Skin Friend by nutritionist Karen Fischer
Skin Friend by nutritionist Karen Fischer
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Must Read Books If You Have Eczema: Review by An Eczema Warrior

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If you have eczema, getting eczema advice from an expert can be a valuable way to help you on your road to recovery.  

Over the years we have seen blogs and social media posts, where some of the ITCHY DOZEN WORST FOODS FOR ECZEMA have been recommended for eczema. It's no wonder people are confused about diet and eczema! Remember, just because you like and follow them, it does not make them an expert. 

It’s important to get your eczema info from a reliable source, which means not only someone who has successfully healed their own eczema (or a family members eczema), but also someone who has personally worked with and helped hundreds of eczema patients.

This is because there are MANY different eczema triggers, and you want to get advice from someone who knows about ALL of the issues that relate to eczema, so you can choose the information that is right for you.

So I’m comparing and reviewing three eczema books from nutritionist Karen Fischer.

Karen Fischer is the founder of Skin Friend and has specialised in eczema for the past 20 years. As a nutritionist Karen previously ran the Eczema Life Clinic in Sydney where she worked with hundreds of patients with eczema and other types of skin inflammation. 

Karen has also taught an eczema course at Nature Care College, wrote a skin health column for Cosmopolitan Magazine (in Australia), and she helped her daughter become eczema-free 20 years ago. Karen has also fully recovered from a bout of head-to-toe eczema, MCAS and psoriasis, so she has lived the nightmare and has gained valuable insights along the way. 

FAQ: “I have eczema... so do I read ‘The Eczema Diet’, ‘The Eczema Detox’ or ‘The Healthy Skin Kitchen’ to help my skin?” 

Which eczema book?

Since Karen Fischer's seventh book, The Healthy Skin Kitchen was released in March 2021, we have received dozens of emails asking what’s the main difference between Karen’s eczema books: The Eczema Diet, The Eczema Detox and The Healthy Skin Kitchen. We appreciate these questions! 

So, how do you know which eczema book is right for you?  

I'll explain this by telling you a bit about my own eczema journey. 

My name is Bonnie and I struggled with eczema for a long time (and still do occasionally when I overindulge in my trigger foods!) and I can honestly say that all three of Karen's books have supported my eczema healing journey in different ways. 

Book 1: The Eczema Diet

Karen’s original program The Eczema Diet, which I read as a teenager, helped me to understand WHY I had eczema, what triggered my insane itchy, oozy inflamed eczema which was literally all over my body. It allowed my whole family to understand how ‘food’—by this I mean the processed and packaged foods that I had been putting in my body—was impacting my health and flaring up my eczema and thus making me (and my family) MISERABLE. 

The Eczema Diet, which Karen Fischer originally designed for her daughter Ayva and her eczema patients, details how the diet works biochemically, with diagrams and scientific evidence and references. 

It’s a good book for sceptics and doctors and us lay-people who want to understand our eczema monster. When I first read The Eczema Diet it was truly a light bulb moment!  The Eczema Diet started my healing journey and slowly (there are no quick solutions to eczema) improved not only my physical health but my mental health as well. 

In the past, my parents and I spent SO much money on eczema creams and eczema potions that were based on NO valid scientific evidence. We eczema sufferers are known for falling into easy “eczema quick fixes” (understandably while under stress!) that don’t fix the underlying issues, so having The Eczema Diet book became my ‘go-to’ for reliable, science-based eczema information. 

The Eczema Diet was also featured on Seven's Prime Time News in Australia, as a "new eczema breakthrough by an Australian Nutritionist". 

Book 2: How to diagnose your eczema triggers

While The Eczema Diet book is ideal for understanding eczema and dealing with the itch, for very difficult cases of eczema (i.e. if you have severe chemical intolerances or head-to-toe eczema or have multiple allergies) grab a copy of The Eczema Detox

The Eczema Detox book clearly showed me HOW to clear up the last bits of my eczema—and it’s the only book that contains the FID Program (that’s the Food Intolerance Diagnosis program). So if you have no idea what is triggering your eczema then The Eczema Detox book and the FID program are for you. 

The eczema detox recipes form a part of the book’s three tailored programs, suitable for everyone from babies to the elderly, helping a range of skin inflammation problems including dermatitis, psoriasis, red skin syndrome and rosacea. 

The Eczema Detox has helped thousands of eczema warriors clear up their stubborn eczema and skin inflammation, many of whom feature on our healthyskinkitchen.com website. You can read their stories here.  

This is a testimonial recently posted on Amazon.com on The Eczema Detox page:

Book 3: The Healthy Skin Kitchen 

“We want more recipes”. We hear this a lot…

While all of Karen’s books are packed with recipes, The Healthy Skin Kitchen has loads of new, fun, fabulous recipes which can be incorporated into your Eczema Detox and Eczema Diet regime. The Healthy Skin Kitchen also includes FID-friendly meals to add to your Eczema Detox regime, but the HSK can be enjoyed on its own as it contains a section called Menu 4 which can be used instead of the FID program.

Two of the many unique features of The Healthy Skin Kitchen includes how it tackles stress (as it has been proven to trigger eczema!) and it gets you acquainted with your gut health and microbiome with new and exciting research. 

 

The eczema monster and stress

For many with eczema and other types of skin inflammation, stress is one of the biggest triggers, and this can be commonly overlooked when you are scouring the internet for a “magic” eczema cream or an eczema diet. As Karen Fischer says 'No matter how perfect your diet is, if you are over-stimulating your nervous system, you are preventing any profound healing from taking place.' 

The Healthy Skin Kitchen has taught me practical ways to manage my stress. I do this through Karen’s vagus nerve exercises and mindfulness to de-stress, thus ensuring both my skin and I remain calm. Let me tell you, along with following the menus in The Healthy Skin Kitchen, practising mindfulness and following Karen Fischer's skincare routine, my skin has never looked better. No need for botox with this book!  

Not only that, The Health Skin Kitchen provides the most up-to-date scientific information on skin health, I love the delicious recipes and the beautiful photography could inspire the most hardened non-cook to get into the kitchen and whip up a feast! 

Image: Beet Detox Soup from The healthy Skin Kitchen

The Healthy Skin Kitchen recipes add to my Eczema Detox regime which keeps my palate excited and my eczema at bay. You can see why it is difficult to recommend just one book when all three books are valuable pieces in the very tricky eczema puzzle! 

The Healthy Skin Kitchen also covers skin care and there is a useful Signs, Symptoms and Solutions chart where you can look up a large range of disorders including:

  • acne
  • alopecia
  • candidiasis
  • cellulite
  • CIRS
  • dermatitis
  • dandruff
  • hives
  • histamine intolerance
  • keratosis pilaris
  • leaky gut
  • light sensitivity
  • MCAS
  • psoriasis
  • red skin syndrome
  • rosacea
  • salicylate sensitivity
  • wrinkles

My Eczema book summary

So if you suffer from itchy, inflamed eczema, dermatitis or a skin inflammatory condition, all three of Karen Fischer’s eczema books provide great information, tools and support to help you ditch the itch and create healthy looking skin from the inside out. 

Healthy Skin Kitchen recipe

 Image: Papaya Beauty Smoothie Bowl from The Healthy Skin Kitchen

What if you can only afford one eczema book?

If you are only able to purchase one book today, go back over the information in this article and refer to the key points below to decide which book is right for you: 

  • The Eczema Diet is great for people who want loads of sound scientific information and research before they will commit to a new health routine.
  • The Eczema Detox is good for those who don't know what foods they are reacting to, and need a step by step guide to figure this out for clear skin. 
  • The Healthy Skin Kitchen is ideal for those who struggle with stress and a range of skin issues, and for those wanting 60 new recipes to add to their menu. Plus it's a very pretty "coffee table" book to put on display and it's great to give as a gift to family and friends for birthdays and Christmas. 

 All three books contain different recipes so they combine to give you loads of recipes to keep you on track.

Here are some additional options if you like a book that comes with eczema support...

The Healthy Skin Kitchen online

 Karen Fischer has a new online program called The Healthy Skin Kitchen to help you follow all three books with extra support from qualified nutritionists (including me!), forum chats, podcasts and video tutorials. Launching in September 2021. Find your eczema tribe here.  

Products for itchy skin

Karen has also designed a range of supplements and skin care products to help you on your skin health journey, while following Karen’s eczema programs. Check out our Skin Friend AM and Skin Friend PM supplements, and hydrate your itchy, dry eczema monster with 24-Hour Rescue Balm—your skin will drink it up and stay calm and hydrated for hours. 

Happy reading and much love,

Bonnie

 


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