Low Toxin Diet Help! Itchy!

[fevronia]

Everything else has been going well. My digestion is better. My sleep is pretty good. I take taurine and amino acids and molybdenum. I have lost a few pounds (although probably mostly muscle since I haven’t been lifting weights much recently).

But my childhood eczema came back in one patch on my side and I’ve noticed my skin is very itchy in general . Any ideas what might be causing this? Detox? Lack of vit A?

 

[Sebastian B]

Toxins from your bloodstream are being funneled into your skin. You could try applying a charcoal poultice over the affected area to see if it helps, as charcoal absorbs toxins. Otherwise, as your body continues to detox and your overall toxin load decreases, the condition will likely resolve itself, possibly within the next year or two.

 

[Peater]

Everything else has been going well. My digestion is better. My sleep is pretty good. I take taurine and amino acids and molybdenum. I have lost a few pounds (although probably mostly muscle since I haven’t been lifting weights much recently).

But my childhood eczema came back in one patch on my side and I’ve noticed my skin is very itchy in general . Any ideas what might be causing this? Detox? Lack of vit A?

Are you on a low VA diet? The accepted theory is VA being released from your liver. I think there is actually something to it.

 

[UG Krishnamurti]

But my childhood eczema came back in one patch on my side and I’ve noticed my skin is very itchy in general . Any ideas what might be causing this? Detox? Lack of vit A?

Starch that stays too long in the gut + imbalanced gut microbiome most likely overgrowth of fungus/mold. Lack of cellular hydration.
I don't have any advice unfortunately, I don't want to be a blind leading the blind, unlike many on this forum.

 

[pondering]

Do you notice it more after certain foods? If either fat or sugar, then lack of B9 or B2 possibly.

 

[fevronia]

Thank you all for your responses. Yes, I have been trying a low A diet. Not perfectly, but it is definitely very different than what I was eating last year. I eat lean meats, beans and some grains now. I have almost eliminated dairy and only eat an egg every now and then. Mostly for veggies I eat sauerkraut , cooked cauliflower, and potatoes.
I have been eating low fat and lowered sugars than in my pure-Peat days.
I pretty much have this itchy eczema patch all the time now, for a few weeks. The only thing that soothed it a little strangely enough has been estrogen cream that I had in reserve but hadn’t used before. I tried castor oil, lanolin, progesterone, and vitamin E. They didn’t help at all. The estrogen cream flattens the rash and it doesn’t itch for a few hours. But it hasn’t eliminated it.
Sometimes it itches like mad and I remember when I was a child and had eczema all over my trunk and legs. It is a horrible itch that makes you want to rip your skin off. I have also noticed my scalp is a little itchy (no dandruff) and in general my skin is uncomfortable . I have never had an itchy scalp before.
Should I try to reduce starch? I have actually had increased motility since doing the low A diet. Should I just bear it out and hope that this is a detox symptom that will pass?

 

[Brundle]

Could be histamine, or fungal.
Have you tried scratching?
Some people find that very hot showers turn the itch into pleasure.

 

[Nick]

You could try topical zinc and/or topical niacin. The niacin might make it itch more before making it itch less.

 

[Nebula]

bacterial/fungal overgrowth from undigested starch would be my guess. I run into the same issue on high amounts of rice and beans and low fat. Fully digested starch probably takes some very high amylase release. I wish I knew how to increase my starch digestion because it can be a very affordable and enjoyable diet when it’s digesting well.

 

[Nik665]

Toxins from your bloodstream are being funneled into your skin. You could try applying a charcoal poultice over the affected area to see if it helps, as charcoal absorbs toxins. Otherwise, as your body continues to detox and your overall toxin load decreases, the condition will likely resolve itself, possibly within the next year or two.

Could it be allergens in the air it’s that time of year

 

[Sebastian B]

@Nik665

Pollen typically doesn't enter the bloodstream through inhalation. The respiratory system has mechanisms to filter out particles, preventing them from reaching the bloodstream.

 

[fevronia]

bacterial/fungal overgrowth from undigested starch would be my guess. I run into the same issue on high amounts of rice and beans and low fat. Fully digested starch probably takes some very high amylase release. I wish I knew how to increase my starch digestion because it can be a very affordable and enjoyable diet when it’s digesting well.

Interesting! I have been eating like this quite a bit lately. With meat too. Im wondering if I should go back to eating mostly meat again. I was hoping ray peat was the ticket to great health but I see I am sort of circling old methods as possibilities again. I guess I will wait a little while and see if my body is simply detoxing.
when I had severe eczema all over my body as a child the doctors told me that after puberty it would lessen, and it proved true. As an adult I have only dealt with annual seasonal flare ups in a small localized patch. Until now!
I wonder what the relationship is between eczema and hormones, if puberty lessens severity of symptoms, and in my case now- the only thing that has helped soothe the burn and diminish the rash has been estrogen cream. Does anybody know about this?

 

[fevronia]

You could try topical zinc and/or topical niacin. The niacin might make it itch more before making it itch less.

I just tried a zinc based diaper rash cream and unfortunately it made it hurt and itch more. I haven’t tried niacin yet, the flush might be intense!

 

[fevronia]

Could be histamine, or fungal.
Have you tried scratching?
Some people find that very hot showers turn the itch into pleasure.

Haha I remember that from my childhood. There was momentarily relief in hot water and also a pleasurable feeling from giving in to the itch and scratching until the rash oozes or even bleeds. Hard for a child to resist. As a toddler they would put my hands in mitts.

 

[Nick]

I just tried a zinc based diaper rash cream and unfortunately it made it hurt and itch more. I haven’t tried niacin yet, the flush might be intense!

It definitely could be intense, I used topical niacin spray on some poison ivy and it got very very itchy for a bit, but then it cleared up way more quickly than normal.

 

[fevronia]

It definitely could be intense, I used topical niacin spray on some poison ivy and it got very very itchy for a bit, but then it cleared up way more quickly than normal.

I’ll give it a try then. Thx!