How to Heal Your Gut for Eczema, Allergies and Asthma with Meat Stocks & Broths

When you think of eczema, allergies, or asthma, what comes to mind? Probably red, itchy skin, sneezing, or difficulty breathing. But what if I told you that the key to understanding and potentially overcoming these conditions is connected to our gut?

At least 75% of our immune system lies within our gut. Our gut isn’t just our digestive system, it is  home to trillions of different microorganisms, known as our ‘gut microbiota.’

Most of these microorganisms live within our large intestine and they play a crucial role in almost every aspect of our health. They help us digest food, absorb nutrients, regulate our immune system, even influence your mood, and even have a role to play in skin health.

Our health is a reflection of the health of our gut.  Simply put, a healthy gut has a wide variety of beneficial bacteria and in good concentrations. This keeps parasites, viruses, yeasts, and pathogenic (“bad”) bacteria under control. When our gut health is out of balance, potentially pathogenic microbiota can take hold, with the effects felt and seen in our body as symptoms and eventually dis-ease. It’s also why doing countless “parasite cleanses” doesn’t actually fix the issue – it fails to address the cause of the imbalance in the first place. (More on that later…)  

For many, imbalances in our gut can manifest as skin issues like eczema, respiratory problems like asthma, or heightened responses like allergies or food intolerances. If you’re new to gut health then you can read more about it HERE.

When your gut microbiota is healthy, it tolerates harmless substances (like food) and appropriately responds to fights off real threats when necessary. But when the gut microbiota is disrupted due to poor diet, stress, antibiotics, or environmental toxins, this can lead to an overactive immune response.

Instead of calmly dealing with allergens or irritants, your immune system goes into overdrive, resulting in inflammation. And that inflammation doesn’t just stay in your gut; it shows up on your skin, in your airways, or in your overall immune response.

Stress and stored emotions are one of the biggest causes of impaired gut health that I see in my clients. Stress creates inflammation in the body, causes symptoms, and has an ongoing feedback loop between our gut and our brains. It’s vital to break this cycle with a multi-focussed approach.  This includes addressing this stored stress in babies, kids and adults, AND working to improve gut health to cut inflammation at the cause, and clearing symptoms of eczema, allergies, and asthma.

How to improve your gut health and heal eczema, allergies, and asthma with meat stocks

One way to improve your gut health is to nourish your gut and body with meat stocks and broths. This is a wonderful way to have better skin, soothe those allergies and asthma symptoms. With my private clients, I always start with meat broths first BEFORE introducing any probiotics or fermented food.

There’s a difference between ‘stocks’ and ‘broths’ and it’s important to understand the distinction because one is more commonly recommended to improve gut health, yet for many it can flare up symptoms of eczema, allergies, and asthma.

Let me explain.

Long cooked bone broths are high in histamine, which can flare up symptoms of eczema, allergies, and asthma. Histamine is released from mast cells which is responsible for the itch, redness, and swelling in eczema, allergic responses to food and environmental triggers, and can contribute to asthmatic symptoms.

Some people with eczema, allergies, and asthma may have troubles breaking down histamine in the body, or have bacteria that release histamine in their gut. Therefore, starting with bone broths can worsen symptoms in some people, without any added benefit.

It’s why I always start with short cooked meat stocks and then progress to longer cooked bone broths over the next weeks/months.

There are many other wonderful ways to improve gut health through a dietary approach, including gut friendly icy poles and fermented foods. AND… if you’re ready to cut the symptoms and clear eczema at the root cause, then check out our next 10-week Inflammation Reset to calm your/your child’s skin HERE.

Simple Recipe for Meat Stock for Gut Healing and Skin Healing