Is it possible to remove any more items from your diet?!
One little addendum…
I will be eating fish, honey, and if I can’t find a gluten free bread that doesn’t have egg whites, then I will, on occasion, have some gluten free, egg white laden bread.
Color me crazy?
Our little boy has terrible eczema. Our little four month old baby has cheeks that have gotten so dry and cracked over the past month and a half that they have a half inch spot on each side that is raw. Our little sweetie, who has had been sleeping 10, 11 or 12 hours each night since he was eight weeks old, has been waking up anywhere from 3-10 times a night for about a month now. He’s teething too, so we thought it was just that at first, but he wakes up scratching at his head, at his face, at his legs. We didn’t realize it at first because he wasn’t coordinated enough to scratch yet! Isn’t that terrible? To be so unbearably itchy all over before you even have the hand-eye coordination to scratch! It’s been breaking my heart, and we’ve tried so many different lotions and oils, that have barely done a thing.
Then I started looking into diet. My sister Kelley’s two youngest kids have also had pretty bad eczema, and she gave me a book several years back about diet and allergies that has basically eliminated the problem for them (depending on what they’re eating, of course)
I tracked down this book and read it cover to cover in a couple of days. ((Don’t be too impressed. It’s only 66 pages.)) It pointed to animal products, dairy, refined (wheat) flours, and refined sugars as the biggest dietary culprits behind most allergies and skin conditions.
I had been mulling this over for the past few weeks, and had finally decided to go for it at the start of March… giving myself till the end of February to wean off these MAJOR parts of most mainstream diets.
However, we went to our pediatrician appointment this past Tuesday, and she took one look at his poor dry skin, listened to all the things we’ve tried already, and started talking to me about diet as well. (yes, she’s so fantastic) She added all wheat, and soy to my list of “No’s” as well, as possible allergens. She expressed shock that I was willingly removing refined sugars from my diet, and concern over my protein intake while abstaining from meat. I feel pretty confident that I’ll be alright on the protein front… even though I won’t be able to rely on tofu for it now. Beans, grains, nuts, seeds and veggies can pack a pretty mean protein punch.
Now… just to be clear… I have NEVER dieted. I have NEVER restricted myself from ANY kind of food in my entire life. (Except alcohol while I was pregnant) So this is quite a switch for me. But hey… I feel like my life has been doing 180’s for the past couple of years. I can handle pretty much anything at this point 😉
So, I’m not sure how long I’m going to be doing this for at first. It’s an elimination diet. So the point is to be really strict about it for a period of time, to detox my system (and the little one’s), and then one by one, start adding certain foods back in to see if we have a reaction to them (did I mention I’m breastfeeding? I’m sure it’s obvious, otherwise, why would what I eat make a bit of difference to him, right?). The book recommends six months. I’ve heard other recommendations from various sources… so that part is up in the air… but hey! I’ve started!
I’m actually pretty stoked about it. I love being creative with food, and I don’t know if I’ve ever met a food I didn’t like (well… there was a quail egg in a Vietnamese restaurant once… and I’ve tried sea urchin at a Santa Barbara cafe. Ugh to both!). So I’m excited to put my pinterest recipe boards to good use and bust out some new yummy cooking (and quick snacks too of course!)
I have high expectations for this diet! Because really… there’s nothing else left that could be causing this! So we’re on day two. And hopefully the results will be glorious.
In the meantime, Dr. Hamdani gave us a hydro-cortisone prescription for his little cheeks and it’s helping them to heal so much quicker. We have a little mixture of olive oil and sandalwood essential oil (from my dear friend Jenna’s doTerra line) that is helping balance out the rest of his skin, and a half teaspoon of baby benadryl to help him sleep at night. Two appointments with a dermatologist and an allergy specialist, and a follow up with our own doctor… phew! We’re throwing everything but the kitchen sink at this one.
Like Dr. Hamdani said right before she ended our appointment, “We won’t stand for this!”
((pieces of my last meals… turkey taquitos & Crushcakes cupcakes))
Conversations 
Kuddos to you for taking such a huge step for the sake of your little man! It seems like a lot of these “no” foods cause different types of inflammation in all of us. It just happens in varying degrees and when a health problem arises most people just resort to meds or write it off as normal. As for the protein, you probably know this but quinoa has a really high protein content and a more complete range of amino acids than most grains, but nuts, beans, brown rice, legumes, etc. will also get you what you need. Good luck to you guys and I hope his skin is getting better and better each day 🙂