a nice summary on possible causes of P and how diet/supplements can help

[Lazza]

Hi.  DottieD on the National Psoriasis Foundation (USA) wrote the following blurb which I think can prove helpful to others.  To be clear, I think it is a great summary.  Feel free to add comments.

*** From DottieD ***

P is an inflammatory disorder, so there must be something causing inflammation in your body (in my opinion). Here are some of the possible causes:

a. a chronic infection - could be strep (doesn't always cause symptoms), an infection in your tonsils, a gum infection, H. pylori infection in your GI system, possibly even a recurring staph infection. A good thing to do is get a CRP (C-reactive protein) blood test, which measures the overall level of inflammation in your body.
Incidentally, vitamin D (which many of us take) helps our bodies by turning on several genes that make proteins that naturally fight infections - bacterial, viral, and fungal.

b. a shortage of anti-oxidants in the body. Our bodies undergo a lot of chemical reactions. Some produce oxidative compounds (free radicals) that can cause damage to our cells. Our bodies make some antioxidants, but not enough for the typical American diet. You can up your antioxidant levels by eating more colorful vegetables and fruits, or by taking antioxidant supplements such as vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and alpha lipoic acid (a natural antioxidant the body makes a little of).

c. elevated insulin level in the blood. When we eat carbs with a high glycemic index, they get into our bodies very quickly because they are so easy to digest. This causes a rise in blood glucose, which causes our pancreas to secrete more insulin. Insulin helps to get glucose into the cells, but it also promotes the production of inflammatory chemicals in the body.
One way to deal with this is to cut out sugar and simple starches (like white flour, potatoes, rice, and starchy beans).

d. too many "bad" bacteria in the gut. We all have bacteria in our GI system which help to digest our food (and they get a nice meal themselves). Some of these bacteria are called bad because they excrete waste products that get into the walls of our gut and produce an inflammatory reaction there.
Some people eat yogurt with live cultures to deal with this, or take a probiotic supplement, which contains millions of good bacteria. The idea in both cases is for the good bacteria to crowd the bad ones out.

e. an allergy or allergic-type response to food or some other material. A number of people with p have found that they are particularly sensitive to certain foods and get worse when they eat a lot of it, even if they don't have a full-blown allergy. The more common examples are gluten (mainly in flour), dairy products, nightshade plants (tomatoes, peppers, onions), or legumes (starchy beans). It's a bit of work to discover whether this would apply to you, but would pay off if you found a trigger food. Any kind of allergy (such as pet dander, dust mites, pollen, etc) can also cause inflammation.

******************


_Lazza

[babyblue]

Well done 2 DottieD ... and Lazza for finding  and posting !   Makes a lot of sense to me !   

[Lazza]

Thanks.  A common theme has to do with the gut.  Nasty bacteria, yeast infections (candida), ... even the so-called "leaky gut" (see Pagano's book "Healing Psoriasis:.." for more on that).  Some believe that food sensitivities/allergies are a by-product of all these maladies.  Therefore colonic cleansing is often suggested as one of the tools in tackling psoriasis.


_Lazza

[Cy]

   I cannot see any way that Colonic cleaning helps Psoriasis , It only cleans out the waste  the gut throws out , Not  from inside the gut

  One concern with colon cleansing is that it can increase your risk of dehydration. A potentially more serious concern is that certain laxatives used in colon cleansing, such as those with sodium phosphate, can cause a rise in your electrolytes, which can be dangerous if you have kidney disease or heart disease

[Lazza]

Colon cleansing can be achieved in various ways, including ways which can certainly pose harm.  The connection between colon cleansing and psoriasis is explained in Dr Pagano's book "Healing Psoriasis:..", which is largely the author's spin on writings by Edgar Cayce.  It goes back to the idea that toxins in the upper areas of the colon seep into the bloodstream, thus causing an autoimmune response.  Cleaning out this part of the colon helps with psoriasis.  However doing a cleanse of the lower colon, like what is done with an enema, perhaps has little effect on psoriasis.

I noticed someone had previously posted on this subject before:

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I am personally cleaning up my colon by taking a fibre supplement (psyllium husks) and herbs (triphala) that kill off toxins.  Does it work?  Well my psoriasis is much better.  But I am also on a very restrictive, controlled diet.

Hope this helps.


_Lazza

[Cy]

[quote author=Lazza link=topic=43640.

I am personally cleaning up my colon by taking a fibre supplement (psyllium husks) and herbs (triphala) that kill off toxins.  Does it work?  Well my psoriasis is much better.  But I am also on a very restrictive, controlled diet.

Hope this helps.


_Lazza
[/quote]



  Your diet is doing your Psoriasis good , How lomg have you been on it ??



  As for Dr Pagano his books are just money makers for him , He first books where for Arthritis but he found people with Psoriasis having good results so he swapped over to Psoriasis

[Lazza]

Cy, my diet is doing wonderfully.  I was diagnosed with PPP last June.  It was severe.  I had to coat my hands with Vaseline (petroleum jelly) in order to survive.  The irritation and itch were horrible.  And then there was cracking and bleeding.  On my feet the skin would rupture and bleed at the worst locations, causing me to hobble.  Having said all this, there are people who are suffering worse.  At least my PPP is non-pustular; it is totally dry.

I started a green shake diet in mid-September, stopped eating inflammatory foods (gluten, dairy, most meats, nightshade veggies, sweets), and took various supplements from time-to-time (..I didn't go crazy over supplements).  Now, some four months later, I can actually go through a full day WITHOUT APPLYING ANY MOISTURIZER TO MY HANDS.  My feet is much better too but it's perhaps a month behind in the recovery cycle.  And I have lost over a stone (..perhaps as much as 17 lbs).

Listen, I was never into health foods of any sort.  Despite some probable benefits I thought it was mostly a lot of marketing hype.  Let me say this clearly, I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG!!!  I wish I didn't wait until now, at 53 y.o., to see the light.  But now I see it, and I am here to stay.


_Lazza

[Gareth125]

A great post ..thanks . On the subject of bacteria in the bowel . Probiotics are good , but I drink "kafir" which contains about 10 times more bacteria by volume than some of the probiotic drinks . you can get it as Asdas or the health food shop , or make your own. As its a yogart type drink from Russia and eastern european countries , you can find it in polish supermarkets . You need bacteria in large quantities because stomatch acid kills the live bacteria , the more bacteria you have the more chance you have of it surviving and finding its way to the bowel

[steelem]

lazza what type of diet are you doing ??  are you cutting out certain foods ??  hav you found an intolerance to certain foods?? are you taking vit d3??

[Lazza]

lazza what type of diet are you doing ??  are you cutting out certain foods ??  hav you found an intolerance to certain foods?? are you taking vit d3??

Hi.  Answers to your questions:

Diet: the green shake diet (taken from howtobeatpsoriasis.com).  I've consumed a green shake daily, without fail, for about 130 days (... but who's counting  ).  No gluten, no dairy, no nightshades.  Fish has been my only meat source but I am just starting up with weekly consumption of very lean beef (..no negative effects so far).

Food intolerance: dairy.  Very intolerant.  I used to eat loads of dairy every day.  I am probably not gluten intolerant and so I will probably resume eating some gluten in the coming months.  But remember: gluten is an inflammatory substance.  It's really not healthy for you.  It can be argued the same holds true for dairy.

vitamin D: let me first say that I live in Florida.  I probably get adequate vitamin D through year-round sunshine.  However early on I did try vit D/ibu, as per what BJ promoted at the time.  It did nothing for me.  Yet since so many do find help with vit D/ibu (and now also peppermint oil) that it can be argued I didn't stick with it long enough (about 60-90 days), or such a regimen isn't effective with PPP, or ... I'm just unlucky.  I do not want to discourage anyone from trying out vit D/ibu/peppermint.  And certainly those living in northern climates should be on a vitamin D supplement regardless.


_Lazza


PS - I should add that I have taken various supplements over the months (milk thistle, lecithin, curcumin, quercetin, triphala, ..).  It is hard to judge the efficacy of these supplements because I was doing the diet at the same time (..in other words, any good effect might be due to the diet alone).  However I have been taking fish oil (capsules and liquid) and flaxseed oil (capsules, or raw seeds) since day one as a general health supplement.