PSORIASIS DIET
The Psoriasis Diet provides yet another way to approach the treatment of this potentially life-long condition. Psoriasis results from rapid skin cell development as a result of a biochemical stimulus that triggers the abnormally high rate of skin growth. Recent research studies indicate that psoriasis may be a disorder of the immune system. The T cell, a white blood cell, normally works to fight off infection and disease. Scientists believe that having an abnormal immune system causes abnormal activity by T cells in the skin. These abnormally active T cells cause skin inflammation and increased cell production. Diet plays a vital part in stimulating the immune system and vitamin influences have also been thought to play a role in psoriasis development and progression. Therefore if we channel the positive influences of diet and vitamins we may be able to control the progressive and severity of psoriasis.
Many psoriasis sufferers display symptoms suggesting that a food allergy could be involved in the onset of their psoriasis. Many of the common culprits of food allergies can be subdivided into the following groups:
Foods, medications or vitamins containing gluten. It is believed that as much as 5% to 10% of the population may suffer from some form of gluten intolerance. Gluten is found in grains such as wheat, barley, rye, kamut, spelt and even some oats due to the fact that they are often harvested with these grains. Gluten is the binding element that holds flour based products together and gives them a chewy texture. Gluten sensitivity arises because it is often difficult to fully digest gluten. Gluten is found not only in breads, cakes cookies and baked goods, but it is also used as a binding ingredient in sauces, soups, flavor additives, candies, and vitamins and medications in tablet form.
Foods that create a Sugar Spike in the body: Psoriasis patches of reddened skin or vascular dilation is partially caused by high calorie carbohydrates (pastas, breads) and sugar spiking from all sweet foods. Just remember kids having a sugar high and bouncing off the walls due to energy available. So think of things that give you a high burn rate, high energy, or foods that would most likely add fat to your body, and you would be identifying the worst culprits. Therefore, reducing food consumption reduces the heat/calories burned causing the body to be much cooler which helps to control the sensations of burning and redness. As there is less heat by calories burned, there is less skin redness or dilation.
Foods and beverages that cause skin redness through Blood Vessel Dilation: Foods that are blood vessel dilators such as vinegars, hot spices and various other spicy seasonings, hot sauces, peppers (including black pepper) and meat marinades. Also, tomatoes and many citrus fruits and related juices, bananas, red plums, raisin, figs, pasta, cheese, and even chocolate can fall into this group. Other very common known to cause skin reddening include liver, yogurt, sour cream, vanilla, soy sauce, yeast extract eggplant, avocados, spinach, broad-leaf beans and pods, including lima, navy, or peas. Malt or yeast based beverages, and fermented alcohols can also result in skin redness.
Beverage Stimulants: Coffees, teas, soft drinks with caffeine, alcohol beverages and cocoa stimulate the system resulting in more skin redness or dilation.
Sugar Substitutes: Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and NutraSweet used as sugar replacement cause noticeable skin irritations in many suffering from psoriasis with a delayed reaction of sometimes 40 to 60 days.
The common factor in mant of these foods and beverages is that they are acidic in nature. The more alkaline the body we can make the body, the stronger its ability to build up the immune system to fight the triggers of psoriasis. The body's blood has a healthy pH (potential of hydrogen) range of 7.35 to 7.42. The higher we are above or below this range the more compromised the immune system becomes and the more susceptible we are to the effects of psoriasis.
As the blood pH drops, the psoriasis patient begins to display increased symptoms of psoriasis. This is caused simply by the lowering of the blood pH (without the bonding of 'oxygen' to the hydrogen atom with H2O) as we all need the oxygen. Hydrogen is the lightest element. It is by far the most abundant element in the universe and makes up about 90% of the universe by weight. Hydrogen as water (H2O) is absolutely essential to life and it is present in all organic compounds.
The body needs oxygen in order to live and to stay healthy. During a Psoriasis outbreak, the body has less oxygen and likewise usually less hydrogen thus the skin redness, irritation, and other psoriasis symptoms. Oxygen burns hydrogen in the human body cells, releasing the energy that runs our bodies. Studies have shown that the human body stores hydrogen in its tissues. As we age, 'tissue hydrogen-depletion' may lead to many of the symptoms of the aging process. This may cause sub-clinical dehydration since hydrogen may play a very major role in the hydrating of our body cells.
Below you will find a list of acidic and alkaline foods to help you plan your psoriasis diet. The goal is balance - if you consume a food that is high in acidity, balance it with a food that is in the high alkaline group.
Foods Ranked as Alkaline in Nature
The 'Highest' or best sources of alkaline foods would include:
Spices, preservatives, and beverages such as: sodium bicarbonate (Arm & Hammer), Sea salt, and Mineral Water.
Therapeutics such as: Umboshi plums.
Seeds and oils such as: Pumpkin seed and Hydrogenated oil.
Beans, vegetables, legumes and roots such as: Lentil, Brocoflower, Seaweed, Nori/kambu/, wakame/hijiki, Onion/Miso, Daikon, Taro root, Sea Vegetables, Burdock, Lotus root, Sweet Potato, and Yams.
Fruits and citrus such as: Lime, Nectarine, Persimmon, Raspberry, Watermelon, Tangerine and Pineapple.
Foods in the 'High' alkaline group would include:
Spices, preservatives, beverages such as: Spices/cinnamon, Kambucha, Black Strap Molasses, and Soy Sauce.
Nuts and seeds such as: Poppy seed, Cashews, Chestnuts, and Pepper.
Beans, vegetables, legumes and roots such as: Kohlrabi, Parsnip/Taro, Garlic, Asparagus, Kale/Parsley, Endive/Arugula, Mustard green, Ginger root, and Broccoli.
Citrus and fruits such as: Grapefruit, Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Citrus olive, Dewberry, Loganberry, and Mango.
Foods in the Low Alkaline group would include:
Most Herbs, beverages, sweeteners and Vinegars such as: Green or Mu tea, Rice syrup, and Apple Cider Vinegar.
Therapeutics such as Sake.
Dairy such as: Human Breast milk and Almond Milk. The low alkaline group would also include quail eggs.
Nuts seeds sprouts and oils such as: Primrose oil, Sesame seed, Cod liver oil, Almonds, and Sprouts.
Beans, vegetables, legumes pulses and roots such as: Potato, Bell pepper, Mushroom/fungi, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Rutabaga, Salsify/Ginseng, Eggplant, Pumpkin, Collard Greens, Lemon, and Pear.
Fruits such as: Avocado, Apple, Blackberry, Cherry, Peach and Papaya.
Foods that are in the least alkaline group would include:
Spices, herbs, beverages sweeteners and vinegars such as: Sulfite, Ginger tea, Sucanat and Umeboshi Vinegar.
Therapeutics such as Blue-green algae.
Processed dairy such as Ghee (clarified butter) and Duck eggs.
Grains, cereals and grasses such as: Oats, Grain coffee, Quinoa, Wild rice and Japonica rice.
Nuts, seeds and oils such as: Avocado Oil, Most seeds, Coconut oil, Olive oil and Linseed/flax oil.
Beans, vegetables, legumes and roots such as: Brussels Sprout, Beet, Chive/Cilantro, Celery, Okra, Cucumber, Turnip greens, Squashes, Lettuce, and Jicama.
Citrus and fruits such as: Orange, Apricot, Banana, Blueberry, Pineapple juice, Raisin, Currant, Grape and Strawberry.
Foods Ranked Acidic in Nature
The least acidic foods would include:
Spices, preservatives, herbs, beverages, sweeteners and vinegars such as: Curry, MSG, Kona coffee, Honey/Maple Syrup and Rice vinegar.
Dairy such as: Cream/Butter, Yogurt, Rice Milk, Goat/Sheep cheese and chicken eggs.
Meat, game, fowl or fish such as: Gelatin/Organs, Venison, Wild duck, and fish.
Grains, cereals and grasses such as: Tritcale, Millet, Kasha, Amaranth and Brown rice.
Nuts and oils such as: Pumpkin seed oil, Grape seed oil, Sunflower oil, Pine nuts and Canola oil.
Beans, vegetables, legumes and roots such as Spinach, Fava beans, Kidney beans, Black-eyed peas, String or wax beans, Zucchini, Chutney and Rhubarb.
Citrus and fruits such as: Coconut, Guava, Pickled Fruit, Dry Fruit, Figs, Persimmon Juice, Cherimoya, and Dates.
The foods low acidic group would include:
Spices, herbs, Beverages, Preservatives and Vinegars such as: Vanilla, Benzoate, Alcohol, Black tea, Stevia and Balsamic vinegar.
Therapeutics such as Antihistamines.
Dairy such as: Cow Milk, Aged cheese, Soy cheese and Goat Milk.
Meat, game, fish and fowl such as: Lamb/Mutton, Boar/Elk, Shell Fish/Mollusks, Goose and Turkey.
Grains, cereals and grasses such as: Buckwheat, Wheat, Spelt/Teff, Kamut, Farina/Semolina and White rice.
Nuts, seeds and oils such as: Almond oil, Sesame oil, Safflower oil, Tapioca, Seitan or tofu.
Beans, vegetables, legumes, and roots such as: Split peas, Pinto beans, White beans, Tempeh, Navy, red beans, Aduki Beans, Lima, Mung Beans, and Chard.
Citrus and fruits such as: Plum, Prune, and Tomatoes.
The foods in the high acidic group include:
Spices, Preservatives, Beverages, and Vinegars such as: Nutmeg, Coffee, Sacchain and Aspartame.
Therapeutics such as Psychotropics.
Dairy such as: Casein, milk protein, cottage cheese, New cheeses and Soy Milk.
Meats, game, fish, shellfish, and fowl such as: Pork/Veal, Bear, Mussels/Squid and chicken.
Grains, cereal, and grass such as: Maize, Barley oats, Corn, Rye and Oat Bran.
Nuts, seeds and oils such as: Pistachio seed, Chestnut oil, Lard, Pecans and Palm kernel oil.
Beans, vegetables, legumes and roots such as: green peas, peanut, snow peas, Legumes, carrots, Chick-peas, and Garbanz.
Citrus and fruits such as: Cranberry and Pomegranate.
Foods in the highest acidic food group include:
Spices, herbs, preservatives, beverages, sweeteners and vinegars such as: Pudding/jam/jelly, Table salt (NaCl), Beer, Yeast/Hops/Malt, Sugar/Cocoa and White/Acetic vinegar.
Therapeutics such as Antibiotics.
Dairy such as: processed chesses and ice cream.
Meat, game, fish and shellfish such as: beef, Pheasant, and Lobster.
Grains such as Barley.
Nuts, seeds, and oils such as: Cottonseed oil or meal, Hazelnuts, Walnuts, Brazil nuts and Fried Foods.
Beans and vegetables such as: Soybean and Carob.
A list of the Approximate pH of Foods and Food products prepared by the U.S. FDA that could be beneficial to the psoriasis sufferer. Please note that these foods are for processing requirements of 'canned' foods for distribution, sale, and consumption three weeks or one year later. Psoriasis sufferers achieve a higher pH in their foods by consuming fresh foods or frozen foods from the grocery market or homegrown foods.
Diet is just one way to approach the treatment and management of psoriasis. Psoriasis treatment is based on a combination of the sufferer's age, the severity of their psoriasis, the area of the body affected by psoriasis, and the type of psoriasis they have. Psoriasis tends to flare-up when the person is exposed to certain trigger factors. Substances or conditions that can worsen psoriasis include changes in climate, infections, stress, dehydration and dry skin. Controlling these conditions can have positive impact the outcome of your treatment. The key to successful psoriasis treatment is to identify the factors that trigger your psoriasis. A healthy diet along with Psoriasis-Ltd will nourish damaged and irritated skin caused by psoriasis and psoriasis related conditions. Within weeks, you will notice positive changes in the condition of your skin.
