Almost twenty-three million people on the planet suffer from an auto-immune condition called Psoriasis, a condition that creates too many skin cells which presents as flaking or peeling skin with inflammation.
This condition can be painful, uncomfortable and embarrassing and many people who have serious Psoriasis outbreaks have a hard time living a normal life. The treatment for Psoriasis includes various creams, lotions and medical light therapy.
As this is an auto-immune disease (a disease in which the body essentially attacks itself) some auto-immune medications may help as well.
The problem that many people have is that they have tried various combinations of these four therapies and have had little to no results. That’s because most of these, like so much of Western medicine today, are not cures for the illness, they are cures for the symptoms of the illness.
The illness itself – which is the disease causing the body’s immune system to kick into overdrive and produce excess skin cells – is still present, even when the symptoms aren’t. So, what kind of things can you do to treat Psoriasis at the root of the problem? There are actually quite a few.
- Increase your Antioxidants
The first thing you should do to treat your Psoriasis is to increase your intake of antioxidants. Antioxidants fight against free radicals that are the cause of many major health issues, including Psoriasis. Foods that fit the bill include onions, apples, blueberries and pomegranate.
- Stop Eating Processed Junk Food
You have to know already that junk food isn’t good for you, but if you love sweet rolls, sugar, pastries and potato chips, you might be contributing to your Psoriasis.
This isn’t necessarily because of the junk food itself, it has more to do with how it is processed. The ingredients in processed junk foods make skin problems worse, increase inflammation and upset the delicate balance of blood sugar and hormone levels, which also can contribute.
- Get your Vitamin D Checked
You might be more familiar with vitamin D as the sunshine vitamin, as it is colloquially called. This particular vitamin is instrumental to bone health, heart health, obesity and weight loss, but it is particularly good at changing the way our cells replicate, meaning that for those with Psoriasis, a vitamin D deficiency might be the major cause of their symptoms.
- Strengthen Your Immune System
A healthy immune system is very important for treating the causes of Psoriasis. This might seem counter-intuitive considering it is your immune system attacking you. But what you need to remember is it isn’t working correctly and eating healthy foods rich in nutrition and leafy plants is the best way to correct it.
- Omega-3 and Omega-6
These two fatty acids are buzzwords on television shows about health, in nutrition books, mentioned in the blogs of fitness gurus around the web and many other places.
This is for good reason. Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are extremely important. However, in the case of Psoriasis, you want to make sure that you have an equal amount of each, because Omega-3 reduces inflammation but Omega-6 actually increases it.
Most people have too little Omega-3 and taking a supplement like fish oil might reduce your symptoms.
Sources:
http://www.womensfitness.co.uk/health/1388/how-to-control-psoriasis
http://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/math/percentage.php
http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/light-therapy/basics/definition/prc-20009617
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