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I went on paleo to cure some nasty eczema on the inside of my arms, my wrists, my face, my neck and shoulders, the backs of my knees, and my ankles. I've been strictly on it for almost a week. My eczema hasn't gotten any worse - but it's only gotten a little bit better.

For those of you who went paleo with eczema specifically in mind, how long until you saw results? Did you cut anything paleo out, like nightshades (tomatos) or citrus (oranges, lemons & limes)? Did you supplement with anything (I'm doing fishoil and vit D)?

Am I hoping for a cure prematurely, or do the effects take a few weeks to kick in?

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2 
 You're going to have to give it a lot longer than a week. – 42 Jul 7 2010 at 21:49
You're going to have to give it a lot more than one week to see results. – 42 Jul 7 2010 at 21:49
I had eczema for alomst 15 years and I went Paleo in the middle of January of this year. It stayed about the same, until I started taking some high quality vitamins: fish oil, a multi, vit d and a probiotic. About a week or so after I started taking them, it magically cleared up. I'm glad you asked this because I was wondering if anyone else had this happen, as I would like to narrow down specifically what made it clear up. I've heard that vit d can have something to do with it, but who knows if its not a combination of good vitamins and good diet? Thanks for the post! – McMeghann Aug 15 2011 at 22:06

12 Answers

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Can't comment on excema, but I can report that my VERY bad rosacia was gone entirely in about 6 weeks.

I dropped all nightshades when I went Paleo because I had heard that they can exacerbate both skin conditions and arthritis (which I have).

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Have you reincorporated nightshades back into your diet at all, and if so, to what end? I love tomatos - don't want to give them up =X – cavemanbob Jul 8 2010 at 19:41
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 No, no I won't ever eat them again. The incredible difference in my skin and my joints was too convincing! I had always had good skin and developed the Rosacia when I got pregnant. For 6 years my face was red, angry looking, inflamed. Then I went Paleo, dropped the nightshades and * poof * gorgeous skin again! – Blue -the Thrifty Mom Jul 11 2010 at 15:05
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 I'm allergic to tomatoes and capsicums, but I get no reaction from potatoes; do potatoes cause you problems? – Travis Culp♦ Feb 1 2011 at 22:40
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 My rosacea is gone, too! 8-weeks into Paleo and I started easing back on the topicals I was using, 32-weeks in now and it's gone. I eat nightshades daily, dairy, etc. It was eliminating the sugars, grains, legumes, and certain oils that did the trick - one or a combo must have been the culprit. Sometimes I think about self-experimentation to see what may have been the cause but it's not gonna happen. I feel too good :) – jesuisjuba - paleorepublic.com Jul 5 2011 at 15:06
Oh man, apologies: I was 8-weeks in when I started phasing out the topicals and I'm only 16-weeks, 4-months, into Paleo. Apparently I have 8-week months before drinking coffee :) Sorry 'bout that! – jesuisjuba - paleorepublic.com Jul 5 2011 at 17:35
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For my son, it was the gluten and that is common. We didn't see a difference for at least 2-4 weeks. Although, vie read up to 8 weeks. Keep at it because it is SO worth it!

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thanks - i will :) – cavemanbob Jul 7 2010 at 21:01
definitely gluten but also possibly other food intolerances (for me - dairy). Also vitamin D. – rht Jul 13 2010 at 16:25
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Your body needs ~3 weeks to build up new enzymes, don't expect results related to this before at least 3-4 weeks have passed. For some, it has taken up to six months.

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Thank you for your reply - it's given me a bit of hope for this dreary disease. I'm curious - do you speak from personal experience? And do you have any documentation or anything related to the 3-week enzyme building period? I'm interested in learning more. Thanks :) – cavemanbob Jul 10 2010 at 22:43
No studies about that, sorry. I've read and heard it several times among others on Robb Wolfs Podcast and from several scientists interviewed by Jimmy Moore. It is also mentioned here: rawpaleodiet.com/… It makes sense that the gut needs time to (re-)build enzymes, bacteria and floar after a complete change of the diet. We've got trillions of microbes in us - and they don't have the internet to spread the message that the big boss has changed his eating habits. ;) – Gone Jul 12 2010 at 7:56
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Has anyone here tried fasting? I have had medium-level eczema (full body) for many years and tried a lot of different diets (some highly restrictive) without result. But by chance (I had a tummy bug) I discovered recently that 1 or 2 days of fasting eliminates 80% of my eczema and the effect keeps getting better with time. I repeated this again later when I was well, with the same result. I was actually hoping someone on this forum might know what this means... I don't have food allergies - these have been extensively tested (as well as intolerances) and various highly restrictive diets have never helped.

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I've noticed the same thing. Not sure why either, but when I fast I have quite significant improvement in eczema also. I've been paleo for about 1 1/2 months now, not much improvement yet, only when I fast. I'd be curious also as to why fasting works but not paleo? – Lia Aug 23 2010 at 14:12
something youre eating is still bothering you. just because you havent yet found the culprit does not mean paleo is to blame.. do a 30 day elimination diet, get an extensive list of potential food allergens, remove all of them, then slowly introduce them one at a time to find your culprit... – Stephen-Aegis Aug 23 2010 at 17:09
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Mine has actually gotten a bit worse. On my face it's a little better (Though I still have to use a steroid like cream on my face every night) but I've been getting flareups on my chest and back. I haven't had flare ups in those areas for years so I don't know what's going on. I've read that eggs and dairy can really cause some inflammation, and while I've eliminated milk from my diet I have upped my egg intake and butter/cream usage significantly.What I find frustrating is that my omega 3-6 ratio is probably closer to 1:1 or 2:1 nowadays but I still am suffering from eczema. It has only been two weeks so I'm going to reserve judgement for two or three months. If nothing changes or if it gets worse then I'll have to experiment by taking out cream and butter and eggs from my diet altogether. Which will be TOUGH IMO, heavy cream is where I get the majority of my fats and melted butter is what makes broccoli and brussel sprouts edible to me.

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Don't forget about coconut oil for an excellent source of calories. ! tablespoon has about 120 cal. I panfry 5 eggs in a couple tablespoons in coconut oil and I eat about 1/8 pound of bacon almost every morning. And I sometimes microwave a yam, cut the soft yam into thin dollar size rounds and panfry in coconut oil....takes me back to potato hash browns. There is still something in your diet that your body trys to expel through the eczema. The anecdotal stories of fasting show me that eczema is a result of some food not being properly handled by the gut flora. Heal the gut..no more eczema. – Dexter Feb 1 2011 at 20:55
Ah true, coconut milk is something I might have to get used to. Finding a substition for eggs should be no problem. I'm eating sardines often nowadays. Though sardines in tomato sauce.... Arrghhhhh. Damn you. Paleo the strict version is kinda hard to incorporate. At least for me. (I hate the taste of sardines without tomatoe sauce on them). I think I'll start experimenting with coconut milk, maybe putting them on top of some blue berries. You know I even eat avocados with sour cream.... Dammit. Sour cream, bacon, chives. – Gracken Feb 3 2011 at 23:03
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My eczema actually returned a couple of months after going paleo (I'd been eczema free for a few years) and cheated whilst visiting family. I've narrowed it down to dairy (through experimentation) so it was an easy fix, although it did take a couple of weeks to clear up again.

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Dairy is a key eczema trigger for me also. Wish it weren't so. – markhu Dec 7 2011 at 4:45
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I know everyone's eczema is different. There may be a link between vitamin D and certain types of eczema. Some people have had success with vitamin D supplementation in treating their eczema symptoms.

http://www.fitnesstipsforlife.com/vitamin-d-as-an-eczema-cure.html

http://www.news-medical.net/news/2008/10/06/41864.aspx

Adding omega 3 fatty acids to the diet can also help with eczema symptoms. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/3337461/Omega-3-can-help-eczema.html

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I recently read a pretty convincing article about how getting vitamin D from the sun is so much better than from supplements. It is hard for me to find the time/space, especially in winter. – markhu Dec 7 2011 at 4:46
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You're going to have to give it a lot more than one week to see results.

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other relevant thread here

It seems that my son (2,5y) reacts very good to avoiding grains, not only by significant reduction in eczema, but also in behaviour changes, less nightly sweating and flatter stomach. Unfortunately it is very hard to avoid grains 100%, but let us say that's part of the experiment.

Our experience is that it just took a few weeks to see improvement. My son's eczema was not that bad, and was eating lacto-paleo for a longer time. Only in the daycare he still ate some bread and pasta.

Keep your progress updated, that would be interesting!

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Will do. I definitely haven't gotten worse! In fact, I'm better. It's been exactly a week since I started, and I've cheated twice - a bowl of plain pasta before a basketball game on Tuesday, and a cup of coffee today. Other than that, pure paleo. My flairs have gone down dramatically. I'm still itchy as all get out, but I can sleep better and everything looks to be on the up and up! =D I will keep commenting on this thread as I progress. Thanks for your response! – cavemanbob Jul 8 2010 at 19:46
@cavemanbob: do you eat/drink dairy? My son still does, but I have got a feeling the amount of dairy (or what kind of dairy) could also contribute. – Pieter D Jul 9 2010 at 6:41
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Ignore this, can't figure out how to delete my own posting!

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there should be a delete link below your text, near the link | edit | flag. – Stephen-Aegis Aug 23 2010 at 17:10
that only comes with more points, takes a moderator early on – Happy Now Sep 24 2011 at 6:26
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I still suffer with skin problems, sadly. I follow a strict paleo diet with no fruit or nuts, and I have eliminated eggs for quite some time with no positive results. The only food group I haven't eliminated has been the nightshades, but when I don't consume nightshades I never consume enough potassium and as an athlete I need my potassium hahha.

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any chance of an update on this cavemanbob? did you find out what was causing the eczema... I'm interested in finding out info on this for my sister; it seems dairy / nightshades can be linked to it among other things

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