Infantile Eczema - Healing from the inside out Part 2

A few weeks ago I posted a sort of intro to this topic as well as part one, so if you are interested in this, please read this first as it has important factors to consider if you want to take this route. For today I will share with you the actions we are doing to help Mr. T's severe infantile eczema from the inside out with Diet and Nutrition.

Please note I am not a qualified medical professional, these views and experiences are my own, and I take responsibility only for my own actions. I share this information in the hope it will help others who are suffering with severe infantile eczema, food allergies, and leaky gut syndrome/malabsorbtion syndrome but if you decide to take the action we have done, common sense and personal judgement has to be used, and of course you have to do your own research and talk to professionals you can trust. 
A lot of the following are adaptations we have made thanks to Dr. Pagano's book mentioned below, but they are simply our way of hoping to help our son. I am not trying to sell his book, and have not received any moneys in order to write this post. Some of the information in this post is also simply stuff we have learned ourselves, and common sense :)

Part 2 - Diet and Nutrition

Aside from drinking lots of water, good water ie. not mains connected water, there are other things we are doing to try help Mr. T's skin. 
Of course he is still having to drink his Neocate formula a few times a day, as he has only just turned one  year old, but at least we can introduce new solids slowly. 

I have heard a lot about the fact that in order for your body to be in good health it needs to be more alkaline as opposed to acidic. There are sceptics out there that say this is nonsense, but when you look at the food that people advise to eat that believe that alkaline is better, then I do tend to believe them. Why not eat healthier and greener? I love the idea. Less chemicals and sugar and fat, more greens, veg, salad, etc. Whatever about the different theories, there are a lot suggestions that alkaline is better, and I hereby say that yes, I am now a believer too and don't mind trying it out all the way. It takes time to learn a new eating lifestyle, and I'm nowhere near perfect and still have to abolish a lot of 'baddies' but I'm on my way there. I think if the whole family takes this route then Mr. T will benefit as well as us, and mealtimes will be easier to prepare. The following meals are with this in mind.

So here are the foods I have been trying Mr. T with recently, as suggested by Dr Pagano's book - Healing Psoriasis. (In case you are new to this blog, our Mr. T has severe infantile eczema, but by following Dr. Pagano's regimen it can also be helped. Please also read previous posts)

Breakfast: 

- Dried Apricots
- Dried Figs
- Dates
- Apples
- Pears

Please note that all of the above are organic, and the apricots and figs contain no sulphur. I then chop them all up and put them in a big pot, add a little water, and stew them before I whizz them and put them into BPA free pots in the freezer. I then mix this with his morning porridge (Organic maize & rice baby porridge) in the mornings. 
According to Dr. Pagano, most fruits are alkaline forming within the body except for cranberries, large prunes, plums and blueberries. This doesn't mean I don't give him these, it just means I don't fill a huge pot of them and stew them for him. Blueberries for example have a ton of other beneficial qualities, so he eats them as finger food, but just in slight moderation. 
I only give him fruit in his porridge in the mornings as too much fruit can induce elevated triglycerides as excess fruit sugars can be retained in the body tissues as stored fat. Apparently people affected with eczema should be especially careful of this. Again, moderation and management is key I think. 

So far we have discovered that Mr. T is allergic to the following food so we cannot feed him them: (maybe you should consider this when trying new food with your own hyper sensitive baby)

- Strawberries
- Kiwi
- Pineapple
- Banana
- Melon
- Egg
- Dairy
- Goats milk
- Soy
- Yeast

People with eczema should also stay away from citrus fruits ie. oranges, lemon, lime...and their juices. Also, apples should only be eaten stewed, or on their own without other food if eaten raw. 
Please note people suffering from eczema should stay away from nightshades ie. white potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, paprika, chilli, aubergine. 

Lunch:

For his lunch he usually joins us, and eats whatever he can that we're having,...for eg. lettuce (a lot of that ends up on the floor for now;), organic rice milk vegan yeast free spelt pancakes, cucumber slices, grapes, raisins, celery slices, grated raw beetroot, or sweetcorn. He usually feeds himself these as finger food, which gives us a bit of peace to eat too.
Whenever possible, ingredients are organic, and always washed with pure soap and then rinsed once they are home from the shop/stall to get rid of any detergent residue or chemicals that may be on them.

Mid afternoon 'dinner':

Whenever someone goes to the market in the city I usually get them to bring back vegetables from the organic stall as we don't have the option to choose from a lot of organic vegetables in our local town, especially at the moment when a lot of it is out of season. Our own garden would produce a lot, but in November it's winter here in Ireland and not much from the garden can make it to the table. 
I usually get the following from the organic stall:

- Sweet potato
- Broccoli
- Onions
- Carrots
- Leek
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Beetroot
- Turnip
- Spinach
- Garlic

I thoroughly wash all veg and then fry the chopped up onions and garlic in a little water and keep moving in the pan, and maybe add a little oregano from the garden for a bit of flavour. Then add the rest of the veg chopped up (excluding the spinach) with a bit of water and bring it to the boil and turn it off. I then add the spinach and leave it sit a little bit. The veg carries on cooking without being overdone. 
Then I whizz it, and pop it into little BPA free pots to freeze. At the moment we still have kale growing in our garden so I use a lot of this too as it is amazingly healthy and alkaline and yummy. I add it at the same time as the spinach so it doesn't overcook.
In the evenings I take a fruit pot and a veg pot out of the freezer for the next day. On occasion I add a few drops of organic first cold press hemp seed oil to his mid afternoon dinner after heating it as the omega oils in it are said to help eczema. 

Dinner:

At dinnertime he also joins us and feeds himself anything suitable from what we are having. Any of the vegetables mentioned above might be on his dinner plate, as well as some lamb, chicken or salmon. (Lamb is much better than beef as your choice of red meat for eczema and leaky gut sufferers.)
We get our lamb from a local trusted butcher, and if we don't have our own chickens for dinner I will always buy free-range/organic chicken. The salmon is always fresh. It's hard to find meat and fish nowadays that hasn't been injected with antibiotics, or been fed on genetically modified corn/food or has been fished sustainably in 'clean' seas but I try my best and am very careful to ask questions and read labels. 

When cooking lamb or chicken I find roasting or broiling is best as you don't need to use any fat to cook it. Fat is bad when having to deal with leaky gut syndrome, hence I also cut off any fat off the lamb before I give it to him. 

For carbohydrates I also cook him some organic rice or millet or organic wholegrain spelt pasta. I try stay away from cous cous and normal bread as I think for someone so sensitive wheat and gluten isn't good. When I make him bread or pancakes I use organic wholegrain spelt flour as I feel this will be easier on his gut. Some people sensitive to gluten are also sensitive to spelt, but here, I am only talking about our own experiences. 

I have yet to try  Mr. T with other fish, and oatflakes as we are only slowly introducing new things, which can prove scary when he has so many allergies. I also keep him away from nuts as his egg and dairy allergies are so severe that a nut allergy reaction would be too dangerous to chance.
To drink I stay away from giving him juices, I just give him water, which in our case comes from a trusted well. 

Finger food snacks:

During the day when Mr. T gets peckish and wants a snack, I usually offer him grapes, raisins, cucumber slices, cooked cooled peas, blueberries or organic wholegrain rice cakes. All the fruit and veg has to be washed with soap as soon as it gets in the door from the grocery shop of course. 

So there you go, maybe that provides some ideas for you on how to start your own toddler/baby on food. Our Mr. T has just turned one year old, and that is where we are at at the moment in terms of feeding him with his allergies, leaky gut and severe eczema in mind. Maybe there is something useful for you here in this post, if so I would really recommend reading and researching more, as Dr. Pagano's book is so much more informative and relays the correct information and reasons for his regimen. If you have any other questions or suggestions just comment below, there is always room to learn more! :)
Thank you!

Infantile Eczema - helping it from the inside out

When you're trying to conquer eczema on the scale that we are you look at all options. No matter how far fetched they may seem you just need to try them all just in case one would work. One mans waste is another mans treasure, the same goes for health and remedies I think. One person swears by homeopathy, the other by reiki, and some don't like looking further than textbook western medicine..etc. 

In our efforts to learn more I heard about Dr. John Pagano and his work healing people with psoriasis. (Link to book on Amazon.co.uk) Psoriasis isn't the same as eczema, but he has a chapter dedicated to eczema, and states that by following his regimen patients that he has had that suffer from eczema are now free from their troubles provided they stick to it. 

I won't quote everything from the book, I'll just share with you in my own words what I found relevant for us, and the actions I'm taking. 

Some people think Dr.Paganos research and work is unfounded and disagree with it. I read and absorb books like his with a pinch of salt, and intend to keep my wits about me. I believe in 'You are what you eat' so whether Dr. Paganos theories are correct or not, I am inclined to believe the majority of his book and am willing to give it a go as his methods can only make us healthier. Eating better and learning how & why can't be a bad thing. I have since shared my findings with our family doctor and public health nurse and they also agree for the most part. 

Leaky Gut Syndrome which is linked to both psoriasis & severe eczema has different names and can be understood slightly differently by different medical professionals. Some call it Malabsorbtion Syndrome, and say it's the failure to absorb the right nutrients needed..either way whether the gut lets toxins through or doesn't absorb nutrients properly, both boil down to the same thing. A problem with the gut, with too many toxins in the body, that shows itself in many ways including eczema. For the purpose of this blog entry I will call it Leaky Gut Syndrome. 

Also, seeing as I don't want to bore people I will break this post up into a few parts. I'm gearing this towards people like myself and Tom who are desperate to help their sick child and I know its difficult enough as it is to find the time to research and read. I strongly recommend getting a copy of the book though if you are interested in this topic. 

Part 1:

One if the first things I learned from Dr. Paganos book is that both psoriasis and eczema occur due to certain areas of the intestinal tract being too thin and porous. Instead of passing along the intestinal track and being eliminated, toxins leak into the bloodstream and lymphatic system. Mr.T's lymph nodes in his neck have been swollen since day one. No doubt ones kidneys and liver are then overworked and can't do their job properly so the skin and lungs come to the rescue and try help purify the body and get rid of toxins. 

There are a lot of reasons why Mr.T could have acquired Leaky Gut Syndrome, one of which could be me having to take antibiotics when pregnant, another could be that I was very depressed in his pregnancy making my body acidic, it could be a sensitivity due to genetics, or even environmental pollution. I have had kidney and bladder problems for the last ten years and when I was pregnant, both times my kidney infections were chronic and though I tried to stay away from them, I had to succumb to antibiotics in the fear that my overloaded kidneys may fail with such a severe array of infections and the added work of looking after an unborn baby. 

Improper elimination of toxins also makes the body more acidic, which in order to be healthy should be relatively alkaline. My goal with Mr.T is to try stop more pollutants getting into his bloodstream, to strengthen his gut, and to cleanse and rebalance his body. One way I am already keeping pollutants away from Mr.T is going detergent free (which has made a big difference!)

The first step in Dr.Paganos regimen is internal cleansing. Having enemas, colonic irrigation, laxatives and apple diets would not suit a baby as I feel there is no need, it is invasive, and they need a balanced diet but I'm sure any mother reading his book would come to the same conclusion using common sense. I am however putting more effort into making sure he always has water at hand. Drinking enough water is the major factor in eliminating toxins. Of course you also have to bear in mind that the quality of the water needs to be good. Fluoride, chlorine, & chemicals are not good. We are lucky enough to have our water connected to a well on the bottom of an uninhabited mountain. Our water has been tested and is better than mineral water apparently. :) luck!

Also I try make sure Mr.T has fiber in his diet. He is still on dairy free formula, but mainly on solids. I'm sure the formula doesn't help but right now I need to weigh up the odds and at his age a bottle of balanced milk is still needed. When I make him organic rice milk pancakes (he's allergic to dairy, goat & soy milk) I always use organic wholemeal spelt flour. I also give him organic unsalted rice cakes as a snack. 

He also gets plenty of fruit and veg (excluding nightshades & citrus) with skin on if organic. If not organic I peel the veg due to spraying of pesticides. Almonds are high in fiber and highly alkaline but I haven't tried him with nuts, almonds, or almond milk just yet in case he's allergic to them. 

So that's what I've done so far in the internal cleanse process. Pretty easy really if you have access to good water.  Not only will Mr.T benefit, but also the rest of the household. Living to the best of our ability and being happy is all down to the information we receive and how we receive it. I am enjoying our venture to happier healthier us :) This last year has been one of the most difficult I have ever experienced, and myself and Tom are utterly exhausted but I have high hopes for our future. Winter is settling in and I'm loving it. 

Crisp frosty mornings with fires lit and misty fog over the mountains. Warm snuggly clothes and cold nosed walks in golden hour sunshine. I just love it. 

In my next 'Healing from the inside out' post I will cover the next few steps we are taking in Mr.T's process. At least this is a start. I apologise for the lack of posts, I have yet to master the challenge of finding time to write and think at the same time as being a mum to two young kids :) 

Thank you guys for all your support!