The Best Diet for Eczema: How Removing Ultra-Processed Foods Transformed My Skin After 36 Years

By Charlotte (shared with permission)

Finding the best diet for eczema wasn’t something I ever thought would be possible. For 36 years, I battled with this chronic condition that seemed to control my life. From the constant itching to the painful inflammation that would swell my eyes shut, eczema dictated so many aspects of my daily experience. It haunted my face, neck, and hands, making simple things—like wearing makeup—impossible. At its worst, I didn’t want to leave the house or see anyone.

For years, I tried everything—every cream, every supplement, every restrictive diet—yet nothing gave me lasting relief. But then I found something that changed everything. In this guide, I’ll share the unexpected approach to the best diet for eczema that finally gave me the relief I’d been searching for. You’ll learn about the transformative foods I incorporated into my life and how you can apply this simple yet powerful strategy to your own eczema journey.

What Didn’t Work on My Search for the Best Diet for Eczema

When people talk about the best diet for eczema, it’s often in extremes: go vegan, go raw, cut out everything you love. I tried all of that.

Here’s a small snapshot of what I’ve done over the years:

• Supplements galore: from omega-3s to zinc, turmeric to biotin—none made a real difference.
• Probiotics: high-dose, multi-strain, fermented foods, and powders—still flaring.
• Ditching sulfates in my environment: shampoo, laundry powder, soap—no noticeable change.
• Antihistamines: sometimes helpful for sleep, but never touched the root issue.
• Prescription creams like Elidel: temporarily helpful, but the long-term side effects worried me.
• "Natural" topicals: I tried every trending eczema balm, oil, butter, and salve. Many stung. Few helped.
• Bath rituals: bleach baths, oatmeal soaks, Dead Sea salts—they soothed, but didn’t prevent.

Diets I Tried (Spoiler: None Were the Best Diet for Eczema—for Me)

• No sugar – led to constant cravings and stress
• No dairy – some mild improvements, but no cure
• Vegan – my eczema worsened, and I lost too much weight
• Gluten-free – no change
• Candida cleanse – felt depleted, eczema persisted
• FODMAP and elimination diets – hard to maintain, inconsistent results

Each approach had a theory behind it, and some offered fleeting relief. But none gave me a sustainable path forward. In fact, many left me feeling worse—physically and emotionally. I started to feel like I had to choose between nourishing my body or soothing my skin. And still, the flare-ups came.

The Unexpected Breakthrough

The breakthrough came quietly—not through another specialist, but through a book.

I picked up Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken out of curiosity. The central premise was simple: ultra-processed foods (UPFs)—foods with ingredients you wouldn’t or couldn’t use in a home kitchen—are linked to a wide range of chronic health issues, including inflammation.

It wasn’t positioned as an eczema book, but something clicked for me.

So I made a rule for myself. No counting calories. No cutting food groups. Just one guideline:

If I wouldn’t cook with the ingredient at home, I wouldn’t eat it.

That meant:
No maltodextrin. No carrageenan. No artificial sweeteners. No stabilizers or preservatives I didn’t recognize.
Just real food.

And slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, my skin began to calm.

Why This Might Be the Best Diet for Eczema—At Least, for Some

I didn’t expect removing ultra-processed foods to become the best diet for eczema for me. But here’s why I believe it worked:

• Ultra-processed foods are linked to systemic inflammation, which is a major factor in eczema flares.
• Synthetic additives may disrupt gut microbiome balance, which plays a key role in immune regulation and skin health.
• Refined sugars and emulsifiers may increase intestinal permeability, sometimes referred to as “leaky gut,” which has been implicated in autoimmune and inflammatory responses.
• The gut-skin connection is real, and it’s finally getting the attention it deserves in research.

In short, UPFs may be quietly triggering immune overactivation in people with sensitive systems—like those of us with eczema. By removing them, I removed one of the major sources of internal inflammation.

A Different Kind of Diet: Gentle, Not Restrictive

What I love about this approach is that it’s not about deprivation. I still eat carbs. I still enjoy natural sugars. I still indulge—but I make it myself, or I make sure it’s made with real ingredients I trust.

This way of eating didn’t just soothe my eczema. It gave me a new relationship with food. Instead of fearing food or obsessing over lists of “bad” ingredients, I focused on quality and simplicity.

A typical day might include:

• Breakfast: overnight oats with chia, almond butter, banana, and a touch of maple syrup
• Lunch: quinoa bowl with roasted veggies, tahini dressing, and a soft-boiled egg
• Snack: fruit, roasted chickpeas, or hummus with rice crackers
• Dinner: salmon with sweet potato mash and sautéed greens
• Treat: homemade muffins sweetened with dates or coconut sugar

Simple. Satisfying. Real.

What If Nothing’s Worked for You Yet?

If you’re someone who’s already tried every “eczema diet” out there, I get the hesitation. I’ve lived the disappointment. But this might be different.

The best diet for eczema isn’t necessarily about cutting out entire food groups. It might be about cutting out food that’s not really food.

If that idea speaks to you, start slow:

1. Check the labels on what you’re eating. Can you pronounce every ingredient? Would you cook with it?
2. Swap one thing at a time—your breakfast cereal, your snacks, your frozen meals.
3. Focus on what you’re adding—fiber, fermented foods, healthy fats—not just what you’re taking away.
4. Track how your skin responds, gently and without judgment.

The Missing Piece Doctors Never Mentioned

Doctors told me when I was little to cut out dairy, sugar, and yeast. It helped, a bit—but also left me nutritionally and emotionally drained. When that stopped working, they offered creams. More creams. And then more. No one ever mentioned the role of ultra-processed food. It wasn’t part of the conversation.

And maybe that’s because it’s not a prescription. It’s not easily packaged. It requires change—not just to what you eat, but how you think about food.

But it changed my life.

Final Thoughts: Could This Be the Best Diet for Eczema for You?

Not every body is the same. Eczema is complex and deeply personal.

But if you’re someone who’s tried elimination diets, skincare routines, or expensive supplements with little success, it might be worth looking in a new direction.

The best diet for eczema, for me, wasn’t about harsh restriction. It was about removing the background noise—the subtle, constant irritation of ultra-processed food—and giving my skin the space to heal.

It’s not a miracle. But it’s real. And sustainable. And for the first time in decades, I don’t wake up dreading my skin.

I’m not cured. But I’m clear.

And that, for me, is everything.

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