Nurture Your Own

I wish I had read this article by writer cum health reporter, Janet Simpson, many years ago when I first discovered the skin rashes on my legs was eczema. I probably would have freed myself from the excruciating itch and pain. She said these are the first few steps a sufferer should take to make life easier:

1. Stopped eating all dairy products. Some people will find their skin itch even more after taking cheese, milk, yoghurt and cream products.

2. Eat at least one meal that consisted of 65% raw foods. Basically a huge salad that contained bean sprouts, pumpkins seeds, vegetables, salads and a healthy salad dressing. After a short you should feel and see the difference in your skin.

3. Drink at least two large raw vegetable juices every day. This could be organic spinach, carrots, celery, ginger and cucumber. The objective is to cleanse and rejuvenate your body on a regular basis.

4 . Eat a lot more bean sprouts as they contain skin healthy, vital enzymes. They are easy to germinate or you can buy them from any good health store. (Click the link to find out a list of sprouts)

5. Eat healthy fats like Avocados and Flax Seeds amongst other. (Click the link to find out more on healthy fats)

These 2 experts shared their views on eczema. Evelyn Lim even compile an eczema diet book which you might want to refer on top of what Janet Simpson has recommended here.

• “Cure Your Eczema in 14 Days” by Janet Simpson
• Eczema Diet Secrets by Evelyn Lim

I mentioned that there are 5 Healthy Fats to Combat Eczema in my last post. Today, I’ll like to share what a list of 5 raw herbs that John Crawford mentioned.

Of all, I’m only aware of the medicinal benefits of Flos lonicerae, commonly referred as Jing Yin Hua by the Asians. Over the years, I had use Jing Yin Hua plus some other herbs to make into a brew to ease cold and cough.

The five raw herbs used are listed below.

1. The Flos lonicerae (Japanese honeysuckle) flower is of high medicinal value in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is called rn dMng téng (literally “Winter enduring vine”) or Jing Yin Hua (literally “gold silver flower”). It has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, and is used (often in combination with Forsythia suspensa) to dispel heat and remove toxins, including carbuncles, fevers, influenza and ulcers. It is, however, of cold and yin nature, and should not be taken by anyone with a weak and “cold” digestive system. In Korean, it is called geumeunhwa. The dried leaves are also used in traditional Chinese medicine.

2. Cortex moutan (root bark of peony tree), is a woody species of peony, named after Joseph Rock. It is native to the mountains of western China, mainly in Jiangsu and adjoining provinces. This tree peony is cultivated as an ornamental plant. It is very frost hardy and resistant to fungal diseases, and is grown in Europe, particularly in northern countries, such as Sweden and Finland. In Germany it is the most hardy tree peony species. Like Paeonia lactiflora, another Chinese peony species, it is used as a herbal remedy in traditional Chinese medicine.

3. Peppermint is sometimes regarded as ‘the world’s oldest medicine’, with archaeological evidence placing its use at least as far back as ten thousand years ago. Peppermint has a high menthol content, and is often used as a flavouring in tea, ice cream, confectionery, chewing gum, and toothpaste. The oil also contains menthone and menthyl esters. It is the oldest and most popular flavour of mint-flavoured confectionery. Peppermint can also be found in some shampoos and soaps, which give the hair a minty scent and produce a cooling sensation on the skin.

Peppermint, like many spices and herbs, is believed to have medicinal properties when consumed. It is said that it helps against upset stomachs, inhibits the growth of certain bacteria, and can help soothe and relax muscles when inhaled or applied to the skin. Other health benefits are attributed to the high manganese, vitamin C and vitamin A content; as well as trace amounts of various other nutrients such as fibre, iron, calcium, folate, potassium, tryptophan, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, riboflavin, and copper.

4.The Cortex phellodendri is resistant to drought and insects, and it can thrive in a variety of soils. It is hardy to zone 4 and it is easy to maintain, sometimes to the point of being invasive. One drawback is that the drupes fall and scatter, which may be undesirable on a formal lawn.The bark in some species is thick, resembling that of the Cork Oak, but is not thick enough for commercial cork production. It has been used to produce a yellow dye.

5. Atractylodes Rhizome are considered very important to the treatment of digestive disorders and problems of moisture accumulation. The herb helps move moisture from the digestive tract to the blood that reduces diarrhea, gas and bloating. Atractylodes is rarely ever used by itself. It is usually included into tonic prescriptions

If you are suffering from eczema, you can check out some home remedy treatments or other experts’ views.

• “Cure Your Eczema in 14 Days” by Janet Simpson
• Eczema Diet Secrets by Evelyn Lim

• Homemade Eczema Treatment(5): Mango Peels
• Homemade Eczema Treatment (4) - Watermelon & Coconut Oil
• Homemade Eczema Treatment (3) - Crisco
• Homemade Eczema Treatment (2) - Ice Therapy
• Homemade Eczema Treatment (1) - Oatmeal

Here’s some new information I have dug up from Janet Simpson, a writer and health reporter, on ezcema treatments.

According to her, not all fats are bad. In fact, there are a few fats that work wonders on building strong immune systems and fighting off diseases including eczema. These good fats help create radiant and healthy skin. I found the information pretty interesting and I’m sure those who suffer from eczema will want to include more of good fats in their daily diet. I have started…

5 Healthy Fats to Combat Eczema

Avocados – the fruit creates stable energy and helps produce exceptional health. Avocado will help to eliminate your eczema if included in your diet regularly.

Flax Oil – Grind flax seeds bought from any local health store and pour the mixture is over soups, salads, added to stir fries, and anything you eat will help to improve eczema. Grinding your own flax seed will ensure you got the freshest oil possible. Take note that no more than six tablespoons of flax seed should be consumed on a daily basis. You can feel the softness of your skin almost immediately.

Hemp Oil – Hemp seeds are full to bursting in sulphur containing amino acids and have a perfect balance of essential fats

Coconut Oil – This oil great protects you from bacteria, yeast, fungal or any other micro organisms. Besides eczema, people who suffer with herpes, Candida and Giardia also use coconut oil to keep ailments to a minimum.

Extra Virgin oil – Extra Virgin Oil is an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. It will sooth the skin, stop or reduce the itching and burning and it will also sooth away any inflammation.

Finding practical Information on Eczema is time consuming. If you are still searching, I suggest you look at the fats you are consuming whilst you continue to search. In the meantime, you may also want to check out more from Janet Simpson’s “Cure Your Eczema in 14 Days”. Another eczema expert, Evelyn Lim, compiled her research and experience into an Eczema Diet Secrets book.

Here’s to smooth, soft skin …

This is something I heard from my Indian friend. I asked if it is one of the famous Ayurvedic treatment but she wasn’t sure. She said it was passed down from her maternal grandmother who swore by mango peel being an effective home remedy..

According to the old lady, you are to

Peel off the mango skin, and boil the pulp in water. Allow it to cool and apply this paste over the infected area for 10-15 days.

Additional Reading:

• “Cure Your Eczema in 14 Days” by Janet Simpson
• Eczema Diet Secrets by Evelyn Lim

According to some experts, toxins in the blood are the culprits that cause some forms of eczema.

Consuming wheatgrass juice regularly is just one of the many options to help heal your eczema from inside out.

Enzymes
Wheatgrass juice contains many essential enzymes that our body needs for optimum health. Enzymes help to strengthen our immune system and thus aid our body to fight against the many allergens that cause eczema to be worsened.

Detoxification
Wheatgrass contains high levels of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the substance that makes plants green. Chlorophyll detoxifiesthe body, cleanses the blood as well as the intestines and other organs. It contains numerous vitamins and minerals too.

Blood Purification
Wheatgrass has been found effective in purifying blood.

Restore acid/alkaline balance
Wheatgrass is also known to restores the level of alkalinity of our blood. High acidic levels are known to be associated with high toxin levels.

To incorporate wheatgrass juice as your ammunition against eczema, you will need to consume a sufficient amount to derive benefits. Some wheatgrass enthusiasts recommend that we should not exceed 4 ounces per day. We should not drink it in a single pop but space out throughout the day. If you are gungho, you can do so but be warned that you have to run to the toilet more often. This is due to the strong cleansing abilities of wheatgrass juice.

Additional Reading:

• “Cure Your Eczema in 14 Days” by Janet Simpson
• Eczema Diet Secrets by Evelyn Lim

I was talking to a friend on eczema diet and she shared with me one of her secrets:

Dry the peel of a watermelon, the large variety type that has a deep green skin with blackish green stripes with bright red pulp with black seeds inside. She said to burn the dired peel to an ash. Take a spoonful of this ash and add enough warm coconut oil to make a paste. After it is cool, apply this on the eczema-ridden patch.

Coconut oil is long known to have healing properties on eczema so that was not a surprise, but watermelon is not as well documented. There’s go to tell that we must keep ourselves informed of fellow sufferers’ healing tips.

Additional Reading:

• “Cure Your Eczema in 14 Days” by Janet Simpson
• Eczema Diet Secrets by Evelyn Lim

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I have cited oatmeal and ice therapy as 2 homemade eczema remedies but I did not realized the crisco we use for baking is effective too.

It sounded so weird but Crisco did work for Debbie Russell from Somerset, Kentucky. She said

“My daughter had eczema to the point of breaking out in welts all over her body. We tried everything until someone told me to use Crisco on her. I completely covered her in Crisco 2-3 times a day. She was white and greasy but the Crisco absorbs quickly. The eczema is gone.”

So for those of you who are gung-ho to use alternative and holistic treatment, well, you can jolly well add Crisco as part of your repertoire of homemade eczema remedies. Well, you might already have it in your kitchen.

Additional Reading:

• “Cure Your Eczema in 14 Days” by Janet Simpson
• Eczema Diet Secrets by Evelyn Lim

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In the last post, I shared that oatmeal is a good homemade remedy to curb eczema spread and itch. Today, I’m sharing another excellent and very easy to make home remedy for eczema - ice therapy.

Why ice therapy? Applying ice onto an inflamed skin is akin to using water to douse the flames of a fire.

For those who are familiar with the onslaught of eczema, each outbreak brings about red, angry and very itchy rashes. They are mostly developed in the hands, limbs and joins. Some folks even had them on the face, chest and groin area. The inflamed skin is tigh, dry and excruciating itchy and many of us couldn’t help but scratch. Even I know I should not scratch, I did because the itch was simply unbearable but only after I put a piece of fabric (like a clean t-shirt) over my skin. The more you scratch it, the worse the condition gets. If your skin is tore and bleed during the scratching process, you might get bacterial infections through the open wounds.

Ice therapy for eczema numbs your inflamed skin. The icy cold of the ice makes your veins contract and thereby cutting down blood circulation. When you remove the ice pack, your veins will start to dilate. Blood is rushed into the area that you are treating. The blood carries necessary nutrients thus enabling your damaged skin tissues to heal.

You can buy a hot-cold pad from the pharmacy or you can make one. You can put a few ice cubes in a small plastic bag and have it wrapped in towel. Alternatively, do what my friend did, she wrapped a frozen raw beef steak in a plastic bag and use it as ice pack. She said the ice therapy took less than a few minutes and there is no danger of the steak getting defrost.

Anyway, place your ice pack directly above the itchy area. You may initially find that the itchiness intensifies instead of subsiding when you first apply the ice. Get a grip and ensure for a few moments because the cold sensation will definitely eliminates the itch.

Take precautions before you attempt to use ice therapy for eczema: (more…)

As I have said in my earlier posts, prescriptive medication and ailment from dermatologists were not just my armors against eczema. I had tried alternatives like sprouts, essential oils, etc. Today I learned from Charlene J. Nuble; that

The most common homemade eczema treatment will often involve oatmeal. Oatmeal grains, if added to moisturizing soap or creams, can keep skin moisturized and protected. Just be sure to avoid rubbing the oatmeal over the surface of your skin, as this can abrade your skin and add to the itching.

Another soothing way to maximize oatmeal is to soak in an oatmeal bath. Oatmeal is excellent for calming inflamed skin. You can simply buy porridge oats from the grocery store (such as Quaker Oats) and add them to a lukewarm bath. A cup or two should be fine. The itchier you are the more water and oats you should add.

Other than oatmeal bath, you can mix in different oils in your bath such as tea tree oil (which is also good for treating dandruff), linseed oil, evening primrose oil, and cod liver oil. Herbs such as licorice and clematis are also good additions to your bath. If you have fresh nutmeg, you can grind it up into a paste and apply it to your skin in order to add and keep in moisture.

Many people said their eczema skin will respond well with a certain treatment for a while and then the rashes return. This is why many eczema sufferers have more than one trick to deploy to curb the spread and minimize the excruciating itch. You may also want to read fellow eczema sufferers’ take on their healing journeys: Janet Simpson has some interesting information in her “Cure Your Eczema in 14 Days”. While Evelyn Lim compiled her research and experience into an Eczema Diet Secrets book.

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Your skin is itchy and angry red bumps start appearing and then multiplying at chest, thighs, joins and other part of the body. Is this eczema or some other skin diseases?

Dermatologist will use several tests to determine whether you have eczema or some other skin problem. First, the good doctor will ask you to show him/her those parts of your body that are red, itchy, swollen and dry because he will check on the signs and symptoms to eliminate other possibilities.

After he checked those out, he will also want to take a detailed history of your life to help him with his diagnosis. For example, you will be queried on your lifestyle, diet, allergies prescription medications, , and whether you come into constant contact with chemicals or other hazardous materials. He/She would ask you how your skin condition looks like when the rashes start appearing.

The reason is he/she needs to come to a conclusion if it is an (more…)

Well, I learned something new. There’s a connection between chewing and eczema! If an eczema sufferer like me who read extensively on the subject is still ignorance on this, there must be thousands out there who are ignorant. So now, I’m sharing what I’ve read.

Is it possible that you have eczema because of poor or insufficient nutrient in your system? Definitely. What we eat, drink and breath will affect our health so there is always such a possibility. However, whether you are eating right or wrong is not the only concern. The other question you need to ask is whether you are chewing your food sufficiently. According to nutritionists, you got to chew your food properly before you swallow. So if you are one of those stressed ones who chomped the food on the go, chances are you don’t chew long enough and thereby losing vital nutrients is very high.

The digestion of all food (especially carbohydrates) starts from our mouth. That’s because of an enzyme called ptyalin found in our saliva. Ptyalin starts the complex process of digestion. When you chew your foods properly, the ptyalin has more opportunities to break down any tough outer layers of your food. Only when that is broken down will nutrients be absorbed by your system.

According to health reporter, Janet Simpson:

If your food is not chewed sufficiently and is swallowed too quickly the pancreatic enzymes in your stomach have a hard time continuing the digestion process. Undigested food particles will then moves to the large intestines where it sits and ferments.

Fermentation produces gas and bloating. Fermentation also results in additional waste and toxins. If you do not chew your foods sufficiently it can lead to your feeling heavy, uncomfortable, sluggish, irritable and moody.

Chew every mouthful of food between 35 and 40 times this will ensure proper digestion.

Other benefits you will receive from chewing your food thoroughly include the following:

Tip #1: Thoroughly chewing your food will create an alkaline condition in your system. When you achieve an alkaline state as opposed to an acidic one your body is healthy and will fight off eczema and allergies more readily. (more…)

Writer and health reporter Janet Simpson has three diet tips to help create a beautiful, smooth healthy skin for eczema sufferer. She said our body will go through a systematic regeneration process and the eczema condition will begin to heal faster. She had these to share:

The basis of the plan is to introduce a large amount of quality nutrients into your diet so that you can transform the way your skin feels and looks.

Each piece of food that you eat will detoxify your body and rebuild your biochemical and energetic metabolism. The natural unprocessed foods will supply every single cell in your body with phytochemicals which have the ability to rejuvenate and cleanse your skin.

Raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains and super green foods are excellent at rebuilding the body and strengthening the immune system. The foods you will eat are also rich in anti-cancer compounds and anti-oxidants too. If you take in on the inside good, wholesome, quality food it will be reflected on the outside. You will gain gorgeous, smooth, clear skin.

The basics of “The 10 Day Raw Plan” are:

Dry Skin Rash Diet - Tip #1
First thing in the morning you drink a large glass of raw fruit and/or vegetable juice. You should also add an element of green food such as spinach, green cabbage or spirulina.

Dry Skin Rash Diet - Tip #2
The second meal of the day is a large raw, organic salad which contains many difference vegetables. There should be at least 7 different types of food. Serve your salad with two teaspoons mix of sesame, pumpkin and sunflower seeds and prepare a dressing of olive oil and lemon juice.

Here are some vegetables for you to choose from: collards, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, watercress, kale, rocket, radicchio, fennel, carrots chard, turnips, parsnips, radishes, beetroot, celery, yams, sweet potatoes, cauliflower and swedes.

Dry Skin Rash Diet - Tip #3
The last main meal of the day is made up of some grain and vegetables. You can prepare some brown rice and steam vegetables. Or you can stir fry the vegetables.

Or as an alternative you can prepare some lentil or split peas soup and eat with some rye bread.

Over the next ten days, Janet Simpson advised us to drink at least eight glasses of water per day to keep the body hydrated and cleansed. Do not drink tea, coffee, alcohol or any thing other than raw juice and water.

Check out Janet R Simpson’s “Cure Your Eczema in 14 Days” to know more of her secrets.

After Note: I just found out that there’s an eczema sufferer who has put her own research and experience into an eczema diet book, you might want to check that out too.

Related Articles:

How Can Eczema be Treated?
What’s so Depressing about having Eczema?
10 Reasons to Eat Sprouts to Cure Eczema
10 Great Benefits to Eating Alfalfa Sprouts
10 Great Benefits of Eating Raw Food & Juice

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Janet_Simpson

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