You probably don't associate psoriasis, an itchy, scaly skin disease, with your diet. But there's some evidence that a protein called gluten -- found in wheat, barley and rye and in food products containing those three grains -- might play a role in some psoriasis cases. To determine whether gluten is causing your psoriasis, you'll need to undergo medical testing. Ultimately you also may need to experiment with an elimination diet, under your doctor's supervision.
Background
Psoriasis occurs when dead, dry skin cells build into scales on the surface of your skin. It affects more than 6 million Americans, and it's considered an autoimmune condition, which means it results from a problem with your immune system. You can have varying degrees of psoriasis -- it may only affect one small part of your skin, or it may cover your body. There's no known cure, but you can manage the disease using creams or medications.
Connection
In some people, celiac disease -- another autoimmune condition that involves an intolerance to the gluten protein -- seems to raise the risk of psoriasis. Celiac disease normally causes digestive symptoms, such as diarrhea, gas and bloating, but it also can cause symptoms on your skin and in many other body systems. To find out if you have celiac disease, your physician will recommend a series of blood tests that look for antibodies to gluten in your blood. If these tests come back positive, it's likely you have the condition, but your doctor will need to confirm it with a biopsy of your small intestine. If it turns out you have celiac disease, dropping gluten from your diet may improve your psoriasis, as well.
Alternative
Not everyone who reacts to gluten by developing psoriasis actually has celiac disease, however. If your celiac tests come back negative, you may want to consider another test -- an elimination diet -- to see if gluten consumption might be impacting your skin condition. You test this by eliminating gluten from your diet for long enough to see if it makes a difference. You'll need to confer with your physician to see how long you should wait before reintroducing gluten. If your skin improves while you're eating gluten-free and then regresses once you add gluten back into your diet, you'll know that gluten contributes to your psoriasis.
Considerations
If you receive a celiac disease diagnosis, you'll need to stay gluten-free for life. That means giving up all foods with wheat, barley or rye in them, which can include most commercially prepared baked goods along with sauces, dressings and many other processed foods. If your tests indicate you don't have celiac but still develop psoriasis in response to gluten in your diet, you'll need to talk with your physician about whether you should follow a gluten-free diet. You may decide it's worth it to keep your psoriasis in check.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Psoriasis; March 13, 2010
- University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center: Antibody Blood Tests
- University of Utah Health Care; Beer Linked to Psoriasis in Women; Aug. 17, 2010
- Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology; "Serologic Markers of Celiac Disease in Psoriatic Patients"; A. Damasiewicz-Bodzek; September 2008
