Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, said, “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” The most powerful medicine lies in fruits. Fruits are the best healers of all ailments. These three fruits good for eczema are chosen because they promote gut and skin healing at the deepest level, and nourish the body and the soul.
Fruit fear
Many people avoid eating too much fruits, for fear that they may consume too much sugar. The sugar in fruits is a totally different form from the added sugars found in cakes, chocolates, pastries, candies, and soda. Fruits have the exact kind of sugar that our bodies need, to run properly, to survive, and to thrive.
Almost everything we eat is broken down into glucose, to power the entire body and every cell in it. Fruits contain natural sugars which bind with antioxidants, important vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber. These are the most powerful healers that nature has created for us. We can never get too much of fruits, so we should not limit our fruit intake. Fruits should be something that we eat freely, as much as we want. Read more about it on medicalmedium.com.
Not all fruits are equal
All fruits are great for the average healthy person. But when it comes to eczema sufferers, not all fruits are equal. A large percentage of people with eczema are sensitive to salicylate, and react to it with angry, inflamed and itchy skin. Salicylate is a chemical naturally produced by some fruits and vegetables, to protect themselves from diseases, insects, bacteria, and other trauma.
If you had been eating a clean diet (no processed foods) and yet your eczema is not clearing up, the next thing to consider will be the common inflammatory foods like dairy, eggs, soy, corn, gluten, nuts, etc. If removing these still reap no substantial results, then you may be sensitive to salicylates.
If that is the case, then these three fruits will provide the most soothing nutrition, to boost your body towards deep healing, and with minimum risk of salicylates reactivity.
Basis for choosing the fruits good for eczema on this top 3 list
All fruits offer abundant vitamins and minerals, in different amounts. The fruits good for eczema should have:
- gut healing properties – anything that aids in digestion, or lots of fiber that clears the colon and pushes the pathogens out along with it.
- skin healing properties – for instance, quercetin with its powerful anti-inflammatory properties, and magnesium which has calming and soothing effects.
- antioxidants – to protect against inflammatory damage, and oxidative damage from free radicals.
- vitamin C – this is a natural antihistamine, and can help with allergic symptoms. It is also essential for skin healing, as it stimulates synthesizing of collagen.
- alkalising effects – an acidic diet brings a host of health issues, from depletion of minerals to uric acid formation. An alkalising diet restores the body’s pH balance, promotes healthy blood and strong bones.
- zero to very little salicylates.
Apple
Nutrition – The apple is such a common fruit, we often forget the amazing benefits it has for us. Vitamin A and C, and copper all contribute to strong and healthy skin. It also cleanses the organs, through its phytochemicals, and at the same time hydrates every cell in the body with its electrolytes, and nourishes with its trace minerals.
Salicylates – One thing to note about apple is that different variety contain different salicylates level, from golden and red delicious being low in salicylates, to jonathan being moderate, and granny smith being high. Being aware of this, as well as how your eczema responds to salicylates, will help you make the right choice.
Apple peel – One who peels the apple doesn’t know the apple. Lots of the goodness of an apple resides in the skin. Peel it away and you lose half the fiber and one-third of vitamin A and vitamin C. Quercetin, a potent antioxidant flavonoid, and a natural antihistamine, is also anti-inflammatory, and helps with eczema, asthma, and hay fever. And yes you guessed it, quercetin is found mainly in the apple skin.
Wash away the pesticides – So eat your apple together with the peel. But also be mindful that apple is on the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) dirty dozen list, which annually tests produce for residue pesticides. To get rid of the high amount of residual pesticides, wash the apples the proper way: with vinegar water, or baking soda water, or salt water. Then you get all the goodness without the nasties.
Seeds – Throw away the apple seeds, unless you want to grow an apple tree in your backyard. They are inedible, as they contain a compound called amygdalin, which turns into hydrogen cyanide when chewed and digested. A small amount won’t kill, as the body is able to get rid of it. But if you are consuming apples daily, and especially if you have the habit of putting the whole apple into the blender or juicer, then it may be worth the while to just remove the seeds.
Breakfast smoothie – Besides having it on its own, we also use apple every morning in our green detox smoothie. It’s a nourishing and energising start to the day. The apple, celery, cucumber and lemon give us reasons to be thankful for, and remind us to have every meal as healthy as possible.
Banana
Nutrition – Besides being rich in potassium, banana also has lots of vitamin C and magnesium, which are able to control histamine level, and hence reduce inflammation. Magnesium is alkaline, and maintains a healthy pH of the blood. It is also a great relaxer, relieving stress and tension in muscles.
Somehow my kids they seem to know this, and they love to chomp down on banana right at bedtime, it calms them down and enhances their sleep.
Banana is free from salicylate (just make sure it is not the lady fingers variety, also called sugar banana). Moreover, the fiber in banana aids in bowel movement, so is great for gut health. For more nutritional facts about the banana, check out livescience.com.
Banana peel – it is edible, as it is loaded with vitamin B6 and B12, on top of potassium and magnesium. No, we have not gathered the courage to try eating the peel, it really does not look that appetising. If you are trying it, do let us know how it goes!
Another great use for banana peel is applying it directly onto the skin. It can help with inflammation, itch, and even lighten scars.
Ice cream! – Our favourite recipe, a must-have every single day of our lives, is the homemade single ingredient banana ice cream, made with…… Yes! You guessed it! Banana, and nothing else!
Papaya
Nutrition – Papaya is also called papaw or pawpaw. It is loaded with so much vitamin C, that one medium fruit contains more than 200% of the recommended daily intake. It is also rich in vitamin A and magnesium, and other powerful antioxidants, and it has no salicylate.
Papaya contains papain, an enzyme that aids digestion. This enzyme also enhances healing of wounds on skin, and prevents infection. Another substance in papaya that is important to eczema warriors is choline, as it supports cell structure, and also reduces chronic inflammation. Lastly, papaya is high in fiber, and great in maintaining gut health. Check out medicalnewstoday.com for more nutrition facts.
Papaya peel – Remove the skin and seeds of the papaya, and enjoy the soft flesh inside. The skin is not poisonous, there is just no added benefit to eating it, and it isn’t particularly pleasant to chew on.
Seeds – Papaya seeds are edible, though not very palatable. It has a bitter, peppery taste. It can be used in deworming of parasites in the intestinal tracts, treating viral infections, and as a natural remedy for food poisoning. Some people on a high protein diet take these seeds to aid in digestion.
Hate it? – When I was a child, I hated papaya, as it smelled like vomit to me. Now I know the association is because of the digestive enzyme papain. If it smells nasty to you too, try this: drizzle some lime on it, you may get a pleasant surprise.
Final thoughts
In the past, my marketing decisions when it comes to fruits are just quite random, depending on the fruit season, the prices, the freshness of what was on display, my mood and what appealed to my senses. Now, I go grocery shopping in a much more purposeful manner, I look for these fruits good for eczema. Once I have them in my basket, I feel at ease and satisfied that I am giving the best to my eczema warriors. Then I continue looking for other fruits that just happen to catch my attention.
I never thought about papaya helping eczema. I don’t like papaya but I will try your trick by putting lime on it to see if I enjoy the flavor better! All of these fruits are inexpensive in the grocery store & can be bought easily. This is good to have inexpensive remedies for people with skin diseases since it can be costly when they go to the doctor. I know since any disease can be expensive when you are trying to find things to help you besides medicine.
Hi Rachel,
Yes, do give papaya a try. It’s so rich and full of goodness. These few days, the kids are crazy about some brand called ‘Hong Kong papaya’, that my husband bought from the supermarket. It’s ultra sweet, and it’s gone in a few minutes.
Hi,
thanks for sharing your favorite fruits that are good for eczema. I believe that fruits and vegetables are the best medicine that we have available.
However, I am not so sure if you really should eat as much fruit as you want. Since they are high in calories, I prefer to eat more leafy and green vegetables for calorie intake. Also, I know that sugar in fruit is different from table sugar, but still, I believe that you can get too much of it.
I read a study recently that states what happens in your body when getting too much sugar, including fruit. If there is too much sugar coming into your blood stream, the body has to produce so much insulin to get blood sugars down, and then suddenly sugar gets too low, and the liver has to use up stored sugar to get the level back to normal. It is as if on a roller coaster. Your blood sugar goes up and down and up and down all day. So, my personal view is to not eat too many fruits either. But that is just food for thought.
Fruit is excellent for eczema, and you explained it very well.
Thanks so much for sharing
Oscar
Hi Oscar,
Thank you for offering your take on the sugars in fruits. Yes I do agree that it affects insulin levels, and especially for people with diabetes, I really wouldn’t advise them to take fruits freely throughout the day. I also agree that vegetables are one of nature’s greatest gifts to us as well, and everyone should just load up on the leafy greens.
I just can’t get enough of your website! I always knew that fruits were healthy and full of fiber, but you brought it all down to the science. My family has suffered with Eczema for years, and sometimes nothing helps. If we start eating the three fruits daily, how long do you think it will take for us to notice the effect?
Thank you so much for sharing this valuable information with us. I also want to try your green cleanse recipe instead of just the random fruits for breakfast. Thank you again! Clay
Hi Clay,
I’m so happy you find the information here helpful. My Son takes the 3 fruits daily, together with a Low inflammation diet (check our Review of Karen Fischer Eczema Diet Book), his itch and inflammation went right down in about one month. But for 6 months before that, he was already on a clean diet, no sugar, dairy,egg, corn, soy, and absolutely no processed foods. It’s no short cut, it takes time to heal our body from inside out. But it will all be so worth it.
Wish you all the best in your healing.
Hey Joo!
Thanks for the article! I feel like this something that may be pertain to me because I feel like I’ve had something like this multiple times in my life before and I was always curious on how to treat it naturally without harmful ingredients. I have sensitive skin and gut so I have to be extra careful with what foods I put into my body.
Love the quote you began with— I’ve come to live these words recently and I see their power. It’s a great feeling to know that me making natural fruit smoothies in the morning is being reaffirmed in this post because I didn’t know that fruits had the greatest medicinal power. Thanks for breaking down your reasoning and criteria for choosing your top 3 foods for eczema.
I’m glad and surprised to know that Vitamin C helps synthesize collagen which is something I take specifically for improving skin. I was also surprised to know that fruits produce salicylate to help protect themselves and that some people are especially sensitive to them. Something I should consider for my own diet.
Also, washing apples the right way was super interesting and adding limes to papaya for taste. Apples are somewhat of a staple in my diet. What do you think of gala and royal apples?
—Francesco
Hi Francesco,
It’s great that you are already mindful about foods affecting your skin and gut. And your fruit smoothies in the morning will wake the intestinal tracts, and help with flushing out the toxins from all the cell repair and renewal work the night before while you sleep.
Yes, salicylate is an interesting area that we recently looked in greater depth, and removed from my son’s diet. There is a lot of valuable information in Karen Fischer’s Eczema Diet book, you may want to take a look at it.
Apples, we love them all. We used to have it daily, but because different brands contain different amounts of salicylates, we have temporarily removed apples from my son’s diet for the time being.
Hi Joo,
This was an amazing post, thank you for writing it. I have never suffered from eczema but I did break out with an annoying rash on my leg post op from a knee replacement. I was told that the rash is a side effect of the post op swelling, I am currently treating it with steroid creams. But from reading this post, I am starting to wonder if these 3 fruits would help me. I think it is worth a try.
I have always loved eating fruit and generally have anywhere from 2 – 3 servings a day, though it is a quite diverse diet of fruit. I try to have lots of variety in the house since I do eat it so often, I find it breaks up the monotony of the same old same feeling. However, I love apples, unfortunately peeled (tough time chewing peels), bananas without the skins, though I may try rubbing the skin on my rash. Green grapes, pears, peaches, nectarines, oranges etc, are my weekly go to’s, I have never tried papaya before.
I find the knowledge you have on the the difference nutrients in each fruit very interesting and quite amazing. Though my rash is not eczema, do you thing the three fruits listed as good for eczema, might help me with my rash?
Mary
Hi Mary,
Yes, definitely. These fruits are great in nourishing our skin, and at the same time non-inflammatory. So they would be good for anyone, no harm giving them a try and see how it works out for your rash. All the best.
This is all completely new information for me as I had no idea that any fruit could have an effect on eczema. I don’t believe that prior to reading this article I have ever heard the two topics mentioned in the same sentence. Usually, when you hear or see anything at all related to eczema, it is closely followed by some prescription medication as if that is the only thing that can affect the condition. I hadn’t considered the natural remedies. This is great information to know.
Hi Sherman,
Yes, the root cause of eczema is actually deep within our body, it just manifests on the skin surface. I’m glad you found this information useful.
Your site is very helpful for people with eczema challenges.Even though I don’t have it, I’ve known people who do. Glad to see that you offer natural eczema solutions and especially those of letting food be our medicine. Eating fruits and vegetables can do wonders for our bodies, b/c they are packed with necessary nutrients. However, you’re right in saying that many people are afraid to eat fruit, b/c they of the sugar in it. Thanks for alerting people to the fact that fruit has the kind of sugar that is good for us. For many years, I have been an avid fan of finding natural solutions for health issues, so it’s always great to see someone promoting a natural means of returning our bodies to health and to maintaining that healthy state. I have not tasted a banana peel in awhile, b/c even a small taste of it has not been pleasant. Do you have any suggestions on how to best utilize the banana peel? Would you suggest adding it to smoothies or juicing it or fixing it another way? Thank you!
Hi Colleen,
We haven’t had the courage to try consuming banana peel in any way, but I think juicing it is a good idea, since I cannot imagine it being palatable. The only way we have used it is to rub it on my son’s skin directly, on his rashes when they’re itchy. It seemed to take the edge off, but it could be because he was tickled by this remedy and distracted from the itch.