Psoriasis and Diet

Hey team,
So lucky me got 'diagnosed' with guttate psoriasis yesterday - typically triggered by a virus despite being sick. Doc says use a cream and watch it for up to 6 weeks. I am celiac and practice Gluten Free eating and also eat lactose free.

Has anyone had any luck with psoriasis healing/relief using diet adjustments. The goog tells me to cut back/out alcohol so that's step one for me and step two is asking MFP for some support/suggestions.

TIA
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Replies

  • wearmi1
    wearmi1 Posts: 291 Member
    Nope.. I've had it all my life. For me alcohol can make it really itchy. I have steroid creams and use a prescription vitamin d cream as well as light therapy to treat it. I see my dermatologist twice a year for new therapies that might be available.
  • wearmi1
    wearmi1 Posts: 291 Member
    What is guttate psoriasis as opposed to regular psoriasis?
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    My mother has improved hers using coconut oil. She uses the oil in cooking and on her skin, and found it improved within a couple of weeks. It's the first thing that has worked for her.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    edited February 2016
    Husband is not seeing his psoriasis this year.
    We quit alcohol to once a week and now measure the shots.
    He takes a daily multivitamin.
    We try to eat a plant based diet low in saturated fats and high in fiber and good carbs.
    Fish oil daily. Along with eating wild caught fish once a week.
    He quit smoking.
    Stopped fast food.
    He uses my pink dove soap.
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
    I found that Bag Balm works as well or better than any prescription cream I have tried.
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    I have had the most success by making sure I have adequate sun exposure. When I have a winter outbreak I go to a local tanning salon. I don't go often enough to really tan, just a couple times a week for the psoriasis.

    I've never noticed any particular reaction to dietary changes.
  • TaraTall
    TaraTall Posts: 339 Member
    Thanks for all the help so far folks.
    wearmi1 wrote: »
    What is guttate psoriasis as opposed to regular psoriasis?

    As far as I know there's not "regular" psoriasis, just different strains. Like plaque, guttate, and a couple others. Guttate tends to come after strep throat from what I've read...
  • suzanne1611
    suzanne1611 Posts: 1 Member
    I've had guttate since I was 15 and I'm 34 now, the only times I've been naturally free from it (without cream/steriod) is when I was pregnant and also now on a very low carb diet, so no sugar at all, no alcohol and no caffeine/bread etc. It's cleared up completely. Apart from that without a diet change in the past sun beds and sunshine cleared it up, hope it goes fast I know how horrible it is to have it xxx
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    I found that Bag Balm works as well or better than any prescription cream I have tried.
    ?u=http%3A%2F%2Fecx.images-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F51xcNUCLSBL.jpg&f=1


    I have had the most success by making sure I have adequate sun exposure. When I have a winter outbreak I go to a local tanning salon. I don't go often enough to really tan, just a couple times a week for the psoriasis.

    I've never noticed any particular reaction to dietary changes.

    We always kept this in the pharmacy when I worked there. Lactating mothers loved it...
  • crabbybrianna
    crabbybrianna Posts: 344 Member
    My psoriasis was absolutely terrible when I was on a low carb, high fat diet. For the last year and a half I've been on a low fat diet and my skin is clear. Whenever I add a lot of fat to my diet it flares up again.
  • Hiya, I also have guttate psoriasis and have tried steroid creams, light treatment and coal tar baths. All work for a while then it seems my skin gets used to the treatment and comes back. When I eat mainly lean chicken, fish and veg my skin clears. Alcohol aggravates it too. It was impossible for me to never have fats/sugars/alcohol again so it came back. 3 years ago I started methetrexate injections and I've been clear ever since. It took me almost 20 years of being with my dermatologist and working my way up the potency levels to be allowed this treatment tho and had to have my family first before they would even consider it as it can cause infertility. It really has been amazing for me though. I really hope you can clear yours with heathy eating and creams though as that is enough for most people xx
  • ClubSilencio
    ClubSilencio Posts: 2,983 Member
    There's a supplement called Pycnogenol that has been show to improve psoriasis.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24637472

    My biggest trigger is stress so I try to combat that any way I can including diet which correlates with mood. Since oxidative stress plays a role in psoriasis formation, increase antioxidant rich foods. Also make sure you're getting sunlight on most of your body (or supplement with Vit D) and stay hydrated.

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I would recommend trying everything else before using those sun beds. . You don't want to swap psoriasis for skin cancer..
    They've been completely banned where I'm from.
  • Alex729
    Alex729 Posts: 103 Member
    My son suffered with psoriasis all through high school. 2 years ago his dermatologist put him on Humira injections 2x month. His skin is clear and perfect for the 1st time in years since he started the injections.
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
    I would recommend trying everything else before using those sun beds. . You don't want to swap psoriasis for skin cancer..
    They've been completely banned where I'm from.

    It is a matter of moderation. The danger is for the idiots that go 5 times a week for 1/2 hour each time. The risk if using one for 10 minutes twice per week is less than being outside on a cloudy day.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    The light from a medical sunbed is completely different from a standard tanning salon - it's narrowband UVB

    The restrictions of use are clear and marked

    A standard sunbed will do nothing for psoriasis

    We own a medical grade sunbed for DH - his use is clearly controlled
  • TaraTall
    TaraTall Posts: 339 Member
    You guys are all a wealth of knowledge. Thank you. Most of it is seeming to clear up a bit (prescription cream and diet) but some stubborn spots linger. Time will tell and hopefully get better.
    Thanks again.
  • wearmi1
    wearmi1 Posts: 291 Member
    I recently got steroid injections in the worst most visible spots I have because I'm getting married in 2 weeks. The shots have made a huge difference.
  • marinagraber
    marinagraber Posts: 49 Member
    I will second the use of bag balm. I have used it twice a day for several years and it keeps the itching, redness, and scales under control.
  • mominstands
    mominstands Posts: 83 Member
    *following*
  • krepanie
    krepanie Posts: 41 Member
    My mother, two of my sister, and I all have psoriasis. My father has severe eczema, and has since birth, and uses heavy duty steroid creams. I've seen the long-term affects on his skin, and have not used any for that reason. My mom uses them some, but her psoriasis is pretty bad. The only thing that seems to help mine I figured out on accident. A friend included a bottle of Melaluca lotion (I think it is for dry skin) in a gift she gave me. I used it because I had it on my arms and legs. My psoriasis is almost completely gone (only have plaque on my knees, gone on one side, almost gone on the other).
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Have any of you tried healing your psoriasis from the inside out? Like through diet and nutritional supplements, any luck?
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    TaraTall wrote: »
    Thanks for all the help so far folks.
    wearmi1 wrote: »
    What is guttate psoriasis as opposed to regular psoriasis?

    As far as I know there's not "regular" psoriasis, just different strains. Like plaque, guttate, and a couple others. Guttate tends to come after strep throat from what I've read...

    Guttate means "drops", so the rash looks more like little bumps all over, vs. a big area of plaque like regular psoriasis.

    Things I've tried: Steroids (I've quit the creams after seeing terrifying stuff online that may or may not be true), prednisone, vitamin d, sunbeds, Cetaphil lotions and body wash ONLY, no scented laundry detergent, probiotics, turmeric pills, not eating gluten, avoiding alcohol... and other things!

    I don't think any of these things had much benefit, but I've stuck with the unscented soaps and detergents.

    Tacrolimus (an immunosuppressant) changed my life and may be something to consider if it gets really, really bad.
  • jacquifrench304
    jacquifrench304 Posts: 131 Member
    Tried lots of things , not much success , did find that removing things I was sensitive too mostly gluten and wheat got rid of the plaque's and the scaring faded , it will still flare up if I get glutened by accident , but much better.
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
    Have any of you tried healing your psoriasis from the inside out? Like through diet and nutritional supplements, any luck?

    I used to eat most anything and everything. My outbreaks were more frequent and more severe than they are now that I am more conscience of my diet.

    I haven't made any extreme dietary changes, just less processed food, more whole foods. I have become very cautious about avoiding artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and other artificial ingredients. Still consume some but not near as much as previously.
  • geneticsteacher
    geneticsteacher Posts: 623 Member
    Plaque psoriasis here, both legs and both elbows for years. I had used the usual steroids, vit D creams, etc. which would temporarily clear areas, but as soon as you stopped the meds, the psoriasis was back. I did some research into nutritional therapy and herbals, and began a daily milk thistle capsule + fish oil (or evening primrose oil) capsule + oral vitamin D. It took six months (nutritional therapies tend to work slower than standard medical therapies), but both legs cleared up and to this day, I only have trouble with one elbow and a small patch on the other elbow. It COULD have been coincidence - perhaps it would have cleared doing nothing; you just don't know with non-standard therapies. (My dermatologist had no problem with trying this.)
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    The reason i asked about diet, is because we have a friend with one of the worst cases I have seen. He is pumped up full of steroids and uses creams, but his diet is atrocious. Mostly junk food take aways, artificial sweeteners by the boat load, hardly any fresh foods. He is unhealthy from the inside out :(
  • darrinotoole
    darrinotoole Posts: 24 Member
    No coincidence that the clearest I was was when I dropped the weight. Last time I was on methotrexate.

    I put tge weight back on and came off methotrexate and am currently in the process of losing the weight again to see if it clears up due to weight loss.
  • Qskim
    Qskim Posts: 1,145 Member
    edited February 2016
    The reason i asked about diet, is because we have a friend with one of the worst cases I have seen. He is pumped up full of steroids and uses creams, but his diet is atrocious. Mostly junk food take aways, artificial sweeteners by the boat load, hardly any fresh foods. He is unhealthy from the inside out :(


    You can be healthy and have psoriasis. It's Autoimmune.

    Weight loss can help. Sometimes people attribute the clearing of the skin with having eliminated a certain food but the results can be simply due to weight lost or coincidence. There has been research that shows the reduction of inflammation due to fat loss (fat increases some inflammatory blah blah which I can't remember and where is Peachy when you need her) helps with the skin and joints. But even that can be temporary.

    One of the confounding factors with psoriasis (and maybe others with another type of Autoimmune disorder) is that what works for one does not work for all - food elimination, creams, drugs. Also what used to work for one person may not work again for the next flare in same person. This has been my own experience with Paw Paw Ointement. Dramatic clearing of some areas but not able to repeat same results.

    I am the healthiest and fittest Ive been in 20 or so years and I am experiencing the worst flare Ive ever had (joints, not skin).
  • kloek22
    kloek22 Posts: 2 Member
    I have suffer from dry skin and eczema and apply honey does work, as its an antiseptic. I know use a lotion with honey it in instead - i use the Made From Earth Holistic Honey Lotion - it smells gorgeous and has aided the clearing of my eczema wonderfully. It is quickly absorbed and I found had a soothing, cooling effect on my hand.
  • chrissymfred
    chrissymfred Posts: 47 Member
    One thing I have learned is that any alcohol causes a flare, and no drink is worth the months of suffering I have to endure. (This is just my experience, we are all different!)
    Right now I am focusing on my sugar intake and feel great. I have lowered it, and most notably is how much better my arthritis is. I have not taken any aspirin in almost two months! That is huge for me!
    Only time will tell, but I keep working to improve my health.
    The little improvements add up and then they start to multiply!