The contents of this website are not intended to be medical advice.
Please see your healthcare professional
with any specific questions about your condition and / or treatment.
Nutrition and atopic dermatitis
For many of us, food is one of the great joys of life. As well as the
taste, our diet plays an essential role in maintaining our overall good
health, enabling us to better cope with the changes and challenges of
life. This is especially important for those with atopic dermatitis for
whom changes in various aspects of health can also lead to a worsening of
their condition.
In addition to eating a healthy diet, some foods are known to trigger
atopic dermatitis flare-ups in certain individuals, including common
allergies such as dairy products, eggs, nuts, soy, wheat, and seafood. If
you do seem to suffer a food-related trigger, but are unsure what specific
food might be the cause, you can try:
The diagnostic elimination diet, where you remove potential trigger
foods from your diet for a time (usually 4-6 weeks), then gradually
reintroduce them to see whether the symptoms reappear.
Once you identify foods that trigger your atopic dermatitis you can limit
your exposure to these foods in the future, though you should discuss
findings with your doctor before completely eliminating foods from your
diet over the long-term.
What does a healthy diet look like?
Alongside the joy of eating, we eat for the nutrients, vitamins,
minerals and trace elements that our bodies need to function and be
healthy. Where do you find these key nutrients? Our food tips, outlined
below, will help you understand a bit more about where to find the key
elements that should be in a healthy diet.
These tips are not intended for people following specific diets based
on medical advice, religious teachings, or personal
preference. They are not intended for those with particular needs
such as pregnant or breastfeeding women.
1. Eat at least five portions of different coloured fruit and vegetables
every day
Fruit and vegetables are good sources of fibre and contain important
vitamins and minerals. Studies suggest that vegetables may have a wide
range of health benefits in humans, including anti-inflammatory benefits.
Fruit and vegetables can be grouped into six colours:
It can be easy to slip into the habit of eating the same fruit and
vegetables week in week out. However, eating widely from all six colours
every day helps to ensure maximum health benefits, including their
anti-inflammatory benefits.
2. Nuts and seeds
You may be surprised to learn that studies show that regular nut
consumption doesn’t lead to weight gain, perhaps due to their
positive impact on how full you feel.
Diets containing nuts, particularly walnuts, have consistently shown
health benefits, particularly against heart disease.
Most of the anti-inflammatory benefits are found in the outer skin of the
nut so choose nuts in their natural state.
3. Wholegrains
Commonly consumed wholegrain foods include wheat, brown and long-grain
rice, maize, oats, barley, rye, millet and sorghum.
People whose diets contain wholegrains can have a lower risk of
cardiovascular disease, cancer and Type 2 diabetes. Wholegrain intake may
be protective against obesity with observational studies suggesting that
those who consume three servings of wholegrains a day are more likely to
have a lower BMI and carry less weight around their middle.
4. Meat and plant sources of proteins
Protein is essential for the growth and repair of the body.
Good animal sources of protein include eggs, poultry, dairy products, and
fish. The British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine
(BANT) recommends making fish, poultry and eggs your main sources of
protein, and eating lean red meat, bacon and other processed
meats only occasionally.
Research shows that a high plant protein intake may be associated
with lower risk of cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality. Plant
sources of protein mainly come from legumes (beans, lentils, split peas,
chickpeas), grains, nuts, seeds and soy products with a smaller amount
from vegetables.
5. Avoid sugar
We are advised to cut out, or at least limit, free sugars due to
the negative impact it has on our health. Free sugar is the sugar that is
found in foods, such as cakes, sweets, biscuits, chocolate, soft drinks,
breakfast cereal and yoghurts, plus any sugar you add to drinks and food.
Free sugar is also found naturally in honey, unsweetened fruit juice,
vegetable juices and smoothies.
It’s also important to consider foods that the body treats as sugar.
Many carbohydrate-containing foods, such as bread and pasta, are rapidly
converted to glucose (a type of sugar) when we eat them. The table below,
shows the teaspoons of sugar equivalent in various foods. One teaspoon of
sugar is about 4 g.
Table: The amount of sugar in white, brown, and green foods.
6. Support your brain with omega 3-rich oily fish
Current NHS advice is that a healthy diet should contain at least two
portions of fish a week including at least one portion of
oily fish. Oily fish, like trout, salmon, mackerel, anchovies,
herring and sardines are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and may help
prevent heart disease.
The type of fish we eat matters. Due to polluted oceans, rivers and
seas, many fish contain elevated levels of toxic compounds such as
mercury. Pregnant women need to take special care. Generally, the larger
the fish the higher the level of mercury it’s likely to contain.
Limiting tuna consumption and focusing on smaller fish will help reduce
exposure to mercury.
Food for thought
Processed and ultra-processed food and drink
The consumption of processed foods includes sweet, fatty or salty snack
products, some breakfast cereals, some types of ice cream, sugar sweetened
drinks, confectionery, margarine, French fries, burgers, hot dogs and
chicken nuggets. These foods are made in a different way to how we might
cook at home and their consumption is associated
with weight gain and several other diet-related chronic diseases. So
why do we eat them? Ultra-processed products are designed to be tasty and
appealing to the consumer. Often these products are our most convenient
option.
The problem is that, eating these foods on a regular basis could limit the
amount of nutrients we get from our food.
Salt
Too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, which puts a strain on our
heart and blood vessels, and that is why NHS guidance is that salt
intake should be limited to 6g a day, that is around one teaspoon. It
is important not to add too much salt to your food, but also to avoid
foods which have high salt content, such as processed meats, salted nuts,
cheese, and many convenience foods, including ready meals. This is one of
the advantages of cooking from scratch, you’re in control of the
ingredients!
Extra boosts
Adding herbs and spices not only enhances the flavour but some may
also offer health benefits through their anti-inflammatory activity.
Don’t forget though, salt isn’t a spice.
Healthy diet - key takeaways
Eat 7-10 fruits and vegetables per day, limiting fruits to 1-2 portions
and the rest from veggies
Include a palm-sized amount of protein with each meal
Have 2 portions of oily fish per week
Add unsalted, unroasted nuts and seeds into meals - keeping the 4 portion
to 30g (a handful)
Opt for wholegrains
Limit free sugars and foods that are rapidly converted to sugar
Include healthy fat at each meal
Limit salt intake to 6g a day D (around 1 teaspoon)
Weave herbs and spices into your cooking
Enjoy 30+ different varieties of we plant-based foods each week
There’s no ONE diet that’s perfect for
everyone. But sticking to a few good rules
should help
It can help to write down some of the things that might help you to
improve your diet. If you feel that they are not working replace them
with an alternative.
Always check with your GP about any concerns you may have about your
diet.
