KC Meat Up

Eczema and the Carnivore Diet

By Jeffrey M. Barber

Personal stories, not medical advice. If you take medication (especially for blood sugar, blood pressure or mood), change your diet with your doctor in the loop.

What it feels like

Your skin cracks and bleeds. You scratch in your sleep. You've tried every cream, and the steroid tubes keep getting stronger. The people below have lived with it since they were babies.

Real people, real stories (N=1)

Can the Carnivore Diet Cure Severe Eczema? Bradley Marshall's Story. · Bradley Marshall · Watch on YouTube

  • Bradley Marshall says he was born with eczema and battled it through his life with steroid creams. YouTube
  • Bradley Marshall says 26 years of eczema resolved after 14 weeks on a lion diet. YouTube

Jessie M got rid of eczema, inflammation, and pains that he had for years on a carnivore lifestyle · Jessie M (with Dr. Shawn Baker) · Watch on YouTube

  • Jessie M tells Dr. Shawn Baker he has had eczema throughout his body since birth. YouTube
  • Jessie M says carnivore cleared up his eczema, and his hands no longer split and bleed in winter as a flatbed truck driver. YouTube

Conquering Eczema with Carnivore: Robyn's Transformation Story@CarnivorousGrama · Robyn (with Adrian Gledhill) · Watch on YouTube

  • Robyn describes dyshidrotic eczema that made her hands blister and crack open. YouTube
  • Robyn says it's clear to her now that her eczema 'feeds on sugar,' because adding certain foods back makes it flare. YouTube

ECZEMA (Improve or Reverse Your Eczema NOW) 2026 · Dr. Ken Berry · Watch on YouTube

  • Dr. Ken Berry says many of his patients improved their eczema and stopped medications, starting by removing grains. YouTube

The True Cause of Eczema & How to Heal · Dr. Paul Saladino · Watch on YouTube

  • Dr. Paul Saladino says tomatoes still trigger his own eczema within three or four days, even peeled and seeded. YouTube
Read the full notes

Bradley Marshall, on How To Carnivore. Can the Carnivore Diet Cure Severe Eczema? Bradley Marshall's Story, at 1:05 "Growing up I always had eczema. I was kind of born with eczema." At 4:04: "26 years of suffering with eczema was rectified by 14 weeks of trying a lion diet."

Jessie M, on Dr. Shawn Baker's podcast. Watch at 0:28 "I have eczema, I have it throughout my body." At 12:29: "I cleared up my eczema." As a flatbed truck driver handling straps in winter, his hands used to split and bleed.

Robyn, on Adrian Gledhill's channel. Conquering Eczema with Carnivore: Robyn's Transformation Story, at 6:19 She describes dyshidrotic eczema that made her hands "blister and crack open." At 11:01: "it's very clear to me now that this eczema feeds on sugar," because adding certain foods back makes it flare.

Our thesis

Our thesis: We think eczema is often an immune reaction that food can feed, and that a simple meat-based elimination diet may calm the skin for some people by removing sugar and plant triggers. This is understudied for carnivore: we know of no controlled trial of a carnivore diet for eczema. The research cited here is a survey and a review of steroid withdrawal, not a diet trial.

The bet

  • A directional shift. The stories above come from real people, on camera and in their own words. They are anecdotes, but they point the same way, and we think that's worth taking seriously.
  • Lower risk with your doctor in the loop. Eating meat, eggs, salt and water for a set trial period is a reversible experiment. Stopping strong topical steroids after long use can cause a withdrawal reaction, and prednisone must be tapered, so any change goes through your doctor. The trial happens with your doctor in the loop, not around them; see the Safety check above for the details.
  • Why the research is thin. Randomized trials are built for drugs and are expensive. No one can patent a steak, so the industry has little incentive to fund primal-diet research. A missing trial isn't proof that it works, and it isn't proof that it doesn't.
  • The primal lens. The human body was shaped long before refined sugar, seed oils and ultra-processed food existed. We see the modern diet as the uncontrolled experiment, and a meat-based trial as a step back toward the conditions our biology evolved in.

Overview: the condition, holistically

Eczema (atopic dermatitis) is a chronic, itchy inflammation of the skin, often starting in childhood and often alongside asthma and allergies. Commonly discussed contributors include genetics, a weak skin barrier, the immune system, irritants, stress and, for some people, foods. Standard care includes moisturizers, topical steroids and other creams, and for severe cases biologic drugs such as dupilumab, JAK inhibitors or other immune-suppressing medicines.

How carnivore is claimed to help

What advocates say, attributed to them:

  • Subtract the triggers. At 4:40 Dr. Ken Berry says he's had "many many patients" improve their eczema "and be able to stop many medications," starting with getting grains out of their lives.
  • Some plants don't agree with some people. At 0:38 Dr. Paul Saladino says that even peeled and seeded, tomatoes still give him eczema "within three or four days."
  • Sugar feeds it. That's Robyn's own conclusion above, from adding foods back one at a time.

Doctors and advocates

  • Dr. Ken Berry

    Family physician; lists diet changes he says help his eczema patients.

  • Dr. Paul Saladino

    MD; says he has eczema himself and that tomatoes still trigger it within days.

  • Dr. Shawn Baker

    Carnivore advocate and podcast host; hosts Jessie M's eczema story.

Read the full notes

Dr. Ken Berry, family physician. Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@KenDBerryMD

Dr. Paul Saladino, physician. Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Paulsaladinomd

Dr. Shawn Baker, orthopedic surgeon. Channels: https://www.youtube.com/@ShawnBakerMD and https://www.youtube.com/@DrShawnBakerPodcast

  • Hosts Jessie M's eczema story above.

Questions to ask your doctor

Ask: "How should we taper my topical steroids or other eczema treatment if my skin improves?" "Could a food trigger be part of my eczema, and how would we test that safely?" Not sure your concerns are being heard? See when to question the advice.

Try it

  • Go through the Safety check above with your doctor before you start.
  • Don't stop strong topical steroids or other eczema medicines on your own; taper with your dermatologist.
  • Eat fatty meat, eggs, salt and water. Add foods back one at a time and watch your skin.
  • Plan meals with the KC Meatup calculator, and find KC butchers and clinicians in the directory.
  • Take weekly photos so you and your doctor can judge a 90-day trial.
Plan your meat with the calculator

Not medical advice

Personal stories, not medical advice. If you take medication (especially for blood sugar, blood pressure or mood), change your diet with your doctor in the loop.

Sources

Research

  • Hajar T et al. (2015). A systematic review of topical corticosteroid withdrawal ("steroid addiction") in patients with atopic dermatitis and other dermatoses. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2014.11.024. Reviews reports of skin reactions after stopping topical steroids, mostly after long-term use of potent ones. It's why any taper belongs with your dermatologist.
  • Lennerz BS et al. (2021). Behavioral Characteristics and Self-Reported Health Status among 2029 Adults Consuming a "Carnivore Diet." Current Developments in Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzab133. A survey of carnivore eaters' self-reported health. Self-reported, no control group.

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