Living with Psoriasis you may already know that in order to manage the symptoms of the disease and reduce flare-ups you should maintain constant treatments. Current treatments focus on controlling the symptoms of psoriasis, which tend to come and go. But, did you know that there's a strong association between nutrition and the severity of the disease?
Many studies have evaluated the role of individual nutrients on the development of psoriasis, and a few studies have investigated the effect of a healthy eating pattern on the disease. Psoriasis is known to be hereditary; however, there are some environmental risk factors that cause Psoriasis, such as: Obesity, smoking, stress, and alcohol consumption. Therefore, single food components may play a major role in the therapeutic option.
You may wonder whether dietary changes could improve your disease. Well, studies showed that fasting periods, low-energy diets and vegetarian diets improved psoriasis symptoms. Given the negative impact of psoriasis on quality of life, information about dietary and lifestyle modifications may assist you in clearing your skin lesions. Modifying diet is an accessible and self-empowering method that you may want to embrace in treating your disease. However, despite the fact that nutrition might be considered a complementary tool for the treatment of psoriasis, there are no guidelines that recommend an adequate diet. With increasing awareness that psoriasis is associated with cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome, you may also seek to improve diet to prevent these comorbidities.
Some recent research shows that a low-fat, low-calorie diet may reduce the severity of psoriasis. As obesity increases inflammation in the body, making psoriasis worse, a diet that results in weight loss may be helpful.
Fish oil
Diets rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids from fish oil showed beneficial effects on Psoriasis. These include: Salmon, sardines, albacore tuna and other fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Dietary fish oil supplementation may be helpful in the therapy of psoriasis as well, but you make want to consult your doctor about the necessary dose that suits you.
Gluten-free diet
Some patients with psoriasis show high sensitivity to gluten, therefore, a gluten-free diet may assist with celiac disease or wheat allergies. However, since a gluten-free diet can be both expensive and difficult to follow, you may want to ask your doctor to screen you for gluten intolerance before eliminating this from your diet.
Antioxidant-rich diet
You may be well aware that eating habits which include fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains is healthy for everyone, but if you're coping with Psoriasis, then these antioxidant-rich nutrients may make a great difference to you!
You should consume more fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamins C, E and beta carotene. Such as: Carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, spinach, cherries, berries, blueberries, green chilli pepper, guava, parsley, kiwi, orange and alike.
Grains such as whole-grain bread, cereal, pasta, oatmeal and brown rice are another factor of a healthy diet.
Since patients with psoriasis may have lower blood levels of glutathione, which is a powerful antioxidant, foods like garlic, onions, broccoli, kale, collards, cabbage, and cauliflower may be helpful.
Antioxidant-rich herbs and spices, like thyme, sage, cumin, and ginger are also good. Heart-healthy sources of fat, like olive oil, seeds, and nuts are important in maintaining your cardio-vascular system healthy and lowering your risk of a heart disease.
Foods you may consider eating less of:
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Processed foods and refined sugars
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Fatty cuts of red meat
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Dairy: Some people with psoriasis report that cutting back on dairy products eases their symptoms. There's little evidence to support this, but if you have experienced that dairy products are not good for you, soy milk is a good substitute for cow's milk
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Alcohol: Alcohol triggers psoriasis outbreaks by increasing inflammation. Not only that, alcohol can interfere with how well your medications are working and may even be dangerous when mixed with certain psoriasis medications
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Tomatoes: Tomatoes might aggravate skin conditions in some people with psoriasis
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Fried foods
Making the right food choices can make a world of difference when it comes to psoriasis. Most conventional treatments for psoriasis such as drugs or medicine are often difficult and come with concerning side effects that a natural remedy like a psoriasis diet may overcome.
Natural or holistic treatments aim to get at the root of the problem. You may notice that anti-inflammatory foods combined with a complementary natural treatment are one of the best ways to naturally treat the disease.
An all-natural, effective topical treatment, like DermaZor may be the ideal choice. DermaZor is the only patented, over-the-counter (OTC) treatment, recognized by the National Psoriasis Foundation, that combines the healing properties of cannabis with all natural, multi-acting ingredients. Clinically tested, DermaZor® has proven efficacy in the treatment of skin disorders, relieving symptoms and restoring the skin to its natural and healthy state.