Psoriasis Care - Diet

Ensuring a healthy lifestyle is essential for people with a chronic condition such as psoriasis. To help manage your skin, it is important to consume a healthy diet, control weight, quit smoking and limit alcohol use.

Always discuss any changes in diet with your doctor as some foods can interact with certain medication.

Here are some tips for eating well:

• Eat a variety of foods
• Watch food portions
• Add colour to your diet by adding fruit and vegetables
• Choose low sodium
• Use sugar and salt in moderation and try other spices to flavour food
• Watch fat and cholesterol
• Plan out meals
• Consider supplementing your diet with multi-vitamins

Some people may find that by eliminating certain foods or taking certain supplements their psoriasis improves.

It is wise for everyone to have a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables (five portions a day) and to drink plenty of fluids, especially water (around 1.5-2 litres a day).

Alcohol can be particularly drying to the skin – if you drink alcohol try to keep this at moderate levels .