If you’ve ever wondered the best way to test for food allergy sensitivity, this episode is for you! What do I mean by food allergy sensitivity? Many people think that you’re either allergic (and thus highly reactive) to specific foods or you’re not. And that’s not actually true as there’s a scale of reactivity or sensitivity that you could be on for IgE food allergies. Making this even more complex is that your level of reactivity can change with time (this is especially true for children) which is why today’s episode is so important! Food allergy testing isn’t perfect and can sometimes sh ..read more

Finding a hidradenitis suppurativa treatment that works can be frustrating and difficult, especially with certain symptoms like intense pain. Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) pain can severely impact your day to day quality of life — I speak from experience here! When I first discovered a swollen, painful lump in my armpit, I panicked, and immediately worried about getting checked for breast cancer. Fortunately, the lump wasn’t cancer – it was hidradenitis suppurativa. For me, laser hair removal was the key to stopping hidradenitis suppurativa symptoms in their tracks, but that’s not the c ..read more

If you’ve found it frustrating that no one can tell you why you have chronic urticaria hives (including chronic spontaneous urticaria, dermatographia, and even angioedema), I feel you. Especially when IgE allergies are ruled out (testing is negative) or even avoiding what you’re allergic to isn’t helpful. At that point, most doctors will say that there is no answer or clear trigger to what causes urticaria, basically leaving you with an increasing number of medications that may or may not help to control your skin. To say that this leaves many like you feeling enormously helpless and hopeles ..read more

If you have psoriasis, you have a 30% chance of developing psoriatic arthritis symptoms! This type of psoriasis is notoriously difficult to diagnose because, unlike rheumatoid arthritis, there are no blood tests to easily confirm it. Psoriatic arthritis can be triggered at any age, but its onset is most commonly between 35 and 55 years old. One of the early signs and symptoms of psoriatic arthritis is joint pain that gets worse over time until the joints become swollen and inflamed. It might surprise you, but diet and medication can both trigger psoriatic arthritis, as well as GI tract microbi ..read more

When you’re dealing with rashed skin, you can’t just slather on any moisturizer, cream, or the latest miracle potion promoted by beauty influencers. You’ve got to make sure the ingredients in your skincare formulas are clean, free of questionable ingredients, promote a healthy skin barrier, and soothe instead of potentially irritate your skin. And that’s why today I want to talk about one of my favorite skincare ingredients: black cumin seed oil. Black cumin seed oil’s skin benefits run deep and there’s a reason it’s been used for ages as a skin soother. So, let’s discuss what’s so incredible ..read more

If you’ve ever wondered if it’s possible to unravel the frustrating symptoms of scalp psoriasis with a more natural or integrative approach, you’re in for a treat. I’m sharing a case study from one of my real-life psoriasis clients who has lived with both scalp psoriasis and guttate psoriasis on her body for nearly 30 years. When my client first found me, she was pretty sick – struggling with more than just her skin. And I find that many psoriasis warriors don’t know about the deep connections of psoriasis to other body systems (aka. comorbidities). By just trying diets, cleanse ..read more

Struggling with SIBO symptoms like bloating, abdominal pain, constipation, gas, and diarrhea, can be very frustrating. SIBO (short for small intestine bacterial overgrowth) is basically what it sounds like: Bacteria overgrow in the small intestine leading to many symptoms that impact the gut and other body systems. The presence of SIBO can trigger IBS, SIBO malabsorption (where you don’t absorb the nutrients from food and end up with nutrient deficiencies), and even anxiety due to inflammation. And SIBO symptoms can also include skin problems! For example, there’s an established SIBO-rosacea c ..read more

Did you know that the severity of eczema symptoms + skin color have a unique relationship? That certain eczema symptoms can be WORSE for skin of color versus white or lighter skin tones? While practitioners are typically taught about the “classic eczema patient” who has itchy eczema, there is huge variation in how atopic dermatitis (eczema) manifests on different skin tones. Eczema on black skin, for instance, often presents as itchy skin bumps in areas not usually associated with atopic dermatitis. One main metric used to diagnose eczema is redness. But inflammation and eczema on dark skin of ..read more

If you have a dairy allergy, it probably doesn’t surprise you that it’s one of the more complex common food allergies. While there are 25 proteins in milk (yes, you read that right!), only a handful have been shown to trigger antibody production against them. Now, remember that a dairy allergy is different from being lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance is considered a non-allergic reaction to milk products that can lead to uncomfortable GI symptoms like bloating, gas, and diarrhea. Anaphylactic dairy allergy symptoms include hives, swelling, coughing, wheezing, nausea, and vomiting, and th ..read more

If you struggle with eyelid inflammation (aka. blepharitis), crusty eyes in the AM or ocular rosacea, Demodex mites treatment might be in your future thanks to an overgrowth of these little critters! Demodex mites are a common, naturally-occurring commensal skin parasite that live, feed, poop, and die on your skin and on eyelashes and eyebrow hairs. While that may sound (really) gross, they are usually not an issue…unless the Demodex mites overgrow. Eyelid inflammation, irritated eyes, crustiness on your lashes in the morning, and eye discomfort are signs of Demodex mites overgrowth. Luckily ..read more