The chronic autoimmune disease of the skin known as psoriasis can cause significant loss of quality of life, poor self image, and depression and is also known to impact other chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and so on.
Various treatments such as application of topical creams and ointments, phototherapy and other systemic agents as well as an appropriate psoriasis diet can be implemented for effective management of the condition.
Psoriasis diet and lifestyle changes are thought to significantly impact outcomes of the disease, since this is a lifelong condition that currently has no definitive cure.
Vegetarian diets, lower energy diets, and certain dietary supplements as part of a psoriasis diet, as well as fasting periods are known to help relieve symptoms of the condition.
Obesity, alcohol consumption, smoking, exercise, stress and sleep disturbances are known to exacerbate psoriasis symptoms.
The fact is that there are no hard and fast rules as regards a psoriasis diet, except some general guidelines that can be tried in order to see what can work best for a given person.
Things to avoid in a Psoriasis diet
While many psoriasis sufferers report positive outcomes from eliminating non vegetarian foods from their diet, others report better outcomes due to other eliminations such as gluten from their diet. By selective elimination of different foods from one’s diet, one can determine what foods are responsible for flare ups, so that they can be avoided.
Whether in aid of a psoriasis diet or otherwise it is always wise to eliminate highly refined foods, canned foods, hydrogenated fats, high sugar content foods, and so on, to restore good health as well as to reduce inflammation in the body that is known to exacerbate conditions such as psoriasis.
What to include in a psoriasis diet
Some experts believe that psoriasis is caused by certain environmental and other toxins building up in the system and that plenty of water intake is one of the ways to eliminate these toxins from the system. Granular lecithin is known to help if made part of a psoriasis diet.
Certain vitamin supplements are known to help with psoriasis management – Vitamins B complex, vitamins A, E and C are known to improve outcomes. Also fish oil supplements and other herbal supplements such as Slippery Elm are thought to help. Plenty of fruit and vegetables, if possible should be eaten raw so as to preserve their nutrients. Many experts recommend a high fiber diet for the condition.
