Foods that help with treating Eczema

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Written by Staff Reporter

Thursday, 08 April 2010

As I have said before, common allergies seem to continue to rise. Recent studies are now showing that up to 20 per cent of Irish children have suffered from atopic eczema by the age of four, which can be distressing for parents. Eczema is non-contiguous inflammatory disease that characterized chiefly by redness, itching, and lesions on the skin. There are number of treatments for this and, as always, food plays a large part.

As eczema is an inflammatory disease, it makes sense that filling your diet with anti-inflammatory foods is a good idea – as these will help to counteract and calm the skin. Natural anti-inflammatory foods are oily fish, ginger, garlic, onions and flaxseeds (or linseeds) are just a few.

It may also be a good idea to consume as many antioxidants, such as Vitamin C, Vitamin A and Vitamin E on a daily basis as possible, which is easy with your 5 fruit and vegetables a day!

In addition, do try to consume at least 8 glasses of water a day and get out into the sunshine for 20 minutes every day as Vitamin D has also been shown to help.

I designed this soup with the skin in mind. The butternut squash is packed with Vitamin A, boosting the immune system. The ginger and onions act as natural anti-inflammatory foods to counter act the inflammation in the skin. The chilli and butterbeans contain anti-oxidants that help protect the skin against damage.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash
2 onions, chopped
1 inch root ginger, grated
3 stalks lemongrass

Half a red chilli, deseeded and chopped 1 tin of butter beans
1 litre of boiling water
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

Peel the butternut squash with a potato peeler (it's easier than you think!!) and scoop out the seeds. Chop roughly.
Saute the chopped onions in a little water for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the harder outsides of the lemongrass and finely chop.
Add the butternut squash, ginger, pepper, lemongrass and chilli to the pan and give a good stir.
Add the boiling water and cook for 20-30 mins until the butternut squash is soft. Add the butter beans.
Blitz with a hand held blender or a liquidizer and add a little more salt and pepper if needed.
For information on my 4 week healthy eating cookery course starting next week, check out www.foodforliving.ie

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