Ep. 19: Is Fungus Fueling Your Eczema? Malassezia, Candida, Mold, Tests & Topicals

Is your “eczema” actually being driven by fungus? In this episode, Dr. Fong and Cleanbody practitioner and expert, Tori Taggart, MS, CNS, LDN, unpack the three fungal drivers they see most in clinic—Malassezia on skin, Candida in the gut, and environmental mold—and how they overlap to create relentless flares. You’ll learn how to spot “yeast mapping,” which oils calm vs. feed Malassezia, when to test (stool, OAT, IgE/IgG, mycotoxins, skin scrapings), and smart anti-fungal nutrition swaps that don’t wreck your microbiome.

What you’ll learn

• Skin signs that hint “this is yeast,” not just dermatitis
• Why certain oils & butters (olive, jojoba, shea, cocoa, etc.) can feed Malassezia—and safer options (MCT C8–C10, squalane)
• How Candida overgrowth (post-antibiotics, stress, sugar) drives leaky gut → immune flares on skin
• Mold 101: where it hides (bath, HVAC, basements), who’s more sensitive, and simple at-home screening before you hire a pro
• Testing map: when to pair stool + OAT, consider serum IgE, and environmental checks
• Food as medicine: anti-fungal choices (garlic, herbs, fiber, non-starchy veg) and what to pause short-term (sugars, juices/dried fruit, alcohol, kombucha/yeasty ferments)
• Topicals that align with a fungal plan: kill & replenish (gentle antimicrobials + probiotic skin support)

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Transcript

Welcome to live with the eczema doc, brought to you by Clean Body, where we believe that you can heal your skin from within by cleaning your body. I'm Doctor Fong, a naturopathic doctor specializing in eczema, and I'm here to guide you through the journey of understanding the root causes of your eczema so that you can finally achieve the clear, healthy skin you deserve. Each week, we combine research backed insights, science based strategies, and my years of clinical experience to uncover what's really triggering your eczema and how you can take control for lasting relief. Let's dive into today's episode and uncover the next step to healing your skin from within. Is fungus fueling your eczema? This is really an interesting concept to understand if you have eczema, if you have a child with eczema. If you have eczema, because sometimes we're not just dealing with eczema, which is inflammation in the skin. We're dealing with a root cause of fungus actually causing that inflammation. And you can use as many creams as you would like that lower the inflammation. And yes, you might be able to lower that inflammation, but you may never be able to get rid of it because you're not dealing with the root problem. And I find fungus. Oh, and a lot of my patients I actually would say I this was a big, big problem for me. So I would say this is one of my biggest root causes. When I had eczema was fungus. And it was a yeast that was growing both in my gut and on my skin. And we're going to talk about that today. And so I'm joined by Tori, who is a clean body practitioner and eczema expert. And together Tori and I make up the Clean Body team. So Tori welcome. And I'd love to also hear what your experience is with fungus and eczema. So we're going to talk about it today. Thank you for joining me. Of course. All right. So let's just talk a little bit about what we're going to talk about today. So we're going to talk about yeast overgrowth. What are the symptoms of that. What do you need to look out for. How does yeast affect that skin externally. What does it look like. So you know you know how can you identify maybe that you have a yeast overgrowth. How does gut yeast influence inflammation and immunity. And what is the impact of mold exposure from the environment on eczema. And how do we test for these fungal issues. And then what are some basic anti-fungal nutrition tips. And then we're going to also go a little bit into topicals as well. Although a lot of times it can be really helpful to work with someone to kind of choose those topicals. But we'll go into some of the the basics on what you might need to think of. If you think that you might have a fungal issue. Okay. All right. So the types of yeast. Now there is a type of yeast that grows on the skin mainly. And it's called Malaysian. Everyone actually has this yeast on their skin. But what happens is when the skin, um, breaks open and like let's say maybe you actually even have eczema or you have a leaky barrier that will allow Malays Malaysia to grow a little bit easier. And then we'll also talk about how oils can feed that Malaysia. But that's usually the type we'll see on the skin. And then in the gut we often see candida. This is a different type of yeast and this can fuel that inflammation. And sometimes we do see candida on the skin as well too. Um but more often we'll see Malaysia on the skin. And then mold can be in the environment at home. And this can really over stimulate the immune system. So all three components can actually be triggering eczema together or separately. And more often than not I actually see all three of these together as a problem. Tori, do you see the same thing? Absolutely. If not all three. Definitely the first two. Um, I would say. And then if. Yeah, if you have any mold exposure, I think that's a big one. That could probably be like a whole nother topic for that we could really dig into. But that is absolutely a big contributor as well. And that one could even be by itself for sure. Yeah, absolutely. So on the surface of your skin, we're looking at itchy, flaky patches on the scalp, face, chest or back. And the reason for that is because those are the oily places. And you might notice your eczema worsens. When using oil based moisturizers, you might see oozing or shiny lesions, greasy, scaly patches, especially in the oily zones. And we're going to break this down even further so that you can kind of identify if you might have some yeast growing on your skin. Um, but let's kind of do an overview right now. So then inside your body we have gas, bloating, irregular digestion, strong sugar or carb cravings. You might have brain fog, fatigue or low energy. And then of course recurrent eczema. And then if you've used antibiotics or steroids, you may actually see the problem inside your body and on the surface as well. So often if somebody takes antibiotics, they may actually have an eczema flare. And often that could actually be because yeast is now over growing, because you have killed off some of that beneficial bacteria that was keeping that yeast down. And again, we have this yeast on our skin. But the problem is when we overgrow that yeast and then often we can actually have an inflammatory reaction to that yeast where we have an allergic reaction. And we can test for this as well. And then in the environment. If we have mold, we might see that the rash worsens when at home rather than outside. And that's kind of a big tell for that one. You might have really musty smells. Maybe there has been like a water leak or water damage that you know of in the house. Um, if it's an older home, maybe, you know, there's been water damage that you don't even know about. Maybe there's mold in the basement. Maybe there's mold in your HVAC system. These are all places to look. And then, um, if you have eczema, along with breathing issues, headaches or sinus congestion, that could really be another clue that maybe there's mold and then general fatigue or brain drag, especially when you're indoors, like in your home or in your office. And again, office is another place you might want to look for mold. So, you know, we're covering all the potential sources of fungal overload today. And so that's kind of what you want to look at on the skin inside your body and in your environment. And whether things change with that environment. Um, so as I said, molasses is a yeast that lives on everyone's skin and it's usually harmless. But when somebody has kind of these leaky, a leaky barrier on their skin. Malaysia can overgrow and that can trigger itchiness, inflammation. Again, we can see on testing that you're having an allergic reaction even to this Malaysia and especially in those oily areas. So as pictured here, you might see it on your neck, your scalp, your face, um, everywhere. We're kind of you you get itchy and then if you sweat and it gets worse, that can also be a sign of Malaysia. And over 50% of eczema patients show that sensitization to Malaysia. So they'll have that Ige reaction to Malaysian testing. And then in head and neck eczema, up to 79% of people have that Malaysia specific Ige. So Malaysia does respond to the skin pH to lipids and immune barrier integrity. So if you are having that immune barrier integrity really broken because you're scratching a lot. So yes, this could start with eczema. But you scratch a lot. Open up that barrier. And now Malaysia starts to grow. And then you put oils on that on top of that. Now Malaysia is like, ooh, let's have a party. Um, and then you sweat. And that feeds the Malaysia too. Okay. Now I like to call yeast mapping on the skin. And there's a picture here if you're looking at this where you kind of see this like irregular border kind of resembles continents or islands on a map, um, they can be slightly raised red tan edges, and then the central area could be a little bit clearer or a lighter center. And then there's like fine scaling. And yeast can grow in these patches often where sebum sweat and moisture collect. And this can be on the nose, the eyebrows, the scalp edges, the chest folds. You might see it like around the ears as well too. And you'll see this distribution often in oil rich zones. Um, that's kind of the seborrheic pattern. And this type of eczema is called seborrheic dermatitis. So you may also see it on the eyebrows as well too. And that is a type of eczema. Okay. Um and so you can see these maps but you can also see a little bit of lightning of the skin. And so this is called tinea versicolor. And this is where you might see lighter areas like a map as well where you see these kind of irregular borders and um, you know, that are kind of growing on the skin and, and it's lighter in color. Um, and then you may see fungal folliculitis as well. These are clusters of pinpoint pustules following the hair follicles and often mapped out in patches as well. So there's different ways that the yeast can show up. And when we, um, you know, are seeing our patients at Clean Body, we will help to determine what might be going on. Um, and, and and then that will identify what testing do we need. Okay. Yeah. We do see that maybe there is a yeast presentation now, maybe we might need to do testing and we'll talk about that in a moment. So how to differentiate if the mapping appears where there's oil and sweat and it worsens with humidity, or if everything is kind of closed up and occluded, it's likely yeast driven. If it gets worse when you sweat, absolutely. If it burns or stings more than it itches, that could also be a sign of a yeast problem. If it tends to flare quickly when you put oils or like barrier creams that feed militia, then that absolutely might be a yeast problem too. Okay, so on the skin, you know, this is what we might be wanting to look at and what you can evaluate if you are like, hmm, I wonder if my eczema is yeast driven. Okay. And moving on to the gut. And I'll let actually Torry take this one because, um, Torry, being someone who focuses on nutrition sees a lot of this probably, which is Candida. That's Candida, which is a yeast that lives in the gut. So tell us a little bit about that Torrey. Yeah it's actually native to the gut. So everybody has some candida. But in certain situations like antibiotics or steroids like you had mentioned before, um, even like high stress or a really high processed or sugary diet, we can actually get overgrowth of that candida in the gut. So even one course of antibiotics, most people don't know this, um, one course of antibiotics can set you up on this path so it doesn't have to be multiple. It doesn't have to be. You know, I had five courses in a year. It can be one. Um, and research supports that. Just one course of antibiotics takes about 2 to 3 years for your microbiome. Just to go back to the baseline that it was at when before you started those. And most people's baseline is not that good anyway. So you're really knocking it down. Um, and so that Candida will damage the gut lining, which, you know, in our world we call that a leaky gut. Um, and the medical world, you probably call it intestinal permeability. So you get little holes poked in that lining. And then when you get those holes that fragments and toxins from that candida actually make their way out into the bloodstream, and then you get an immune response. And that can be the beginning of a lot of other situations in the body. One of those things can be eczema flare ups. And so um, this plays into even that. Mel is easy on the skin because it's going to impact the the external layer of the skin. It's also going to play into diet and what you eat, because the more sugar and um, you know, process carbohydrates, you feed that will feed that, that yeast overgrowth. Um, and so and it's all about making sure we get that good bacteria back in. So if you're not doing that or we're not killing off that yeast, then we can create a bunch of problems. So I would say in my clinical experience this is the most common. And then the mold and the Malaysia comes second to this. I feel like everyone that has fungal issues, it usually starts in the guide. And then sometimes you can have additional fungal issues on top of it. But. I think Candida and the god is a huge problem for eczema. Yep, absolutely. And we also have a problem with environmental fungal overgrowth. And that could be mold as we discussed earlier. And where I see mold is bathrooms obviously basements, even HVAC systems. So this is like your heating and cooling system in your home. That's kind of the centralized place where all of this air is going to flow through. And often there can be mold growing there. And the only way to really check that is to actually have someone come to your home. Um, and the mold releases the spores, these VOCs and mycotoxins that really affect people's health and early life. Exposure to visible mold is linked to atopic dermatitis. So pregnant women, as well as babies exposed to mold, have been shown to have an increased risk of having atopic dermatitis or eczema. And not everyone is sensitive to mold. So we do see that there are some genetics that we can look at that indicate, okay, this person may be more susceptible to mold. So you could have like five people living in the same house, maybe roommates. And like two people have a problem and the three people don't have as much of an issue. And that could be because of genetics. And so some people have, um, more mold sensitivity. And this can trigger chronic inflammation. It can suppress or over activate that immune system and definitely worsen eczema symptoms. So it's interesting how like, like people can live in the same house. And then some people are having all these symptoms and some people are having zero symptoms. And that's genetics, you know, um, so genetics can be a part of that. And then obviously it can also be the things that you're doing in your life to create more inflammation. The more inflammation you have in your body, the more the environment is going to also affect that inflammation. Okay. So um, so in your body is kind of where we start, but your environment is very, very important okay. Now these can all overlap. So you have the external the internal and the environmental yeast. And if they all overlap this is a big problem. Um, so you're going to get, you know, that leaky skin, you're going to get that leaky gut and the immune system is just going to be going haywire. And each of these feeds into one another and really creating that immune cascade that equals eczema okay. So when we say like. Eczema isn't really a skin problem. This is a problem that is going deeper in the system. Um, something is triggering a lot of inflammation. This is a big topic. Fungus. You know, uh, exposures and then also fungal overgrowth in our bodies. You know, how do you figure out that you have a fungal issue? Um, first off, working with practitioners who, you know, are versed in this, who understand, you know, that this could be an underlying part of the of the issue is very important because often you'll work with your pediatrician or your primary care doc, and they're not asking any of these questions. They might be saying, oh, you know, that looks like inflammation on the skin. Okay, let's just give you hydrocortisone or let's give you steroid cream. And not necessarily asking why is this happening. Okay. And that's what we do at Clean Body. You know, we want to uncover what is making the body toxic or dirty. And then let's clean that all up. So let's identify what those things are. So Tori, tell us a little bit about testing. What what can we do to confirm that there might be a fungal yeast problem. Yeah. So the first thing that we probably do, I would say with almost every single person is a comprehensive stool test. Um, and this is just one way we can evaluate the microbiome. And so we're looking at, of course, the state of the microbiome, the bacteria levels, the good and bad bacteria. But also if yeast itself shows up. And what I would say is that these tests aren't perfect. They don't catch all of it. So, um, you know, I think we have to take that in combination with, you know, what we see on the skin and the symptoms that the person is experiencing and kind of put those things together. But we can actually see yeast grow in a, in a stool culture where they actually culture the stool. We can see it also under a microscope, but it also can be a little bit like a needle in a haystack. Like if we don't catch it in that particular sample, it doesn't necessarily mean you don't have yeast overgrowth. Um, so that's something that is another reason you really need to work with somebody for that. Um, which brings us to the next test, which can be a good combination, is an organic acid test, because it's a different way that we can see mold and fungal exposure. We can see both, um, and it's actually a urine test, and it shows us metabolites in the system that can give us the clue that there's either mycotoxins or there's some fungal exposure. And so that can kind of help to to make sure if there's anything missed on the stool test, that we're also looking at it from a second angle. So that can be helpful. And then also once again looking at pictures of the skin and seeing the skin and what it looks like along with symptoms. So that's a good start. Um, we also have blood tests that we can look for and to go back to, uh, mold that Doctor Fang was just talking about. You can actually have a mold allergy. So that's something, um, that would make you more susceptible of course, to mold. Being an issue for you is if you're actually having an allergic response to it. And then some molds are just really toxic, like black molds like stalky. But those kinds of molds are going to be more toxic to everyone. So, um, some of those serum antibody tests can give us a clue on, on just your body's reaction to whatever fungus, yeast or mold is out there. So, um, that's something to think about. And then there's other tests for the skin you can actually skin scrape. And some people have had this done it, like the dermatologist where they're dermatologists will actually scrape the skin and look at it and kind of see what what is there and let us know. Um, and then we also have mycotoxin testing, which is another type of urine test to see if there is any spores that have created toxins that mold releases stored in the body. And so we actually have ways that we can see that. Um, and then of course your environment, you can always test, you can have a professional come in. But we also have a great company that we love called Immuno Sticks that you can actually test yourself. It's super easy. It's really affordable. It's a great starting place to just hey, like, I feel like I smell something musty in my bathroom. You can get a little petri dish from immuno for next to nothing. You literally set them down, you close them back up, you ship them in, and they will send you a report of the spores that they find. So that's a great company as well to just get started on for yourself and your own house. Yeah. And, um, I think it's important to is, you know, some people might say, oh, okay, now let me go and like, let me go and order all these tests and, and just run them myself. And then I'll figure out if I have a fungal issue. And then I'll just start treating myself with anti candida anti-malaria stuff. Um, but it can be hard to do that, especially to yourself because, you know, first off, looking at these tests is hard to understand. You know, what do I do with this information? Um, and, you know, and then, you know, treatment, you know, can be, um, tricky sometimes because we can have things like die off symptoms, um, which is where, you know, you start killing off bugs in your gut, and you start to get all these symptoms, like headaches and fatigue. And you could be thinking, oh, my gosh, I'm getting worse. When really you could be just having die off symptoms. And that's going to pass. And you know, so so it can be really important because I know some of these are potentially available for people to just order out there. And I know my patients are ordering sometimes, you know, a mycotoxin panel directly online somewhere. Um, but what do you do with information I think is the big question. Um, and then you can kind of get this information and feel super overwhelmed. Okay. So and we don't always need all of this testing is another thing we should say is that sometimes we just need a stool test. Sometimes we just sometimes we do want to see is there an allergic reaction to Malaysia or mold. And that's why you're having so much inflammation. And then we have to kind of address that allergic reaction. Um, you know, are there mycotoxins, you know, and and so we don't always test all of these either. Okay. Because it can be quite costly to do that. Okay. Um, so, you know, how do we then? Let's say we we figure out. Okay, someone's. And this is really common. We might see a dysbiosis in the gut. We might see a yeast culture showing that there's yeast in the stool test. We might see on an oat test we might see that there are, you know, um, uh, the products that are coming out are telling us, okay, there could be a yeast overgrowth in the body. And let's see what else we might find that there's an allergy to Malaysia. So like an IG to molasses in, let's say maybe an IG to like a mold. Okay. So then we are going to say okay, well let's hunt for mold in the house. And that's where Torie mentioned immuno Linux, which is um, a test that we like, uh, which you can download my new fungal guide. And that will kind of give you the links to a lot of these things, like the Amino Linux test and certain topicals that we're going to talk about in a bit. Okay, so we might hunt for mold in your home. And I'm, you know, Linux is kind of like that first line of mold testing. And then we might say, okay, yeah, there's mold there. Now we need to bring in a professional. We need to figure out where it's at. We need to remediate it because we can't just treat you because you might be being fed by that environmental mold. Right? So we need to start by okay, let's clean up the environment because we can do everything under the sun, including nutrition, which is what I'm about to talk about next. Um, but if you're living in a moldy place, we're not going to get very far. Okay, so, Tory, what kind of food should we avoid? Should we focus on when we have a fungal overgrowth or or even a fungal exposure in our environment? I think like the very biggest one, like if I were to like, reduce to one, it would be sugar. Um, and I would say that most people with yeast issues of any kind are craving it. So, um, it that's a sign like if you are a person that's like always craving sugar or like you, you feel like you have to have it. Um, you know, that can be a sign of that as well. But think of a sugary thing. So fruit juices, dried fruit, you know, the sugars concentrated, any even natural sweeteners. So that's going to include things like honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar usually like when we are trying to make desserts like healthier we'll tell you to swap. Cane sugar and use maple syrup, or use coconut sugar or maple sugar. And in this case, we don't want you having any of those, um, highly processed, uh, carbohydrate. So, uh, white bread, like really refined pasta, uh, you know, a lot of grains, like overdoing the grains and just a lot of starchy foods. And doesn't mean all of them have to go. It's just being super cognizant of the severity of your fungal issue. I think can can play into that. And I like to preface before going further, just to say like it's not forever, it's therapeutic and temporary. And I think some people get caught up in that like they do these elimination diets, and then they think like that's what fixed them and they stay on it forever and ever. And the second they eat like one bite of, you know, a cake, you know, it's like their skin goes crazy. It's because you never actually solved the problem. You're just removing what's feeding it. And so we need to actually remove what's feeding it but also treat the issue. So this should just be therapeutic. Um alcohol of any kind is going to be fermented. So that's going to have yeast. Um so wine and beer especially those are really going to be problematic. And then mold prone foods. So there's foods out there that, you know, typically get mold. Peanuts are, you know, in the shell. A lot of those have mold on it. Blue cheese is actually a moldy cheese. There's mushrooms that are like that. Aged meats, things like that. Anything with yeast. So, um, there's a lot of, you know, even food products that have yeast that can still be healthy foods. Nutritional yeast, for example. You will not want to put nutritional yeast on your meals if you have a fungal issue, because that's just going to feed that. Same thing with like kombucha, which I think a lot of people think is really good for my gut. I'm going to drink kombucha, and that's actually a lot of them have sugar. And it's also a yeast. So you're actually feeding more of that yeast. So um, vinegar based food. So think about even fermented foods in general. Probiotics can actually be really problematic. Um, not every strand of probiotics. But that's also why you would want to work with a practitioner, because some probiotics can actually be problematic. And in this situation. So, um, those are all a lot to think about. But start looking at your diet if this is you and just kind of what areas you're maybe partaking in some of these little too often. And that can be a clue as well. Yeah, this was a game changer for me when I had eczema. I grew up eating a ton of sugar and a ton of carbs, and I loved my white rice. And and when I changed my diet and started to starve out these bugs by removing a lot of these sugars and carbs, the white carbs that I used to eat a lot. It was a game changer for my skin. And I would get, you know, the mapping around my armpit signifying like yeast growing here. That's a nice, sweaty, dark place that yeast loves to grow. And those pieces of my eczema started to clear up my neck behind my, like on my neck where my hairline is. That's where a lot of sweat happens to. And I had that mapping that we talked about earlier that cleared up when I took out the sugars and the carbs, and Tori's right. I only had to do that until my skin got better, until I fed my microbiome in the right way and until I kind of killed off these bugs. And then, you know, and then I went to kind of a more normalized diet, but still not really, really not eating any sugar or anything. And it's amazing to me because I used to have like, soda and I wouldn't even think it was sweet. And now if I even have a sip of soda, I'm like, oh, this is so gross. This is so sweet. Like, I don't I don't even know how I used to drink this. Um, and that's what happened. So if you're someone who like super crave sugar, you eat sugar all the time. It will change because your bugs in your gut are craving the sugar. They're bugs in your gut are making you eat this sugar. Um, and I used to be, like, hangry. Like, if I did not eat, you know, um, a meal, I would be so hungry. And that was not just me. That was the bugs someone's asking about. Fruit. Is is fruit a part of this? So to what would you say here? I would say it really depends on the severity. I, I really don't like telling people to just like cut out fruit, fruits, super nutritious. It has a lot of fiber. It has a lot of micronutrients. It has polyphenols, which we talk about all the time as it really got healthy. So what I would say is it depends where you're at in your journey. Um, it's another reason to work with somebody. But if you are like eating fruit all day, every day to like, quell that sugar craving, like if you say, oh, I'm gonna quit eating sugar, but I'll just eat, you know, fruit all day, that's probably not going to be super helpful. Um, you can focus more on lower carb fruit, so think like berries, things like that, like green apples, as opposed to, like, more sugary fruits. Um, but I would say most people can do okay with some fruits, but not fruit juice and not dried fruit. So those are very, very concentrated when it comes to sugar. Um, and. Look at your relationship with fruit. Like I said, if you're doing it to to fulfill a sweet craving, that is more of a sign that it could be problematic because, um, you know, we want you to get rid of those sweet cravings. Essentially. That's a good sign that things are getting better. And someone's asking about sauerkraut. Well, sauerkraut is fermented, so I would say at the beginning of your journey, it's you would not want to partake in that. And it's not that it's not gut healthy. It is. It's great for the gut, for a gut that is ready for it. But that is probably one. If you have a fungal issue that you will feel pretty bloated after having it, and it can create some histamine responses as well. So, um, I would hold off on trying to bring in those fermented foods until you're a little bit further along in the journey. So, Tory, we're talking about foods that we should avoid, but food can be medicine. So what can we emphasize in the diet that might be antifungal that may actually help our fungal issue? Yeah. So garlic is a great one. Um, as long as you don't. It's also high Fodmap. So some people have some Fodmap issues. So be careful and just pay attention how you react to it. But it's a natural antifungal food. So um, garlic is great if you do well with it. Um, same thing with coconut oil. I would say some people do great with coconut oil, but, um, it's it's a good kind of fat that doesn't feed CML is easier actually. So it's the MCT type oil in it, and it's got copper like acid in it, which is antifungal. So that can be really great. Some people have a coconut sensitivity. So you have to take all of these things sort of with a grain of salt. Um, oregano is an anti uh, you know, fungal antimicrobial. And then we have all of those like great herbs that are like anti-inflammatory like turmeric and ginger, um, healthy fats, like olive oil, um, any kind of non starchy veggie is great fiber that's going to feed the healthy bugs, which the more healthy, good quality probiotic bugs you have in your gut, you're like crowding out. It's like pushing the bad guys out of the room. And that's what we want to do is create. But there's no space for them. Um, those lower carb fruits like we just briefly mentioned, berries, green apples, like lemon lime, those kinds of things. And then there's a wide variety of spices and herbs that you can just add to your food. Um, cloves or cinnamon. Um, onion is another Fodmap, so be careful of that one if you have any, you know, digestive response to that like gas or bloating. But if you don't, that can be good as well. Um, so that's just a few to get started. But, um, you know, we always push colors, rainbow plates, get those healthy proteins in, um, get those colors from different fruits and veggies. Um, and start there, you know, build your plate around that, that veggie fiber content. Really to start. Yeah. In my journey, I think it wasn't only the kind of starving out of the yeast, but it was the focusing on a lot of these, um, really great anti-inflammatory foods, antifungal foods, and just getting a lot of vegetables on my plate because I had half my plate. Used to be white rice. Being an Asian person, um, Filipino and Chinese. So, you know, I mean, rice is a is really a staple of our diets. And, um, and so, you know, getting the rice off of my plate or making that brown rice or changing that to vegetables was a big game changer for me that I really felt in my gut and in my skin. Okay. Yeah. All right. So when you are thinking topicals, um, you, uh, you are going to want to think, okay, if you're having that mapping, um, if you're having, uh, the hyperpigmentation of your skin like those, you know, lighter areas of your skin and you're thinking, okay, there might be yeast here. Um, you'll want to think about Malaysia and Malaysia. Yeast feeds on fatty acids with chain lengths of 11 to 24 carbons. So we want to avoid anything that is an oil that's going to gonna have chain links in those, um, departments. And, um. Uh, coconut oil is interesting because coconut oil has different parts to it. If you actually take out MCT oil, MCT oil is. Okay. Um, but we're going to want to avoid coconut oil just by itself. Um, olive oil, argan oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, soybean, wheat germ, flaxseed and linseed oil. And unfortunately, a lot of our eczema, ointments and creams all have these ingredients. Um, so if you find yourself putting some of these things on your skin and then you're just edgier, you're more inflamed, you're seeing things get worse. Um, then you might be thinking, okay, I need to think about Malaysia, but there are some oils that are actually safe for Malaysia. So MCT oil is actually derived from coconut, but it is a it's a medium chain triglycerides. So C8 through C10 is what we're wanting to think about here. And it also has acid which is actually antifungal. There's mild fungal antifungal activity with MCT oil. So it's a good carrier. Um or even just buying it separately, um, uh, is a good idea. And then just putting it on the skin. If you think that you have Malaysia and you want to get some moisturizing on. Squalene is a hydrocarbon that yeast can't digest. And it's actually, um, uh, kind of matching what we have normally in our, our skin. Um, so this is one that you can also use dimethyl silicones, jungle nut oil, hemp seed oil. Sunflower seed oil. Evening primrose oil. These are all possibilities. Um, probably my favorite is the MCT oil and the squalane, uh, as options. And you'll see a lot of products that might be out there for Malaysia will have these two as the main oils that, um, kind of give a little bit of moisture. Okay. Our top clean skin recommendations. Again, if you download our fungal um, eczema guide, you will get all of these links and everything but clean skin calm is a hypochlorite. Acid. Hypochlorite acid has antimicrobial activity. Um, first for staph aureus, which is a bacteria that is important in eczema, but also these yeasts as well. And then we want to think about probiotics for the skin. So Clean Skin Restore is a probiotic. So not only do we want to think about killing off this yeast, but we want to think, okay, why is the yeast over growing. Um, one because the skin is leaky, the gut is leaky, but two, because, um, the probiotics on our skin are probably not abundant. And if we are eating a lot of sugar or we're taking antibiotics, it is going to affect the microbes on our skin as well. Um, I like the Citrus Vital Cleanser and Spray, which is using grapefruit seed extract, which I really like for Malaysia. It is nice and gentle as well too. And then probiotic soaps. So we want to think like kill and replenish. Kill and replenish is the way I like to think of it. And when we work with people, we we will kind of figure out what the best option is for you because there's a lot of options out there. Um, and so we'll kind of figure, you know, we like to figure that out for people because not everything works. Um, you know, the first time around. All right. If you are interested in getting evaluated, um, Tori actually meets with everybody for eczema evaluations, which are initial evaluation. So we can just kind of understand what the root causes might be for you. The link is in my bio. You can click Book Evaluation. And right now because it's Eczema Awareness Month I am actually giving $50 off this evaluation. It's normally $97, but right now it's only 47. So if you're interested in just kind of understanding a little bit about where the root causes of your eczema might be coming from, um, definitely check that out and use the code aware that expires at the end of this month. And we do have a money back guarantee as well. So if you do that and you're like, hmm, that didn't help me at all, then you can ask for your money back and no questions asked. Okay. So we'd love to open it up to more questions now. And I'm going to go back because there were some questions, um, that people were asking. And so I'm going to go back and I didn't we didn't answer all of those. Okay. What about mold in the washing machine. How to get it out. Oh yeah, that's a really good one. So often for those front loading washers we find that there is a mold problem. Yeah. Um, top loading washers do better. I have a front loading washer, unfortunately, so I leave it open, uh, when I do my laundry after it's done, I leave it open to let it air out. Um, there is a company who. I think it's called micro balance. It's on if you go to clean health products. These are our product recommendations under um under home and office you'll see like anti mold products that are natural. And they actually make something that's natural that you can put in your washing machine and it will actually clean out the mold. So that's one option. Um, and then you might want to just think about changing your washing machine if you have a front loading washer. Um, there is a possibility, you know, for that um, live with the eczema doc, my podcast. I did interview a mold specialist and he made some really great recommendations, so I recommend looking at that episode. Um, if you have questions there. And Tori, do you have anything else to add? I was going to say the same thing. I used to have a front loader, and then we moved a couple of years ago and left the washer, and we got a top loader just because it was easier and we did the same thing. We would have to leave it open just to make sure. And I still do that now, even with my top, just to make sure there's it doesn't say like a bunch of moisture in there, but you'll see that they actually start to smell a little bit, even the front loader. So if you smell any nastiness, even if you don't see it, that's problematic. So make sure that you're checking and you're looking. Get a flashlight. Um, and that's super important because it is a prime place for mold. Yeah. And you're wearing all this mold, right? It's getting all over your clothes. Yeah. Um, someone's asking if you go looking for mold and tear down the house. Most people will find mold, right? If there is mold inside the house, but not visible, would that be toxic to someone's immune system? Um, so there is a high likelihood that almost every home has a little bit of mold. Um, especially in the basement or areas that are kind of dark and, you know. Allow that mold to grow your bathroom. If you don't have, like a ventilator or a window. And it's just kind of like the Musk just kind of stays in there. You may grow grow mold in there. Um, so we could potentially find it. The problem is, is it airborne? Are there spores kind of floating around the causing problems. So that's where that's where the testing comes into play. We're either doing like a petri dish or an army test where they're kind of like like getting the dust from the the floor and all that and seeing if it's kind of floating around. That's what we care about. Um, in, in your home and where where is that a problem? You might find mold on the outside of your house, and that may not be problematic just because, you know, if you're not being exposed to that. So it's really what's airborne. What are you breathing in? What are you being exposed to that we're going to care about. And that's what they're going to test when they um, when they do, uh, when they come to your home, they're going to check humidity and make sure that it's not super humid in your house so that, um, so that you don't have an environment that's really conducive to helping the mold grow. I would also say, like you mentioned this already earlier, Doctor Fang, but genetically speaking, it's like I can't remember 25% of the population that has actually a genetic disposition to have a bigger issue with mold. So you may not know that about yourself, but you could be one of those people. That's one out of four people. And so that little bit of mold will be more problematic for that person. And it also depends on the type of mold. So, you know, there are toxic molds like stocky buttress. And other black molds are very toxic for everyone. And then it also depends how much it's growing. So if it's thriving and just growing and growing and growing, that's going to be a lot bigger problem than something that's a little bit more contained. And so it's important to just investigate it because you're right, like, we can't read every place in the world of mold. And just depending on the state you live in or where in the country you are like it, there's going to be bigger problems in some areas as opposed to others. But, um, you know, if you also have a mold allergy, that's going to be more problematic. So there's a lot of layers to mold for sure. Someone's asking, would quinoa and millet be on the safe list to eat versus white rice? Yeah, I would say yes. Um, I would say once again it's, it's portion. So I, there should never really be like a plate where half of your plate is, is millet or quinoa. And then like a little portion of your plate is veggies. We'd want that. The opposite. Um, mostly veggies, small portion of the grains. Um, high fiber is good, but it also depends on where you are in your journey. Like I would say, we do sometimes have people that are severe enough that there could be a short window of time that we say, let's remove grains for a little while. Um, just to give us a little time to, to bring that yeast level down and to and to get more nutrient foods back in. Um, and give the body a break from all that inflammation. So it depends. But I do think it is within the realm of okay, for some people for sure. Um, someone saying my one year old yanks his wiener very often. Doctors said that most likely he's irritated and just continued to use a and that has not helped. Are there others? And then it said another doctor said it's eczema and to apply cortisone in that area. We are not comfortable with that. Okay. So in this area yeast loves to grow. Okay. This is a dark and and moist area and yeast does love to grow. So um I wouldn't just start using anti yeast products for a one year old, I would make sure that someone's assessing this for you and then, you know, um, recommending safe products and then, you know, thinking about what is that one year old eating? So we need, you know, think about that. Has a one year old had antibiotics, you know, do we need to rebuild the microbiome? Do we need to do some gut testing to see what's going on in there? Is it just in that area, or is there other areas that you're seeing under the armpits? Um, in the back of the neck? Uh, does the does the one year old have cradle cap? You know, cradle cap is actually, um, Malaysia that's growing like crazy. Okay. Which, um, we forgot to mention, but cradle cap is is part of that. It's like a separate dermatitis, but for babies. Okay, so we need to ask the right questions, and then we need to, um, you know, do some gentle things because we need to pay attention to that. This is A11 year old. Okay. My eight year old needs to see someone local. We've been working with a naturopath. Also went as far as flying to Chicago to visit, um, well rooted pediatric pediatrics. Okay. Are you taking new patients? We've already got a lot tested. Okay. Um, where are you? If you want to just, uh, if you're still here, if you want to just type, and then, um, I can tell you, um, if we can work with you and if you're local to us, um. Even if you're not local to us. We do see people virtually as well. All right. Is ozone needed? Jojoba oil also not good? Okay, so if someone has Malaysia there's two parts to ozone needed. Jojoba oil. Jojoba oil is not okay. The ozone part is partially okay because the ozone part actually is antimicrobial. But I would say overall it's probably not a good option if you think there's Malaysia just because that oil still could feed the Malaysia. So I would just use a different option. Although jojoba oil ozone is one of my favorites actually for eczema that that has to do with like let's say bacteria or like staff. Um, it does work. Well, um, but I might not use it if we think it's yeast related. Okay. You are in the Bay area. That's awesome. I am in the Bay area, so, uh, so I can see you, um, locally in Menlo Park. So I'm in Menlo Park, and often we do a combination of in-office and virtual depending on, like, how often I need to see you. Um, and, uh, Torie also sees people virtually. So it just kind of depends on what the picture looks like, whether the picture is very severe, whether it's, you know, mild to moderate. And we, you know, we don't need to do as severe, uh, um, of even evaluation and treatment. So it just kind of depends. And that's where the eczema evaluation comes in. That's where we kind of decide all of that. And you'll be meeting with Tori, and Tori will kind of evaluate and say, okay. Yep. You should be seeing Doctor Fong locally. And then the next person you'll meet is me after that. Okay. So um, again, that evaluation is, um, $50 off right now. So using that code aware and you can book that on my website at Clean Health or just click the link in my bio and then use that code aware. Okay. All right. And then is castor oil safe topically for eczema? Um, I love castor oil for eczema. Um, it's very, very sticky, but I don't love it for Melissa. Okay. So Melissa, it will feed. So again, it's about identifying what is the root cause of your eczema. Not everyone has a yeast problem. Although I will say there's a good majority of people that do. But not everyone has that yeast problem. So castor oil might be okay for those people. And often, um, you know, if there's a lot of mapping that mapping that flakiness, um, it just looks a little bit different. So that's where we we want to take a look at what the eczema looks like. Um, and then if you are reporting like, oh, I put these oils on and it gets more itchy and I get more irritated than we might say, okay, let's not use castor oil, let's use something else like MCT oil. Okay. Someone's asking, what about stinky feet? So, um, interestingly enough, when you do have any stink on your body, that's often a microbiome imbalance. And that can be related to both bacteria and yeast overgrowth in the body and absolutely with stinky feet. Um, I will have to say that when I had eczema, my feet were pretty stinky. And when my yeast was going crazy and like I had the eczema on my armpits, on the neck. I also had stinky feet and so any stank on the body, B.O. as well can be indicative of a microbiome imbalance. And so absolutely that we'll want to think about all of that. And yeast as well. Someone's asking can they do a vinegar wash? Um, now sometimes a vinegar wash is just too harsh. Um, it's not really the first place I would go, um, for, especially if someone has eczema. Uh, doing a vinegar wash might be very, very harsh on the system. Um, I like to do, you know, potentially, like, very low level hydrogen peroxide baths is one thing I like to do. Um, um, and then using, um, like in the guide citrus cleanser, which is a grapefruit seed extract cleanser, which is very, very gentle. I like that one too. So, you know, I like to kind of pick and choose based on who I'm dealing with. Am I dealing with like a one year old? Am I dealing with a ten year old or a 60 year old, you know, so that it'll change what we're going to, what we're going to do? How long usually for elimination diets, clean eating, no processed added sugar, etc.. And when do you start reintroducing foods? Torie, I'll let you take that one. How long? I think, uh, is individualized. So I would say at least a few months would be for most people. Um, and how would we decide how long would be. What's happening with your symptoms? So. Um, we want to be, once again, simultaneously treating the condition, not just eliminating food and doing nothing else. And then we know to bring back food when things are getting to a place where resilience is built, the skin is less reactive. You're having less flare ups like you, you're starting to see all of these positive things changing and not just in the skin, but the guy all all the other organ systems. And that's giving us a clue that the body's probably ready to bring food back. Yep. Absolutely. Yeah. And we want to stress that, like, this is not a forever thing where we're going to ask you to avoid all of these, you know, sugary foods and, and carbs. I mean, we're going to want you to definitely not eat a lot of sugar just in your life moving forward. Right. But that. Yeah, for health reasons. But, um, where we have to be a little more severe, where maybe even some fruits need to be taken out, we usually stop that, you know, when the body is doing really well. And that is different for everybody. Um, and I think that. We do often see people who have been trying to do this on their own and they're just like, okay, I can only eat five things, otherwise my eczema triggers and that's not healthy, right? We need to get a very, a very diet. We need to get a lot of different nutrients. And so even though let's say and people have done this, they've come to my practice, they're like, I'm only I'm doing a carnivore diet, I'm only eating meat, I'm not eating any carbs or anything like that. And yes, maybe their eczema gets better for a short time, but then they end up getting constipated and then their eczema comes back with a vengeance and they're like, I'm not sure why, because I was doing great on this diet. Well, you know, that is not necessarily a healthy diet for you, maybe. And and it's not varied enough for, for you to get all the nutrients you need. And so it could have done a good job in the beginning because you're not feeding those bugs. But now it's it's not good. Right. So we can't ever restrict the diet for a long period of time. And that's where working with someone can be really important. Because you may just be like, this is the diet I need to do for the rest of my life, and that's going to be unhealthy for you. Yeah, absolutely. It's established to avoid lotions when wet, oozy and fungal. What about dryness? What's the recommendation for that? Um, so, like I said, there are oils that you can use if you want to kind of appease that dryness that are going to be okay. So I would be okay with those. And then often that dryness is a good sign that maybe things are kind of healing, especially if the redness is coming down. So there is a type of treatment called no moisture treatment that when it's right we might say, okay, it's better to not put moisture at all. Like just let it be dry, let it dry out. And then for some people I might say, okay, use MCT oil or use squalane. Use something to just help it to feel better so it doesn't feel so dry. Um, again, it's all on a case by case basis, and we have to analyze what is actually going on with you to really make that determination. If the dry skin is so uncomfortable, if it's a child, let's say. And. And the child is so uncomfortable. Um, then then we might want to give them something to kind of bring some waster. Okay. Um. Someone's asking probiotic Saccharomyces. Berardi. Okay. For Candida. I'll let Tori take that one, since that's partly nutrition. I would say no. Um, it it's a yeast. So even though it's, you know, a healthier yeast and, you know, can be good for the microbiome, I would say as a general rule, if you have a yeast issue, feeding more yeast into that yeast is not a good idea. So I would stay away from it. And a lot of people come to us on it because they've researched or read about it or seen something about it. And you could be aggravating and making your situation worse. So, um, be careful with those things. All right. Well, thank you everyone so much for joining in. And, um, and asking all your questions. And, and that's what we're here for is to answer all those, because I know that eczema can be a difficult thing to navigate because with your practitioner you may not be getting these questions answered. But I do want to remind you that all of this information is for educational purposes only. This is not medical advice. It's important to get evaluated individually, and if you want to do that, then definitely consider booking an evaluation with us. You will first meet with um with Tori. She will do the evaluation and kind of analyze what the root causes are. And right now it's normally $97. It's only $47. So use the code aware if you're interested in that. And then we can kind of decide what's the best route for you depending on your budget, whether you have insurance, where you live, what your severity is, etc., there's options to work with Tori. There's options to work with me. So, um, so we kind of figure that out together with you. Okay. Thank you for joining live with the eczema doc. I hope today's episode provided you with valuable insights and tools to support your journey to healing your skin from within. For more information, visit. eHealth or check the links in the podcast description. You'll find the studies and resources discussed today on my blog. You can also take my free Eczema Root Cause Assessment to uncover potential triggers, or download my free Eczema Relief Guide for quick, practical tips to calm flare ups and help with your sleep. If you found this episode helpful, please remember to like, subscribe and share the podcast to help others on their healing journey. And if you'd like to stay updated with future episodes, please turn on your notifications so you don't miss a thing. Please remember, this podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider or book a consultation with me before making any changes to your health care regimen. Use the code live 30 to enjoy 30% off as a thank you for tuning in. When you clean your body, you heal your skin from within. Thank you again for listening and I'll see you next week.