{"id":1037,"date":"2017-03-31T10:37:28","date_gmt":"2017-03-31T17:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vitaliahealthcare.ca\/blog\/?p=1037"},"modified":"2020-03-04T11:55:21","modified_gmt":"2020-03-04T19:55:21","slug":"food-sensitivities-eczema-connections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vitaliahealthcare.ca\/blog\/food-sensitivities-eczema-connections\/","title":{"rendered":"Why addressing my food sensitivities was the best thing I did for my health"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Natasha
Natasha Asselstine, R.H.N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since I was a baby I have experienced bouts of eczema. I remember using hydrocortisone cream almost daily to manage it, and going for allergy tests that always came back negative. I grew up believing that this was the skin I was given, and that was that. No big deal.<\/p>\n

Several years ago, I developed a small patch of eczema on my right eyelid. Again, I thought no big deal<\/em>, and a little cream will put it in its place. But I was wrong, and a few weeks later I woke up covered head to toe with inflamed eczema \u2013 my entire body had erupted in a rash that looked like burns. I had never<\/em> had it anywhere near this bad. I could barely open my eyes or mouth and I was also incredibly congested \u2013 sneezing incessantly and constantly rubbing itchy eyes, nose and skin. I tried taking antihistamines but they didn\u2019t work. Needless to say, I was miserable!<\/p>\n

This was the start of a long journey towards health and education. I was in countless doctors\u2019 offices trying to uncover the cause and address it. But unfortunately it wasn\u2019t so easy to diagnose and I was given more hydrocortisone cream to manage it. As the weeks passed, I also experienced extreme fatigue, brain fog and dizziness, forgetfulness, weight gain, bowel issues and I lost what felt like half of my hair. The congestion and allergy symptoms were also fierce, my iron stores had plummeted to a dangerously low level and my thyroid was being negatively impacted, too. <\/p>\n

All this began with a small patch of dry skin above my eye.
\n\"eczema\"
\nOne of the hardest aspects of it all was simply trying to communicate how unwell I felt. After all, it was \u201cjust eczema.\u201d But I knew I wasn\u2019t right. Having dizzy spells in my boss\u2019s office, being bedridden on the weekends, panicking over anything added to my to-do list and forgetting loved ones\u2019 birthdays was just not \u201cme.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, it turned out to be food sensitivities (rather than immediate response allergies – those tests came back as negative) to quite a few of the foods that were staples in my diet. To be honest, I was first sceptical with the diagnosis, but at this point I was desperate to get better, so I was willing to try anything. I immediately got creative in the kitchen and tried a bunch of new ingredients and recipes. <\/p>\n

Admittedly, I had my ups and downs and certainly complained a great deal when I couldn\u2019t enjoy certain foods during social occasions, but more than anything I remember appreciating how this experience was forcing me to learn how to eat better. I also found the process of sourcing out foods that I could eat, and enjoy, to be a lot of fun! It opened up my eyes to a whole new way of eating (pardon the pun). Not only did I change my diet, but I also supported my gut \u2013 which I later learned to be the source of the development of food allergies. <\/p>\n

Starting at just three months I noticed great improvement and by a year my eczema and food allergies cleared up for good! I used my last drop of hydrocortisone cream in 2013. Not only did I clear up my eczema for the long term, I\u2019ve also experienced a variety of health improvements:<\/p>\n