Using Integrative Medicine to Support Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a skin condition that can significantly impact your quality of life. If you or a loved one are one of the 2% of the UK population who suffer from psoriasis, read on to discover how to support the condition naturally.

What is Psoriasis?

Psoriasis appears as silvery-white, scaly patches of skin surrounded by red, inflamed areas. Skin affected by psoriasis is usually sore and itchy. It frequently appears on the knees and elbows, but can affect the back, scalp, and hands, too.

Psoriasis occurs when skin cells called keratinocytes, found in the outer layer of your skin, are produced too rapidly. In healthy skin, new cells form over a period of three to four weeks, gradually making their way from the lowest part of your epidermis to the surface. However, in the case of psoriasis, skin cells migrate to the surface in a matter of days. This means they don’t have the chance to mature properly, and they build up on the skin’s surface.

What Causes Psoriasis?

The condition is part of the family of autoimmune diseases. In other words, it’s caused by the immune system attacking the skin.

The immune system sends special types of immune cells called T cells to the skin. These immune cells would normally protect you from bacteria and viruses. Once in the skin, the immune cells produce messenger chemicals boosting inflammation and affecting the normal growth cycle of the keratinocytes. This is what causes thick layers of skin to form. It’s also thought skin cells don’t secrete oils effectively in psoriasis sufferers, meaning skin becomes flaky and dry.

In other words, psoriasis is characterised by a loss of selectivity in the immune system. It becomes unable to distinguish between what is harmless, such as your skin, and a dangerous invader.

What Causes the Immune System to Attack Skin?

There seems to be a genetic disposition towards developing psoriasis. However, whether this tendency is triggered depends on external factors.

Gut Health

The microbes in your gut play a key role in teaching your immune system how to differentiate between friend and foe. Scientists have observed differences in gut bacteria between people with psoriasis and those without.

Psoriasis sufferers had fewer species of bacteria in their gut. They also played host to certain types of inflammatory bacteria, similar to those found in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (1). This should not come as a surprise because dysbiosis of the gut microbiome triggers widespread inflammation around the body. It’s believed toxins produced by pathogenic bacteria in the gut can make their way into skin cells, interfering with their lifecycle.

In fact, people with psoriasis often concurrently suffer from other autoimmune diseases. They may also be affected by fatigue, brain fog or digestive issues, all symptoms of chronic inflammation.

Furthermore, if the lining of the gut become more permeable than it should be, this can enable bacteria and particles of incompletely digested food to cross from the intestines to the bloodstream. Once there, they provoke the immune system into overdrive. In fact, many people notice their psoriasis flares up after eating certain foods – gluten is a common culprit.

Stress

Chronic stress can significantly affect immune system function because it leads to elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This can affect other hormones responsible for regulating the immune system. Psoriasis often worsens when people are under stress.

Nutrient Status

Nutrient deficiencies connected with psoriasis include vitamin D, which has been seen to be significantly lower in people with psoriasis (2). Also important are omega 3 fats, zinc (3), and magnesium.

Other research has seen improvements in psoriasis symptoms after supplementation with curcumin, an anti-inflammatory antioxidant contained in turmeric (4).

How is Psoriasis Treated?

Conventionally, steroid creams may be prescribed, designed to reduce inflammation in the skin. Other creams aim to dampen down immune system activity. Phototherapy is another option. Immunosuppressive tablets may be used to suppress the immune system in some cases.

However, these treatments come with side effects. Furthermore, they don’t address the reason the immune system is acting as it is and tend to work on the basis that the immune system is overactive, rather than lacking in selectivity.

Integrative Medicine Support for Psoriasis

Because the gut plays such a key role in immune health, supporting the gut is a priority in psoriasis. The Forbes Clinic offers GI Mapping to reveal the makeup of your gut microbiome and any intestinal permeability. Although providing comprehensive insights into how your gut health may be impacting your immune system, the test is simple to carry out in the privacy of your own home.

In addition, if stress is suspected to be a factor, the DUTCH Complete is a urine test which can reveal how stress is impacting your hormones, at the same time giving insights into nutritional deficiencies. Your practitioner may recommend positive dietary strategies to reduce inflammation and replace missing nutrients to help support immune function.

To further support you, we offer a range of mind/body therapies, such as Emotional Freedom Technique to help reframe your body’s reaction to stress. Meanwhile, Microimmunotherapy is a clinically proven technique to rebalance your immune system.

A great start to your journey to better skin and immune health is our Integrative Health Assessment, designed to uncover the root cause of your health issues.