Inside-Out Healing | Eczema Relief Through Nutrition & Wellness

You're eating a specific diet, or if you're taking too many medications and antibiotics and that sort of thing, all these things lead to leaky gut. And I think this is why doctors struggle with autoimmune conditions, because leaky gut, you know, particles and foreign toxins, chemicals, all that sort of stuff is going into your bloodstream.

Hello and welcome to Beyond Diagnosis, a podcast to raise your awareness, decisions, and voice for alternative practices so you can take back control of your health. I'm Rita De Michele, your host, a mindset and empowerment coach, and the founder of the Onus platform. Join me each week so you can create the health of your dreams. Welcome everyone! I'm really excited about today's episode because we'll be diving deep into everything you need to know to help resolve your eczema and psoriasis. My expert guest on these conditions is Krista Harkis, who is a certified functional nutritionist. Welcome, Krista.

Thank you so much for having me, Rita.

Oh, it's great. It's great to have you on the show, and I'm really excited even though I do not have this condition. I know many people who do. It's Debilitating. I think it really impacts people's physical, mental, um, health, but also their social connections and their ability to be able to be there, you know, with friends at the beach or to a party or whatever when they have these massive eczema rashes or psoriasis rashes on their body. So I'm really excited to— for any of our listeners who have this to start getting help through what you've got to offer today. So let's start with— now, a lot of people have just really dry skin. So what— how can they tell the difference between really dry skin and maybe they're developing this condition of eczema and psoriasis?

Dry skin, you know, typically you get it in like your legs or something like that, and it'll be over a bigger area sometimes, whereas eczema and psoriasis— eczema in particular is extremely itchy. It'll come in typically smaller areas inside of the elbows and back of the knees. I had it on my face and my ear, and a lot of the times people have it in their scalp, that sort of area. But yeah, it's super itchy. And psoriasis in particular will be more of like a plaque-looking thing. It has the red around it and kind of a white circle around that. It'll be more flaky. There'll be lots of skin flakes coming off. And yeah, it's just very much more prominent with the psoriasis than the eczema.

Right. So if someone has that very dry skin, they are the, the keys to look for. So if you're moisturizing your skin really well and eventually it goes away, the very dry skin, you know you don't have it. Oh, then if it starts developing more, then you know to take action.

Yeah, pretty much. I mean, if it's just dry skin, typically, you know, if it's winter, that'll be kind of more of a time where you get dry skin. Um, if you do moisturize and it goes away, then yeah. that's definitely just a dry skin issue, um, whereas eczema and psoriasis are definitely going to take a little more action to deal with.

Yeah, because I think there is— it can get confusing because especially on people's feet, you know, you have the hard calluses, you have all the, the cracked heels, um, you can have athlete's foot, you can have all of these things, and they can all present very similar. So I think it's very important to really drill down on what that is. So let's go to the next one. Like, what do you think? What, what do you think is the biggest misconception about eczema and psoriasis?

I think from what I see that a lot of people, because doctors prescribe steroid creams, that people think it's just a topical issue that they need to deal with it, find the right cream or lotion. But yeah, it's very much, uh, an internal problem and needs to be addressed as such. It's not about just finding a cream or lotion to get rid of it. Um, so I think that's the biggest misconception, is that people think that it's just, uh, an external problem.

Hmm. So what are some of the warning symptoms or health problems that someone can be experiencing Uh, that could be the root cause to developing this is I read somewhere in the research around this which I thought was really interesting. They mentioned the lungs and the heart or something like that, so which I found bizarre that your lungs or your heart can be a contributor or have eczema. I can't quite remember exactly what it was, but I was very surprised. So What, what are some of the warning symptoms? So, you know, it's, it's about preventing so it doesn't go too far before we do anything about it.

Yeah. And I think a lot of people just think it's hereditary, that, you know, parents had it or grandparents had it or something like that. But really, 98% of our genes, our DNA, is modifiable. So You know, if you eat the right foods and kind of avoid those triggers to skin conditions, then you wouldn't even get it. But yeah, a lot of the times warning symptoms, and I think this is the kind of struggle with a lot of people and even doctors, is that warning symptoms can be quite various and all over the place, really. You know, it's for me, it was a lot of headaches and feeling sick in the morning. Um, it was just a weird thing that like evenings and mornings, I would go to school and I would be green and my friends would be like, you're actually green. Are you okay? Like, no, no, I'm not.

No, it's not a normal complexion.

Yeah. And it can be different for a lot of people, but I think a lot of the times it is a bit more gut related. You're getting headaches, you're getting stomach issues, digestion issues, that sort of thing.

That is super interesting. I would never have attributed gut issues or that I've got a headache to a skin condition. That is super interesting. So if— so what, what you're saying is eczema and, and psoriasis is an autoimmune condition?

Yeah, they've both been classified that. Um, some people don't, you know, there's kind of varying things. There's eczema, is it autoimmune or not? Because it's not maybe attacking your body, but there have been classifications that they're both autoimmune. So that's why I address both.

Right. So what, what are some of the main triggers or stresses to developing it for, or, or that can cause a flare-up if you do have it?

Yeah, I mean, if you do have it, certainly stress is a huge factor. Um, it, yeah, it can cause flares. Uh, a lot of the times a stressful situation is what triggers it to begin with. Um, that sort of thing. Food is definitely a contributing factor. So, you know, it's not just, okay, I ate a crappy diet for a couple of weeks type of thing, I'm going to get a skin condition. This is building up for years and years and years, and it can be half a lifetime before it even shows up. So, yeah, it's definitely those sort of things. And then, of course, the environmental factors. So if there's any mold in the home, parasites in your body, if you're using a lot of chemicals and antimicrobial, antibacterial products, that sort of thing.

So being autoimmune and listening to what you just said, because this— the body tries to get a lot of toxins out of the body through the skin. Yes. So let's go back to what we were saying about it being an autoimmune condition, and can you just talk a little bit into the What is happening at the foundation level or the root cause, uh, to developing this condition? Like, what, what's happening? What, what's imbalanced basically in their body?

Yeah, so, um, I mean, I talk about the microbiome a lot, and the whole thing of that is leaky gut. So, um, you're eating a specific diet, or if you're taking too many medications and antibiotics and that sort of thing, all these things lead to leaky gut. And I think is why doctors struggle with autoimmune conditions, because leaky gut, you know, particles and foreign toxins, chemicals, all that sort of stuff is going into your bloodstream. And because it's going into your bloodstream, it can go anywhere in your body and affect different organ systems, whatever it may be. So that's why you could get headaches. That's why you can have gut issues. That's why skin conditions show up all over the place. Um, it's not specifically, oh, it's always going to be on your face, so it's always going to be on your hands, that sort of thing. So it can show up anywhere. And yeah, the leaky gut is really contributing to autoimmune conditions.

Can you explain for our listeners who aren't sure what you mean by leaky gut and what are they doing or ingesting or what That can be creating that leaky gut to then exacerbate this condition?

So there's kind of 4 main foods that I always say are a contributing factor. There's gluten, sugar, dairy, and processed foods. And of course, processed foods can—

What everybody loves.

Everybody loves a bunch of different things.

It's always what people love.

Yes. And Yeah, it's, it's the things that kind of are in the standard diet that, you know, we're not eating very many vegetables and fruits. We're not growing our own food anymore. It's very much a lot of processed, and wheat and sugar and vegetable oils are pretty much in everything these days. So that's kind of a lot of the foods that are contributing to these chronic conditions.

Right. It's never a broccoli, is it?

It's always— it's always good. It's not really enough. As a kid, I liked broccoli. Oh, did you?

You're a rarity. Yeah, it's always the pastries, the dairy, you know. But it is a challenge, isn't it? It is a challenge for people to— I mean, there's temptation everywhere. So do you feel that this condition, because of our lifestyle, because of the way people are eating the processed food, what you were just talking about, that you see an exponential increase in this condition in the last, say, 10 years? Or—

Um, I mean, it's really been growing since kind of the whole '50s, '60s. That's when the food, like what we ate, changed. You know, before it was a lot of people were cooking with lard and, you know, people had their own chickens a lot of the times. They were Not messing with the food as much back then. But nowadays, you know, we're told to use margarine or some other chemically created product. And yeah, we've just gotten away from those sort of things. And I think that the food these days is, you know, they push a lot of things that are just more convenient and That's, yeah, that's the problem.

Yeah. Well, you know, there's a lot of talk about, you know, using food as medicine. So as a functional nutritionist, what does it look like to use food as medicine? So it's more of a, because it's easy to use these words, but for someone who's new to all of this, for any of our listeners who are new to it, to say, oh, you know, leaky gut or your microbiome, and a lot of people don't even know what microbiome is.

Yeah.

So these are— so I'd like to paint a bit more of a visual understanding for people, you know, like, can you just speak about food as medicine and what does that look like?

Yeah. So a lot of the times, you know, it's, it can be difficult to change our diet. That is for sure.

Yeah, absolutely is.

Sugar and wheat and all those sorts of things are more addictive than some specific drugs. So it can be hard to change those. And I think there's a lot of people saying, you know, you have to go on an elimination diet, you have to do this, you have to do that. And for sure, an elimination diet can help autoimmune conditions. But I think it's really about just focusing on what we eat. And is it man-made or nature-made? You know, we can easily come across vegetables and those sort of things, but people don't really buy them anymore, I've noticed. And you know, they're still available, but maybe the grocery store ones aren't as good a quality as they used to be. For sure, they're grown in soil that's kind of depleted of all these nutrients. So that's why I always try and recommend, you know, grow your own, even if it's just a little garden in in your condo even. But yeah, very much food as medicine is just going back to more natural, normal foods, maybe incorporating some supplements because the fruits and veggies do lack a lot of those nutrients that they once had. So supplements are kind of a part of that as well. And then focusing on Yeah, I'm trying to think what else. Um, kind of lost it there, but yeah, focusing on just really normal foods and maybe some whole foods.

So eating more whole foods than processed. In other words, if it's in a packet, stay away, and if it's not in a packet, go for it. And the bright colors, I guess. So, um, So if we circle back to what you were saying so people can understand, we need to eat whole foods because this is better to feed our microbiome. And, um, my understanding is the microbiome is our gut bacteria. So yeah, for our gut bacteria, that then helps what you were saying about the leaky gut. And leaky gut is when, uh, toxins and undigested foods or whatever go back into our blood system— oh, into our system.

Yes.

That would include, for people so they're aware, that would include artificial fragrances and, uh, toxins and, um, those lovely smelling perfume washing liquids and all of that sort of thing which disrupt the microbiome. So it's a real catch-22. And you said that then this, the way of the, for the body to get this out, to detoxify, is actually through the skin, is one of, you know, to get a lot of it out is through the skin. And if I'm correct, that can cause The eczema and the psoriasis?

Yeah, for sure. You know, anything that we put on our skin is being absorbed into our body. So not only are we getting chemicals and toxins and all that sort of stuff through the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, you know, the products we put on our skin, it's all being absorbed into our bodies one way or another. And for sure, there's never going to be a way that you can eliminate all toxins and chemicals and all that sort of stuff. But just being more aware of the products that you use, the food you eat, um, and stress levels, really.

Stress plays a big part, doesn't it?

Yeah, because so many times, you know, even I fell into this cycle of stressing out over all these chemicals and all these things that I'm exposed to. But I mean, you know, you can— you kind of do what you can and reduce your exposure to those things, but You know, don't overstress and go down the rabbit hole of trying to fix everything.

Because that can make you worse. The stress, the stress that people can put on themselves to be super healthy, yeah, actually make them unwell. As opposed to— I, I don't actually agree with everything in moderation because not everything suits everybody. I do kind like the 80/20, the 80/20 principle. 80% of the time you're doing what's right for you as an individual, and 20% of the time when you go out or whatever, you just relax. Otherwise, that stress of always being on top of it, I think, is worse than if you had the processed food.

Yeah, and that— I agree with the 80/20 principle as well. It's just It really helps kind of put into perspective that we can't be perfect. There's no such thing as perfect. You know, it's, it's doing what's right for you and the best you can.

Yes. Now, we may have already covered this, but I am going to ask it because you may come up with something else. And I'm really curious about this functional medicine approach because I have a lot of friends, uh, either they have it or their Kids have it quite severely, you know, the eczema and the psoriasis. And I know one, it has impacted their daughter's life significantly. And it's, it's so sad to see, you know, they're crying with the pain, it's bleeding, all the rest of it. And they've, they've told me that most of the, the solutions that they've been given is a cream Or cortisol injections. So it's very topical. The cortisol injections, you know, help with the pain, I guess. So using the functional medicine approach, can you tell our listeners, you know, what do you do differently to help them?

Yeah, I mean, it's very much focusing on the microbiome. And for me, the microbiome kind of spans all things. It's not just what we eat and food and that sort of thing. It's stress and our thoughts. Even like, if you're constantly thinking, I'm going to be stuck with this forever, there's no solution, that sort of thing, then I mean, we really create our reality in that sense. Like, if you've heard of the placebo effect, you know that your thoughts can control your outcome. But there's also a Nocebo effect. So if you believe that something's going to harm you, if it's never going to go away, then you can create that as well.

Right.

So yeah, I mean, my focus is, is food is medicine and our thoughts and mindset. And because it's more of an internal condition than an external condition, I don't really focus so much on creams and lotions and those sort of things. Yeah, I do focus for sure on environmental factors. So like I mentioned, mold and parasites and all those different things that can be around us, making sure that we're using slightly more natural products, maybe even making our own. Yeah, focusing on kind of a more broader spectrum. I always say internal Internal, external, and mind.

Beautiful. What did you do specifically when you started? Let's just tap into a little bit of your story. Like, what did you do specifically when you were a teenager on the floor green? What did you— how did you start? Let's just have a little snippet of your story.

Yeah, so I mean, that's kind of how it started when I was a teenager. Um, Then around 18 or 19 is when I started getting eczema. It started in my ear of all places, and when I went to the doctor, she of course prescribed steroid creams. But I've always taken a more natural approach to my health, and I never used them. But I did struggle with it for over 10 years because I never came across a solution. I went down the Google rabbit hole and tried finding, you know, something that could help it, but it was all topical as well. aloe vera and colloidal oatmeal, those sort of things. Um, so it was very much a trial and error process. And coincidentally, my dad came across a documentary on the microbiome in November 2018. And it was really like, it was really the start and the solution. And I was like, okay, now it makes sense. Like, this is— our food and what we're eating. Um, the microbiome really controls so much of our bodily systems, our, like, the vitamins that we create, our digestion, our mood. All these different things are controlled by the microbiome. And when we eat gluten and sugar and all these things that don't feed it, that's what's really— they're starting to starve and they're struggling and they can't support us. So that's why the veggies and the fruits are helping, because the microbiome needs to feed on fiber. That's their, that's their food. So when they start eating those things, then they're producing the right stuff to help support us and help keep our bodies functioning optimally.

So, so.

Yeah, when I found those things, that was I started incorporating more fruits and veggies and it made a big difference. And then I started incorporating more mindset stuff that really helped. And yeah, it even came out that, you know, you start thinking about these things later on and it's really being self-conscious was keeping me stuck in that eczema because it was a thought process that, you know, nobody wants to see me. I want to hide all that sort of stuff. And Kind of breaking through that and becoming more of an outgoing person. I was very, very shy in high school. Really helped heal myself and my skin condition.

Fantastic. I love that you said that your eczema was helping you to hide. Yeah. Now, if you went to have your eczema looked at traditionally, that would never be looked at. So it's really that whole body approach, that individual approach. So if there's one thing that you notice about, um, people are missing to achieve clear skin, what's that one thing?

It's funny that you bring that up now because that's exactly what I think is, is a big problem, is that nobody talks about the mindset, the thoughts that we're thinking, the things that we're telling ourselves. And when we look in the mirror, it's, it's a lot of negativity, and that can really hurt our bodies. Not only is, is it stressful, but the mind-microbiome connection is very real. And when we're constantly thinking those thoughts, our microbiome Feeds off of that and causes more problems. It doesn't work properly. It, it knows, like, if you're going into an interview or if you're doing something stressful like that, a lot of the times you get butterflies in your stomach. You might have to go to the bathroom. It's, it's very much linked. So I think that's the missing part that a lot of people aren't talking about, is that thought process.

It is powerful, isn't it? It is so powerful. I was reading a scientific article about the fact, which is surprising it was a scientific article, that our microbiome listens to what we say.

Exactly.

Fascinating, isn't it? No, it is. And I guess that's that individual approach, well, how each of us, our bodies work. But yes, we're talking about eczema and psoriasis. Today. But I love what you said about how the eczema was helping for you to be able to hide because you were shy and you didn't want to put yourself out there. So it's amazing, those thoughts, what they create in the body. And for you, it expressed itself as eczema. For someone else, it would maybe arthritis, for example, so they can't go out because they're in too much pain.

Yeah.

That is just fascinating, and that I really do love that you obviously work with your clients and with that missing link. Is that right? You do you work with the mindset? Not so it's not just nutrition; it's a personalized plan, nutrition, and the mindset.

Yeah, and it's interesting when I bring something like that up to people. I'm like, hey, you know, for me, I experienced. a self-conscious issue that was kind of contributing to my eczema. And when I bring something like that up and I'm like, could there be something deeper down? And people are like, yeah, you know, I'm self-conscious too, or I'm, you know, I feel shame. So there's a lot of things, our emotions around that, that people recognize, and they're like, yep, I, I feel that.

I don't think you're alone. I think, I think a light globe just went off for a lot of people.

Yeah, that—

I think a lot of people will be a bit threatened around that, but I think for others, a light globe just went off.

And for sure, yeah, it can, it can be hard. And, you know, a lot of people might shy away from that fact. They might be like, nope, that's not me. But Yeah, it's— I think it's very much about kind of learning more about ourselves and supporting our own growth, which is why when I work with people, it's not just about, okay, the solution is getting rid of our eczema and psoriasis. For me, it's going beyond that. And what kind of life do you want to create? What have you been putting off because of your skin condition that You can now do when it's gone.

That's fantastic.

Yeah.

So what are 3 pieces of advice that you could give someone who is experiencing eczema or psoriasis?

So the first one would be external and kind of focusing on what we're putting on our bodies, what's in our homes, the chemicals that we use. kind of quick, easy things that people can do. So yeah, external is the first one. Focus on chemicals and eliminating that as much as you can. Internal is the next one, and just start incorporating some veggies. You know, you don't have to make a drastic change right away. If you want crazy results, then yeah, maybe an elimination diet's right for you, but it's not right for everybody. So just kind of incorporating more veggies, Maybe eliminating some of the pastries and muffins and, and those sort of things. Um, and then start focusing on mindset. So, you know, even just a few affirmations like my body can heal itself, something as simple as that and saying that over again. Or, you know, maybe you start noticing the negative thoughts and stopping them and saying, no, this isn't serving me. It's not helping. stop and replace them or just stop and, and carry on. Because it can be hard to get out of that cycle for sure. I, I know I struggled as well. And it can be totally awkward. I kind of quite honestly avoided affirmations for a while. And I was like, nope, this is weird. That's not helping. But, you know, you kind of get used to it, you get into more of a of flow with it and you're like, hey, this, this does help. So yeah, focusing on internal, external, and mind and making small changes. It's not about everything all at once because I think a lot of people get overwhelmed that they have to do all these things all at once. Um, but again, that just causes more stress.

Exactly. Well, for any of our listeners who are struggling with eczema and psoriasis, and especially for those who have it at quite an intense level, you know, and they feel they can't get out of bed or that it hurts to move and it feels a little too much to be able to do these steps on your own, please contact Krista. All her details are in the show notes. She can help you with a more targeted approach, a more supportive approach. You don't have to go it alone to start incorporating a new way in your life to treating your eczema. Krista, Krista, it has been an absolute pleasure having you on the show sharing your knowledge. And everybody, do yourself a favor and connect with Krista.

Thank you so much, Rita.

Thank you. I would love to know what was the biggest insight or aha moment you got from this interview so you can now speak up Take action and make informed decisions for your health. And if you like this episode, get instant access to your free ebook, Alternative Wisdom: Taking Back Control of Your Health, at life-onus.com.