How Digestion, Food Allergies & Nutrition Affect Eczema – The Eczema Podcast (Season 1, Episode 4)

• 4 meal plans to choose from (including a grain-free plan)
• 3 online seminars: Detox, Stress-busting and Digestion
• 3 yoga online yoga videos & meditation
• Online support community

Enter the giveaway below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I really hope you enjoyed today’s podcast! If you enjoyed it, please share it with your friends and enter the giveaway! Keep reading if you’d like to check out the show notes.

See below for the interview notes:

Abby:
Hi everyone. So welcome to the fourth episode of The Eczema Podcast. I’m excited today because I have a special guest with me. I have Joy McCarthy, who’s a registered holistic nutritionist. And if she looks familiar to you it’s because she’s an expert on Global’s Morning Show. She’s been on a couple of other morning news stations such as CTV and Breakfast Television. She’s author of Joyous Health: Eat and Live Well Without Dieting which you can find in stores if you’re in US or Canada. Or you can get it on Amazon. She’s a Professional speaker and she’s a faculty member at the Institute of Holistic Nutrition. So welcome Joy.

Abby:
So today we are going to talk about different factors that influence skin health and what you can do to improve your skin health as well. So, Joy, why don’t you start by telling us your personal story of dealing with eczema and how you treated it.

Joy:
So throughout my teens and into my twenties I had more dry skin than oily. Never suffered with anything like acne. But I would get, from time to time, maybe five, six, seven times a year, really bad eczema on my hands. And it was really embarrassing because my hands would crack and bleed. I would also get it on my feet as well. And it wasn’t just on my knuckles. It was also on my hands and it was just really uncomfortable and really embarrassing. I tried so many different cortisone creams. Which, as you know, never work. They basically just peel a layer of your skin off to renew — to show fresh, new skin. But it doesn’t address the root cause of what’s going on.

So amongst my eczema issues I also had a lot of other health issues like hormonal imbalance and I had about this much hair on my head. My hair was thinning. I had anxiety. But the root of everything was digestion. And my digestion was totally off. So once I corrected my digestion I got my stress levels in check, because I had always found that my eczema flared up when stress levels were maxed out. But once I got my digestion on track and got stress levels managed, my eczema totally went away, as did all my other health issues. It wasn’t overnight, of course. You know, it took some time. Like I said, it was all throughout my teens and when I struggled with hormonal imbalance. That was a solid three years of losing my hair, not having my period. And, you know, fast forward many years later and I would never look back. It’s truly profound when you realize the power of your thoughts and what you need and how that’s reflected on your skin’s health. Your skin is really an outside reflection of what’s going on the inside.

Abby:
I totally agree with that. And for viewers watching through a video right now, who are not listening to the audio — Joy, you look great right now.

Joy:
Oh, why thank you.

Abby:
[laughs] And your skin looks great. You can’t even tell that you had digestion issues or you had eczema at all.

Joy:
Thank you. And I saw your story, which is amazing. Your whole body basically was covered in eczema.

Abby:
Yeah, it was really really bad. But like you said, digestion plays a huge issue. Why don’t you expand on how digestion affects eczema.

Joy:
Yeah. So digestion — there’s various factors. I mean, if you are eating foods that you’re intolerant to. And the most common food intolerances are dairy and gluten. If you’re constantly eating foods that you’re intolerant to, this increases inflammation in the body and this leads to things like acne and eczema. So that’s one route. The other thing is when you constantly eat these foods you’re intolerant to, this really wears away at the gut and it impacts the integrity of the gut wall. So therefore you’re more likely to absorb proteins from these foods into your bloodstream, which basically puts your immune system in an alarmed state and really does impact inflammation. So the root is always, you know, getting inflammation levels in check. Which, of course, lifestyle plays into role as well. It’s not just about what you eat. It’s also about managing stress as well. So your gut plays a huge role.

And then, of course, there’s a whole area of how your gut flora influences your skin health as well. So there’s so many areas to talk about. But as you know, the bacteria that calls your body home influences everything from your immune system to even your mental health and well-being. So making sure that you’re, you know, taking a good probiotic — that’s so important for skin. I especially — you know, when I have clients who have babies who have eczema, I have seen eczema clear up in babies who get on a probiotic formula in as little as a day and a half.

Abby:
Wow

Joy:
Yeah, so bacteria’s really really important. Most people have too much bad bacteria and not enough good bacteria. So there’s a flurry of research papers on how bacteria influences every area of your health. But it’s still such a new, emerging science. Like, there’s so much that we don’t know about how bacteria influences our health. But what we do know is putting the good guys in definitely affects our skin health.

Abby:
So, I guess — would you saw that leaky gut is also tied to indigestion and bad bacteria as well?

Joy:
Oh yeah, absolutely. You want to have the good guys to reign supreme in your body, And so you have bacteria — you literally have trillions of bacteria that call your body home. You know, not just on the outside of your body, but most of these bacteria live within the gastrointestinal system. And so it’s really important to make sure you take in lots of good bacteria.

Abby:
Do you have any other tips for how to improve digestion and how people can heal their leaky gut as well?

Joy:
Yeah, totally. I have tons of tips. First I always start with, you know, what to remove. You know, some people get scared about that because then they feel like they’re not eating — they can’t eat anything. But what I really like to focus on, at the same time of what to remove, is all the good foods to add in. So, of course, first and foremost I say for a minimum of two weeks to remove gluten and dairy. Of course, the obvious ones are to remove junk foods. Remove bad fats like fried fats that increase inflammation. And, of course, remove any food that you suspect may be a food intolerance for you. Because, I mean, as you know there can be foods that are healthy for us, that are healthy for you but may not be healthy for me. So that’s why doing a food journal and tracking your symptoms, seeing what foods you eat the most often — usually the foods you eat the most are the foods you’re intolerant to. So you have to get rid of those foods that could be potentially causing inflammation and digestive problems.

Then you want to replace those foods that you’ve taken out with really good whole, nourishing foods. So, you know, talking about skin; I always focus on the important of eating healthy fats. So things like avocados and olive oil and flax oil. And, you know, making sure that every meal and snack you have some sort of good fat in your diet. Because I think that’s a big area that a lot of people are, still to this day, confused about. You know, knowing what’s a good fat versus what’s a bad fat. So choosing more of the fats that help to lower the hormones that promote inflammation and increase the hormones like your Omega-3’s and fish oils.

Abby:
That’s huge.

Joy:
Yeah. Eating good-quality fats and taking good-quality fish oil supplement. Getting more high quality Omega-3 fatty acids is so important. This is why, you know, I do recommend eating fish because it’s such a great source of good fats. So adding those kinds of foods in. Of course, good quality protein because proteins a building block. Every single cell in your entire body is made of proteins. And I think, you know, over the years the clients that I’ve seen who, like, have very droopy sort of sallow-looking skin and their skin — they look like they have premature aging. Always when I look at their food journal, I see nine times out of ten they are missing good-quality protein. More-so with women that men.

I don’t notice that men have that problem as much, but I definitely notice that women — especially vegans and vegetarians. At least in my practice, what I see. It can be harder, you know, when you’re eating a plant-based diet if you’re not educated in knowing what are good sources of protein, then you can end up eating far too many complex carbs and not realize that you’re missing out on good-quality protein.

Abby:
That’s a huge point. I don’t think a lot of people have thought of that, actually. And it’s interesting how you mentioned that if they don’t eat enough protein, the skin droops and everything.

Joy:
Yeah, because protein gives your skin structure and support. And also, you know, when you have something like eczema, you want to provide the body with the raw materials to make new skin. And so getting in enough protein is essential and also so important for hair health too. That’s another thing that I’ve seen with people who don’t eat enough protein, is thinning brittle hair. But, you know, all the macronutrients are important: proteins, fats, complex carbs. Right? And, of course water which is really like a macronutrient.

Abby:
And sources of protein that you particularly recommend?

Joy:
Yeah, so I always say variety is really important because you don’t want to develop, you know, food sensitivities if you always stick to the same type of protein. So if you eat a predominantly plant-based diet, you know, there’s lots of food that contain protein that are plant-based. So even things like spirulina, which is a great super food. All leafy greens contain protein. Of course there’s all nuts and seeds. Not the highest source of protein. I think sometimes people think that nuts are, like, pure protein but they’re not. They’re actually more fat. But nuts and seeds are a great source of protein. If you can tolerate beans and legumes, things like lentils. A lot of people who have got inflammation do not do well with those type of foods, but if you do, those are fantastic sources of protein. Of course, things like chia seeds which are also a source of good fat, anti-inflammatory Omega-3’s. Quinoa is fantastic as well. Another complete source of protein too, that’s plant-based. And then, of course all the animal foods. Which are great as well. Everything from fish to chicken to turkey. Lots of my clients, they don’t want to swear off all forms of dairy, but least getting the cow dairy out makes a huge difference in your digestive system. This is why, you know, with some people I say “it is okay to have goat and sheep’s milk products”. I don’t know if you were able, when you healed from your eczema, if you were able to eat those kinds of things. Are you?

Abby:
Yeah, I’m able to eat them now. Which is good. Actually I’m able to eat a lot of things now, but what are your things on whether people can eat kefir after? Like kefir from milk products?

Joy:
Yeah, so some people tolerate kefir okay because, you know, kefir has — it’s so rich in good bacteria and it contains lactobacillus acidophilus, which helps to make lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose. So interestingly, a lot of people who can’t drink cow’s milk can eat products like a fermented cow’s milk yogurt because it is so rich in good bacteria and that really really helps — you know, I didn’t even mention this earlier, but good bacteria helps with the absorption of nutrients in the small intestine. Which is also really important for skin health, so that you actually get delivery of those nutrients to where they need to go.

So it all depends on the person. You know, some people absolutely so cannot do kefir at all. Do you — are you able to eat kefir yourself?

Abby:
Yeah, actually I’ve started re-introducing it into my diet just to get some good bacteria in there.

Joy:
Oh great. The other thing is you can get water kefir, you can get coconut milk kefir. So if you really cannot consume dairy-based kefir there are other options. And then, you know, I’m a really big lover of, like, all the fermented foods because those are essentially probiotic foods. They really help to introduce healthy bacteria into the gut so things like kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, miso, tempeh — of course with all soy I recommend, as I’m sure you do, non-GMO —

Abby:
Organic for sure.

Joy:
Yeah, so good sources — good sources of soy. And the other great thing about bacteria is that it helps to break down toxins and waste products so that they don’t go back into the body for circulation. Because you can absorb toxins from the small intestine into the liver and then the liver puts that back into the body for circulation. And where does it end up? It settles in the lymph system or your skin. And ends up manifesting as acne or eczema.

Abby:
Yeah, I think most people with eczema have issues with toxins in their body and toxin overload.

Joy:
For sure, I agree 100%. But I can always count, for sure — whenever I would have, like, an eczema breakout, as I called it, it was always during times of stress. And interestingly, during those times of stress were also the times when I was eating foods that weren’t great for me. Like eating too many sugars, eating too much gluten and dairy. So it’s a bit of a double whammy when you’re stressed. Your gut’s going to be more permeable because of inflammation and then you’re eating the very foods that promote the problem you don’t want.

Abby:
Yeah, that’s so true. What are your thoughts on whether or not people should get food allergies tested?

Joy:
I actually do food sensitivity testing myself at my clinic, Joyous Health. And there’s pros and cons to it, you know. I test them for 96 different foods — the IGG. And sometimes when a client has very very poor digestion their sensitive to, like, 95 foods out of the 96.

Abby:
Wow.

Joy:
But that’s more to do with their digestion, inflammation, leaky gut than the foods being the problem. So for someone with really really bad digestion, the food sensitivity test I don’t think is the best thing. Whereas someone, you know — and most clients who see me do have digestive issues. But for someone with — who doesn’t have massively, like, severe and multiple digestive problems, I think the food sensitivity tests can bring awareness for some people. But, of course, just doing an elimination diet, you can figure out what you’re sensitive to.

Abby:
Yeah, that’s true. Because I’ve heard some people have said that allergy tests aren’t always that accurate as well, especially if it’s the prick test.

Joy:
Yeah. So that — yeah, so the prick test is going to be the anaphylactic. That’s, like, the immediate allergy. Whereas the one that I do through Rocky Mountain Labs, you’ve probably heard of it, is the IGG test. They — you prick your finger and then you put your blood on a little spot card and then they test you — they test you for 96 foods. And I do find it, like, fairly accurate. Of course, you know, if there is one food that you’re eating all the time it’s more likely that it’s going to come up as a food sensitivity. Because you’re just going to have more chance for those proteins to get into the blood stream and your body to make antibodies against them. So there is that to consider.

But I think, overall, it can be — it can be very — it’s eye-opening for people. You know, for people who need to see something on paper, like — you know what? Lot’s of people say “I love my cow’s milk” or “I love eating breads and cereals every day” and they just can’t wrap their head around the fact that they, you know, should maybe take a break. And when they see it on paper, that they are sensitive to it, then they take a break, then they feel so much better.

Abby:
That’s true. That’s a lot of good information that you’ve told us, which is awesome. What about nutrients that can lacking in the diet that can be causing eczema? I know you mentioned about Omega-3’s and fats. Are there any other particular nutrients that people might be missing that they can, maybe, implement in their diet to help fix their eczema?

Joy:
Yeah. So I definitely think Omega-3 fatty acids are super important. Getting a wide variety of protein-rich foods so you get a wide variety of amino acids. Just making sure that you keep inflammation levels in check. Other nutrients… vitamin D is very important as well, especially for skin health. Vitamin D really helps, again, to lower inflammation and most people in Canada — anywhere from 40 to 70% of Canadians are actually vitamin D deficient. So D is such an important nutrient which acts — it really acts as a hormone. It’s not really a vitamin, even though it’s called a vitamin. But it acts as a hormone in our body. So vitamin D is super important. Of course, all the good bacteria, which most people are lacking in their diet. Vitamin C —

Abby:
Do you have a recommendation for how many IUs people should take of vitamin D?

Joy:
Yeah, I mean, everyone’s different. I think if you started at an absolute baseline, if you’ve not talked to a natural health care practitioner, starting at a baseline of 1,000 is, like, the lowest dose. So to start there is a safe amount. But oftentimes I’m recommending, you know, much higher amounts. Like 5,000 IUs. But I don’t recommend, you know, just starting to take, like, 10,000 IUs when you don’t — when you have no idea. Of course, you can get tested. It’s in Canada — or at least in Ontario it’s $36 to get the vitamin D test. So it might be worthwhile to get the test and see what your levels are, and then supplement based on what you — what you know your levels are at. I mean, I personally eat a wide variety of foods but I still take at least 3,000 IUs of vitamin D per day. And my vitamin D levels are adequate, but I want to keep them that way. Especially because in the winter and the shorter days, spend much less time outside in the sunshine.

Abby:
Yeah, that’s so true. That’s good advice, especially being where we are where it’s cold and there’s not much sun at this time. It definitely helps. Are there any other last factors that you think might influence skin health?

Joy:
Yeah, I think the final thing I want to mention is just lifestyle. And, you know, I talked a lot about stress and how that impacts — it impacts — stress impacts every single cell of our entire body. And so I think a lot of lifestyle factors to promote calm and peace is really important. So things like meditation, you know, going for a walk in nature. Like, every day getting outside, getting active. Moving your body every day. We’re meant to move and so — and that also helps to increase circulation, which is going to bring nutrients to your skin. So those are just a few other factors. And of course movement lowers stress. So you can’t get enough exercise. Super important for beautiful skin.

Abby:
Yeah, not enough people walk and stay active any more, nowadays.

Joy:
Yep, exactly. [laughs]

Abby:
I know we’re running out of time. Any last minute words or last minute advice for any of the factors that you talked about just now, that influence eczema?

Joy:
I think where my final thought is, is just to really realize that what you eat becomes you. And your skin renews yourself, you know, pretty much every month. You have new skin. You’re constantly, you know, building, regenerating. You’re in a constant state of regeneration. So I think if you always, whenever you eat, think to yourself “I become this. Is this food that I’m eating bringing me towards great health? Or is it bringing me more towards disease?” And I think it’s really important if every time you eat, you really think “is this food promoting great health?” and you, you know, focus on eating more foods that promote great health and that’s exactly what you will have. So just having more awareness of your food choices because I think a lot of people have become very disconnected from what they eat. So having more awareness is very important.

Abby:
I love that. Actually, I don’t think I’ve heard it put that way. That everything you eat basically is what you become.

Joy:
Yeah

Abby:
So, Joy, thanks so much for being on the show today. It was awesome, you gave me so many great tips. I really loved your energy and all the great knowledge and wealth of experience that you have with eczema. Do you have website or a contact that you can give our audience so that they can meet you or stay in touch with you?

Joy:
Totally. So my website is JoyousHealth.com. So J-O-Y-O-U-S Health.com and I’m also on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest at JoyousHealth.

Abby:
And I know that you also take client from around the world. Right?

Joy:
Yeah, totally. So I do have an office in Toronto, but, you know, through the power of Skype and Facetime I have clients literally all over the globe. So it doesn’t matter where you live. I can still help you have joyous health. [laughs]

Abby:
Awesome. And if you want to check out her book, it’s on Amazon as well. And it’s available worldwide. So, Joy, thanks so much for being on the show today.

Joy:
Thanks Abby, it was really nice chatting with you.