Diet for psoriasis. What foods are allowed and not recommended to be consumed?

Diet for psoriasis is an essential component of complex treatment. Carefully designed therapeutic regimens will not help eliminate painful symptoms if the patient does not adjust his diet. Proper nutrition for psoriasis will allow you to achieve stable remission - a period without exacerbations. Excluding certain foods from the weekly menu helps strengthen the immune system and cleanse the body of toxic substances.

What are the differences between the skin of a healthy person and the skin with psoriasis?

Psoriasis occurs due to dysfunction of the immune system. In a healthy person, the skin contains immune cells that protect the skin from inflammation and infections. With psoriasis, the number of immune cells in the skin increases; there are 10 times more of them than in the skin of healthy people. They produce excessive amounts of inflammatory mediators and growth factors, as a result of which the division of skin cells accelerates, their maturation is disrupted and characteristic plaques covered with scales appear. Inflammatory mediators, which are present in large quantities in plaques, cause inflammation and itching.

Scaly plaques in psoriasis are the main visible symptom of the disease. Normally, the stratum corneum of the skin should protect it from moisture loss and infection, but with psoriasis, barrier functions are impaired.

The mild course of the disease is characterized by the appearance of single small rashes on the skin. If you do not pay attention to them for a long time, the problem progresses, skin lesions invade new areas and spread throughout the body. Lack of timely treatment also affects the severity of symptoms. The skin itches, the desire to scratch it increases, which leads to tissue injury and provokes the formation of small lesions in the area of ​​which new plaques appear.

Symptoms of psoriasis

The main symptoms of psoriasis are skin rashes. But there are other signs as well. The very first manifestations usually appear in adolescence or childhood against the background of hormonal disorders, vegetative-vascular dystonia and prolonged stress.

The disease begins with a feeling of constant fatigue and mood disturbances. Characteristic are small, pinkish formations (papules) rising above the surface, powdered with whitish peeling on top. They are surrounded by a brighter, raised rim.

Elements of the rash grow and unite into large plaques of bizarre shapes. The base of the papule is an inflammatory infiltrate. Based on the nature of the rash, psoriasis is divided into:

• point
  – elements no more than 1 mm in diameter;
• teardrop-shaped
  – papules-droplets up to 2 mm in size;
• coin-shaped
  – round papules-coins up to 5 mm in size.

Ulcerative rash

Guttate rash

Coin rash

Characteristic features of the rash:

• stearic stain
  - if scraped, the surface of the papule;
• terminal film
  - having thoroughly cleaned the surface of the papule from scales, we will see a transparent film;
• bloody dew (Auspitz phenomenon)
  - after scraping the film and violating its integrity, we will see small bloody droplets protruding on the surface.

Treatment recommendations

To improve the skin condition and quality of life of the patient, an integrated approach to treatment is necessary. Below are general recommendations for psoriasis patients.

• If you notice symptoms of psoriasis in yourself or your child, visit a dermatologist.
• During an exacerbation of the disease, in the winter season with low humidity in the premises, it is necessary to intensively moisturize the skin.
• If there are only small lesions, topical medications can be used.
• Nutrition in the treatment of psoriasis is of particular importance, since it is necessary to adhere to a special diet that will reduce the activity of the disease.

People susceptible to skin diseases are advised to avoid prolonged exposure to water. The American Dermatological Association calls the optimal time for daily hygiene procedures in the shower – 5 minutes. If you are prone to skin diseases, it is recommended to use special hygiene products to cleanse the skin. One of these products is Skin-cap shower gel.

The product can be used in daily care for adults and children. The composition is designed to combat flaking, eliminate dryness, and gently cleanse. The main component that has a soothing effect on the skin is activated zinc pyrithione.

Skin-cap shower gel also contains ceramides, which help improve skin condition. Ceramides restore the lipid layer and barrier function of the skin. The Skin-cap line also includes medications for the treatment of psoriasis.

Types of psoriasis

The nature of the rashes, their location, damage to other organs and systems in this chronic dermatosis can be different. Based on these symptoms, several types of the disease are distinguished.

Simple (vulgar, plaque)

The most common. Its symptoms are papules of a characteristic bright pink color, covered with white scales. Plaque psoriasis is divided into the following forms:

• mild
  – if the lesion covers no more than 3% of the skin; in the progressive phase, the papules increase, but then quickly undergo reverse development;
• moderate severity
  - the rash occupies from 3 to 10%; papules are large, merge into plaques;
• severe
  – the lesion affects more than 10%; The rashes are numerous, merging, forming a wide variety of shapes.

Mild form of psoriasis

Moderate psoriasis

Severe form of psoriasis

Vulgar psoriasis occurs in the form of relapses followed by remissions, but there is also a continuous course.

Elbow psoriasis

This is one of the manifestations of a mild form of plaque inflammation. A distinctive feature of psoriasis on the elbows is the constant presence of one or more “duty” plaques on the extensor side of the elbow joints. If these elements are injured, an exacerbation begins.

Elbow psoriasis

Guttate psoriasis

In the development of guttate psoriasis, bacterial (most often streptococcal) and viral infections are of great importance. Occurs in childhood. Inflammation begins after an infection. Streptococci secrete toxins (antigens - substances foreign to the human body) that bind to tissue proteins. Antibodies are produced to them and autoimmune inflammation develops.

The beginning is acute. Small red tear papules with a flaky surface appear on the skin of the extremities (less commonly the body and face). When injured, small erosions and ulcers form in the area of ​​the rash, increasing the risk of infection.

Onset of development of guttate psoriasis in childhood

Psoriasis quickly takes a subacute and chronic course. Relapses are replaced by remissions, spontaneous recovery or transition to the adult form of the disease is possible.

Palmoplantar psoriasis

It develops in those who do physical labor, is accompanied by severe itching and almost always causes complications on the nails. There are subspecies:

• plaque-fan-shaped
  - with large elements on the palmar and plantar surfaces, covered with white scales merging into fan-shaped plaques; This type of psoriasis is more common on the hands;
• circular
  - ring-shaped flaky elements on the palmar and plantar surfaces;
• callous
  - characterized by the proliferation of rough epithelium with the formation of calluses;

A separate subtype is pustular psoriasis on the palms and soles of Barber. The areas under the thumbs of the extremities become covered with blisters and pustules (with purulent contents), and severe itching appears. The ulcers merge, then dry out, forming crusts. In other places on the body, characteristic psoriatic elements develop. The disease often spreads to the nails.

Psoriasis on the legs is maintained and aggravated by varicose veins, in which case the rash will be mainly in the area of ​​the legs.

Nail psoriasis

Nail damage can be either independent or a complication. Characteristic symptoms:

• small dimples of varying depths appear on the nail plate; similar nail lesions occur with other dermatitis, but with psoriatic lesions they are deeper and slightly painful when pressed;
• spontaneous slow painless separation of the nail (onycholysis);
• subungual hemorrhages on the toenails, especially if the patient wears tight shoes;
• trachyonychia - clouding and irregularities on the nail plate; a depression forms in the middle of the nail and the nail becomes spoon-like (koilonychia).

Acute form of complication of the disease on the nails

Sometimes the periungual fold is affected, with inflammation spreading to other tissues (psoriatic paronychia).

Psoriasis of the scalp

Here the disease occurs independently or as part of a general pathological process. Characterized by weeping and the formation of crusts on part or the entire surface of the head. Hair growth is not affected: psoriasis on the scalp does not impair the function of the hair roots. But wetting creates a threat of infection with subsequent damage to the hair follicles.

Skin lesions on the scalp with psoriasis

It proceeds in waves, then subsiding with the disappearance of the crusts, then exacerbating again and is accompanied by severe itching, often leading patients to neurosis.

Seborrheic psoriasis

Seborrhea is a condition caused by a malfunction of the skin glands that produce sebum. Viscous sebum is produced, which irritates the skin and contributes to the development of inflammation - dermatitis.

Seborrheic psoriasis quickly spreads to the entire head, covering it in the form of a cap and accompanied by severe itching. In the areas behind the ears, weeping sometimes develops and infection occurs. Covered with dandruff and continuous crusts, the head sometimes looks like a psoriatic crown.

Psoriasis on the face

Typically, psoriasis on the face is localized in the area of ​​the nasolabial triangle, eyelids, above the eyebrows, and in the areas behind the ears. The merged elements of the rash form large areas of redness and swelling. If there is a malfunction of the sebaceous glands, the process is often accompanied by weeping, the formation of crusts, and an increased risk of infection.

The first symptoms of psoriasis on the face

Psoriasis on the genitals

This is not an isolated process. Along with damage to the genital organs, there are characteristic psoriatic rashes throughout the body, so identifying the disease is not difficult.

Psoriasis on the penis in men and the labia majora in women, as well as on the adjacent skin areas, manifests itself in the form of oval, pink, scaly papules slightly raised above the skin. There is practically no itching. Sometimes the process spreads to the mucous membranes and takes the form of vulvovaginitis in women and balanoposthitis in men.

Atypical psoriatic rashes can be observed in obese people in the folds located next to the genitals (inguinal, intergluteal). Here, areas of intense red color with a mirror-like surface are formed without signs of peeling due to constant wetting.

What to eat for psoriasis?

The course of psoriasis is influenced not only by the state of the body, but by many external factors, including nutrition. It has been noted that when consuming certain foods, psoriasis can worsen. Following a diet for psoriasis allows you to achieve several important goals:

• normalization of metabolism;
• reducing the likelihood of excess weight, which affects the functioning of the body as a whole;
• enriching the body with vitamins;
• improving overall well-being, sleep quality, skin condition.

The menu for psoriasis should include a lot of water, fresh fruits and vegetables. At the same time, the content of salty, fried, generously seasoned foods and alcohol in the diet is excluded or minimized. Fruits and vegetables are not only healthy sources of vitamins, but also rich sources of fiber.

Choose products for psoriasis according to the following scheme:

• 70-80% - fruits, vegetables, freshly prepared juices, water;
• 20-30% - cereals, meat, including poultry, fish, dairy products.

Clinical researches

TM La-Cri products are recommended by the Union of Pediatricians of Russia. Clinical studies conducted by specialists have proven the high efficiency, safety and tolerability of products, including for daily skin care of children with mild and moderate forms of atopic dermatitis and during remission, accompanied by a decrease in the quality of life of patients.

Many remedies are recommended by the Union of Pediatricians of Russia.

Sources:

1. Schneiderman Paul, Grossman Mark, Differential diagnosis in dermatology. Atlas, Binom, 2022.
2. Reken Martin, Schaller Martin, Sattler Elke, Burgdorf Walter, Atlas of Dermatology, MEDpress-inform, 2022.
3. Yagodka Valentina Stepanovna, Medicinal plants in dermatology and cosmetology, Naukova Dumka publishing house, 1991.

What foods do you eat if you have psoriasis?

General recommendations for a diet for psoriasis:

• Eat small meals, small portions every 3-4 hours are welcome.
• Minimize salt in your diet.
• Avoid fried and smoked foods.
• Avoid alcohol.

Drink plenty of water at room temperature.

Let's look at what foods should make up the bulk of the diet when treating psoriasis.

Psoriasis, table of the optimal food set

Drinking regime and diet for psoriasis table:

Authorized Products

For psoriasis, it is recommended to consume foods containing fiber in large quantities. It activates the gastrointestinal tract, normalizes metabolism and weight, contains a large amount of vitamins, antioxidants and microelements that are necessary both for the body in general and for unhealthy skin with psoriasis in particular.

Vitamins D, C, A, E strengthen the immune system, neutralize free radicals, strengthen vascular walls and stimulate the regenerative abilities of the skin.

Fish, rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, should become a regular dish on the table of patients with psoriasis. These acids are part of cells that resist inflammatory and allergic reactions and have a beneficial effect on the brain.

List of permitted products:

• bread from wholemeal flour or whole grain, yesterday's bread;
• cereals (rice, rye, wheat, millet, buckwheat, barley);
• whole grain pasta;
• vegetables, greens;
• fruits and berries (white currants, lingonberries, blueberries, green apples and bananas separately from other products, gooseberries);
• lean meats (mainly lamb) and poultry (turkey, chicken);
• fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, trout, salmon, herring);
• weak tea, vegetable and fruit juices (especially apricot), alkaline mineral water without carbon (Borjomi, Essentuki);
• walnuts, almonds;
• vegetable oils of different varieties (preferably unrefined);
• low-fat fermented milk products (cottage cheese, kefir, buttermilk);
• white unsalted soft cheeses, homemade cheese, curd cheese;
• soft-boiled eggs, white omelettes;
• fruit and berry jellies, honey in small quantities.

What foods should you not eat if you have psoriasis?

In the acute course of the disease, it is necessary to strictly limit the consumption of undesirable foods for psoriasis, the list of which is as follows:

• white bread, yeast baked goods, white flour products;
• fried, smoked, dried fish;
• offal: liver, heart, kidneys, etc.;
• red meat: pork, beef;
• fatty poultry: goose, duck;
• herring, salmon;
• hamburgers;
• homemade and industrial sauces;
• industrial and homemade sausages, wieners, frankfurters;
• instant coffee;
• chocolate, custard;
• shrimp, crabs, crayfish, mussels, oysters;
• caviar;
• dishes in batter, especially those prepared with hot spices;
• cream, ice cream, milkshakes;
• margarine;
• strawberry;
• alcohol in any form.

Will they be drafted into the army with psoriasis?

Do they take you into the army with psoriasis? This question interests many conscripts. Widespread, progressive and severe forms of this autoimmune disease are grounds for exemption from service, regardless of whether psoriasis is contagious or not to others. They can join the army if psoriasis first started and it was stopped. But more often, such conscripts are given a “Partially fit” conclusion and sent to the reserves. A Partially Unfit determination means that a person can only be called up for service if hostilities break out.

Diet for psoriasis, sample menu

One cup of natural coffee is allowed if there is no exacerbation. Instant coffee, alcohol, and carbonated drinks are prohibited.

To control the disease, many patients adhere to a diet developed by dermatologist Svetlana Ogneva. Another popular diet for healing the body is the Pegano diet, but modern doctors claim that some of Pegano’s methods are outdated.

Follow all the recommendations described above when choosing products, create a balanced menu. We offer a diet option for every day, which can be adapted to your desires:

• Breakfast: oatmeal with fruit, boiled egg, green tea;
• Snack: banana;
• Lunch: chicken soup, buckwheat porridge, broccoli, compote;
• Afternoon snack: cottage cheese 5%;
• Dinner: baked mackerel, cucumber and cabbage salad.

Over time, the diet for psoriasis turns into an appropriate lifestyle. Despite the fact that the list of products is limited, the diet remains varied, healthy, and balanced. Together with the use of external agents to maintain healthy skin, this gives a good and stable result, helps to contain the progression of the symptoms of the disease and prevent exacerbations.

How dangerous is psoriasis and does it need to be treated?

Advanced stage

The danger is that psoriasis can take a widespread, severe form, with rashes occupying more than 10% of the skin. This stage of the disease is severe, recurs, the elements of the rash become injured and become wet, and infection often occurs. Only timely treatment for psoriasis can stop the process of its spread.

Sometimes the disease is complicated by inflammation in the joints with the formation of psoriatic polyarthritis, against which the function of the joints can be significantly impaired.

Against the background of a systemic autoimmune process, which has a significant impact on the patient’s condition, other autoimmune diseases often develop (rheumatoid arthritis, some types of arthrosis, Crohn’s disease, etc.), as well as severe cardiovascular pathology, diseases of the digestive system, and neurological reactions.

If treatment for psoriasis is not started on time, the patient’s condition will become more complicated and lead to disability.

There is also a complication such as psoriatic erythroderma, which develops with improper or insufficient treatment of psoriasis, as well as with exposure to various irritating factors on the inflamed skin. The skin acquires a bright pink color with a clear demarcation of the affected areas from healthy ones, small and large lamellar peeling. This patient requires emergency medical care.

Is there a cure for psoriasis?

Yes, and quite successfully, but complete recovery cannot be guaranteed.

Find out how to get rid of psoriasis in a course of therapy of 10 sessions

Fully or partially limited products

Therapeutic nutrition for psoriasis involves the exclusion from the diet of red meats (pork, beef) and offal (liver, tongue, brains), as well as their processed products - sausages, ham, legs and semi-finished meat products.

Any smoked, salted, pickled or canned foods are not allowed in the diet. All nightshades (tomatoes and all tomato products and sauces), eggplants, tobacco (exclude smoking), all types of peppers (except black pepper), paprika, potatoes are excluded. Plums, pomegranates, avocados, and citrus fruits are not allowed in the diet. Berries: strawberries, raspberries, wild strawberries, currants.

You should not include hydrogenated foods (mayonnaise, margarine), as well as animal and cooking fat in your diet. It is not recommended to consume any products made from premium flour, as well as those containing starch or yeast, confectionery, chocolate, cocoa, coffee.

It is prohibited to use crustaceans and mollusks (shrimp, squid, mussels, crabs, oysters) and seasonings made with their addition, as well as anchovies and red caviar in the diet. All legumes, milk and fatty dairy products, all seasonings and spices, vinegar, all sweets, sugar, various types of snacks and all alcohol-containing drinks are excluded from the diet. Limit the consumption of butter.

Table of prohibited products

Recipes

Below are some recipes prepared using the required culinary techniques.

First meal

Vegetarian pumpkin soup

Peel the carrots and pumpkin and cut into small cubes. Heat 2 tbsp in a saucepan. spoons of vegetable oil, add finely chopped green onions and fry. Add vegetables and fill with water. Cook over low heat until the carrots are ready (about 25 minutes), squeeze out the garlic clove and add salt. Grind the soup with a blender and decorate with herbs. Serve with two slices of toasted bread.

Vegetable rice soup

Peel carrots, potatoes and onions and chop into cubes. Place in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add salt and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Grate the carrots, finely chop the onion and lightly simmer in vegetable oil in a frying pan. Open a can of diet corn and add half to the pan. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Add herbs and let it brew.

Second courses

Steamed turkey cutlets

Grind the meat in a meat grinder or chop finely with a knife. Salt, add herbs. Add a raw egg and finely grated carrots into the minced meat, lightly add salt. Mix thoroughly and beat the minced meat. Form cutlets, place them in a steamer and cook for about 6-10 minutes. Serve with rice or buckwheat porridge.

Rice porridge with dried fruits

Boil 1 cup of rice in 250 ml of water. Add prunes, dried apricots and butter, dried fruits to taste.

Dessert

Cottage cheese dietary casserole

Wash the ripe apples, finely grate them and mix thoroughly with low-fat cottage cheese. Add the egg, add rolled oats and vanillin for flavor. Place the curd mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 1800 C.

Menu (Power Mode)

The range of products for the food menu for psoriasis is quite wide and varied, which allows you to include various dishes that should be prepared without frying. Don't overeat, eat fractionally, eating small portions. Some nuances of dietary nutrition for psoriasis.

• Be sure to dry the bread.
• If dinner was early and before going to bed there is a desire to have a snack, then it is better to drink a glass of yogurt, plain yogurt, low-fat kefir or eat an apple. A good product is a baked apple, which will always relieve hunger.
• When using dietary meat on the menu (chicken, rabbit, nutria, turkey, veal, turkey), give preference to homemade meat that does not contain hormones or antibiotics .
• Cook the porridge using vegetable broth.
• In the summer-autumn period, introduce more berries (excluding strawberries) and fruits into your diet, do not forget about melons.
• Give preference to quail eggs, which are less allergenic.
• Introduce into your diet a sufficient amount of foods containing omega-3 fatty acids (sea fish, vegetable oils).
• Instead of coffee, use chicory infusion.

Composition and benefits of eating beets for scaly lichen

Beetroot for psoriasis is one of the products approved not only for consumption, but also for therapeutic measures using traditional medicine prepared on the basis of this root vegetable.

Such properties of the product are due to its chemical composition and the presence in it of a large amount of vitamins, microelements and various biologically active components. Which, with a complex effect on the body, help stabilize its condition and normalize the course of metabolic processes.

Important information: What cereals can you eat if you have psoriasis?

Among the most useful components included in beets are the following:

• betaine and betanin;
• fiber and organic acids;
• vitamins belonging to group B;
• iodine;

You can use freshly prepared beet juice to replenish the body with vitamins and nutrients; for psoriasis, it has a beneficial effect on the skin, replenishing the reserves of bioactive components in cells and normalizing cellular metabolism. Beetroot for psoriasis is especially useful in fresh and boiled form.

Patients who regularly consumed this product in their diet note that characteristic psoriatic manifestations in the form of spots and plaques begin to disappear literally after one week.

The beneficial properties of the root vegetable are maximally manifested only with strict adherence to all the recommendations of the attending dermatologist received from him when developing a scheme for carrying out therapeutic measures aimed against scaly lichen.

How to cure psoriasis forever?

Unfortunately, this is impossible; even after a long remission, another exacerbation may begin. You should always remember this and constantly carry out preventive procedures.

Psoriasis is a severe systemic disease with predominant damage to the skin and involvement of many other organs and systems in the process. In most cases, regular maintenance therapy prescribed by a competent specialist allows you to control the spread of the psoriatic process and significantly improve the patient’s quality of life.

Specialists at our clinic provide courses of treatment for psoriasis, both in the active phase and during remission. Our treatment is distinguished by an individual approach and a combination of the best techniques of Western and Eastern medicine. This approach allows patients to forget about disease relapses and side effects.

from treatment for many years.

Themes

Psoriasis, Skin diseases Date of publication: 05/18/2018 Date of update: 07/09/2021

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