Hey, Check Out The Follow Up Post: Psoriasis Diet Update — Paleo + Pagano + Probiotics!. It’s my my updated diet and meal plan to heal my psoriasis!

60 days ago I switched from a slow carb diet to a vegan diet to try and cure my psoriasis. I’ve suffered from chronic psoriasis for over a decade. I have plaque psoriasis on my scalp, neck, arms, torso, stomach, back, groin, thighs, and legs. Plaque psoriasis is the most common type of psoriasis. The skin is red and covered with silvery scales and is inflamed. I’d estimate that 25% of my skin is covered with plaque psoriasis.

I’ve tried medications, diets, ointments, and steroids to try and heal my psoriasis. Some treatments slowed the persistent growth of the psoriasis, but most treatments had no noticeable effect. The one constant I kept finding was that my psoriasis was heavily linked to my diet. If I drank alcohol, it got worse. If I ate sugar, it got worse. Eliminating these foods from my diet helped heal my psoriasis.

Disclaimer: I Am Not A Doctor

Let me get this out of the way: I am not a doctor. I’m a dude who has suffered from Psoriasis for over a decade. With the help of a supportive and loving family, I’ve tried a lot of remedies to cure my psoriasis. **Everything I say in here is based solely on my personal experience. **After dealing with psoriasis for over a decade, the only thing I know for sure is that everyone who suffers from it is different. What worked for someone else didn’t work for me. What worked for me may not work for you. Hell, what worked for me could make your psoriasis worse.

If you suffer from psoriasis, you should schedule an appointment with a qualified MD, Naturopath, or Nutritionist to discuss treatments specific to your condition. If you live in Eugene, Oregon, I recommend Dr. David Bove, Licensed Naturopathic Physician.

Healing Psoriasis: The Natural Alternative

Dr. Pagano wrote the book Healing Psoriasis: The Natural Alternative, laying out a dietary plan to heal psoriasis naturally through diet modification. Healing Psoriasis: The Natural Alternative argues that the root cause of psoriasis is inflammation caused by  Leaky Gut Syndrome.

Leaky gut is a compromised immune system. Few people are born this way, but many more get it from too many infections, antibiotics, poor diet, parasites, and toxins. The combination of these things cause the lining of the bowl to become inflamed and thin. When this happens, larger particles get back into your body instead of being eliminated. Your skin works feverishly to remove these particles at a rate that is too quick for the natural sloughing process to take place. This results in psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema, acne, and many other non-skin related diseases. — Natural Psoriasis Solutions

Inflammation in the gut causes food particles to be released into the body instead of naturally eliminated. The body tries to eliminate these toxins, but the result can cause psoriasis.

In Healing Psoriasis: The Natural Alternative, Dr. Pagano recommends a specific diet to lessen this inflammatory condition:

• No nightshades (Tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, or tobacco)
• No alcohol
• No sugar

Each time I followed the Pagano diet, my psoriasis improved and my inflammation would lessen. However, the lesions would not disappear. Following the diet and regimen recommended in *Healing Psoriasis: The Natural Alternative *would help lessen my psoriasis, but not heal it.

I incorporated the diet into my everyday life, eliminating sugar, alcohol, and nightshades, and minimizing other inflammatory foods. I saw an overall reduction in inflammation, but not the cure I was hoping for. If you do start the Pagano Diet, you have to go at it full force. Doing it halfway or 3/4ths of the way won’t make an impact. You have to be dedicated to the diet to see results.

Vitamin D and Psoriasis

A family member discovered a link between Vitamin D deficiency and inflammation. A lack of vitamin D can cause systemic inflammation, lead to leaky gut syndrome, and cause psoriasis.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that acts much like a hormone. We can make vitamin D from 10-20 minutes of sun exposure on the face arms and legs. Scientists have discovered that a number of ailments are associated with Vitamin D deficiency. Following is a short list of some of these ailments: * Heart disease * Stroke * Hypertension * Autoimmune * Diabetes * Depression * Chronic pain * Osteoarthritis * Muscle weakness * Muscle Wasting * Multiple Sclerosis * Birth defects * Periodontal disease * **Immune disease** * Autism

— King Chiropractic Clinic

I was astounded. Could this be the missing link? My mom researched the link between vitamin D, inflammation, and psoriasis, and found enough evidence to inspire further investigation.

Earlier in life, my family took trips to Hawaii every spring. Swimming in the ocean and laying in the sun always helped heal my psoriasis, but as soon as I returned to Oregon, the plaque would grow back. We knew there was a link between psoriasis and sunlight, but we never suspected that vitamin D deficiency could be one of the root causes of the inflammation.

Blood Tests and Vitamin D

I made an appointment with Dr. Bove, a Licensed Naturopathic Physician in Eugene, Oregon, to discuss vitamin D deficiency, psoriasis, and leaky gut syndrome. Dr. Bove confirmed that vitamin D deficiency could be one of the root causes of my psoriasis. He recommended a blood test to see if I was vitamin D deficient.

The test results confirmed that I was vitamin D deficient. My levels were very low and I started a taking 4000mg of Vitamin D every day. after starting to take vitamin D, I was sleeping better, my mood had improved, and my psoriasis was changing for the better. I was starting to see the inflammation fade and clam skin appear between the plaque. Hope, at last, was on the way.

Psoriasis Vegan Diet

When I met Dr. Bove, he recommended that I try a strict vegan, soy free eliminationdiet for 30 days to detox. If I noticed a change in my psoriasis, we could attribute the inflammation to one of the foods I had eliminated. I followed Dr. Pagano’s psoriasis diet through my slow carb diet experiment, but switching to veganism was a radical change. I eliminated:

• Meat / Animal Products
• Tofu / Soy
• Wheat / Gluten
• Rice / Quinoh

For 30 days my diet was focused almost entirely on vegetables, salads, fruit, and a rice protein powder supplement. Almost immediately after starting the diet, I saw a change. My psoriasis and mood improved dramatically. Lesions started to dry up and leave pink skin behind. My psoriasis, at long last, was starting to heal.

Two weeks into the experiment, I reintroduced tofu and soy. I continued to see improvements.

30+ Days into the Psoriasis Vegan Diet

After 30 days, I decided to continue with the psoriasis vegan diet. Today, 60+ days into the experiment, my diet looks like this:

• Vegan
• No nightshades
• No sugar
• No wheat / minimal gluten
• No rice / quinoh / grains
• No alcohol
• No legumes

Let’s tackle these one by one:

Veganism

I follow a standard vegan diet. I don’t eat meat, fish, poultry, eggs, or dairy products. I don’t seek out honey, but I don’t mind if I eat it. I love my leather jacket and wool sweaters.

Nightshades

This is a carryover from the Pagano diet. Nightshades inflame my psoriasis. I don’t eat tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers, or smoke tobacco. If you suffer inflammation, eliminate nightshades.

Sugar

This is a carryover from the Pagano diet. Sugar, like nightshades, is inflammatory. Its addictive, inflames my psoriasis, and can cause outbreaks of candida. If I eat sugar, my psoriasis gets worse. This was an easy thing to give up.

Wheat / Gluten / Oats

Whenever I consume wheat, oats, or gluten, I become constipated and my psoriasis becomes inflamed. Dr. Bove recommended I avoid wheat, gluten, and oats for the 30-day vegan detox and I’ve continued to do so afterwards.

Rice / Quinoh / Grains

Dr. Bove recommended I minimize my intake of rice / quinoh / grains on the detox. After a week of avoiding rice and qinoh, my system felt cleaner and I was able to process *food quicker ((It was easier for me to poop. Whenever I ate rice or quinoh, my system took a *long time to process it. After I removed the grains from my diet, I felt much better!)). I’ve continued to minimize the amount of rice, quinoh, and grain I eat.

Alcohol

This is a carryover from the Pagano diet. Dr. Pagano recommends eliminating alcohol. The sugars in alcohol cause inflammation of psoriasis. In my experience, whenever I’d have a drink, my psoriasis become inflamed within 30 minutes. It’s been 2 years since I’ve been drunk. Once every 3 months I’ll have a small glass of wine at a party, but that’s enough to cause inflammation, itching, and the plaque scales. I intend on avoiding alcohol for the rest of my life.

Legumes

Over the course of the vegan experiment and slow carb diet, I developed a frequent deep pain on my ribs and in my stomach / gut. If I was sitting down, I’d rub my stomach and try to relieve a persistent ache. My psoriasis was getting better, but my stomach was killing me.

My mom suggested that I stop eating beans. Beans had become a daily protein source over the slow carb diet and veganism experiments. I stopped eating beans and 24 hours later all of my stomach pain vanished. Let me repeat that:

24 hours after eliminating beans from my diet, the stomach pains vanished.

Three days later, I ate beans with lunch to see what would happen. Immediately, I developed a stomach ache. For whatever reason, beans caused a stomach ache. I stopped eating legumes and I haven’t had stomach pain since.

Psoriasis Vegan Diet Supplements

I take the following supplements each morning. They help keep my vitamin D levels high, heal my gut, and make sure I’m receiving all the vitamins I need on a vegan diet.

• 2x Enzymedica Digest Gold — Helps my system digest protein.
• 4000mg of Vitamin D — Required vitamin D supplement.
• 2 Probiotic Enzyme Supplements — Heals my gut.
• 1 Rainbowlight Men’s Multivitamin — Supplements my vegan diet. Ensures that I’m receiving all the vitamins I need.

TL;DR: Psoriasis Vegan Diet

**Note: **This is one combination of diet and lifestyle that has worked for me. I’ve tried a lot of things over the 10+ years I’ve had psoriasis. Some things have worked. Some haven’t. This diet is producing the results I’ve wanted to see. This doesn’t mean that it’ll work for you. If you’re suffering from psoriasis, an inflammatory condition, or leaky gut syndrome, you should:

• Schedule an appointment with an MD, Naturopath, or Nutritionist to diagnose the root cause of your condition
• Try an elimination diet. Eliminate foods that might be causing your inflammation. Experiment and see foods are triggers.
• Buy a copy of Dr. Pagano’s *Healing Psoriasis: The Natural Alternative. *Follow his Psoriasis diet.

This vegan psoriasis diet worked for me, but I’ve spent years trying different treatments. I don’t know if this diet will work for you, but I do know that there is a strong link between diet and psoriasis / inflammation.

I believe it is entirely possible to heal psoriasis through dietary modification. If you’re suffering form psoriasis or an inflammation, make an appointment with an MD, Naturopath, or Nutritionist and determine what foods you can try eliminating.

My psoriasis is healing, I’m losing weight, and I feel better than I did 3 months ago. I feel better on this diet than I have in years. I have no plans to stop this diet. Don’t give up hope. It’s taken me 10 years to get to this point and it will take another 2-3 before my psoriasis is fully cured. There is a hope. Be strong.