Living With Psoriasis: Eating To Avoid Flare-Ups
Living with psoriasis is bound to make you feel powerless at times, and at one point you’re going to want to look at your diet. It’s the same with any skin condition – although doctors are unable to confirm the effect food has on your condition, many swears that certain products affect their skin more than others. A change of diet can help you in many other ways, too, so why not give it a go; with time, you might experience fewer flare-ups and better skin in general.
Eliminating them all at once from your diet makes little sense as it will be hard to tell which food caused the flare-ups, so try to cut one or two of these out and see if you notice any difference.
Alcohol
It’s the number one thing to cut from your diet if you suffer from psoriasis – and even light drinkers can notice a difference when they stop for good. It isn’t one of those things that might make the condition worse; it’s empirically proven and definitely worth a go. If you have a couple of drinks per week, make this month sparkling white and control the condition of your skin every week.
The increase in psoriasis was associated with specifically two to three drinks per week, so if you only have a glass once in a blue moon, it’s unlikely that stepping down will have an effect.
Fatty Foods
This is a standard advice, and something acne sufferers also have to swallow; although scientists are reluctant to admitting a clear connection between skin and diet, there’s a high chance that fatty food makes it worse. Your condition is inflammatory and saturated fats tend to promote the inflammation in your body; it makes sense to steer away from any food that does this.
Junk food is calorie-heavy food with little nutrients; it fills you up with fat that might increase the inflammation in your system, leaving little room for the foods with more nutritional value. To steer away from junk food means making room for the food that will do your body good, make you full, and give you the fuel you need to perform.
Weight problems are common for people with psoriasis, who are already more prone to heart disease. Eating fatty foods will only increase this risk, so even if you don’t believe it’s causing your flare-ups, you should consider eliminating it from your diet once and for all.
The Nightshade Family
Many people with the same condition as you have found relief by avoiding members of the nightshade family. To some, this is unfortunate news; the family includes well-known figures such as the tomato and aubergine, peppers and even white potatoes. If you have successfully eaten members of this family without experiencing increased flare-ups, we suggest you keep eating them.
You can give it a week or two if you’re not sure – just remember that you need the nutrients these foods provide, so find some alternatives to keep yourself healthy. There is an abundance of vitamin A and C, specifically, in the nightshade family, so it’s a good idea to substitute them with other foods with the same nutrients; spinach, squash, and carrots, for example, are happy to help you out.
The Anti-inflammatory Diet
You can do a lot to make the condition easier on yourself, and to eat the right kind of food is only one step in the right direction. Your body needs to be treated right both on the inside and on the outside; find the best moisturiser for psoriasis on face, as well as the most effective lotion for your body.
We’re talking an anti-inflammatory diet, rich in cold water fish, colorful fruit and vegetables such as carrots and sweet potatoes, and foods with a lot of omega-3 fatty acids. Potassium is also essential, so make sure you get enough of this even if you eliminate white potatoes from your diet – bananas, avocados, and even sweet potatoes carry a lot of potassium, so make sure you fill your fridge with these.
You can keep a food journal for the first month and note the changes as you go; if an evening of snacking and drinking makes you dry and itchy a day later, you’ll already know what to cut down on.Luckily, you don’t need to only think about the food you shouldn’t eat in order to be healthy; it gets depressing and makes you focus too much on the restrictions in your life. When you know the few ones to steer away from, enrich your life by thinking about the kind of food that might reduce the inflammation in your body.
Luckily, you don’t need to only think about the food you shouldn’t eat in order to be healthy; it gets depressing and makes you focus too much on the restrictions in your life. When you know the few ones to steer away from, enrich your life by thinking about the kind of food that might reduce the inflammation in your body.
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