In case some of you are still not convinced that diet may play a role in psoriasis I have one more item to add from a company that does gluten intolerance testing. There website is: You are not allowed to view links.
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LoginCan autoimmune diseases or reactions improve with a gluten-free diet?Clearly most immune-related damage in the intestine heals with a gluten-free diet. Now it appears from early research of this question that many if not all autoimmune diseases such as autoimmune thyroid disease, psoriasis, alopecia, arthritis, lupus, hepatitis, diabetes, among others, and autism improve with a gluten-free diet. Because the immune reactions to cow's milk proteins also are immune and autoimmune stimulating, new research is focusing on the benefits of what has come to be called a gluten-free/casein-free diet, which likely is more beneficial in this regard than a gluten-free diet alone (see below). The less immune-stimulating the diet, the less fuel on which the immune fire has to burn. Other immune-stimulating foods include other grains, legumes (including soy), dietary yeast, and especially for arthritic patients, nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, egg plant, and hot red peppers).
How common are the gluten sensitivity and celiac genes?DQ2 is present in 31% of the general American population. DQ8 (without DQ2) is present in another 12%. Thus, the main celiac genes are present in 43% of Americans. Include DQ1 (without DQ2 or DQ8), which is present in another 38%,
yields the fact that at least 81% of America is genetically predisposed to gluten sensitivity. (Of those with at least one DQ1 allele, 46% have DQ1,7, 42% have DQ1,1, 11% have DQ1,4, and 1% have DQ1,9.) Of the remaining 19%, most have DQ7,7 (an allele almost identical in structure to DQ2,2, the most celiac-predisposing of genetic combinations) which in our laboratory experience is associated with strikingly high antigliadin antibody titers in many such people. Thus, it is really only those with DQ4,4 that have never been shown to have a genetic predisposition to gluten sensitivity, and this gene combination is very rare in America (but not necessarily as rare in Sub-Saharan Africa or Asia where the majority of the inhabitants are not only racially different from Caucasians, but they rarely eat gluten-containing grains, and hence, gluten-induced disease is rare). Thus, based on these data, almost all Americans, especially those descending from Europe (including Mexico and other Latin states because of the Spanish influence), the Middle East, the Near East (including India), and Russia, are genetically predisposed to gluten sensitivity. (That is why we are here doing what we do!) But be aware that if a person of any race has a gluten sensitive gene, and eats gluten, they can become gluten sensitive.
Is milk protein sensitivity as bad as gluten sensitivity and do I need to be strict with a dairy-free diet?Research showing a high association of antibodies to cow's milk proteins in people who react similarly to gluten has been around for over 40 years. More recent research has now confirmed that these reactions to cow's milk proteins (mainly casein but also lactalbumin, lactoglobulin, and bovine serum albumin) are indeed epidemiologically related to autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, psoriasis, eczema, and asthma, among others. While formal studies of dairy-free diets, either alone or in combination with gluten-free, have not yet been conducted on a wide scale, the idea of a gluten-free/casein-free diet is not new, having been employed for decades by many health practitioners. From my objective assessment of this field, and my personal experience with my own dietary elimination for health, I recommend complete avoidance of all dairy products in anyone found to be immunologically sensitive to cow's milk protein by our tests, and anyone with an established autoimmune or chronic immune disease. I predict future research will support this recommendation. Do not bury your head in the sand waiting for such studies. Do your own study and go gluten-free/dairy-free.
