My last post on our own journey was quite a while back. A LOT has happened since then.

This has been a really eventful year but in a much better sense than it has been over the past few years. This is the year when we saw a glimpse of how eczema can simply fade away when the root cause is treated and the body heals. This is the year when I completed my nutrition and dietetics course but more importantly I also completed my Functional Medicine Health Coach certification from the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy.

All those who have been following my blog know that it has not been an easy road that has led me here. It has been a struggle to say the least not knowing for sure that the treatment and the offbeat path I was following for my  daughter’s eczema would even work or not. This was a treatment which would work from inside out by strengthening her immune and digestive systems by providing the right conditions for her body to heal. That our body has an innate power to heal itself given the right conditions is something that we probably have witnessed to some extent or other but rarely give much importance to.

The path that I chose takes a much longer time, effort and involvement. Because of this reason and also due to a lack of awareness is why we usually seek out conventional medicine as a “quick fix”. I had the same approach to our health till our daughter’s health got affected really badly. 

Don’t get me wrong, antibiotics and steroids and other drugs have saved millions of lives and they will continue to do so. But this same approach does not work well for chronic health conditions. The other problem is that we take our bodies and our health for granted at times due to our busy schedules. And then when things go wrong we usually end up looking for a quick and painless solution.

But I am digressing here.

Eczema and our lives now

First I would like to give an update about the treatment and our daughter’s eczema today. The Functional Medicine treatment that I had started exactly 2 years ago has now started showing some results. It has been a slow and gradual healing journey (which is not yet over) but then I guess it works only when it actually becomes a way of life. I have written various posts on what this treatment is all about earlier and you can check them out.

Functional Medicine treatment in our daughter’s case focussed on healing her gut and the issue of intestinal permeability primarily through dietary changes but also with the help of various supplements. We followed a 5 R framework- remove, replace, reinoculate, repair and rebalance. Over time this has helped her digestive and immune system to recover and become more strong and also balanced. Her skin has showed the results on the outside by becoming smooth and soft. For the first time in many years, we have been sleeping well as a family and through the night. As any parent with a child suffering from eczema will tell you, that is a luxury!

Of course, this does not mean that we can stop doing our work and that her skin condition can never become worse again. Her skin is her weak point in the immune system and may flare up when there is a trigger (in terms of food, toxins, stress etc) and she will always have to be careful. She is still on her immunosuppressive medication, Methotrexate but it is at half the dosage as earlier at 5 mg. Also I need to tell you that we have had a minor setback since coming back from our US trip this month. We spent about 2 months there during the kids’ summer break and even with lapses in her dietary restrictions (excluding gluten which does not suit her at all), her skin condition was at its best in a long time inspite of the sun exposure and other uncontrollable factors during traveling. But ever since after we came back her skin condition became a bit rough and itchy overall. What had changed for her was the environment and everyday stress and her body is taking some time to acclimatise and settle down.

This was a real eye opener for me. This incident showed that even when her diet had improved since being at home, changes in the external environment (read water and air pollution) had a big impact on her skin condition. I immediately ramped up her antioxidant levels to combat the external stressors through a combination of diet (cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and other leafy greens like spinach) as well as supplements like vitamin C and cucurmin and Hist D Jr. The last one has ingredients like quercetin ( a natural antioxidant), NAC (an amino acid which is a precursor to one of the most important antioxidant in our body called glutathione) and vitamin C ( a natural immune booster, anti oxidant and histamine lowering vitamin). Her skin has subsequently improved quite a bit and is settling down. I am keeping a close watch on how she is over the next few weeks or so.

On a more personal note 

Over the past few years of dealing with my daughter’s health related problems I realised a couple of things. One, initially I learned all about eczema so that I could help my daughter but after a while I realised that I had a genuine interest in knowing how to create health and apply it to our lives. The other realisation was that I wanted to bring this information to help and guide others in moving towards their own health and life goals. One thing led to another and my quest for knowledge led me to the Functional Medicine Health Coaching course which has turned out to be the perfect fit for me.

I enrolled with Functional Medicine Coaching Academy (FMCA) which is a US based organisation. FMCA is offering this course in collaboration with the main body for Functional Medicine, Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM). I  completed the course last month and I am proud to say that I am India’s first certified FM Health Coach!

“A Health Coach is someone who really listens to you, focusses on what is right with you, supports and guides you”.

As a Health Coach I will thus be providing customised guidance and support for various chronic health conditions on

– nutrition and hydration

-exercise and movement

-sleep and relaxation

-social relationships and connections

-mindfulness and stress management

Functional Medicine Health coaching – a new beginning

I am in the process of setting up a clinic with Dr Amrita Talwar (my daughter’s dermatologist) in Mumbai. I will also be having my own practice at the address mentioned below-

Nourish. Heal. Connect

Lodha Supremus

Unit 804, 8th floor,

2 Senapati Bapat Marg, Opp Kamala Mills

Mumbai 400013

The setup for dealing with chronic conditions is quite different from that of dealing with conventional medicine due to the time and commitment required both from me and the person involved. I am in the process of setting up my practice with the help of latest technological platforms relevant to coaching which are suited to dealing with chronic conditions. I am also in the process of customising relevant dietary guidelines for Indian conditions and sensitivities. In case you are interested in reaching out to me for health coaching for any chronic health conditions, please feel free to write to me at

anindita@aninditarungta.com 

You can also reach out to me at

Twitter: @aninditarungta

Fb: @healthcoachinindia

As someone wise had said, “You have got a new story to write. And it looks nothing like your past”. 

This is definitely true for me and it is equally true for you!