The autoimmune disease psoriasis affects the skin in various parts of the body, in some cases the joints are also affected. Pathology is incurable, therefore it requires constant monitoring. One of the most important things to follow is the psoriasis diet. Many products have a negative effect on its course, while others, on the contrary, will help in the fight against the disease.
The role of proper nutrition in treating disease
Compliance with the prescribed diet for psoriasis allows you to stabilize the gastrointestinal tract, get rid of unpleasant symptoms, and improve intestinal motility. An important point is an increase in the body's defenses, which reduces the number of relapses.
Cooking dishes not according to the rules, the use of unacceptable foods and drinks, will minimize the therapeutic effect of the medications used.
Moreover, not adhering to the diet can aggravate the course of the disease.
What to follow a diet for psoriasis
There are many diets for psoriasis, but which one is right for the patient is difficult to determine. This is due to the individual characteristics of each organism, therefore, this issue cannot be resolved without an experienced specialist.
When choosing a diet, it is important to take into account individual intolerance, the presence of allergies and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
The list of acceptable and prohibited products should be determined by the attending physician personally for each individual patient using testing that will reveal the body's response to a particular food.
The main task of the psoriasis diet is to regulate the alkaline-acid balance. The daily ration should consist of 65-75 percent of alkaline products (fruits and vegetables), and for the remaining 25-35 - of acid-forming products (cereals, cheese, meat).
Types of diets:
- Hypoallergenic.It implies the exclusion from the diet of foods that can provoke severe exacerbations, namely: citrus fruits, red fruits and vegetables, chocolate, seafood, nuts, fish.
- Buckwheat.This diet is more suitable for preventing relapses and cleansing the body. You can observe it for no more than 14 days. It does not imply nutrition exclusively with buckwheat; cereals are the basis of the diet. For breakfast, you should eat 125 grams of porridge without salt (or low-fat cottage cheese, yogurt). For lunch, 100 grams of steamed lean meat and vegetable salad dressed with olive oil. The third meal should be two apples or 100 milliliters of yogurt. For dinner, eat buckwheat porridge with vegetables that do not have a red color.
- Diet, which is one of the most popular in psoriasis. The principles of nutrition are developed by a dermatologist specifically for patients with this disease. The basic rule is the optimal combination of products to restore the balance of acid and alkali in the body. The main principles of the diet: at least 70 percent of the diet should be alkaline food; within seven days from the onset of exacerbation of psoriasis, it is necessary to take enterosorbents; 30 minutes before each meal, drink a cup of chamomile tea; eliminate starvation; refuse or minimize the amount of salt; periodically cleanse the intestines through enema.
- The Pegano Diet.It also occupies the top positions in popularity among psoriasis patients. The main principle of this diet is to monitor the alkaline-acid balance, alkali should prevail. For the treatment of psoriasis according to the Pegano scheme, the steps should be followed. The first is consuming only apples for three days. At the second stage, protein and vitamin products are included in the diet. Some food remains banned, for example, tomato juice, carbonated and alcoholic drinks, canned food and smoked meats, coffee and tea, chocolate, sugar. The final third stage is to cleanse the skin and the body in salons or clinics. Diet also includes regular exercise, such as aerobics, walking, swimming, yoga, etc.
An important point is a plentiful drink, it is necessary to consume from seven to ten glasses of purified water per day.
What foods can be eaten, and what categorically cannot be eaten with psoriasis
The condition of a person diagnosed with psoriasis directly depends on the foods they eat. He may not even suspect that certain foods are aggravating the disease. Therefore, every psoriasis person must know which foods should be present in his diet, and which ones are better to refuse.
Table of foods harmful to psoriasis
| Limit | Exclude | |
| Fruits and berries | Cranberries, prunes, currants, blueberries, plums. | Citrus |
| Vegetables | Brussels sprouts, pumpkin, rhubarb, legumes. | Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, potatoes. |
| Omega-3 fatty acids | Butter | Fatty meat and dairy products, fried, desserts |
| Nutritional supplements | Emulsifiers, preservatives, flavorings, etc. |
You should also minimize the following foods:
- Vinegar.
- Margarine and spread.
- Semi-finished products.
- Sweet (halva, sweets, buns, chocolate).
- Canned food.
- Sausages.
- Baked, smoked, fried fish (herring, salmon).
- Potato croutons and chips.
- Fast food.
- Mayonnaise.
- White wheat bread.
- Sugar.
- Condiments and spices.
- Nuts. Almonds, walnuts, peanuts, cashews (in the absence of allergies, the maximum amount per day is 5 nuts).
- Egg yolk.
- Fatty meat (pork, lamb) and lard.
- Soy sauce.
- Caviar (except red).
- Foods high in purines (yeast, dried porcini mushrooms).
List of foods that help the body cope with illness and stabilize weight
The main part of the diet for psoriasis should be alkali-forming foods, as mentioned earlier. They will help both speed up metabolism and
cope with pathology.
List of useful products in this group:
- Vegetables. Radishes, celery, beets, cucumbers, herbs, avocado, garlic, broccoli, asparagus, onions, pumpkin.
- Fruits. Bananas, grapes, kiwi, dates, peaches, apples, feijoa, figs, berries.
- Mushrooms.
- Olives.
- Peas and lentils.
- Turmeric.
A large amount of acid-forming foods in the diet can aggravate the course of psoriasis, so there should be no more than 30% of them.It is recommended to include in food:
- Protein (egg white, chicken).
- Low-fat varieties of fish (pink salmon, hake, haddock).
- Juices. Lemon, diluted in water, celery, beetroot, spinach, carrot, mango, apricot, grape, pear (only freshly squeezed).
- Quail eggs.
- Low-fat dairy products.
- Cereals. Buckwheat, semolina (limited), corn porridge, wild rice, oatmeal.
- Cheese. Gouda, Cheddar.
- Butter.
- Poultry, steamed, grilled, in the oven (chicken, turkey).
- Beef and cod liver.
Compliance with all dietary recommendations for psoriasis in general will help get rid of extra pounds. But you should also observe the permissible daily calorie intake, do not overeat and exercise regularly.
The most dangerous foods that provoke and exacerbate skin disease
There are foods that can aggravate or complicate the course of psoriasis. They should be avoided if the disease is present. These include:
- Nuts. They are a powerful allergen, therefore, only in rare cases are they allowed for psoriasis in small quantities.
- Citrus. All species except grapefruit are prohibited. Especially, you should not use zest, which contains a large amount of essential oils. Usually it is added when making juices in production, so it is better to refuse them.
- Smoked meats and salinity. The constituents of the products interfere with the natural functioning of the intestines, resulting in a negative reaction on the skin.
- Caffeine, chocolate, sugar. These foods increase insulin and blood glucose levels, resulting in suppression of the immune system. This makes the body more susceptible to infection.
- Solanaceous vegetables. Red peppers, tomatoes and eggplants are prohibited, potatoes are minimized.
- Berries. Most are allergens. You cannot eat strawberries, wild strawberries and raspberries. Limit currants, blueberries and cranberries.
- Meat. It is recommended to exclude red meat, any sausages.
- Milk products. By increasing the production of cytokines, autoimmune symptoms are exacerbated.
- A fish. Only low-fat, high-quality species are allowed for consumption twice every seven days, 100-150 grams each.
- Fatty and high cholesterol foods. Due to the violation of lipid metabolism in patients with psoriasis, they should exclude offal, saturated animal fats, caviar, and egg yolk from the diet.
- White flour. Any baked goods made from processed wheat contain alloxan, which has a similar effect to sugar, that is, increases insulin in the blood.
- Spices, spices. Most condiments contain aromatic and essential compounds that exacerbate inflammation. Exclude vinegar, pepper, hot sauces, ketchup, cloves, mayonnaise, lemon zest, curry, mustard, anise, nutmeg, cumin.
- Synthetic and artificial additives. Emulsifiers, dyes, preservatives and disintegrants are allergens and therefore prohibited in psoriasis.
- Unhealthy food. The so-called empty calories, which do not contain enough minerals and vitamins. This list includes chips, crackers, croutons, fast food, and the like.
- Corn. It is added to many foods, so you should always read the label and avoid eating foods that contain cornmeal, butter, or syrup.
- Canned and pickled food. These products usually contain preservatives that exacerbate psoriasis.
What to drink for patients: contraindicated and permitted drinks
Many drinks can complicate the course of the pathology.
Prohibited for use are:
- Any alcoholic drinks.Beer, vodka, wine, etc. have a negative effect on the central nervous system. In a state of intoxication, a person does not control the use of food. The load on the liver increases.
- Caffeine.Strong tea, coffee, cocoa in large quantities can negate the therapeutic effect of the therapy. Such drinks are best avoided or minimized.
- Sweet carbonated drinks.Such a liquid has a high sugar content, which negatively affects the condition of the skin, the course of psoriasis and leads to weight gain.
The following are suitable to replace the above drinks:
- Purified water.
- Dried fruit compote (without sugar).
- Permitted fresh juices.
- Green tea.
- Chicory.
- Kvass (limited).
- Hydrocarbonate mineral water.
- Low-fat kefir.
- Herbal tea.
- Morse.
Each patient should drink plenty of water, at least 2 liters per day. This item is part of any diet for psoriasis.
Sample menu for every day of the week
Day 1
- Breakfast: oatmeal boiled in water, steamed omelet from one egg, tea.
- Snack: low-fat cottage cheese with apple and sour cream.
- Lunch: borscht in vegetable broth without meat, hard-boiled two quail eggs, dried fruit compote.
- Snack: green tea and baked apple.
- Dinner: hake fillet, steamed or in the oven with vegetables, chamomile tea.
- Snack: 200 milliliters of fermented baked milk or kefir.
Day 2
- Breakfast: pumpkin porridge, vegetable salad, ginger tea.
- Snack: milk and blueberry smoothies.
- Lunch: lean meat goulash and vegetable soup, a slice of toasted bread.
- Snack: melon.
- Dinner: pasta with cheese, salad and green tea.
- Snack: a glass of kefir with toast.
Day 3
- Breakfast: buckwheat porridge, a cup of chicory, a few dates.
- Snack: banana.
- Lunch: stewed mushrooms and lean soup.
- Snack: cottage cheese casserole with dates and compote.
- Dinner: chicken meatballs with vegetables, herbal tea.
- Snack: 200 milliliters of fermented baked milk.
Day 4
- Breakfast: wheat porridge, two-protein omelet, toast, tea.
- Snack: a couple of fresh or baked apples.
- Lunch: vegetable cutlets with turkey, lean borscht, lemon tea.
- Snack: carrot casserole and lingonberry juice.
- Dinner: steamed vegetables, steamed lean meats.
- Snack: a glass of kefir.
Day 5
- Breakfast: a glass of celery juice, toasted whole grain bread, buckwheat porridge.
- Snack: a handful of berries (blueberries, currants, lingonberries).
- Lunch: squash soup with cheese, compote, two toasts.
- Snack: cottage cheese with sour cream.
- Dinner: pearl barley, fresh salad with olives, chicken meatballs, tea.
- Snack: a glass of fermented baked milk and toast.
Day 6
- Breakfast: oatmeal with raisins, some fresh grapes, ginger tea.
- Snack: a glass of apple juice and a banana.
- Lunch: steamed fish cakes, broccoli puree, two toasts, green tea.
- Snack: rosehip broth and apple.
- Dinner: boiled fish, vegetarian borscht, herbal tea.
- Snack: a glass of kefir or fermented baked milk.
Day 7
- Breakfast: two hard-boiled eggs, vegetable salad, rosehip broth.
- Snack: two bananas.
- Lunch: rice soup with vegetable broth, grilled chicken fillet, a slice of bread, herbal tea.
- Snack: low fat yogurt.
- Dinner: steamed meat cutlets, vegetable salad, tea.
- Snack: a glass of kefir and toast.
Useful recipes and tips for cooking at home
Hake with vegetables in foil
Ingredients:
- 2 pieces of fish.
- Carrots - 50 grams.
- Zucchini - 80 grams.
- Mushrooms - 80 grams.
- Broccoli - 90 grams
- Lemon juice.
- Greens.
Wash and peel the vegetables, steam until half cooked. Cut off two pieces of hake. Form two containers in the form of boats from the foil. Divide the vegetables into two parts, send each to the bottom of a homemade mold, then put the fish, pour over it with lemon juice. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 160 degrees, sprinkle with fresh herbs at the end of the time.
Champignons stewed in sour cream sauce
Ingredients:
- Mushrooms - 350 grams.
- Sour cream 10-15% fat - 400 grams.
- Olive oil - a tablespoon.
- Carrots - 50-70 grams.
- Seasonings - mild, a little salt.
Send the diced or sliced mushrooms to stew in a pan with olive oil for 20 minutes under the lid.
At this time, grate the carrots on a medium grater and add to the mushrooms, cook for another 10 minutes. Send sour cream, seasonings and salt to the total mass, simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Vegetable cutlets with chicken
Ingredients:
- Chicken (or turkey) fillet - 300 grams.
- Yellow bell pepper - 1 piece.
- Carrots - 1 piece.
- Dill - 50 grams.
- A little salt and allowed seasonings.
- Chicken egg - 1 piece.
Send the fillet to a meat grinder or turn into minced meat using a blender, mix with an egg and spices. Also add finely chopped pepper to the mass. Grate carrots and mix with chopped dill. Roll the minced meat into balls, roll in the prepared carrot-dill mixture. Send to a double boiler for 15-20 minutes.
Cottage cheese casserole with dates
Ingredients:
- Cottage cheese (1-3% fat) - 500 grams.
- Chicken egg - 2 pieces.
- Semolina - half a glass.
- Steamed dates - 50 grams.
- Fructose - 2-3 tablespoons.
- A pinch of salt.
- Vanillin.
If the curd is not pasty, rub it through a sieve and mix with semolina. Beat eggs with fructose, vanilla and salt. Add cottage cheese to the mass and set aside for 30 minutes.
At this time, cover the form with parchment, grease with a thin layer of oil. Put the casserole in it, send it to the oven for 30-35 minutes at a temperature of 150-170 degrees. Allow to cool before use.
Zucchini soup with hard cheese
Ingredients:
- Purified water - liter.
- Potatoes - 5 pieces.
- Zucchini - 2 pieces.
- Ginger is a teaspoon of fresh.
- Hard cheese - 25-30 grams per serving.
- Olive oil - a tablespoon.
- Greens - any fresh or dried.
- Salt to taste.
- Cardamom.
Put water on fire. While it is boiling, peel and cut the courgettes and potatoes into random pieces. Mash ginger with coriander in a mortar, add to ready-made vegetables, boil for one minute. Drain excess liquid into a separate bowl. With a blender, beat the mixture in the puree soup, adding a little water until the required consistency is obtained. Season with salt, add herbs, boil and turn off the heat. Decorate with cheese on the plate.
Vitamin salad
Ingredients:
- Cucumber - 100 grams.
- Quail egg - 2-3 pieces.
- Avocado - 1 piece.
- Garlic - 1 clove.
- Yogurt 1-2% fat - 50 grams.
- Greens - any fresh.
Cut the cucumber into large cubes. Hard-boiled eggs. Remove the pit from the avocado, divide the pulp into two parts. Cut one into cubes, mash the second in mashed potatoes. For dressing, you need to mix yogurt with finely chopped herbs and garlic passed through a press. Also add the mashed part of the avocado and mix everything. Send diced cucumber, eggs and avocado to a bowl. Season salad with sauce.
Recommendations for the preparation of the diet, combinations of products, processing of dishes:
- Enrich your diet with fresh or cooked vegetables and fruits.
- Replace morning coffee with lemon juice diluted in water.
- Drink as much freshly squeezed juices as possible.
- Every day, include porridge (oatmeal, buckwheat, wheat) in the diet.
- Replace seasonings with fresh or dry herbs and lemon juice.
- Do not combine whole grains (pasta, bread, cereals) with dried and stewed vegetables.
- Do not combine many acid-forming foods in one go.
- Fresh fruit should preferably be consumed separately from other foods.
- Steam (most preferred), oven or grill.
How to eat for scalp psoriasis
The table shows the available and prohibited products for this type of psoriasis:
| Can | It is impossible |
| Porridge | Spicy, fatty, fried |
| Lean meat and poultry | Chocolate, desserts, pastries, sugar |
| Heat-treated vegetables (boiled, stewed, baked) | Horseradish, garlic, onion |
| Fruits | Fat meat |
| Vegetable oil | Pasta |
| Compotes | Potatoes |
| Baked or boiled fish | Ketchup, mayonnaise |
| Greens (dill, green onions, lettuce, parsley) | Pearl barley, corn and barley groats, semolina |
| Berries (lingonberry, blueberry, blueberry) | Legumes |
| Ginger | Smoked products, salinity, marinades |
| Fat | |
| Honey | |
| Sausages | |
| Alcohol | |
| Milk products | |
| Citrus | |
| Red vegetables and fruits | |
| Butter, spread, margarine | |
| Cheese | |
| Eggplant | |
| Pepper | |
| Canned food |
Diet during an exacerbation of the disease: what to exclude and what to add to the menu
When psoriasis progresses, the person is assigned a special diet for a period of two to three weeks. The amount of fat is reduced to 70 grams per day, while the proteins and carbohydrates remain the same. In case of constipation, bloating, diarrhea and other symptoms of dyspepsia, the number is reduced to 50.
The diet should be enriched with lipotropic substances and complete proteins. As much as possible cottage cheese and other fermented milk products, vitamin berries, vegetables, fruits.
Minimize easily digestible carbohydrates, exclude red fruits, cocoa, butter, heavy cream and milk, honey, gluten, products with dyes and preservatives.
You can also arrange fasting days once or twice a week, this will reduce the load on the pancreas and help eliminate excess body fat.
Options for fasting diets:
- Apple. During the day, you need to eat one and a half kilograms of sour varieties.
- Vegetable. You can eat 1. 5 kilograms of vegetables (but not potatoes) per day, divided into 5-6 meals. Their priority is their preliminary heat treatment.
- Kefirnaya. During the day, it is allowed to drink one and a half liters of the product.
- Meat. 400 grams of beef should be boiled, divided into 5-6 meals, and eaten without salt. Two times to the meat, you can add a side dish in the form of cabbage, cucumbers or carrots (100 grams).
- Fruit and vegetable. Divide 750 grams of fruit and the same amount of vegetables into 5-6 meals, but it is advisable not to combine with each other.
- Curd and kefir. During the day, eat 400 grams of 0% cottage cheese and 500 milliliters of kefir.
Diet during exacerbation of psoriasis provides chemical as well as mechanical sparing of the gastrointestinal tract and requires minimal work of the intestines and liver.
Scaly lichen and obesity: how to lose weight
Obesity and psoriasis - this combination is quite common. The presence of the first factor negatively affects the pathology, its course is more severe than in the absence of excess weight, as well as therapy. Therefore, with psoriasis, care should be taken to reduce body weight.
For this, it will be useful to regularly play sports, drink plenty of liquid without sweeteners and additives, give preference to animal proteins and fish in food, exclude vegetable and butter, sugar and its substitutes, flour products.
The opinion of doctors about fasting days and medical fasting
Most psoriasis patients consider fasting to be a good method of therapy for their disease, but what do experts say about this?
Their opinion is that such manipulations can harm the body.
Doctors do not exclude the possibility of using fasting days, but this should be done only under their control and taking into account the absence of a negative effect on other concomitant diseases.
Mono-diets, even if they last only one day a week, deprive the body of many useful and nutrients, which does not have the best effect on health in general, and on the condition of the skin in particular.In this regard, other diseases may develop that complicate the course of psoriasis. In addition, as a rule, when observing such diets, a person experiences emotional stress and stress, and, as you know, this factor is one of the main provocateurs of the development of pathology, as well as its exacerbation.
Psoriasis is a disease that must be treated permanently. Without proper control and adherence to recommendations, a person exposes himself to frequent relapses and complex subsequent therapy. One of the most important moments in the life of a psoriasis person is his diet. Many familiar foods may be prohibited, however, if the patient wants a long-term remission, only permitted food should be taken.