Hello there. I am Mary. I have just joined.
I actually stumbled across this forum accidentally whilst reading an article on raw sauerkraut – as you do!
Anyway, I would like to add my two-cents-worth to the conversation.
I am 50 years old and I have had psoriasis since birth.
I think I have tried almost every treatment known to mankind. Well maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but it certainly feels like it, and my wallet is emptier for trying
I had particularly bad coverage during my teens and 20's. Not sure why, maybe the flares were connected to hormones and growing pains? On the other hand, could have been made worse by my smoking, alcohol drinking, coke drinking and generally bad diet. I was also a bit of a stress head, which obviously did not help matters.
Even spent four weeks in hospital when I was a teenager being treated for it, and whilst that helped initially, it soon flared up again within six months.
However, I have had it mainly in remission for the past ten years. When I say remission, I mean clear skin with no sign of plaque patches.
Whilst this is not a cure, it is a better place than I could have ever dreamt of.
In the past ten years, I had one flare up that lasted six months, and that was because I went through a stressful period of family deaths and moving house, and changing jobs. However, thereafter, I managed to get things under control and cleared it up again.
I was able to treat the condition and maintain in remission due to : DIET
First, I kept a food diary and eventually figured out that my psoriasis patches would look or feel a lot worse (being itchy was a big giveaway), after I had over indulged in certain foods, things like: coffee, sugar, gluten, nightshades, dairy, beer, big drinking sessions, processed meats, fried foods, red meat and such like.
The first big step I took was eliminating or strongly limiting the trigger foods. The second step I took was starting to drink vegetable juices daily. The third step I took was throwing out all chemical skin care products and replacing them with cold pressed oils and other natural products. The fourth step I took was finding ways to reduce and manage my stress levels. The fifth step was adding some supplements in.
When all five aspects were combined, it took me exactly six months to clear all traces of psoriasis from my body. And thereafter I continued to remain clear using these methods.
Sad thing is, I had no support from my doctors and dermatologist. They told me I was wasting my time, energy and money. Completely poohed poohed my ideas and blah blah blah. I had to be strong in my convictions listening to their doom and gloom.
I no longer need to see my derm, and if I do see my doctor I make a point of telling him and showing him that my skin is still clear – poor man is always left speechless.
I did however find myself a good naturopath, who suggested some supplements that helped along the way. I no longer take the supplements, but I did in the initial stages. Things like Vitamin D3, dandelion, zinc and fish oil.
What else can I say?
I found swimming in chlorine particularly bad. But I found swimming in the sea to be beneficial.
Traditional chemical sun lotion was terrible, but I have found some super organic natural sunscreen that does not irritate.
Nowadays I only use cold pressed pure oils on my skin to moisturise, things like organic macadamia nut oil, black seed oil, chia seed oil, hemp seed oil, calendula and jojoba oil. I am sure the chemicals in my old cosmetic routine were making the psoriasis worse. Whereas these natural oils help to nourish.
I found Emotional Freedom Technique, meditation and yoga quite helpful in lowering stress. Changing jobs also helped enormously, and I now take adaptogens in the form of herbal teas which really help.
So nice to now wear shorts and tee shirt in summer without being stared at.
EDIT: I suggest a good first step is Googling: Jason Vale aka the Juice Master. He keeps his psoriasis in remission with juicing and trips to the Dead Sea. I found him at the start of my journey and he may be helpful for you. Vegetable juicing REALLY helped me. I stopped drinking coke, and started on the veggie juices - made a huge positive difference to my skin.
Thank you for reading
Post Edited (thethreemarys) : 3/16/2018 9:30:55 PM (GMT-6)