How Changing My Diet Finally Stopped My Eczema Flare-Ups

In July 2023, we completely changed how we ate.

Every meal was cooked at home — breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The foods I had eaten for most of my life were replaced with whole foods: legumes, brown rice, steel cut oats, grains, vegetables, nuts, and fruits.

At the time, I thought the goal was simple — improve my cholesterol, lower my blood sugar, and get my health markers back under control. I didn’t realize this change would also help me discover the missing piece I had been searching for with my eczema.

The first 30 days were mostly about my body adapting.

My energy started improving, the afternoon crashes became less frequent, and my digestion began to change. The cravings for the foods I used to eat were still there, but something felt different.

My eczema, however, took more time.

After dealing with flare-ups for more than twenty years, I realized my body was not going to change overnight.

Around the 90-day mark, I started noticing small changes in my skin.

The flare-ups became less aggressive. The redness and irritation started calming down, and the constant feeling of heat I carried around my eyes, neck, and arms was slowly improving.

For the first time in years, it felt like my body was finally moving in the right direction.

My weight stabilized, and my relationship with food changed. I was no longer eating to excess but eating until I was full. Food was no longer just something that satisfied a craving. I started to understand that everything I consumed created a response.

My body was constantly giving me feedback.

At the 1-year mark, the difference was undeniable.

The dark patches on my back, inside my arms, and behind my legs started to fade. The intense itching at night was gone, and the chronic heat I felt under my skin had finally started to regulate.

Then I remembered what the gentleman in Chinatown told me almost twenty years earlier: “You need to cool your body down from the inside — it’s too hot.” At the time, I didn’t fully understand what he meant - now, I finally did.

My eczema did not permanently disappear, and I still experience flare-ups.

The difference now is that I learned to listen to my body and understand that my eczema was a signal — a way of communicating that something was out of balance.

After more than twenty years of searching for answers, I took my power back.

-- Coach GC