Skin & Psoriasis
Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin condition which, put simply, means the body mistakenly interprets a threat and therefore attacks its own otherwise healthy cells. In psoriasis this manifests as itchy, flaky, red & silver-tinged scales on the external skin.
There are six discrete types of Psoriasis; erythrodermic, guttate, inverse, nail, plaque and pustular psoriasis, as well as psoriatic arthritis which is the manifestation of psoriasis skin symptoms on the same joints where arthritis is also experienced.
The exact cause of Psoriasis is unknown, and each person’s antecedents-triggers-mediators will be individual to them. Sometimes genetics is the determining factor, sometimes personality types may play a part, sometimes stress triggers or exacerbates psoriasis, or sometimes environmental hygiene (pollution & mould vs. exacerbated hygiene aka ‘the hygiene hypothesis’) are the triggers or mediators. On the other hand, metabolic factors such as large intestine dysbiosis (gut bacteria species imbalance), leaky gut (a hyperpermeable gut wall lining triggering bacteria translocation into the blood and skin microbiome), or other autoimmune conditions such as Coeliac Disease trigger the onset of psoriasis. This is where Nutritional Therapy can be of such benefit; by questioning Clients on a case-by-case basis, Nutritional Therapy can help unearth the root causes of psoriasis symptoms, sometimes with the benefit of functional medicine testing, from where diet & lifestyle support programmes can be implemented with more informed precision.
So what happens in Psoriasis? All forms of Psoriasis have the same symptomatic trajectory; the immune system sends ‘attack’ signals to keratinocyte skin cells in the innermost stratum basale layer of skin, which causes them to multiply & migrate up the skin layers too quickly. This hyperproliferation of keratinocytes triggers their rapid progression up the layers of skin in quadruple-quick time, meaning they appear on the surface severely dehydrated and malnourished having been deprived of water and fats in the skin’s subcutaneous layer on-route to the epidermis (the skin’s visible surface layer) … hence the silvery-grey scaly appearance. To contextualise this, the typical migration time for keratinocytes to travel from the stratum basale to epidermis is between 30 - 50 days (depending on your age), whereas in Psoriasis this process happens in just three - seven days!
So how can nutrition, diet & lifestyle ease the symptoms of Psoriasis? Since it is an autoimmune condition it will never be completely cured, however some of the symptoms can be subdued by following an anti-inflammatory diet. This is where Nutritional Therapy comes in by helping to identify your specific inflammatory triggers because not everyone’s will be the same. Three general dietary tips include:
minimising/cutting out refined sugars - yep, this old chestnut, the ‘white’ carbohydrates and bakery products (the latter containing high proportion of trans-fats which the body does not recognise so ‘stores’ and lingers as a metabolically active inflammatory presence);
increasing daily intake of anti-inflammatory foods - good starting points would be introducing 2-3 portions of antioxidant-rich foods (high in vitamins A, C, E). Of particular interest may be a daily palmful of berries and 2-3 daily portions of dark green leafy vegetables;
substituting red meat for white meat or other lean proteins such as oily fish or tofu/tempeh if you are vegetarian.
REMEMBER: if you are taking any medications always consult a Registered Nutritional Therapist as well as your Doctor before making significant dietary or lifestyle changes. This blog post is written for educational purposes only and in reference to ‘food’. It is NOT advocating taking dietary supplements. It is very important to please always consult a Registered Nutritional Therapist or your Doctor before introducing any dietary supplements into your health regime as these qualified professionals will be able to offer personalised recommendations.
If Psoriasis is something you are struggling with and you want to discover the inspiring & sustainable diet & lifestyle programmes offered by Nutritional Therapy, get in touch via the Contact Me page on this website for more information on 1:2:1 Consultations with Eat Drink Think Nutrition®.
