Ways to address psoriasis

This Week In The HSI Healthier Talk Community

August is psoriasis awareness month. But anyone who suffers from this uncomfortable skin condition doesn’t require a special month to be aware that any relief from psoriasis is welcome year-round.

With psoriasis, skin cells multiply too rapidly, resulting in unsightly, itchy rashes. Severe cases can be extremely painful and debilitating. Complicating matters is the fact that psoriasis is still poorly understood and has no certain cause, although evidence shows that for many patients the source is heredity.

There are several threads in the HSI Healthier Talk Community that address different ways to address psoriasis. In one, a member named Shelia points out that a dietary change may be the most effective way to begin treatment: “Some get relief by cutting out all traces of gluten from their diet. As so much gluten is hidden, it’s possible that it could be the common factor, but most people inadvertently eat hidden gluten and then assume the diet is not working. In some research where the patients had a controlled gluten free diet, the majority had a reduction or complete clearing of their symptoms.”

A member who goes by “hhglenn” notes that psoriasis is an autoimmune disorder. He writes: “Glyconutrients will give the body what it needs to correct the misguided immune system.”

Glyconutrients (abundant in unprocessed fruits and vegetables) are natural sugar compounds that help prevent viruses and bacteria from adhering to cells by taking up their receptor sites. If the virus or bacteria can’t bind to a cell, they can’t make you sick. Glyconutrient sugar chains play a vital role in nearly every physiological process, including immune system response, tissue regeneration and cell replication.

A member named George has a case of psoriasis that was treated unexpectedly. He began taking two grams per day of inositol (niacin) to address a cognitive condition. But to his surprise, “My psoriasis has reduced to something barely noticeable – even through the cold winter with the dry heat and little sunshine.”

The beach might be just the thing for some psoriasis patients. A member named Mary writes: “A friend of mine noticed a big difference, when she was going to the beach daily. Something about the sea water helped her a lot. It was almost cleared up, until she had to stop going to the beach. Just a thought, wouldn’t that be a great prescription, daily dose of beach time.”

I couldn’t agree more. But in this case the factor that helped clear up psoriasis was probably sunlight, not sea water. Here are three members who have similar takes on sun exposure

Rick: “The real cure is free – Just takes your time and effort! Sunlight is the ultimate healer!”

Evan: “UV rays from sunshine or tanning beds is also an effective way to control it.”

Bob: “Vitamin D I think is a big factor. Dr. Douglass has been talking about lack of Vit. D and sun, and psoriasis was one thing he mentioned.”

A member named Rtust says that she found relief from psoriasis with slippery elm and American saffron tea. She writes: “This is the regimen I came up with: one heaping teaspoonful of slippery elm powder twice a dayfirst thing in AM and again in afternoon. One cup of American saffron tea in the evening. I started Oct 7th (kept a calendar diary), in Dec (21st)I was almost totally clear. Slippery elm heals the digestive tractand American saffron aids the body in getting toxins OUT.”

Other topics being discussed this week in the Healthier Talk community forums include:

Allergies: Food allergies cause IBS
Memory: Alzheimer’s and cholesterol
Dental: Fluoride in bottled water
Vision: Wheat free with greatly improved vision!
Diabetes: Peripheral Neuropathy (Internal itching in feet)
General Health Topics: Ultrasound used to detect plaque buildup

You can easily reach the HSI Healthier Talk community forums on our web site at www.hsionline.com. Just choose “Forum,” and join in with any of the dozens of discussions about nutrition and natural health care.