Clearing Psoriasis by Gluten and Milk Free diet

[UVB]

Hello All,
I just wanted to let you know my recent experience with clearing psoriasis. I am 35 and have had psoriasis since I was 8 years old on one knee and elbow. Since I was 23 the number of spots have increased every year. I recently went for a physical and asked to be tested for a wheat allergy because I enjoyed wheat beer so much more than regular beer, but it made my skin feel worse the next day. Other than this I had no reason to think I was allergic to wheat. The test showed I had an intolerance to wheat ( Celiac Disease ). Basically ingesting wheat/rye/barley was killing my intestines. I immediately stopped eating these foods (and all milk products) and began boiling dishes of chicken, vegetables, and rice. I felt great after 3 days on this new diet! All of my psoriasis sites stopped itching! I have been clearing since I started my diet 2 weeks ago. My skin is still healing and is discolored, but it is smooth!! I am at the same time taking Nystatin several times a day because I thought I might have more yeast than I should (causing leaky gut), but I can tell you that the gluten-free diet is what is making the difference and healing my intestines. I think the 'leaky gut' theory caused by gluten  is a good theory for my case. I am also staying away from baked, fried foods as they have (since 2002) been found to have a high rate of Acrylamide which is a carcinogen. I'm hypothesizing that the acrylamide is getting through my inflamed, porous, intestine and aggravating/causing psoriasis. I am a pilot and believe usually that two or three things go wrong to cause an accident. I think the same is true with psoriasis. That's all for now. If I clear completely I will post again.

[SPOTTY MUNCHKIN]

Hi and welcome 

[Dogtanian]

Hello,

very good news - cant wait for you to post with the all clear 

[cassie]

hi uvb

after areally bad night of indigestion(again) i read your other post and thought i would give it a go...ive been juicing carrots apples beetroot (dont like celery) also i have stopped bread. only had raw veg and fruit and some chicken salmon and macerel. is this diet safe to keep up long term? as really there hardly any fat at all? there has been no indigestion at all since i started it and a big bonus have lost some weight already,with more or less only fruit and veg can we get enough calories from it???...never thought i could go a day without bread but ok at the moment....bread and potatoes have always given me trouble if eaten at night.....was this the same with you? thanks cassie

[UVB]

Hi Cassie,

I am very excited you are on the diet. Basically you can eat anything you want except the gluten and milk. There is so much to eat which is good and has plenty of calories. If you want fat then you can find it. I get a big can of nuts to snack on and they are full of fat. I look on the label to make sure they don't say "processed in a plant that also processes wheat, milk". Recently I have purchased a pound of almonds (unsalted) from a health food store, and some cranberries. I eat a lot of bananas (120 calories each), apples, oranges for breakfast. I make corn muffins to get over the "bread" issue. I love corn muffins so, for me it is a good substitute. I have a few bags of flour made from buckwheat, cornmeal, rice, tapioca, and garbonzo beans! I bake whenever I get the urge for some dry or sweet tasting food. There are also gluten free hot breakfast meals. Just watch out because while oats are OK (gluten free) they are often contaminated with gluten because they are processed in the same plant as wheat products and grown in the same fields.

I never thought I had any problems with digestion and elimination and really did not have any signs that I was gluten intolerant. I can tell you that my stool is softer and healthier for sure. I don't know if I have Celiac Disease because I have not had a biopsy done. I can tell you that my skin immediately (3 days) felt better on the diet and I am sure it was causing an unhealthy intestine.

I often will boil some chicken or fish in a big pot with some frozen vegtables until it is cooked. I will then throw in some rice to thicken it from a soup to a meal. I then store the meals in ziplock (TM) containers for the week and freeze the rest. Typically I will eat the same meal for lunch about 3 days in a row. I am still learning how much to cook because sometimes my family will eat the meal and sometimes they won't Don't worry about low calories because even a 500 calorie loss each day equates to only a one pound loss per week. Once your body adjusts to the new diet you will find ways to even out your calories. The best part is that the veggies are much better for you than bleached-enriched flour products!
 
Now for some uncanny information: A lady at work recently started taking thyroid medication because of a hypothyroid condition. This is a common disease caused by a gluten intolerance. I offered for her to look at my book on Celiac Disease. I let her borrow it for a few hours. Roughly 1 week later her 16 year old daughter was hospitalized for 3 days with abdominal pain. She was placed on IVs and morphine. It turns out she has Celiac Disease and her intestines are flattened. I did not know this before, but her daughter was on antidepressants and several other medications prior to finding out she was a Celiac!

Stick with the diet for at least a few weeks and let me know how you feel. I have not, but maybe keep a diary of your thoughts and some observations about how you feel throughout the day. Stick to the vegetables you like. I can guarantee that you will eventually start looking around at vegetables other than the ones you know you like.

[cassie]

hi uvb

you sound really passionate about this new regime....ive been trying more to stick to the veg raw as much as poss{at the moment only eating veg,fruit,chicken and fish}...i know that wont last as it has only been made easier with the nice weather at the moment. will soon be wanting some hot food.......im stil having milk as the three foods i love most are bread,potatoes and milk so i have cut out two but if p doesnt improve i will then consider the milk...it was your other post on eating raw veg as much as possible that really inspired me to give it a go....it only been a week so i cant yet tell if there any improvement with the p   but definatly improvement with my energy levels... ...i never thought i would go this long no sugar bread or potatoes....just want to say thanks for posting it as even if p doesnt improve i will be thinner and healthier for doing this....will keep you posted on any changes  thanks cassie

[pedro59]

Hi Cassie..it was a good point that you made about it being easier to eat raw foods with the hot weather....

I have always believed that the first rule of eating should be to eat thermally as in in accordance to the climate...(regardless of what type of dietary fad one follows)

..yes salads and fruits (which are high water content foods)
... go down great in summer and are balancing and cooling...but a salad or a cold breaky on a freezing cold morning?...hmmmm..

In winter we need warming building foods..

An extension of this is that one should also eat what grows locally fresh...if a plant grows somewhere it is designed (created ) to nourish animals (incl humans) that are walking past it. at the same altitude, climate, humidity etc etc.

So to randomly eat raw foods in winter from another climate from a different part of the world may indeed be harmful and unbalancing for ones health.

I also often wonder if herbs grown locally would work better on animals/humans that live in their immediate area rather than say mik thistle for someone from Australia that is grown in siberia.

Just a few thoughts..

regards Pedro

[Jaded]

UVB do you have a receipe for your corn muffins?   I am trying to give up wheat and diary, but i find bread very hard to give up.  Its so cheap and handy!

[lolly]

What carbs can you eat if you are avoiding gluten ?
Thanks Lolly

[UVB]

Here's my recipe corn muffins. There are plenty of carbohydrates to eat if you are gluten and milk free. Since I am also milk free my recipes reflect that.

Corn muffins:
1 & 1/2 cups whole grain corn meal
1 cup buckwheat flour (or rice flour)
1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar -1/4 cup more if you like sweeter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 cup of water (instead of buttermilk)
2 eggs (instead of 1)

Preheat oven to 400. Fill muffins 3/4 high. Bake for 15 minutes. I use baking cups to keep my muffins free from residue gluten.

Other (dry) carbs to eat....
Buckwheat flour, potato flour, corn flour, rice flour, tapioca flour, garbonzo bean flour. (Just don't eat too much dry goods -see below).

The more I read the more I believe about the proper pH balance that is required in the human body. From what I have read most Americans have a pH of around 5, and the body's proper pH is around 7. The way to a proper PH is through eating vegetables in their natural state 75% vegetables (non starchy), 25% protein/meat. As I mentioned before I grow vegetables hydroponically and proper pH is important for the correct uptake of water and minerals. Too high a pH and nutrients are not absorbed. Too low a pH and nutrients are not absorbed. What I am saying is that I do believe that cutting out milk and gluten fixes 80% of my psoriasis problem. I believe the other 20% is fixed by: eating enough vegetables, ceasing to eat very spicy food (habaneros), reducing coffee consumption, drinking less alcohol, eating less sugar and baked goods, and increasing exercise. The 20% items further reduce intestinal permeability.  Just like a few factors lead to the cause of an airplane accident, I believe the same is true with psoriasis for me.

Here is an excerpt on proper pH for an online book for growing vegetables hydroponically.
Proper pH

pH is the measurement of the hydrogen ion concentration in a particular medium such as water, soil, or nutrient solution. More simply, it refers to the acidity or alkalinity of that medium. PH is measured on a scale ranging from 0- 14, with 7 being neutral, above 7, alkaline and below 7, acidic.

The pH of a medium or nutrient solution is important to plant growth. Each plant has a preferred pH range. PH ranges beyond the preferred for a given plant may cause stunted growth or even death.

Very low pH (< 4.5) or high pH (> 9.0) can severely damage plant roots and have detrimental effects on plant growth.

As the pH level changes, it directly affects the availability of nutrients. The majority of nutrients are available to a plant at a pH range of 6.0 -7.5. Somewhere within that range is the ideal pH level for most plants. When pH levels are extremely high or extremely low, the nutrients become "locked" in solution and unavailable to the plant. At extremely low pH levels some micro-nutrients, such as manganese, may be released at toxic levels.