Can My Diet Help Improve My Psoriasis?

It has become increasingly clear over time that diet may have a significant effect on certain inflammatory skin diseases.  Recently, there have been two articles published in the August and September issues of JAMA Dermatology examining the role of diet on psoriasis.  The August article synthesizes previously published articles and concludes that there is strong data supporting weight loss as correlating with better psoriasis control.  The September article specifically examines the role of the Mediterranean diet by examining survey data from over 35,000 individuals.  Individuals who successfully complied with the recommended Mediterranean diet (MEDI-LITE) were less likely to have severe psoriasis. Although the data is not randomized and is based on self-reporting, it provides a strong support for considering the Mediterranean diet for individuals with psoriasis or individual with risk factors for psoriasis. Weight loss is already supported by previous data, and so maintaining a careful weight loss program including a Mediterranean style diet may both boost health and help protect against psoriasis progression.  Hopefully, in coming years additional data including randomized studies will continue to support the potential benefits of this diet.