Could taurine help topical steroid withdrawal? - dosages and food sources

|Karen Fischer

Taurine is an incredible sulphur-containing amino acid which is required for liver detoxification of chemicals. Taurine is anti-inflammatory and helps to prevent tissue damage when inflammation occurs. People suffering from topical steroid withdrawal (TSW) often have excessively elevated nitric oxide levels in the blood and this can make them feel hot and itchy. Taurine helps to lower excess nitric oxide in the body, so taking taurine during TSW recovery can be beneficial.

Taurine also assists with brain function. It is an important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain and it exerts an anti-anxiety and anti-stress effect. Research shows that taurine levels can be significantly low in depressed patients.

Taurine: dosages and food sources

Taurine (also known as)

Supplement dosages (milligrams per day)

Eczema-friendly food sources

Taurine (natural)

Infants (AI)

3–8 mg per 100 mls of breastmilk or hypoallergenic (dairy-free) infant formula

Children + teens

1–4 years: 50–100 mg 
5–12 years: 100–140 mg 
14–18 years: 140–500 mg (plus food sources)

Adults

200–500 mg per day 
Up to 2 g per day in divided doses

 85 g (3 oz) cold-water fish: 120–400 mg 
85 g (3 oz) chicken: 185 mg 
85 g (3 oz) cooked red meat: 30mg

AI: Adequate Intake as per Australian Government guidelines. 
No set RDIs available but research data shows doses up to 3 g (for adults) is safe.

Notes: 

  • Taurine supplementation helps to prevent fatty liver disease, which occurs in one-third of people with eczema.
  • Taurine deficiency can be tested via a whole blood test (not blood plasma, urine or stool tests as they are not as accurate).

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. Click on the images to view more details:

           

 

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.

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Eczema Friend

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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.

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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.