Healthy Skin Smoothie Recipe for Eczema (shown on 7 News)

|Karen Fischer

The Healthy Skin Smoothie recipe is designed to calm the itch and hydrate the skin. It contains vitamin C, zinc and ingredients that assist in the healing and repair of the skin. 

This recipe is an old favourite of mine. I love the addition of banana as it makes it sweet without needing sugar or other sweeteners (and my eight year old son will actually drink it!).

It's also low in salicylates as salicylates can irritate eczema. This is why this drink is free of green ingredients such as avocado, spinach and green powders, which are rich in salicylates which can trigger itchy skin in more than 60% of eczema-sufferers (and we don't want that!). I'm hoping to get the word out about salicylates and eczema so people can check if they have salicylate-sensitivity - this can save them a lot of pain and itchiness. Anyway, back to the recipe ...

Pawpaw contains the digestive enzyme papain, which is used in some digestive supplements to aid protein digestion. Papain also kills parasites in the gut. After antibiotic use or a bout of illness you can eat a serve of pawpaw daily to promote recolonisation of beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract.

Bananas are a fibre-rich and nutritious energy snack. While most other fruits are acid-forming and rich in problematic chemicals, bananas have unique alkalising properties, thanks to their high potassium content. Bananas are salicylate-free, with the exception of sugar bananas which should be avoided as they contain both salicylates and amines (itchy chemicals). While they contain some amines, they also supply their own amine/histamine-lowering nutrients magnesium and vitamin C so this nutrient-dense snack should not pose a problem for those who are mildly sensitive to amines. 

Note you can adjust this recipe to suit your allergies and intolerances. For example, if you are sensitive to banana or pawpaw (or amines) you can swap them for peeled pear (the only fruit which is low in both amines and salicylates). Pre-freeze a peeled banana to make a cold smoothie. For best results, drink daily for 4+ weeks - it really works! 

 

Georgie making the Healthy Skin Smoothie from The Eczema Diet

Photo: Georgie adding Skin Friend AM to the Healthy Skin Smoothie on 7 News, aired July 29th, 2016.

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 2 ADULTS; PREPARATION TIME 5 MINUTES)

1/2 ripe banana, chopped (A) (use a frozen peeled banana)*
1 slice pawpaw, peeled and chopped (A)
11⁄2 cups chilled non-dairy milk of choice (see list, below)
1-3 scoops of Skin Friend AM (see dosages, below)
1-3 teaspoons organic flaxseed oil 

METHOD: Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend on high until smooth.

SKIN FRIEND AM DOSAGES:
1 scoop for children aged 1-4
1 heaped scoop for children aged 5-10
1 1/2 scoops for children aged 11-13
2 scoops for teens and adults
3 scoops for adults with severe eczema or TSW

  

...........
Non-Dairy Milks (low-salicylate milks)
Choose from the following eczema-friendly, non-dairy milks (avoid anything you are allergic or sensitive to):
  • Quality organic soy milk
  • Organic oat milk
  • Home-made chick pea milk
  • Home-made cashew nut milk
  • Organic rice milk 
...........
Milks to avoid 
  • Dairy - cow's, goat's and all kinds of animal milks. Dairy products are pro-inflammatory and contain a range of animal hormones (including estrogen), lactose and second-hand antibiotics, which can affect the health of the gastrointestinal tract.
  • Coconut milk/water - coconut is rich in salicylates and amines/histamines which can trigger itchy skin and worsen eczema (in more than 60% of people with eczema). 
  • Almond milk - almonds are rich in salicylates and amines/histamines which can trigger itchy skin and worsen eczema (in more than 60% of people with eczema). 
...........
NOTES
You can add 1 sprig of parsley, finely chopped, for alkalising.
(A) = amines. If you are sensitive to amines you can use peeled pear or try our Tarzan Juice recipe (refer to The Eczema Diet recipes). 
**Don't use sugar bananas/lady finger bananas (the small varieties) as they contain salicylates and amines. 

 

This recipe is from The Eczema Diet (Exisle Publishing) and is reprinted with permission. Watch the 7 News video by clicking on the photo:

UPDATE: The Eczema Detox is now Karen's most updated version and you can read more on the difference between these two books here.

Watch the 7 News Video here >>

Products 

At Eczema Life, we recommend nutritionist Karen Fischer's low food chemical program (The Eczema Detox) along with additive-free supplements for skin health and wellbeing. 

The Eczema Toolkit

the holistic way to clear skin

The Eczema Detox is Karen Fischer's latest best-selling eczema manual designed to help you find relief. Through her work she found some patients needed a special program to identify personal triggers, so the FID Program was created. The Eczema Clear Skin Toolkit combines gut health and nutrition with soothing, barrier repair skincare and supplements to calm the itch and support skin repair, the immune system and more. If you’ve tried everything and nothing has worked, this is the skin calming toolkit you've been praying for.

learn more

Eczema Friend

the itch buster  |  rash cream

The low pH eczema cream that helps to relieve itchy skin, red skin rash and mild eczema and dermatitis. Suitable for all types of rashes. It's the cream you'll wish you had tried first.

learn more

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Frequently asked questions

Does food allergy trigger eczema?

Food allergy and eczema are closely linked, and allergies can absolutely make eczema worse, but they're often not what starts it in the first place. In fact, research suggests the reverse may be more accurate: eczema itself may come first and increase the risk of developing food allergies, rather than the other way around (Tsakok et al. 2016). One study found that babies with eczema were up to six times more likely to become
sensitised to foods compared to those without eczema. In children with established eczema, up to 66% showed food sensitisation, with confirmed food allergy in up to 81% of cases (Tsakok et al. 2016).

If you or your child has a diagnosed food allergy, those foods should be avoided for now. For additional guidance, the Food Intolerance Diagnosis (FID) Program in The Eczema Detox book can help identify food intolerances that do not show up in allergy tests (see next FAQ).
Do food allergy tests help eczema?

Skin prick tests and other food allergy tests including blood tests and patch tests can be unreliable on their own, so an oral food
challenge (supervised by an allergy specialist if you are prone to anaphylaxis), is the most accurate way to confirm whether you or your child is reacting to a particular food. For additional guidance, the FID Program in The Eczema Detox book can help you to identify your personal triggers.
About the authors

Ren Karen Fischer is a nutritionist, mother of two, and award-winning author of seven books, including the bestsellers The Eczema Diet and The Eczema Detox. Fischer is also a peer-reviewed published researcher, and is currently undertaking eczema research as part of a Master's by Research at Bond University. Combining clinical research with real-world experience, she is dedicated to advancing evidence-based care for eczema.

Nutritionist Bonnie Taylor holds a Bachelor of Health Science degree and helps people with eczema identify their individual triggers through the FID Program. Taylor has worked alongside Fischer for many years and offers nutrition consultations by appointment.