Help For Your Eczema: Cooling Foods

So, I went for my weekly session of acupuncture yesterday for my eczema - which I highly recommend.  After looking at my dark-colored blood, my acupuncturist told me that there was still a lot of heat in my blood.  She asked me if I had been eating 'hot' foods.  We had talked about this before, when I first started seeing her and I had kind-of forgotten about it. I knew that alcohol had caused heat in my body in the past, and that's why I have been avoiding it. "Oh s*&!" I thought - partly b/c I had forgotten about this, and partly b/c now I had one more factor to consider when preparing and eating food. But if it makes me feel better, I guess it's worth a shot, right?



I was doing some of my own research too about Chinese Nutrition Therapy.  It makes sense, that since each person is different, foods will affect each person's body and health differently.  Every food affects your body's metabolic temperature (which is different than your body heat or temperature).

Eczema is derived from the ancient Greek meaning 'to boil over', and dermatitis means inflammation of the skin.  I guess than it would make sense that eating more 'cooling' foods could benefit my body.  Cooling foods are also suppose to benefit those with night flashes, hot flashes, night sweats, or an over-acidic stomach.  And I'm sure there are other benefits.......

COOLING FOODS/YIN FOODS - decrease the body's heat
-these foods generally grow in little sunshine(great for me!), are soft & wet, have lots of potassium, and are lean and salty.
Pear, Bananas, Strawberry, Persimmon, Grapefruit, Star fruit, Watermelon, Melons in general, Pineapple, Tangerine, Apple, Figs, Bamboo Shoots, Cucumber, Lettuce, Radish, Corn, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Zucchini, Green mungbeans, Seaweed, Chicken, Water chestnut, Bean curd, Rice, Oats, Salt, Sugarcane, Peppermint, Tumeric, Marjoram, and Tea
* These are all foods people w/ eczema should eat.

HEATY FOODS/YANG FOODS - increase the body's heat
Coconut, Guava, Peach, Raspberries, Apricot, Blackberries, Mangoes, Cherries, Mandarin Orange, Grapes, Peppers, Chives, Leeks, Ginger, Spicy Foods, Brown Sugar, Coffee, Alcohol, Tobacco, Ham, Nutmeg, Rosemary, Walnuts, Vinegar, and I'm sure there are more......
*These are all foods people with eczema should avoid.

So, I guess that's some food for thought for now.....
And I'm going to enjoy some green tea - good for inflammation, and it's cool even though it's hot - good for us hot-blooded peeps!