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Lifestyle Changes to Heal Psoriasis

lifestyle changes to heal psoriasis

Lifestyle changes to heal psoriasis can make a big difference in the course of this skin disease. We now know that psoriasis is a systemic inflammatory condition that is associated with other diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity and more. Lifestyle choices help improve these conditions and they help you control the skin problems of psoriasis too. I will summarize the top lifestyle changes to help you gain control of your psoriasis. 

Dermatologist's tips for lifestyle changes that support healing psoriasis.

dermatologist explains lifestyle changes to heal psoriasis

I have cared for many hundreds of psoriasis patients over my 35+ year career. In the beginning, we doctors thought that psoriasis was purely a skin problem. We offered prescription medications and treatments with side effects, and we had nothing else to offer for self-care that patients could do to gain some measure of control over their 'skin' disease.

Now we know that psoriasis is part of an overall inflammatory physiology that responds to lifestyle changes that reduce inflammation. - Dr. Bailey

This means that people with psoriasis can make lifestyle changes to heal psoriasis AND help to lower their risk of other big inflammatory conditions such as heart disease and diabetes! It's an ominous change of perspective on psoriasis, and yet it is also exciting; now you can modify physiologic inflammation with your lifestyle choices! In my last post, I talked about our new understanding of psoriasis as a systemic disease.

In this 3-part article series on psoriasis I am updating you on how I care for my psoriasis patients in my dermatology practice. This has changed during my 35+ year career. Now we know that psoriasis is much more than a "skin-deep" condition. (If you would like to read the other articles, please find links to them in this post.)

Psoriasis is actually the 'tip of the iceberg' indicating an increased risk for some of our worst diseases. Dermatologist Dr. Cynthia Bailey

Click here to read about the Health Conditions Linked to Psoriasis. 

best cream to prevent psoriasis dry skin

Click here to read about 5 Skin Care Tips to Heal Psoriasis to learn about the skin care I use to help control psoriasis like my Natural Face and Body Lotion and my Facial Redness Relief Kit

Facial Redness Relief Kit for Psoriasis

The good news is that you can make lifestyle choices that will help both your psoriasis and your overall health. Yes, you don't have to give in to genetics and fate, and that's the message I want you to hear. If you have psoriasis, your exercise routine, diet, and preventative health check-ups are really important.  Here's what I want you to know:

How can lifestyle changes help to heal psoriasis?

Making healthy lifestyle changes to heal psoriasis will also reduce your risk for the psoriasis comorbidity diseases by lowering systemic inflammation. Both psoriasis and its related health problems are driven by the amount of inflammation in your body. Diet and lifestyle changes that reduce overall inflammation in your body will significantly reduce your skin's propensity for psoriasis. This is how the many new biologic medicines actually work!

Even if you elect to take one of the new biologic medicines to treat your psoriasis, it's important to also try to control inflammation with your diet and lifestyle choices. Plus, this new information on comorbidities gives you and your doctor guidance regarding the diseases you need to be screened for during your checkups.

What lifestyle and diet choices make psoriasis worse?

psoriasis lifestyle fight obesity

Obesity makes psoriasis worse.

Even without metabolic syndrome, being significantly overweight increases the risk of psoriasis.

Smoking makes psoriasis worse.

People who smoke are more at risk for psoriasis. Heavy smoking is associated with severe psoriasis, especially the type of psoriasis called pustular psoriasis (which can cause significant disability because it can be severe on the hands and feet).

Alcohol consumption makes psoriasis worse.

Excessive drinking is associated with psoriasis and especially severe psoriasis and pustular psoriasis of the palms and soles.

The 6 most key lifestyle changes to help control psoriasis

1. Get screened for high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol.

Because people with psoriasis have a higher risk of cancers, be sure to keep up with your cancer screening tests such as your pap smear, mammogram, colon cancer screening, skin cancer screening, etc.

2. Maintain a healthy weight and a healthy body with diet and exercise.

Make lifestyle choices that help prevent and control metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and heart disease and help lower your risk of cancer.

The best diet for your heart, to prevent diabetes and lower your risk of cancer, and the best diet to control your psoriasis is a diet filled with veggies. The majority of what you eat and drink should be low fat/good fat and low glycemic (the sort of foods that are safer for diabetics because they are low carbohydrate/low sugar). They should be whole foods and include probiotic and prebiotic rich foods. Also, you should eat only lean animal products.

healing foods for psoriasis

It means that the same diet that is good for your heart, for preventing cancer, and for controlling diabetes is now good for your psoriasis - it lowers your risk of obesity and the psoriasis comorbidity conditions.

I've simplified the diet guidelines for psoriasis in my free eBook: A Guide to Healthy Eating for Healthy Skin.

It's the diet I live on (and psoriasis runs in my family), and it's the basic diet that I recommend to my patients. I've created a food pyramid to give you a sense of proportion for each food group you ideally want in a day's food consumption.  Creating this proportion helps to create an anti-inflammatory physiology to control psoriasis and its comorbidities. Of course, if you have severe medical problems, consult your treating physician. My Healthy Eating Guide gives you great ideas for a low-fat, low-glycemic whole foods diet with relative proportions of food types as your goal. Click the pyramid below for the details.

healing foods for psoriasis

Get regular exercise to help control psoriasis!

does exercise help psoriasis

I recommend a regular exercise program that fits your fitness level. The idea is to aim for 150 minutes of cardio every week. I get mine in 3 50-minute segments but 5 30-minute segments work too. That may be walking, swimming, jogging, or whatever works for you. If you have health issues then be safe and consult your physician before starting your exercise program - but do start one! I recommend adding strength and stretch fitness such as yoga too. (Click here to see why yoga rocks your fitness and health.)

Use alcohol in very limited amounts and never to excess to help control psoriasis.

Alcohol is high glycemic and it adds fuel to the psoriasis fire.

3. Don’t smoke if you want to gain control of psoriasis.

Smoking also makes psoriasis worse. It also makes it harder to treat. Doctors have long known that smoking is bad for your heart, causes vascular disease, and increases your risk of getting cancers - all conditions associated with psoriasis. Don't smoke if you want to gain control of your psoriasis. 

4. If your psoriasis is not getting better, consider having your dermatologist do a skin biopsy.

Other skin conditions can masquerade like psoriasis. You want to be certain that your skin "rash" is psoriasis and not the skin lymphoma called mycosis fungoides.

5. Get screened for depression.

People suffering from psoriasis have a higher incidence of depression. Depression will make everything worse - including sticking to your resolve to conquer the lifestyle and diet issues that can make psoriasis worse. If you think you might be depressed or anxious, seek evaluation and treatment.

Consider meditation and/or seeing an expert in cognitive behavior therapies, because they’ve been shown to help increase psoriasis treatment success.

6. Use a skin care routine to heal psoriasis. 

Psoriasis skin care is an entire subject in itself and it's really important for helping your psoriasis-prone skin resist psoriasis. There are some really simple tips for creating healthy skin that fends off psoriasis. 

Click here to get the 5 Skin Care Tips to Control Psoriasis that I use in my dermatology practice for my psoriasis patients.

It makes a huge difference to your flare-ups of psoriasis when you know how to care well for your psoriasis-prone skin. 

References:

  1. Kanda N. Psoriasis: Pathogenesis, Comorbidities, and Therapy Updated. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Mar 15;22(6):2979. doi: 10.3390/ijms22062979. PMID: 33804147; PMCID: PMC8000092.
  2. Garbicz J, Całyniuk B, Górski M, Buczkowska M, Piecuch M, Kulik A, Rozentryt P. Nutritional Therapy in Persons Suffering from Psoriasis. Nutrients. 2021 Dec 28;14(1):119. doi: 10.3390/nu14010119. PMID: 35010995; PMCID: PMC8747310.
  3. Musumeci ML, Nasca MR, Boscaglia S, Micali G. The role of lifestyle and nutrition in psoriasis: Current status of knowledge and interventions. Dermatol Ther. 2022 Sep;35(9):e15685. doi: 10.1111/dth.15685. Epub 2022 Jul 18. PMID: 35790061; PMCID: PMC9541512.