You can cure psoriaris

If you suffer from psoriasis, there will come a point when you are told that there isn’t much more that your dermatologist can do. Doreen had spent a small fortune on various lotions, potions and doctors, and came to see me fed up and thoroughly out of ideas.

Psoriasis is a skin condition that causes scaly, reddened, itchy patches of skin, which are covered with silvery skin flakes – flakes that made it impossible for Doreen to cover up with make-up.

Most medications for psoriasis (like those for acne and eczema) are all about calming the inflammation and making the skin look less angry.

But the skin is angry and using a cream to soothe it is a bit like putting petroleum jelly on the leaves of one of your ailing houseplants to make it look better. Yes, the plant might look shinier now, but you won’t have solved the possible problems of poor soil, lack of sunlight or not enough water.

What’s more, by putting something on the leaves, you stop the plant from breathing. Our first clue in healing psoriasis comes from the Eskimos, a sub-section of the population that hardly gets it.

Their diets are rich in oily fish such as mackerel, sardines and salmon, which are rich in two fatty acids called EPA and DHA. These can help to dampen the inflammatory processes that trigger psoriasis and that’s why so many people swear by fish oils supplements.

GLUTEN INTOLERANCE

But, for others like Doreen, the relief is minimal and this is often due to a food intolerance. As research by Swedish scientists has showed, psoriasis sufferers may be intolerant to gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye, oats and barley.

Their report in the British Journal of Dermatology said that symptoms were significantly reduced in 90 per cent of patients who followed a gluten-free diet for three months. This is one of the things that Doreen had to do.

Going gluten-free is a huge undertaking and involves the exclusion of foods like bread, breakfast cereals, pasta, cakes and biscuits. I strongly suggest working with a clinical nutritionist if you do decide to go down this route to ensure you don’t miss out on valuable nutrients.

I also ensured that Doreen had a healthy intake of other nutrients that are important for healing damaged skin including zinc (pumpkin seeds and seafood), vitamin E (nuts and seeds), selenium (brazil nuts) and vitamin C (citrus fruits, berries, melon). Doreen also cut out all tea, coffee and other caffeinated beverages to avoid dehydrating the skin.

The author is a clinical nutritionist. www.nutritionbysona.com