Today we're sharing Tapasya's journey: a mother who's two little twin boys suffered with eczema.
Their eczema first appeared around age two, starting out mild with just a few red spots. But for one of the boys, it kept worsening over time, eventually covering most of his body.
Tapasya said, “We started to become worried. I started reading up on eczema but it was limited mostly to topical natural treatment. I never thought it could be related to food”.
Tapasya embarked on a journey of educating herself with the goal to heal her children's skin naturally.
Tapasya came across the Food Intolerance Diagnosis (FID) program from the Eczema Detox book through a Freebirth group.
“I bought a copy of the book and started on FID. It was difficult at first because ghee and spices are fundamental in our cuisine and both of them were making the condition worse. I was using organic grass fed dairy but it clearly wasn’t helping. Prior to FID we ate a lot of legumes, millets, chicken, and lamb so the diet was not a significant change. Luckily, my kids never ate candy , chocolate, cakes etc so sugar cravings were not a problem. We continue to manage the diet really well.”
Like many eczema sufferers, her son's eczema has not been a quick fix and their journey continues. Tapasya is so thankful for the Eczema Diet: "My boys now spend more time playing instead of itching!"
The twin boy with severe eczema on legs before the FID program
Image above: Baseline, eczema before beginning the Food Intolerance Diagnosis Program IFID) from the Eczema Detox.
Image, above: On The FID Program, week 5, her son's skin shows significant improvement. Eczema appears less red and the inflammation has reduced.
Some advice Tapasya would love to offer to parents is to adhere to this diet and test foods slowly - only one new introduction at a time and observe their skin for 48 hours to see if the eczema has worsened or improved. Patience is the key when it comes to the Eczema Diet- patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet!
Here at Skin Friend we have an eczema diet diary to help keep track of your skin reactions when doing our eczema programs. This is a practical resource to assist with identifying your triggers and to ensure you reflect on your own personal healing and achievements. You can download it for free here.
Tapasya often creates her own FID recipes that she posts to our Eczema Diet Support Facebook page and we would love to share one of them here as they have been such a hit!
FID friendly Chicken Curry
Chicken curry is an absolute favourite in my household. This FID program abiding curry was a hit today with my kids.
Ingredients
- Free range skinless chicken
- Coriander
- Rice bran oil
- salt
- Leek
- Red cabbage
- Green beans
- Peeled white potato
- Chickpea or besan flour
- Firstly wash the organic free range skinless chicken pieces( breast , legs, thighs) marinate them with garlic, parsley (I used fresh coriander because somebody said parsley is high in salicylates so I thought I might as well use coriander though it’s also high in sals but we prefer the taste. Please check your tolerance to coriander leaves) Also add a pinch pf salt and 1 tablespoon of rice bran oil to the marinade. Leave for half an hour to 1 hr.
- Sear the chicken pieces on in a cast iron pan in oil and set aside. Add more oil in the pan (which has amazing chicken taste), add chopped leek, red cabbage, green beans and peeled white potatoes. Sauté until half cooked
- Add chicken and stir a while , add a little water if the flour is sticking to the pan. Then add hot water to the curry and let it simmer for 20 minutes
- Serve hot with brown rice or our eczema friendly roti bread, recipe found here.
We are so grateful for Tapasya and her two beautiful boys for sharing their story (and delicious recipes)! We wish them well as their healing journey continues xx
Article by nutritionist Bonnie.
