Eczema and Rawtill4

Looking at all the foods on my instagram and that I post on this website, it’s kinda amazing how eating my favourite foods so abundantly saved my skin. Literally.

This is a really personal topic, a condition that tormented me for just over a year but eczema is such a common condition that I hope it helps you or someone you know so that they can finally shake off the itches and scratches. I remember back in 2014 during my year 11 Queensland camp, so excited to show off my new bikini and (at the time) acne free physique. I practically had it all covered right?

Except if you looked at my arms.

Truth was, I had a really fiery case of eczema/dermatitis that spread across my arms like a wildfire. It felt like one too. One minute, itchy as f***, next day, painfully sore to the point where you felt like vomiting. Not to mention how it looked. Daily I’d have people asking me what was wrong with my swollen, patchy, red arms. All I could say was “I don’t know”. Because I didn’t.

This isn’t me. Mine was much worse. I was so insecure I don’t actually have any photos.

So yeah, I had no idea what was causing it! My doctors would tap their chin, leave me with no answers, and send me away with creams that burnt the eczema right off. I’d be stuck in the same situation the following week.

Willpower was no use either. Willing myself not to scratch was like sending a starving man to a buffet that he can’t eat. And even if I could make a day without scratching, I’d wake up in bed the next morning with scabs and blood under my nails. Sounds bad. Well, it was.

Doctors came up with endless excuses: gluten rash, allergic to cats, chemical exposure, dairy intolerance (I was already vegan!) and all this other drama that didn’t seem logical. As soon as I asked if it could be diet related, they shrugged it off and told me to cut gluten. I’ve been gluten-free since February 2014 and I cured my eczema about a month ago. Thanks Doc.

I'll also note that I now eat small amounts of gluten!

You could say it nearly ruined me. Above is what it was like in a very crappy photo. Ten times worse if you actually saw it. And it felt ten times worse too. Fitness is such a hugely passionate part of my life, yet during classes the sweat would irritate my arms and I even began to develop purply-red patches on my neck and chest that would illuminate during gym classes. They’d itch, then be super stingy and painful later. I’ll tell you, trying to do pushups when you feel like your arms and neck are on fire was nearly impossible.

I’ve always been someone who’s determined to find solutions myself. I knew the doctors were clueless about my condition because in the end it was my own way that they SHRUGGED AT that worked! We’re getting to the good news guys, it’s alright

For a 17 year old at the time, I was very into research. I’m also very good at going for what I want (I struggle to put effort into what I’m NOT passionate about), this was important. So I had already had a close following of the Gerson Therapy and natural healing of serious diseases and cancers, and I’d also been watching High-Carb Low-Fat Vegan youtubers. Not many of them had too much of a mention of eczema, but I know that health is holistic– when the body heals, it wants to heal everything. I immediately transitioned to Rawtill4, and with the knowledge I had, created my own twist on the diet. My version is a bit more restrictive, but still abundant nonetheless. Combined with Gerson Therapy principles as well, I created a diet and set out to heal.

So what did I cut out if I was already vegan and gluten-free? You’ll see that in my next post!

But basically transitioning to a Rawtill4/80-10-10/Gerson diet healed my eczema. I cut out all ‘irritants’ from my diet, ate truckloads of fresh fruits and vegetables (organic!) and occasionally had high-carb cooked starchy dinners such as brown rice pasta, potatoes, white rice and quinoa. Best thing was, everything else shaped up too! My hair is so silky, my body leaned out and I’m exploding with energy daily (and I’m STRONGER!). No little weak vegans here.

And BAM, the eczema’s gone. This is one month it disappeared. One month of doing this diet properly. In the beginning when I was experimenting with what foods were irritating it would fade and then come back. But it’s been a month now and I’m convinced it’s gone for good. I’ll give a detailed description of the diet in tomorrow’s post, but I’ll tell you I have never been more amazed at the body’s incredible ability to heal when we let it. Just look at these results! And yes, YOU too can heal your eczema!!

Another treatment I found to be really helpful along the side was making a paste of almond meal and olive oil (both organic) and doing a gentle exfoliation every night after about a week on the diet (it’ll be too sensitive to exfoliate before healing has begun from the food). The olive oil is so nourishing to prevent the dry skin from being itchy and the almond meal gently removes dead skin as well as providing the epidermis (top layer of skin) with healthy fats.

As a moisturiser for when my arms can still get dry, I use Sukin Lightweight Face Moisturiser as it isn;t heavily perfumed or irritating, not the mention it's vegan!

Do you have an eczema story? Send all emails to glowinggreenpeace@gmail.com or drop all comments below! xx