If you're living with eczema or psoriasis, you already know the drill. The itching that won't quit. The flaky patches you try to hide under long sleeves. The endless rotation of creams and prescriptions that manage symptoms but never get to the root of the problem. We get it, and we want you to know that you're not alone.
What if healing your skin actually started in your gut? A growing body of research shows that the foods we eat play a much bigger role in skin health than most of us realized. That's where the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet comes in. For many people dealing with inflammatory skin conditions, AIP has become a powerful tool for calming flare-ups, reducing redness, and finally finding relief.
The Gut-Skin Connection Is Real
Here's something your dermatologist might not have mentioned: your gut and your skin are in constant communication. Scientists call this the "gut-skin axis," and it describes the bidirectional relationship between your gastrointestinal system and your skin. When one is out of balance, the other often suffers too.
Research published in 2025 in the journal Gut Microbes confirmed that imbalances in gut bacteria can lead to barrier dysfunction, activating inflammatory pathways that show up as skin problems. Think of your gut lining as a gatekeeper. When it's healthy, it keeps the right things in and the wrong things out. But when that barrier gets compromised, inflammatory compounds can escape into your bloodstream and trigger immune responses throughout your body, including your skin.
A 2025 study published in Scientific Reports found that people with atopic dermatitis had significantly higher levels of leaky gut biomarkers compared to healthy controls. The severity of their skin symptoms directly correlated with the degree of gut barrier disruption. In other words, the worse the gut, the worse the skin.
This matters because both eczema and psoriasis involve an overactive immune response. Your body is essentially attacking itself, and that inflammatory cascade often starts with what's happening in your digestive system. Healing the gut can help quiet that immune response, and that's exactly what AIP is designed to do.
How AIP Targets Skin Inflammation
The Autoimmune Protocol works by temporarily removing foods known to irritate the gut lining, trigger immune reactions, or promote inflammation. For skin conditions specifically, several categories of eliminated foods are particularly relevant.
Nightshades like tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and eggplant contain alkaloids and glycoalkaloids. As we covered in our blog on the science of nightshades, these compounds are associated with increased intestinal permeability. A 2017 national survey found that people with psoriasis reported the most symptom improvement after reducing alcohol, gluten, and nightshades, all of which are eliminated during AIP.
Gluten is another significant player. Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity have been linked to several skin conditions. Even without a celiac diagnosis, many people find that removing gluten leads to noticeable improvement. Dairy, eggs, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and refined sugars round out the elimination list. For a deeper look at why specific foods like tomatoes are excluded on AIP, check out our ingredient deep dives.
At the same time, AIP emphasizes nutrient-dense foods that actively support skin repair. Wild-caught fish provides anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. Leafy greens deliver antioxidants that protect skin cells. Bone broth supplies collagen and amino acids that help rebuild both gut and skin barriers. Fermented foods like sauerkraut introduce beneficial bacteria that support a healthy gut microbiome.
What the Research Says About AIP and Skin Conditions
While large-scale clinical trials on AIP for skin conditions are still limited, the existing research is encouraging. Dr. Lucy Mailing, a microbiome researcher, used AIP to heal her own chronic eczema after nineteen years. Her experience inspired a formal pilot study examining how AIP affects skin symptoms, gut bacteria, short-chain fatty acid production, and intestinal permeability in eczema and psoriasis patients. If you want to understand the full framework of AIP, check out our guide on what AIP really means and why it matters for your gut.
Previous AIP studies have shown promising results for other autoimmune conditions. A 2017 pilot study on AIP for inflammatory bowel disease found that 73 percent of participants achieved clinical remission by week six. While IBD is a gut condition, the underlying immune mechanisms overlap significantly with eczema and psoriasis. AIP addresses the dietary factors that research has confirmed worsen skin conditions.
Getting Started with AIP for Your Skin
Starting AIP can feel overwhelming, especially when you're already dealing with the daily frustrations of a skin condition. We always recommend working with a healthcare provider who understands the protocol, but here are some practical steps to help you begin.
The elimination phase typically lasts at least 30 days, though many practitioners recommend 60 to 90 days for skin conditions since skin cell turnover takes time. During this phase, you'll remove all potentially inflammatory foods and focus on nutrient-dense whole foods. Skin healing doesn't happen overnight, and some people experience a brief adjustment period before improvements show up.
Keep a symptom journal from day one. Track what you eat, how your skin looks, your energy levels, and your digestion. This information becomes invaluable when you move into the reintroduction phase and start testing foods one at a time.
One of the biggest challenges on AIP is the feeling that you can't enjoy treats or comfort foods anymore. We know that feeling well, and it's why we created our AIP-compliant baking mixes. Whether you're craving something sweet like our Dark Choconot™ Fudge Cake & Muffin Mix or want a comforting cookie with our Foatmeal Cookie Mix, having treats that are completely free of grains, eggs, dairy, nuts, nightshades, and soy means you don't have to sacrifice joy while you're healing.
Foods That Support Skin Healing on AIP
Eliminating trigger foods is one half of the equation. Actively nourishing your body with skin-supportive nutrients is equally important. Fatty fish like wild-caught salmon and sardines deliver omega-3 fatty acids that help regulate the inflammatory response driving eczema and psoriasis flare-ups. Aim for two to three servings per week.
Sweet potatoes and other orange vegetables are loaded with beta-carotene, which your body converts to vitamin A for skin cell production and repair. Organ meats, particularly liver, deliver vitamin A, zinc, and B vitamins that all play critical roles in skin health and immune function.
Bone broth deserves special attention for skin conditions. The collagen, glycine, and glutamine in bone broth support both gut lining repair and skin barrier function. Sipping a warm cup daily is one of the simplest habits you can adopt during AIP. And fermented vegetables like sauerkraut and coconut yogurt help repopulate your gut with beneficial bacteria, directly supporting the gut-skin axis we talked about earlier.
The Emotional Side of Skin Conditions and Diet Changes
We'd be doing you a disservice if we didn't acknowledge how emotionally draining chronic skin conditions can be. The itching, the visible patches, and the frustration of treatments that don't work can take a serious toll. Adding a dietary change on top of all that can feel like one more burden.
But here's what we've seen time and again in our community: when people start to see their skin improve, it changes everything. The relief isn't just physical. It's the confidence of wearing short sleeves again, sleeping through the night without scratching, and feeling like you finally have some control over what's happening in your body.
AIP isn't about perfection, and it isn't forever. The elimination phase is temporary, and the goal is always to reintroduce as many foods as your body can handle. If you're missing the comfort of baked goods, we created our baking mixes for exactly this reason. Our Chewy Choconot Brownie Mix and Sugar Cookie Mix are fully AIP-compliant and free from the top allergens. Healing shouldn't mean giving up every food that brings you happiness.
Moving Forward with Hope
The connection between gut health and skin health is no longer a fringe idea. Researchers worldwide are confirming what many in the AIP community have known for years: food matters, and the right dietary changes can make a meaningful difference for eczema and psoriasis. We're not saying AIP is a cure, and we encourage you to work alongside your healthcare team. But what you eat has the power to support healing in ways that creams and prescriptions alone sometimes can't.
If you're ready to explore how AIP might help your skin, learn about the phases of the AIP diet. Stock your kitchen with nutrient-dense whole foods and a few AIP-compliant treats so you always have something delicious on hand. Be patient and kind with yourself along the way. Your skin is your body's largest organ, and it's trying to tell you something. Maybe it's time to listen.
