Hi there, I had some psoriasis on my knees and elbows appear about a year ago after a year on paleo. First I tried eating more carbs and even added some non-gluten grains. That helped a little bit but didn't solve it. Then I started using Fermented Cod liver oil instead of my Carlson super Gems and that helped a bit too. Three things happened simultaneously when I finally saw it disappear, and this was when I was back on low carb paleo again. I started drinking high magnesium mineral water and cooking with non-flouridated water, I started taking kelp supplements and adding a big hunk of kombu to every soup, sauce and stew I cooked, and I started getting regular sunshine. It could be any one of those three things but I have a feeling it was a combination. Especially the iodine. It's completely gone now.

Welcome to PaleoHacks. In recent times diet has not helped my psoriasis. Before paleo a serious cleansing diet (lots of veggies, juicing) plus saunas helped for a while. What has helped me recently and with minimal effort is UVB light therapy. I bought a $300 lamp and aimed it at one of my big spots of psoriasis every day, building up to a minute, for about three weeks. A couple of months later that spot is very very pale and the psoriasis hasn't returned there.

Diet hasn't been the magic bullet for me.

Hey all!

I'm not sure if anyone else has tried it yet but I've been using pure petroleum jelly - Vaseline to be precise and it's really made a difference. It hasn't helped the root cause of my psoriasis but it has helped to make it a lot less angry looking, it's not even close to the flakiness it was before and my elbows, arms and knees finally feel like skin. Albeit bumpy skin, but skin nonetheless (not the scales of a dragon).

If you've not tried it yet, whack a generous amount on your affected areas before you go to bed and then put a thin layer on when you need to during the day. I started to notice big difference after a few days. It might not work for everyone but anything is worth a try to at least control it surely?

I developed severe psoriasis (palmo-plantar) a few years ago at age 51. Going both dairy free and gluten free did a marvelous job at clearing things up. Proceeding to full paleo early this year improved matters further. All these dietary changes also helped my IBS tremendously. Oh, I was then treated for H. pylori. My IBS is now 100% better and my psoriasis improved a bit further. Finally, I was diagnosed with subclinical hypothyroidism a few months back. I am now eating nori (kelp), which is loaded with iodine, and taking selenium/zinc/copper supplements. My psoriasis is now extremely minimal.

My only suggestions for you:

1) Do elimination testing of likely psoriasis trigger foods. Dairy is a severe psoriasis trigger for me. Gluten? Not sure, but I figured it is not a healthy food anyway. But even stuff like peanuts, soy and baker's yeast all seem to inflame my psoriasis to a degree. Eliminating these foods from my diet has made a certain improvement.

2) Get tested for H. pylori despite your diarrhea being cleared up.

3) Get your thyroid levels (TSH, free T4) checked since you say your body temperature is low. You might want to read up on taking iodine.

Best of luck to you.

_Lazza

Apart from all the inflammatory foods you might need to avoid (personally, coffee hoses me, and I can't tolerate a lot of dairy), one thing I do for my psoriasis is to rinse my scalp in a solution of 1:3 distilled white vinegar: water. I read this in an Edgar Cayce book a loooong time ago, and it seems to help significantly.

I also need, I suspect, vitamin D supplements. I live in Seattle, and have noticed my psoriasis is significantly worse in the darkness of winter vs. summer. I also tend to wear a lot of hats outdoors in winter due to the cold / rain, too, so you might want to make sure you're getting plenty of air circulation.

The fact that a water-fast provided relief, albeit shortly lived, would indicate that there is a great chance you are still reacting to some foods in your diet.

Have you tried an elimination diet, followed by a slow re-introduction of foods, one at a time, while carefully observing your reactions?

When dealing with a leaky gut (which is commonly associated with autoimmune), it is possible to become sensitive/allergic to any food you are consuming, especially protein dense foods.

As far as allergy tests go, they are essentially worthless when you are dealing with IGG mediated allergies. I can say from my personal experience, I came up completely negative on the traditional allergy prick tests, yet from careful self-diagnosis I was able to absolutely confirm multiple allergies to foods.

I highly recommend trying an elimination diet, as that is the only accurate way to determine if and to which foods you are reacting to. The fact that you responded positively to a water-fast, I find very telling. Before you start shopping for supplements, I encourage you to try a proper elimination diet.

You may find this article helpful - http://doctorklaper.com/answers07.html

Quit coffee as it known to cause leaky gut and leaky gut is linked to psoriasis. Also you did not mention alcohol. If you do not drink already, good. If you do this is another step you can make.