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Psoriasis Diet and Getting Free and Clear

Today I am helping you understand what is really happening with psoriasis and what your options are on your way to finding real relief and remissio

We have been doing some work in the realm of psoriasis for the past couple of weeks and today we're going to talk about the psoriasis diet. If you have been hanging aroung long then you know that generally when  I talk about a diet I don't just mean "diet" by the food that you taken generally. This time we are literally talking about the food that you put into your body.

As we have been mentioning, Psoriasis is one of those autoimmune diseases that is often visible on the outside. If you are unfamiliar with the disease process it is a type of autoimmune disease that causes skin cells called keratinocytes to overproduce new skin cells. When this happens you get rough, scaly, dry patches on the skin which can pop up almost anywhere on the body they can become increasingly inflammed and even infected. The process itself is an inflammatory process, like most autoimmune conditions where the immune system secretes proteins which confuse the keratinocytes into overproducing skin cells.

What most people don’t understand is that psoriaiss is much more than a rash - It involves fatigue and low energy and often joint pain and achiness and generalized pain and itchiness all over the body. Another thing mini don't recognize is that a lot of times psoriasis either starts as or is misdiagnosed as seborrheic dermatitis, eczema, or of unknown etiology or unknown rashes. And oftentimes a conventional pediatrician or a conventional medicine doctor will not apply the label of psoriasis for many many visits and complaints. It said the average time to reach a diagnosis is about five years. Personally we have experienced that to be true as well.

The interesting part about all of that is that the label is just a label for a symptom psoriasis the skin issues even the energy and pain related issues are simply symptoms of a root cause or problem. So having a diagnosis is really not important unless you're seeking out conventional medical treatment. Now I encourage you to do your research on any conventional medical treatment offered as such it's treating the diagnosis it's treating the symptom it's treating the skin or the immune system and not the cause for the issue. And so what happens when you do that is you end up with lots of other ancillary troubles that pop up either directly or indirectly related to the conventional medical treatment.

Today we're going to talk about things that you can get started with right away to help get free and clear of psoriasis and ultimately find relief and remission. In my larger program getting free and clear of psoriasis I work with clients in a group setting to go through a three-tiered program to find long-lasting relief in remission from psoriasis and other autoimmune disorders. One part of that is clearing the Muddy Waters if you will, reducing that inflammation. And it starts right with your digestive system, and what you might call a psoriasis diet. Even though I don't like the term.

If you do a quick Google search psoriasis diet you will find an outrageous amount of foods to avoid. And it's no wonder people look at this list and assume that they can literally eat nothing but romaine lettuce. And that's not actually the case the truth of the matter is that there are some big he's right some big bags that are easy to eliminate for quick results. But Beyond two or three categories of food generally it has to be a really unique approach for the person. Additionally you will find that you don't have to go as far as an autoimmune protocol diet or AIP although that might be a starting place to work up from to determine what Specific foods are triggers for you. Also consider that if you are allergic or sensitive to lots and lots and lots of foods or plants that the real culprit again I can't get up looking for that root cause the real culprit likely is that your gut is in need of significant repair and that any restrictions Beyond a couple of main ones will be temporary.

Antibiotics

When we talk about psoriasis a couple episodes back we talked about how at its root is often but not always that darn bio individuality is driven by a bacterial infection and leaky gut. So how do we get a leaky gut from a bacterial infection? Generally from the antibiotics we have to take to get rid of the infection. The antibiotics kill everything. Think of it like putting weed killer on the grass but OOPS you used some thing that kills all plants and you get that big brown spot or worse your whole yard dies. SAME EXACT THING only inside that ever critical gut lining.

So should you avoid antibiotics - NO. You should avoid infections by making sure your immune system is on point. And after you heal, you will be able to do that. Your body will be able to manage bacteria load appropriately.

Food - aka our Diet

Other ways we get or exacerbate a leaky gut include the food that we put in our mouths every single day. With that in mind I'm going to tackle this from two angles, the first angle we're going to look at the big foods you should avoid with psoriasis. The second angle we're going to take our foods you should increase. Even if I'm helping someone with something as simple as losing weight which isn't always as simple as it sounds especially if you have chronic illness or autoimmune conditions but even if it's as simple as that then I like to help people increase foods that promote help rather than giving them a list of things that they can't eat because if you can increase the good you can crowd out the bad.

Food triggers are very very often involved in psoriasis activation and exacerbation. Most common are gluten and dairy and I see a fair amount of eggs and sugar triggers here too.

Let’s start with what to avoid:

GLUTEN

Gluten is a group of proteins that are found in grains. It makes up 75-85% of the protein content in wheat but is also found in related wheat species and hybrids, barley, rye, and oats as well as products derived from these grains such as breads and malts.

These days, with modern food manufacturing, you can bet that many things, even things that shouldn’t have gluten in them do. Unless they are specifically labeled as “gluten-free”. This includes many shampoos, conditioners, topical products, and well as food! (Hint: it's a cheap way to thicken products.)

In my practice, getting rid of gluten is one a handful of the nonnegotiables, because I have seen over and over again that we can’t see what is really going on if we are looking through muddy water. In order to clear the muddy water and the generalized inflammation, we must get rid of the constant inflammation. Find all the details about gluten here.

DAIRY

Did you know that the first adverse reaction to cow’s milk was actually noted about 2,000 years ago? Hippocrates first described an adverse reaction to cow’s milk as skin and gastrointestinal symptoms after consumption. Unfortunately, now-a-days cow’s milk is among the first foods introduced into an infant’s diet, and accordingly, it’s one of the first and most common causes of food allergies and sensitivity in kids. When overlooked it can spiral in to autoimmune conditions by early adulthood.

Cow’s milk and associated products are so well marketed that dairy is the often overlooked and oh-so-inflammatory partner to gluten. I find that the majority of people don't tolerate dairy well. They may not know it, they may even be in denial about it but it's true. If you have a problem with mucous, even if it's just seasonal, in the fall maybe or in the spring, depending on where you live. If you always have a cold, if all winter long you kind of had that snotty cold nose going on, if you have any kind of skin issue (psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis) dairy is going to be the culprit for upwards of 85-90% of you. Many times people don't even realize it until they eliminate dairy from their diet.

REFINED SUGAR

Many people hear this and decide they can’t have dessert. That is absolutely false. We eat cake, ice cream, cookies, we just use better tasting and less inflammatory ingredients.

It’s become popular off and on over the years to count the sugars that occur in different amounts in foods. I’m not asking you to count carbs - in fact I want you to eat plenty of them and I want you to enjoy sugar occurs naturally in all foods containing carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables, these are called complex carbs. You can also use maple syrup or other naturally occurring sweeteners like monk fruit.

Simple sugars, like the white sparkly powder and other forms used for packaged foods digest quickly, causing blood glucose spikes and crashes. Simple sugars are the kind that leads to inflammation.

In my practice, it is common for beginners on the wellness path to have questions about going gluten free and dairy free and frankly sometimes, if they should. There are lots of folks out there asking these same questions, so don’t hesitate to ask any more questions this guide doesn’t cover! For most people, myself included, transitioning to a gluten-free dairy-free life, is a huge milestone in their health. Not only do they start feeling better within just a few days, but digestive and non-digestive symptoms just vanish. Things like bloating, extra weight, skin rashes, itchiness, dandruff,acne, brain fog, low energy, they just start falling off. Even with all of the benefit of removing these foods, it can still be hard to make the commitment, especially under social or peer pressure and the emotional attachment we have to things like our favorite bread or dairy products. You can download the GF DF sheet here.

Foods to ADD to your Psoriasis Diet

My favorite thing to do is talk about all the yummy delish foods you can add to your diet when eating to support your body through getting free and clear from psoriasis. You want to make sure that as many of your foods are organic as possible AND if you can’t find it organic then DO ensure it is not on the Dirty Dozen List. So lets look at things to chow-down on:

Papayas
Wild Blueberries
Raspberries
Strawberries
Celery (I’m not against drinking celery juice - just make sure its organic and its not your only strategy)
Cruciferous Veggies
Cucumbers
Leafy Greens
Sprouts and Microgreens
Sweet Potatoes
Cilantro
Garlic, Ginger, Turmeric
Chaga mushrooms

Are these the ONLY foods to eat? No way. But these should be present as often as possible!

So let's do a quick recap:

To wrap this up, if or someone you love is suffering from psoriasis there is hope to get free and clear. There is hope for relief and even long term remission. Tune in next week for more information on how to heal.

If you have any questions - bring them to the Wellness Circle ! It’s a great place to hang out and ask questions and learn with a group of like-minded peeps! I have the link in the description for you!

Be well,

 

 

 

PS: If you know someone that would benefit from this information - be sure and share it! I would be oh- so-grateful!

If you can't figure it out on your own that's what people like me are here for that's why I see virtual clients all over the world, as well as clients here in my practice in North Texas.

As always if you need more help? Be sure to schedule a complimentary Mini-Case Review here. 

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