I have suffered from eczema to varying degrees all my life and have spent a lot of time dealing with it, reading to better understand it, and using myself as a guinea pig in testing what does and doesn't cause flare-ups. I am very careful about what I put on my skin. I moisturize like a fiend. I use a scent-free, chemical-free detergent because anything else makes my skin go crazy. It's a pain, but there you have it.

I'm not particularly fond of diets that promote a cleansing fast. Fasting of any kind can be very difficult on the body depending upon the individual. For instance, fasts are typically contraindicated for those with diabetes and certain other conditions. They can also play havoc with some medications, making them less or differently effective. Essentially, always check with your doctor before you do any kind of fast. The good news is that Ms. Fischer acknowledges this and is very clear regarding the cleansing fast in this book, acknowledging that your mileage may vary.

The Eczema Diet is a good book with plenty of good information packaged in an easily manageable format. I wish it had been out there earlier in my life - it would've saved me a lot of time and research. There wasn't a lot of information that was new to me, but I read extensively about everything that I need to manage so I'm not your average reader. This book has it all, really - foods and chemicals to avoid (or to at least be cautious of), recipes, moisturizing tips, good scientific about eczema and genetics, and alternatives to treatments with steroids. This book provides a great base to use to begin figuring out what works (and what doesn't) for the treatment of your individual eczema. While I wouldn't follow this book or its diet slavishly, there is plenty of information for figuring out what alternatives work for you. It doesn't promote a cure, but it may help some people find relief. ( )