EAT YOUR WATER : Eczema Fuel & Flare-Ups

Staying hydrated is extremely important for your overall health But we just don’t have time in our busy schedules to keep up!

Health experts often recommend drinking several glasses of water per day to meet your hydration needs, but the water content of foods is often overlooked.

While drinking water is important, you can consume a significant amount of water by including a variety of water-rich fruits, vegetables and dairy products in your diet.

This is why most people don’t necessarily have to drink a lot of water. As long as you’re eating plenty of water-rich foods and drinking water when you feel thirsty, you won’t have a problem staying hydrated.

WATER-RICH FOODS LIST:

For Vegans:

• Cucumber

• Celery

• Any Greens (Kale, Broccoli, Spinach)

• Zucchini

• Any Citrus Fruit (Orange, Grapefruit, etc)

• Watermelon

• Cantaloupe/Honey Dew/Papaya

• Dragon Fruit

• Soursop

• Strawberries/Berries/Grapes

• Tomatoes

• Cauliflower

• Radish

• Pineapple

• Beets

• Peaches

• Coconut Water

For Non-Vegans

• Skim Milk

• Eggs

• Cottage

• Cheese

• Greek Yogurt

Food-sensitive eczema reactions will typically occur about 6 to 24 hours after a person eats a particular food. Sometimes, these reactions may be delayed even longer.

To determine what foods may be causing the reaction, a doctor will often recommend an elimination diet. This diet involves avoiding some of the most common foods known to cause eczema.

Before eliminating any foods, a person will need to slowly add each food type into their diet and monitor their eczema

for 4 to 6 weeks to determine if they are sensitive to any particular food.

If a person's symptoms get worse after adding a particular food to the diet, they may wish to consider avoiding it in the future. If a person's symptoms do not improve when eliminating a food, they probably do not need to remove it from their diet.

Some of these foods may trigger an eczema flare-up and could be removed from a diet include:

• Citrus fruits

• Dairy

• Eggs

• Gluten or wheat

• Soy

• Spices, such as vanilla, cloves, and cinnamon tomatoes

• Some types of nuts.