Psoriasis

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Psoriasis

 

PSORIASIS IS NOT A HEARTBREAK BUT IT MIGHT BE

MALNUTRITION

 

The Merck Manual, the " Cliff Notes " of medical school,

says that psoriasis has an unknown cause and no real

cure. If the medical doctor's black bag is empty,

that does not mean that there's nothing else to do.

It means that it is now necessary to know Nature's

nutritional knapsack. (What a nice alliteration that

turned out to be.)

 

With psoriasis, there definitely are some worthwhile

clues to track down. After all, as Sherlock Holmes

said, " if all common explanations fail to solve a

problem, then the answer must be some uncommon one. "

To many people, the therapeutic use of fish oils,

vegetable juice fasting, zinc, and vitamins do indeed

represent something completely different. Different,

but not actually all that unreasonable.

 

OMEGA-3 FISH OILS

Psoriasis may be partly due to a difficulty in the way

the body handles oils, or to a lack of oils in the

diet itself. Studies have shown that consuming a

fatty acid found in fish called EPA (eicosapentanoic

acid) may provide symptom relief. EPA is an " omega-3

fatty acid. " All that means is that the first

carbon-to-carbon double bond is located three carbons

in from the far (omega) end of each molecule. Most

vegetable oils that you eat are omega-6 fatty acids

(such as linoleic acid). Now just why would it matter

if a chemical bond is by Carbon Number Three or Carbon

Number Six? As they said in Kung Fu, " There are many

mysteries, grasshopper " and this seems to be one of

them.

 

Can you stand any more of this? Let's see. The two

most common fish oil omega-3 fatty acids are EPA

(mentioned earlier) and DHA (docosahexenoic acid)

People who don't eat fish need to know that there is a

third, vegetarian omega-3. It is called LINOLENIC

ACID (NOT omega-6 linoleic acid mentioned above) This

omega-3 " fish oil " is found in linseed oil and more

importantly in soybean oil and GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES.

 

 

Linolenic (omega-3) acid is slowly converted into both

DHA and EPA in the body. Ah ha! Could this be the

problem that psoriasis patients have, namely, that

they are slow to make this conversion? If so, the

psoriasis patient probably needs fish in the diet to

provide EPA ready made. It is a sensible thing to do

anyway. The Japanese have the world's longest life

expectancy among all the " Westernized " cultures, and

they eat a LOT of fish. The Japanese also eat very

little red meat.

 

A way the omega-3 fatty acids might work is by

actually getting into each cell membrane, making them

more bendable, adaptable and durable. Improved immune

response is another benefit of fish oil consumption,

and it is especially important in the treatment of

lupus.

 

So, as my kids would ask, " How much of this stuff do

we have to eat? " Well, oily fish (trout, mackerel,

salmon) are best and a little dab will do you.

Non-oily fish (cod, flounder, haddock) are also worth

having, but you'd need to eat a bit more of them.

Tuna packed in (omega-6 vegetable) oil does not count.

 

 

Alternatively, you could eat a lot of green leafy

vegetables, use soy oil more often, and take an EPA

supplement. Around 300 to 1,000 milligrams of EPA

daily is frequently recommended.

 

Incidentally, the New England Journal of Medicine

(312:1205, 1985) reported that as little as 30 grams

of even low-fat fish per day reduced the 20-year death

rate from coronary heart disease by fifty percent!

That is only about ONE OUNCE of fish daily, actually

providing less than 300 mg of omega-3 fatty acids each

day. This is very strong support indeed. Helping

your skin could actually save your life.

 

VEGETABLE JUICE FASTING

Since vegetables, especially green ones, provide

omega-3 linolenic acid, a diet fortified with

quantities of fresh vegetable juice makes more sense

than ever. You also avoid any worries about fish and

water pollution. Grow you own veggies and you can

avoid pesticides and other agricultural chemicals as

well. I've been gardening for 20 years and have never

used anything but fertilizer, mulch, and compost. You

simply don't need the petrochemical bug- and

weed-killers. (I suppose you could even raise your

own fish, for that matter. I hope my daughter doesn't

see me eying her aquarium right now. Just kidding.)

 

A diet of juiced vegetables may provide such an

abundance of linolenic acid that it overcomes any

bodily reluctance to metabolize it properly. I know

of two people who tested this theory by going on

periodic one-week juice fasts. Both individuals had

been properly diagnosed with psoriasis by medical

specialists. Over a period of weeks, both fully

recovered. Since psoriasis often comes and goes

anyway, the real significance is that each person has

remained symptom free for many years now.

 

Vegetable juice fasting is not starvation. It is just

a lot of liquefied salad. A lot of veggies go into

the daily quart or more of juice that a person

commonly drinks while fasting. That is NOT too much

liquid; doctors often recommend four to eight glasses

of water daily. It is NOT too much " vegetable " in the

diet; you simply cannot hurt yourself with produce.

The juices DO provide carbohydrates, minerals,

vitamins and more protein than you might think. It is

certainly a low fat diet, but a little fish oil may of

course be added to take care of that.

 

ZINC SUPPLEMENTATION

Your skin contains one fifth of your body's zinc

supply. Rats and mice that are deficient in zinc

develop a skin condition called keratogenesis that is

very similar to human psoriasis (Hoffer and Walker,

Orthomolecular Nutrition, p 156-157). Zinc deficiency

in humans is the rule, not the exception. The US RDA

for zinc is only 15 milligrams a day, and yet the

average American takes in even less than that.

(Williams, Nutrition and Diet Therapy, 7th ed., page

253) In spite of this, it is most uncommon to find

either dietitians or doctors ever recommending a

supplement of this mineral.

 

Research has shown that supplements of zinc are safe

up to about 500 mg. daily. At that huge dose, over a

period of weeks or months, a copper deficiency may

develop. A more sensible daily dose of 50 mg to

perhaps 100 mg may be maintained for as long as is

desired. A good multiple vitamin along with this will

provide some balancing copper, as will (believe it or

not) the copper water pipes in your home.

 

The " amino acid chelated " form of zinc is better

tolerated and better absorbed than zinc sulfate or

other inorganic forms of the mineral.

 

VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTATION

The skin is your largest and most visible organ. It

is therefore a good indicator of health in general.

Vitamin shortages are often indicated by skin

problems. Classic clinical deficiencies of riboflavin

(B-2), niacin (B-3), Vitamin A and Vitamin C all

result in skin disease. At the very least, psoriasis

patients should be urged to take a good multivitamin

daily. Everyone knows that it can't hurt, but not

everyone knows how much it might help. Additional

Vitamin A is best taken as non-toxic carotene, which

is in vegetable juices mentioned earlier. A B-complex

supplement provides a balance of all B-vitamins,

ensuring safety. Vitamin C is also non-toxic, even in

very large doses. In our overfed but undernourished

culture, vegetable juice fasting and dietary

supplements make sense to try. There is no medicine

on the market as safe as these. Medicine deficiency

does not cause psoriasis, but nutritional deficiency

might.

 

REFERENCES:

Carper, Jean (1993) Food: Your Miracle Medicine.

HarperCollins. pages 445-446

 

Harris, William S. (1985) " Health Effects of Omega-3

Fatty Acids. " Contemporary Nutrition, 10:8, August.

 

Hoffer, Abram and Walker, Morton (1978) Orthomolecular

Nutrition. Keats Publishing, pages 156-157

 

Pfeiffer, Carl (1978) Zinc and Other Micro-Nutrients.

Keats Publishing.

 

Vorhees, J.G.; Chakrabarti, S.G.; Botero, F.; Meidler,

L. and Harrell, E. R. (1969) " Zinc Therapy and

Distribution in Psoriasis, " Archives of Dermatology,

100:669-673.

 

 

Copyright C 1999 and prior years Andrew W. Saul.

From the books QUACK DOCTOR and PAPERBACK CLINIC,

available from Dr. Andrew Saul, Number 8 Van Buren

Street, Holley, New York 14470.