Eating healthy is one of the key remedies for Psoriasis. Medical doctors will still never link the management of psoriasis with diet. But they do admit that obesity can increase the risk of psoriasis.

The choice of food is just as important as the diet. We will discuss several types of food to stay away from.

Processed Meat

A study done in May 2010 by the Harvard School of Public Health suggests that processed red meat like bacon or hot dogs can increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes. In the study conducted eating 1 hot dog or 2 slices of salami was associated with a 42% increase in risk for heart disease and 19% risk in diabetes. Diabetes, like psoriasis, is an auto-immune disease. With this similarity, a person who has a history of psoriasis would need to completely stop eating processed food.

Tobacco and Smoking

Dr Luigi Naldi from the department of dermatology, Centro Studi GISED, Bergamo, Italy, confirmed that women who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day increase the chance of a psoriasis outbreak by 2.5 times. For men it is 1.7 times. Nicotine in fact upsets the immune system and basic skin cell growth, in addition to external irritation of cigarette smoke on the skin.

Gluten Triggers Psoriasis

Gluten basically provides elasticity in dough. Gluten can be found wheat, barley and rye. Staying away from these products and not eating bread purchased from supermarkets help keep psoriasis under control. One of the hardest things to find would be gluten free bread. The work around is to supplement bread with something else. Brown or Basmati rice is a good alternative.

Fatty Fish

Fish that’s high in omega 3 help not only psoriasis and the immune system. They are also good brain function and cardiovascular health. It is also an alternative for protein. Fish that are dense with omega-3 are mackerel, flounder and tuna.

Fruits and Vegetables

The National Psoriasis Foundation recommends that we consume a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. Eating colourful fruits and vegetables maximise the fibre intake and add plenty of disease fighting antioxidants. There is still some debate on whether tomatoes are good for psoriasis. We believe that tomatoes would be much higher in the healthy food bracket than gluten or processed meat.