Eczema and Diet: How Drinking Carrot Juice Can Reduce Your Eczema
If you suffer from chronic eczema, you’ve probably thought about the correlation between eczema and diet many times. And you’ll likely stay away from foods commonly identified as allergens: dairy, peanuts, soy, etc. You may have come up with the idea to completely revise your entire diet to 100% raw or Paleolithic. But all the information about what is the best diet for eczema can be confusing and downright contradictory.
Rather than taking no action, it’s always better to take small steps to change your diet, one food at a time. Drinking a glass of carrot juice once a day is an easy way to get things going. It’s inexpensive, takes little time to prepare, and the health benefits are endless.
What are some of the ways that drinking carrot juice helps reduce eczema?
1. Improves skin health
Beta-carotene is an organic compound and a substance in carrots that colors them orange. It is considered a provitamin because it can be converted to active vitamin A. Vitamin A is a known aid to skin health as it reduces inflammation and bacteria on the skin’s surface. Since vitamin A deficiency is linked to skin dryness and damage, supplementing your diet with carrot juice every day is a good way to counteract dry skin that inevitably causes itchiness.
2. Improve vision
You may be wondering what improved vision has to do with eczema and diet, but people with atopic eczema have a higher chance of developing cataracts. Constant rubbing of the eyes can also cause a condition called keratoconus, which thins the shape of the cornea. Foods rich in beta-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E are all antioxidants that are linked to the prevention and reversal of cataracts.
It is easy to prepare carrot juice. You don’t need to get fancy and buy them organic, although that would be best. Just get a regular bag of carrots, lightly rub (peeling is not recommended as many of the nutrients are in the top layer), cut off the stems, and juice. About 4 to 6 carrots (about 6 inches long) make 8 oz. glass of juice. It should be drunk immediately.
A word of warning: it is not good to drink large amounts of carrot juice in one day. Consuming too much carotene can cause your skin to turn a yellow-orange color, a condition known as carotenoderma. Limit your intake to 8 to 16 ounces per day and no more than 8 oz. in one sitting
