Of all the skin problems people encounter, psoriasis may be among the most frustrating. What starts out as being really itchy, turns into red lumps, then bigger thicker’plaques’ of it, often with a white silvery scale. Obviously, it can be very embarrassing at work once you get an uncontrollable itching, or in public once you go swimming and individuals wonder if the red patches on your knees and elbows are infectious (it is not).
Kinder Gesundheit
It’s particularly hard on children at school where they may be teased about it. In this article I will explore a few new methods of understanding the problem and its causes, and some basic and powerful naturopathic treatment strategies. In normal skin, there’s a balance of skin cells that form and skin cells which die – it takes about 28 days for skin cells to fully form. However, once the skin is damaged, you will find far more skin cells formed, which also attracts more blood to the area causing swelling and redness (inflammation).
Similarly, in psoriasis, this process also occurs, even though the process of skin cell growth is accelerated to take just 4 times, with thirty times new skin cells. What causes this fast piling up of skin cells in people with psoriasis? About one-third of people with psoriasis have other family members with it also. Despite the genetic predisposition, there has to be a particular trigger to begin the procedure.
Forschung
Recent studies have found that the issue isn’t in the skin cells, but is a response of the immune system. Some of the immune-related causes of psoriasis include any disease, like from strep throat, viruses, or yeast; bodily injury (a cut or scrape); pregnancy; a psychological crisis or anxiety; and drugs (eg: Zinc, blood pressure drugs). From a naturopathic perspective, we also understand that our immunity is radically affected by nutrient deficiencies, a liver overwhelmed with toxins, and from what is going on in the gastrointestinal tract – with psoriasis what happens on the interior can have profound consequences to the surface.
Other factors which are associated with psoriasis include obesity, type 2 diabetes, alcohol intake, smoking, and excess animal fats in the diet. Most underlying elements have a tendency to fall in four categories – nutrition, digestion, toxicity, and stress. In my experience, these are the fundamental elements to address in most patients with psoriasis. The traditional treatment of the most frequent types of psoriasis include topical skin treatments like coal tar, corticosteroids, synthetic vitamin D and A ointments, and ultraviolet phototherapy. For moderate to severe cases, immunosuppressive drugs might be used like methotrexate or cyclosporine.
Biological agents
Newer ‘biological agents’ have been developed that block particular areas of the immune system. Most of these treatments have significant negative effects, and may be costly, it is no surprise that more psoriasis sufferers want to natural solutions. From the naturopathic perspective, a number of the essential principles to ensure positive results would be to enhance the diet, detoxify, improve digestive health, and equilibrium stress. Note that topical therapy can help, but complete resolution is only going to come from the interior.
From the dietary standpoint, it’s fundamental to remove the foods that trigger the immune system. I suggest doing an elimination diet in which suspect foods are cut out for 3 weeks to see if symptoms improve – common offenders are wheat, milk, eggs, and soy. An alternative to this is a blood test checking for immune system antibodies to common foods. It’s interesting to note that 16 percent of psoriasis sufferers have an immune response to the gluten protein found in grains (wheat, barley, kamut, spelt, oats, rye, triticale).
For psoriasis
For these folks, eliminating gluten in the diet generally solves the psoriasis, amazing! We’re all biochemically unique, with slightly different nutritional requirements. Some common nutritional deficiencies among individuals with psoriasis include vitamins A, D, E, B12 and folic acid; selenium, zinc, and omega-3 fats. Patients with widespread psoriasis have been found to have very low levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D isn’t only for strong bones; it also helps control cell replication in skin and even has antimicrobial effects there also. It’s no surprise that there are fewer cases of psoriasis in the tropics, where plenty of sun enables the body to make its own vitamin D.
For us Canadians, I usually recommend 2000 I.U. D3 each day, and more according to blood tests. I also have found that vitamin B12 injections are useful for my patients with psoriasis as it’s immune antibody regulating benefits. Another critical nutrient for psoriasis sufferers is omega-3 fat. These are the ‘good fats’ and they help strengthen cell membranes and regulate immune functions. Numerous studies have proven the benefit of fish oils in helping decrease skin depth, itching, redness, and scaling of psoriasis. I suggest 5-10grams of fish or flax oil a day, or 3-5 servings of cold water fish every week. Toxicity of different sorts can overwhelm the body – clogging up the liver and slowing down its detox procedures.
Schlussbemerkung
Ultimately, if the liver is backed up, then unprocessed toxins spill in the flow, affecting the immune balance in the skin. Signs of toxicity include headaches, fatigue, aches, digestive problems, skin rashes, allergy symptoms, and being uneasy with scents like perfumes and cleaning compounds. Also realize that if we don’t exercise regularly, we permit these toxins to simply sit around, raising the possibility of activating the skin’s immune cells. Simple approaches to detoxification include a natural diet, 4-6 glasses of water and 25-35grams of fiber every day, and utilizing liver-assisting spices and herbs like milk thistle, dandelion, burdock, and garlic.
In reference to promoting effective skin flow, I’ve found that my patients with psoriasis who employed the far-infrared sauna obtained the best resolution of their psoriasis symptoms, because it penetrates the skin so well, drawing out the toxins. Digestive factors are really important to investigate. Have you got imbalanced intestinal yeast and bacteria ? Are you currently digesting well – any constipation, bloating, heartburn or extra gas? It’s necessary to fix these symptoms, and to ensure regular, daily, easy bowel movements. Consider if there is sufficient stomach acid, digestive enzymes, and healthful bacteria in the gut. If you are not consuming and digesting your food, then something else will! If there’s poor protein digestion and absorption, then germs will digest this’second helping’ and overproduce their toxic byproducts that have been shown to really boost skin cell growth. Identifying and reducing your resources and perceptions of anxiety are crucial. Regular meditation, deep belly breathing, and other stress management techniques encourage body-mind-immunity equilibrium. By addressing the above mentioned aspects, and putting it all together with patience and consistency, I have found that psoriasis can be worked out using a naturopathic approach.
