Best Food for Psoriasis

Best Food for Psoriasis

by | Aug 22, 2019 | Food Allergies and Special Diets

Best Food for Psoriasis: How Diet May Improve Your Psoriasis

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In 2017, a team of researchers from the San Francisco School of Medicine’s Department of Dermatology, University of California found that reduced alcohol consumption and a gluten and nightshades free diet improved the symptoms of Psoriasis. Additionally, a diet that contained fish oil, Vitamin D, and vegetables also proved effective in the treatment for this skin condition.

More than 1200 individuals from the National Psoriasis Foundation were surveyed with 61 questions on their food habits and dietary practices. The researchers published the findings in Dermatologic Therapy May 2017 issue. People with psoriasis consumed less sugar, dairy products, and fiber to reduce their symptoms.

Along with it, a reduced quantity of alcohol, members of the nightshade family, such as peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant also helped them to curb down the skin shedding process effectively.

Furthermore, the survey also revealed that people with psoriasis alleviated their symptoms by including fish oil, vegetables, and vitamin D in their regular meals. These foods acted like natural cures for psoriasis.

Does Food Trigger Psoriasis Symptoms?

Nutrition is one of the biggest players in fighting against several health problems, including Psoriasis. Although food is not the only trigger that boosts the symptoms of Psoriasis (stress and bad weather can also be one of them), certain foods do flare up the condition.

While medical treatments often reduce the rapid skin cell production in order to curb the symptoms down, psoriasis is a lifelong condition and has no cure. Therefore, lifestyle changes and shifts in dietary habits are the only home remedies of psoriasis that you can include without worrying about the side effects of modern medications.

Choosing anti-inflammatory foods, eliminating gluten, and choosing low-calorie ingredients showed signs of improvement in the surveyed members.

High anti-oxidant foods, along with weight loss and remedies to reduce inflammation can also help relieve the symptoms effectively.

TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicines are herb-based treatments that can help you reduce inflammation naturally. Chinese herbs like Indica Naturalis and Aloe Vera are widely used in China to treat various skin conditions, including psoriasis.

Foods to Avoid for Psoriasis

You must avoid foods that trigger inflammation and weaken the immune system, such as:

Processed Foods

Processed foods are high in calories, trans fat and saturated fats. Consuming processed foods can lead to weight gain, low metabolism, metabolic syndrome, and other health conditions, including inflammation. Foods you must avoid to processed food intake include pre-packaged foods, canned foods, processed meats, packaged bakery products, and foods high in salt, sugar, and fat.

Nightshades

Nightshade plants and veggies are rich in solanine. Solanine is a compound that causes indigestion and promotes inflammation in persons with psoriasis. The National Psoriasis Foundation states that Nightshades can trigger the symptoms of psoriasis. Examples of foods classified as nightshades are tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and eggplant.

Gluten Rich Food

People with psoriasis could also become gluten sensitive. There are certain health conditions that are characterized by autoimmunity to gluten. So, you must avoid all foods that have gluten, such as wheat, rye, barley, and malt-based foods. You should also avoid foods that contain wheat, barley, and malts, such as pasta, vermicelli, semolina, baked goods, and noodles, sauces and condiments, and malt beverage like beer. These foods all contain gluten.

Alcohol

Psoriasis is an auto-immune health condition, which means it is directly linked to the immune system. Alcohol has the potential to disrupt your immune system and therefore, you must restrict alcohol every day.

Foods that People with Psoriasis Can Consume Every day

A diet high in anti-inflammatory foods can act as a natural cure for psoriasis, and such foods include:

Fruits and Vegetables

Most fruits and veggies are rich in antioxidants and are anti-inflammatory. Both are essential compounds to decrease stress and inflammation. anti-inflammatory, omega 3 fatty acids. contain a high amount of anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidants include broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts, cherries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapes, and other dark fruits, and leafy greens, such as spinach, kale, and arugula.

Fish

Among all meat-based products fish is the best for health. You must have those fishes that provide your body the necessary anti-inflammatory, omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids promote good health and reduce both internal and external inflammation. You can have salmon, sardines, trout, and codfishes to treat your psoriasis naturally.

Healthy Oils

Certain vegetable oils also contain anti-inflammatory, omega 3 fatty acids, for example. Try including olive oil, coconut, flax seed, and safflower oils in your diet. However, do not have oils that contain a high amount of omega 6 fatty acids.

Dr. Pragno Diet

Dr. Pragno, in his book, Healing Psoriasis: The Natural Alternative describes how a healthy lifestyle and a good diet can improve the symptoms of psoriasis. His approach includes consuming fruits and vegetables in high quantities, having grains, meats, seafood, eggs, and dairy in moderate quantity, and avoiding red meat, nightshades, and processed foods completely.

Vegan and Mediterranean diets also seem to help in treating the skin problem.

Reach out to your nutritionist for more clarity on how you can control your condition through food habits.

Author Bio:

Emylee Modest is a wellness lifestyle writer. She loves sharing her thoughts and personal experiences related to natural remedies, yoga and fitness through her writing. Emylee currently writes for How To Cure. She can connect with others experiencing health concerns and help them through their recovery journeys through natural remedies.

Other articles from Homeschooling Dietitian Mom:

Why are Kids Picky Eaters?

Does Food Affect Autism?

High Protein Meals

6 Reasons You Need Vitamin B6

Lactose Intolerance or Cow's Milk Allergy?

Foods that Contain Gluten

Foods that Contain Gluten

by | Nov 13, 2018 | Food Allergies and Special Diets


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Foods that contain gluten often cause digestive difficulties in sensitive persons, especially those diagnosed with Autism and ADHD.

But what is gluten anyway? And why do sensitive persons react like they do?

WHAT IS GLUTEN?

Gluten is the main protein in wheat, rye and barley (and to a lesser degree, oats). It is what gives flour strength and elasticity.  There are different amounts of gluten in different types of flour. For example, bread flour is higher in gluten than pastry flour.

Just like with milk allergy and lactose intolerance, gluten affects people in different ways. Persons who are truly allergic to gluten are usually diagnosed with Celiac Disease, a serious digestive disorder that affects many systems in the body. People who have an allergic reaction to gluten must avoid ALL foods that contain gluten. In this article, I will focus on gluten intolerance.

When a person has a gluten intolerance, it is not always necessary to completely remove gluten from the diet. However, a large percent of persons, including children with Autism (and ADHD), respond favorably to removing gluten from the diet.

WHY DO SENSITIVE PERSONS REACT THE WAY THEY DO TO GLUTEN?

There are theories explaining why some people react to gluten the way they do. However, recent research has revealed that the main culprit of many negative gluten reactions is lack of the enzyme “DPP4.”  The DPP4 enzyme works similarly to the lactase enzyme. Lactase breaks down lactose in milk. When a person has a deficiency in lactase, dairy products cause digestive upsets.  DPP4 breaks down gluten in a similar way.  (The milk protein casein is affected by DPP4 deficiency as well. But we will discuss casein intolerance in a future article). When a child is deficient in DPP4, their body is not able to completely break down gluten. The result is partially broken down gluten proteins in the gut. These gluten proteins show the same effect as opioids. That is, they have a drugging effect on the child.

Approximately 50% of children placed on a gluten-free diet (most often coupled with casein restriction as well) show significant improvements. For example, improvements in language skills, bowel health, hyperactive behavior, and skin problems (particularly eczema). Sleep is improved and the child has more energy. This is only a partial list of improvements.

Though there is allergy testing available for gluten intolerance, it is not always accurate. Thus, an elimination diet is probably the easiest and most accurate way to tell for sure whether you or your child (or both, gluten intolerance tends to affect more than one person in a family) has a gluten sensitivity.

THINGS TO CONSIDER WITH THE ELIMINATION DIET

If you choose to try the elimination diet, you will need to remove all of the foods that contain gluten, and leave everything else the same. Many people avoid casein during this time as well. However, if it just turns out to be gluten that's causing issues, it means a less restrictive diet in the long run.  If you try the gluten elimination diet, you may notice some improvements, but not as much as you were hoping for. In that case, you can then choose to try to eliminate casein as well. (In a future article, I will address casein intolerance in more depth).

The biggest risk with the elimination diet is nutritional deficiency.  Finding replacements for the foods you are eliminating is important to maintain nutritional health. The biggest difficulty is that many, if not most kids with autism, eat large amounts of breads and pasta (think macaroni and cheese, goldfish crackers, chicken nuggets, and fish sticks).  The good news is that there are lots of choices for gluten free pastas and breads today. And many of them taste quite good. However, if you are concerned about nutritional deficiencies, a good multivitamin with iron would be a good way to help offset the potential nutrient losses (Gummy Vitamins do not have Iron).  If you are someone who likes to cook from scratch, a table with conversions will be helpful:

Source: Bing Images

 

Below is a list of the foods to avoid if you are on a gluten-free diet. Below the list are two books that go much more in-depth on gluten-sensitivity as well as other potential intolerances, toxicities, and nutrition deficiencies seen in kids with Autism and ADHD.

Also, I included a link to a lentil pasta that my son really likes. It can be purchased at local supermarkets (Walmart) as well as on Amazon.