes

  • Oranges and grapefruit

  • Pineapple

  • Granny smith apples

  • Cherries

  • Peaches

Nuts high in salicylates (2):

  • Almonds

  • Peanuts

  • Pistachios

  • Pine nuts

  • Nut chips, crackers, and other products made from these nuts

High salicylate herbs (1):

  • Allspice

  • Anise seed

  • Celery

  • Cinnamon

  • Cumin

  • Dill

  • Curry powder

  • Ginger

  • Honey

  • Mint

  • Mustard

  • Oregano

  • Paprika

  • Sage

  • Turmeric

  • Worcestershire sauce

  • Thyme

Many products are high in salicylates (3):

  • Mints, peppermints, chewing gum

  • Acne products (salicylic acid)

  • Aspirin (salicylic acid) (4)

  • Air fresheners

  • Toothpaste

  • Soaps

  • Shaving cream

  • Shampoo and conditioners

  • Razors with aloe strips near the blade

  • Some pharmaceutical medication

Histamine (biogenic amines)

Foods high in histamine include (5):

  • Fermented alcoholic beverages

    • Wine

    • Champagne

    • Beer

  • Fermented foods

    • Sauerkraut

    • Vinegar

    • Soy sauce

    • Kefir

    • Kombucha

    • Yogurt

  • Vinegar and foods that contain vinegar

    • Pickled foods

    • Mayonnaise

    • Olives

  • Cured meats

    • Bacon

    • Salami

    • Luncheon meats, hot dogs

  • Soured foods

    • Sour cream

    • Buttermilk

    • Soured bread

  • Dried fruit

    • Apricots

    • Dates

    • Figs

    • Raisins

  • Most citrus fruits and grapes

  • Aged cheese including goat cheese

  • Walnuts, cashews and peanuts

  • Avocados, eggplant, spinach, and tomatoes

  • Smoked fish and certain species of fish

    • Mackerel

    • Mahi-mahi

    • Tuna

    • Anchovies, sardines

Some foods release histamine (5):

  • Alcohol

  • Bananas

  • Chocolate

  • Cow’s Milk

  • Nuts

  • Pineapple

  • Shellfish

  • Strawberries

  • Tomatoes

  • Wheat Germ

  • Artificial preservatives and dyes

Some foods can interfere with the enzyme that breaks down histamine (6,7):

  • Alcohol

  • Energy drinks

  • Black tea, mate tea, green tea

  • Soy protein, soy protein concentrate, soy protein isolate

  • Pectin

  • Maltodextrin

  • Whey protein, whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate

  • Anything protein fortified

  • Protease, protease enzymes, enzymes

  • Anything ultra-pasteurized

  • Anything fermented

Nightshades

Examples of nightshades include (8):

  • Potatoes (white, red, yellow, blue-skinned)

    • Sweet potatoes and yams are not nightshades

  • Peppers

  • Eggplant

  • Chili peppers

  • Capsicum

  • Goji berries

  • Peppers

  • Paprika

  • Tobacco

  • Tomatoes

NOTE: This is not a suggestion to remove all these foods from your child’s diet! While some foods might trigger symptoms, food isn’t the root cause of your child’s rashes.

Learn about all 10 triggers, what foods they are in, and what to do about them in the eBook,“Skin Rash Food Triggers.”

References

  1. Skypala IJ, Williams M, Reeves L, Meyer R, Venter C. Sensitivity to food additives, vaso-active amines and salicylates: a review of the evidence. Clinical and Translational Allergy. 2015;5:34. doi:10.1186/s13601-015-0078-3.

  2. Swain AR, Dutton SP, Truswell AS. Salicylates in foods. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 1995;85(8):950-960.

  3. ATP Science. Salicylate Foods – sensitivity, intolerances and food list. Published March 8, 2015. Available from: https://atpscience.com/salicylate-foods-sensitivity-intolerances-and-food-list/. Accessed February 18, 2018.

  4. Baenkler H-W. Salicylate Intolerance: Pathophysiology, Clinical Spectrum, Diagnosis and Treatment. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International. 2008;105(8):137-142. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2008.0137.

  5. Kohn JB. Is There a Diet for Histamine Intolerance? Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 2014;114(11):1860. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2014.09.009.

  6. Maintz L, Novak N. Histamine and histamine intolerance. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2007;85(5):1185-96. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17490952.

  7. Myers A. Everything You Need to Know About Histamine Intolerance. Mind Body Green. Published October 3, 2013. Available from: https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11175/everything-you-need-to-know-about-histamine-intolerance.html. Accessed February 18, 2018.

  8. Eczema Life. Are nightshades bad for eczema? Available from: https://www.eczemalife.com/pages/are-nightshades-bad-for-eczema. Accessed February 18, 2018.