The 30-Year Struggle Against Eczema

For over three decades, I've been battling eczema, enduring the daily agony of itchy, inflamed, and painful skin.

Every night, I wrapped my arms and legs in bandages to stop myself from scratching in my sleep. However, I still woke up with my skin red and bleeding because I scratched it too hard unconsciously.

As I transitioned from my teenage years into my 20s, the symptoms progressed to my face. My face turned red and became scarred from scratching overnight.

I've desperately visited over 10 different doctors and spent upwards of $20,000 on a range of treatments and surgeries (all thanks to my parents), trying every possible solution. Sadly, nothing has proven successful.

Steroids and other treatments provided only temporary relief, and the use of antibiotics led to an increase in my body's resistance to them.

I've tested nearly every lotion and moisturizer on the market - Cetaphil, Aveeno, CeraVe, Vanicream - but none brought relief to my face.

The only exception was Atobarrier365 lotion, which soothed my skin without causing irritation. However, it didn't address the root cause of my condition.

How I found Kefir

Kefir came into my life by surprise in 2024.

My mother-in-law, an expert in food and nutrition, brought it up after I shared with her that my symptoms were worsening. Then, I spotted Kefir at Whole Foods.

Also, I came across a research paper published in the National Library of Medicine in 2021.

The key takeaway from the study is that individuals with atopic dermatitis who drank Kefir daily for 8 weeks saw significant health improvements.

They experienced less transepidermal water loss in their skin, better skin hydration, and milder symptoms of atopic dermatitis.

Interestingly, individuals without atopic dermatitis (i.e., regular people) also experienced better skin conditions after 8 weeks.

How I consumed Kefir

Kefir didn't taste good to me, but I was willing to do whatever it took to improve my skin condition.

Fortunately, by mixing it into my blueberry smoothie, I was able to consume Kefir without noticing its taste.

Here are the ingredients for my smoothie. I've been drinking it daily for several months now and continue to do so.

1. Frozen blueberries - about 20 of them

2. Kefir - about 100 ml (you can use either goat milk Kefir or regular milk Kefir)

3. Coconut milk - about 100 ml

4. Coconut water - about 100 ml

5. Chia seed - 1 tbsp

6. Raw organic honey - 1 tbsp

It's not only packed with nutrition, but it also tastes amazing!

The effects of Kefir consumption

Even better, this drink was a lifesaver - after drinking it daily for about 3 weeks, my itchiness diminished.

This was the first time the itchiness went away without using any steroids, medicines, or pills.

The cascading results far exceeded my expectations.

Since I wasn't scratching my skin, it stayed more hydrated. I also slept better without waking up to scratch, which made me feel more energetic in the mornings.

With this new energy, I could focus better at work, have more time to exercise, and enjoy more time with my family.

I feel as rejuvenated as a newborn baby.

Why did Kefir help cure my Eczema?

The skin and intestine appear to share a series of indirect metabolic pathways (Alves et al., 2021). It’s called the “gut-skin axis”.

The connection between our gut and skin could be improved by changing what we eat, including adding probiotics. This could be a new way to help treat skin problems like eczema, helping to lessen or control the symptoms.

Kefir is one of the oldest fermented foods and is full of good bacteria that can help our health in many ways. Its rich microbiological diversity makes it particularly intriguing for use as a probiotic in exploring the gut-skin connection, highlighting its potential significance in this area.

It's important to note that even though this study indicates that people with and without atopic dermatitis saw big improvements in their skin condition, these findings aren't officially proven by science yet.

I was just like the participants in the study who experienced a significant reduction in symptoms, all thanks to Kefir.

Caution - don’t drink flavored Kefir

With too much sugar in the diet, E. coli, a type of bacteria, multiplies in the intestines and causes serious changes in the microbiome. It is possible that the addition of sugar to artificial milk causes the “bad” bacteria to multiply. (Mazur et al., 2023).

Flavored Kefir contains added sugar because extra sugar is needed to give it flavor.

Added sugars are those put in foods during processing (like sucrose or dextrose), as well as sugars used as sweeteners (like table sugar), and those in syrups, honey, and concentrated fruit or vegetable juices.

They don't sound healthy, do they?

In addition, Kefir already has natural sugar from the milk it's made from so there's no need to take in extra sugar through added sugars.

Conclusion

Drinking Kefir should be safe unless you're allergic to milk or milk-related products.

If you've been struggling with eczema like I have, I highly recommend trying whole milk unsweetened Kefir.

Besides Kefir, other things might have helped me overcome eczema, such as taking prebiotics, eating more probiotic foods, and taking omega-3 and vitamin D supplements. But I'll go into those in different articles.

Hope this article helps! ☘️