A Plant-Based Lifestyle

HEALING ECZEMA NATURALLY: PART TWO

For nine years a plant-based, whole-foods diet was the foundation of my self-care, on top of which all these other modalities were stacked. Can you heal eczema while regularly eating large quantities of animal protein and dairy? I honestly don't believe so (but if you have done so, I’d love to know!).

I followed a strict Paleo Autoimmune protocol for three years and while I had a wonderful 'honeymoon' phase for six months where I had lots of energy and my skin seemed to clear up, the build-up of protein and mucus in my body eventually made me crash, and my eczema return. I was devastated.

On the contrary, the longer I focus on a plant-based diet, the better and better my health, body, and psychology are becoming. And, interestingly, the first six months of going raw vegan were the worst in terms of symptoms, rashes, and major mucus coming out of my system. There were two months in the beginning where I was coughing up extremely large globules of mucus every five to fifteen minutes! It got so bad that I started carrying around glass jars in the car to spit into! Gross, I know. I also had constant flare-ups of acne which was unusual for me.

Someone could prematurely judge these reactions as evidence that the diet 'is not working' or 'making me worse' but thankfully I had Nikiforos's full support, Dr. Morse's incredible teachings, and deep down I intuitively knew that my body was taking the opportunity to purge out old material. How could I tell? Simple: My body still wanted to eat all raw.

Someone could also claim that "six months is long enough to know if a diet is working for you" but that is the linear mind trying to control the body's natural, cyclical process of healing.

My general rule of thumb is: for every year you have had a symptom, expect one month of detoxification efforts (i.e. raw diet or patches or celery juice) to eliminate it. 

So taking me as an example: at thirty-two years old, having been born with many of these health issues, I had thirty two months of detoxification efforts ahead of me. I didn't know this at the time, as this rule of thumb has come to my attention more recently and I have not by any measure been perfect in the journey either. But, that rough estimate does seem to align with what has happened for me. There were times where I went all-in for detoxification which stirred up symptom expression, but every time that wave was over, a new threshold had been met, a new equilibrium, intelligence, harmony, and vitality in my body found.

Also, in closing: I am not in judgement about how others eat. I am simply saying that if you want to heal the body from disease you must follow a healing diet/protocol that works with the natural chemistry of the human body and not against it.

Many people say to me: "But, Melina, I can't digest carbs! They don't work for my body/blood/metabolism type."

I used to say the same thing! And here's something to consider: the lack of ability to properly digest carbohydrates is not an indication that carbohydrates are bad for you, its a sign that your body is degenerative and damaged!

Carbohydrate metabolism is controlled by your adrenals.

When overwhelmed kidneys collect too much acidic waste that it cannot properly filter, these acids weaken the adrenals, and weak adrenals lead to dysfunction in sugar and carbohydrate metabolism.

Wouldn't you find it extremely unnatural for a chimpanzee to not be able to digest a banana? We are no different. The human body runs on carbon-powered cells, not nitrogen-powered cells.

Raw food or even just veganism doesn't have to be a lifetime commitment if you don't want it to, though many people feel so good on it that they never stop. Nothing is forced upon you. But the truth of the matter is that plants (really, fruits) are the most superior food in the world to cleanse, pull, and clear out the acids that are causing your pain. How can you heal eczema naturally? Adopt a alkaline, astringent, detoxifying diet! Yet how you incorporate these foods within your life long-term, after your healing, is absolutely up to you. Your body/soul will let you know.

With all this being said, there IS a spiritual and energetic component to this conversation that's way beyond the scope of this page. 

Next up? Unlocking the body’s natural healing capacity through fasting.

BEWARE OF HIGH PROTEIN & FAT DIETS:

High fat diets are the opposite of what eczema sufferers need. Even if it feels better in the beginning.

Fat bogs down the liver, lymphatic system, blood, kidneys, and gut. Same with dairy. These are highly acidic, mucus-forming foods that create chronic congestion in the body on a CELLULAR LEVEL.

The reason why fats feel so good in a body, especially one that expresses autoimmune symptoms, is because fat is soothing to the overworked nervous system. It's anti-inflammatory in this way.

But the goal is not to soothe inflammation, but to eliminate it! People with various autoimmune expressions learn to 'manage' their condition with high-fat diets, but not fully and permanently eliminate it.

In order to do that, you must address the underlying inflammation -- not cover it up with anti-inflammatory fats that only clog-up your system and create further suppression of conditions to show up in other forms later.

So please remember: fats = steroid (suppression) in the body.