Skin-Soothing Nutrition
Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that affects 8 million Americans by causing patches of skin to become dry and scaly. It’s a long-term chronic illness with no known cure.
Flare-ups can cause problems for the inflicted for weeks or months at a time, which can affect their ability to get good sleep, concentrate on tasks and keep a positive mindset.
Foods That Prevent and Limit Psoriasis
Fortunately, some foods can weaken or even prevent the symptoms of psoriasis. Read on to discover the best diet foods to lower inflammation and keep your skin healthy.
Fruits and Vegetables
Being high in antioxidants means that fruits and vegetables lower inflammation in the body. Their anti-inflammatory properties make them a great feature of a balanced psoriasis diet.
The best fruits and vegetables for managing the disease include tomatoes, sweet potatoes, berries oranges and leafy greens such as spinach and kale.
Green Tea
Are you looking to prevent or reduce the effects of psoriasis? Try replacing caffeinated drinks like coffee with green tea. As well as supporting sleep and weight loss, green tea reduces inflammation and treats this skin disease.
You should notice the difference in your skin health after a short period of just a few mugs a day.
Honey
Honey can help tackle psoriasis flare up in one of two ways. Consuming it can prevent inflammation while applying a coating of it directly onto the affected skin will reduce pain and discomfort.
Nuts and Seeds
Adding walnuts, almonds and peanuts to your diet will support your journey to healthier skin. They contain healthy fats, which support your body in reducing inflammation. Flaxseeds and pumpkin seeds are a great choice too.
Fatty Fish
While the fats in red meat are known to trigger inflammation, those in fish can support you in reducing the symptoms of psoriasis.
Salmon and tuna are great examples of fatty fish that should be included in a diet of psoriasis foods. Cod, however, is not as it has a lower Omega-3 content.
If you’re not a fan of seafood, you can replace it with other sources of Omega-3 such as flaxseed oil.
Kombucha
Kombucha contains probiotics that are ideal for fighting off unwanted psoriasis. Probiotics are microorganisms that increase the number of good bacteria in your body, which helps to avoid inflammation.
Foods That Cause or Worsen Psoriasis
Others foods cause inflammation, which worsens the symptoms of psoriasis. These are the foods to avoid.
Dairy Products
Dairy products contain a lot of fat, which is problematic for people trying to limit the symptoms of their psoriasis. The fat in milk and cheese causes inflammation throughout the body which worsens the disease and leaves the inflicted struggling to concentrate. Avoiding dairy products entirely is the best practice for psoriasis sufferers.
Candy
Our bodies are remarkable. They produce insulin to manage our sugar intake, but too much candy can pose a challenge. Insulin can’t meet our needs quickly enough, which leads to sugar being stored as fat and our bodies become inflamed.
Limiting your candy intake is recommended, as well as considering other sources of processed sugar and how these too may be affecting you.
Alcohol
Drinking heavily causes inflammation, which can create an environment for psoriasis to emerge or become more prevalent. While an occasional glass won’t do too much harm to your body, you should avoid heavy drinking sessions or indulging too regularly.
White Bread
Gluten is the main ingredient of wheat, which in turn is the main ingredient of white bread. These proteins can worsen the symptoms of psoriasis and cause the inflicted long periods of discomfort and pain.
Fortunately, there are so many gluten-free options on the market these days that you can easily and affordably make the swap.
Red Meat
The fats in red meat can cause or worsen psoriasis and should be avoided. Pork, beef and lamb all cause our bodies to become inflamed, which creates an environment where psoriasis can thrive. Processed red meat is the worst offender - so it’s time to put down the sausages, bacon, ham and beef jerky.
White Rice
White rice is an example of a refined carbohydrate and should be avoided by those suffering from psoriasis and those who want to avoid developing the disease. They increase advanced glycation end products, which causes your body to become inflamed.
You don’t need to remove rice from your diet completely; a switch to brown rice will help keep your body healthier.