Psoriasis Diet and Tips

skinnyminny97
skinnyminny97 Posts: 53 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Hi! I was diagnosed with Psoriasis a couple months ago and am currently undergoing treatment for it. I read a lot about how your diet can impact how your psoriasis flares up or goes away. Thus, I've cut out gluten, dairy, red meat, added sugars, alcohol, smoking, greasy foods, and nightshade vegetables. Whenever I break these restrictions my plaques get thicker, redder, and itchier. But I will say that this change in my diet has been for the best because not only am I eating healthier, but I am a lot more aware of how bad food impacts my body. Even though this diet keeps me from flaring up, my psoriasis is still pretty persistent. Are there any other tips or anecdotes that people with psoriasis could offer?

Replies

  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    My husband has this. Besides diet changes, he takes fish oil, 2 times a day. In about 6 months, he started seeing improvement. A year later, it's at least 50% gone. He also takes a men's multivitamin. We were never sure if psoriasis or eczema since we did not have insurance at the time.
  • paulwatts747
    paulwatts747 Posts: 60 Member
    edited July 2017
    Whenever I've had this I've found coal tar ointment very helpful. The stinkier the better.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Anecdotally, my mother had good success with a diet similar to the meditteranean diet, and another "anti-inflammatory diet". Both of these rely heavily on fruits, vegetables, legumes, plant-based meals, and plenty of mono and poly unsaturated fats (think things like nuts, seeds, fatty fish like salmon, avocados, etc.).

    She has rheumatoid arthritis and i also have an autoimmune disease (sjorgens) and can attest that higher omega 3 fats seems to help as well as avoiding any inflammatory foods (for us that's dairy/lactose).

    I would recommend going through with your doctor to see if you can pinpoint any particular trigger foods you happen to have so you can avoid them; i don't see a reason to cut out everything unnecessarily. For example, i am lactose intolerant but i tolerate gluten just fine, i would be miserable cutting out bread and all these foods i love just because i assumed i was intolerant.
  • anjeden
    anjeden Posts: 15 Member
    I have a number of autoimmune conditions and going AIP has helped my skin a lot. I am not certain I could stick to the restrictions if not for the more internal conditions, but it is worth a shot if you are motivated.

    And if you are a meat person, you can have lots of grass fed beef on AIP.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    Rid yourself of stress and that will help more than anything.
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    @ Chieflrg Yes, get rid of your kids, your wife/husband, quit your job, sell your car, and live in a tent without paying any bills. And, then hope social security will give you more than $100 month when you decide to retire and that somehow you'll get healthcare. Maybe the kids will even get into college for free.
    Yes, get rid of stress.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »
    @ Chieflrg Yes, get rid of your kids, your wife/husband, quit your job, sell your car, and live in a tent without paying any bills. And, then hope social security will give you more than $100 month when you decide to retire and that somehow you'll get healthcare. Maybe the kids will even get into college for free.
    Yes, get rid of stress.

    Pretty much what I did besides social security.

    I now deal with the disease well and even got a record powerlifting a couple months back.

  • sofchak
    sofchak Posts: 862 Member
    I tried Paleo as an elimination diet to determine what my psoriasis triggers were - gluten and refined sugars appear to be the biggest triggers for flare ups for me.

    Aside from diet, I notice that getting lots of sun exposure helps a lot. I took up running last year and with all the time outside plus the change in diet, I saw a dramatic reduction in the plaque levels on my elbows and knees.

    Salt water helps, too - so if you live near the beach, you're all set with the sun and salt water :smile:

    Attaching a before and after of one of my knees for perspective related to the changes I saw WITHOUT medication.
  • fatvegan88
    fatvegan88 Posts: 71 Member
    I went vegan because of my psoriasis and it's completely gone now except in September and June which are the most stressful months in my job. I use hot hemp oil treatments and apple cider vinegar rinses when I do get a flare up due to stress.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
    I haven't found that food impacts my psoriasis. I've had it pretty much my entire life. What gets me is stress, there is only so much you can do about that, and seasonal allergies.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    This study found that a pretty simple honey mixture you can make yourself, topical, may be helpful. used honey, beeswax, and olive oil. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15022655
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