For many, living with psoriasis is a constant struggle. While creams, steroids, and immune-suppressing drugs can provide some temporary relief, do they really offer a lasting solution? What if the real cause of psoriasis extends beyond the skin? What if conventional treatments are merely addressing the surface symptoms or masking up the symptoms and neglecting the main root causes of your issue? This blog will provide insight into how addressing the root causes of psoriasis might be the key to achieving long-term relief.
Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune condition in which skin cells multiply up to 10 times faster than usual. This rapid cell growth leads to scaly skin and red patches that can be painful and, at times, debilitating. While psoriasis is commonly viewed as a skin disorder, recent research suggests that it is much more than that. It is actually an immune system problem linked to gut health or systemic inflammation.
Unfortunately, despite this understanding, conventional treatments tend to focus mainly on managing the symptoms, and the opportunity to heal from the inside is often missed.
Is your doctor giving you the right psoriasis treatment?
You visit the doctor for relief whenever you experience itchiness, irritation, or red patches on your skin. Once you discuss your problems with them, they prescribe topical psoriasis creams and medications that aim to relieve the visible symptoms. As skin care is an essential concern, most of the patients follow these instructions to calm their inflamed skin. But the next logical question arises: why is this happening?
When you ask your doctor, they might attribute psoriasis to factors like diet sensitivity, environmental pollution, or toxin exposure. Though these explanations hold some truth, the treatment approach they provide primarily focuses on managing the surface symptoms rather than addressing the root causes. The prescribed psoriasis creams and medications can help reduce itching and visible patches which ease the external discomfort, but what about your internal healing? Doctors often overlook a very important fact that what manifests on your skin is a reflection of your body’s internal health.
Did your doctor prescribe any treatment that aimed at improving your gut or detoxifying your system? The answer is no. Now you might have a question: What is an effective psoriasis treatment? And the answer is iThrive.
The Hidden Root Causes of Psoriasis
- Gut Health: Skin health and gut health go hand in hand. It is said that about 70% of the immune system resides in the gut, and poor gut health has been known to disrupt the normal function of our immunity, leading to inflammation. Disruptions in healthy gut bacteria and molecules that trigger or exacerbate the autoimmune responses can lead to psoriasis. It might be an important mediator in the process of systemic inflammation and skin health.
- Chronic inflammation: Psoriasis is an inflammatory disease, and chronic inflammation in the body can be a trigger point for developing psoriasis. Dietary factors like gluten, dairy, and sugar can cause inflammation, as well as toxins from the environment such as pesticides, herbicides (glyphosate), SLS, parabens, heavy metals or chemical pollutants that you are exposed to & chronic stress. If these things are not removed or dealt with appropriately, then all of the above can cause hyperactivation of your immune system, which leads to chronic skin complaints.
- Hormone imbalance: There is a range of evidence that hormones actively modulate our immune function and inflammation, as hormonal imbalance plays a crucial role in the association between PCOS and auto-immune diseases. Factors such as stress, poor sleep, and diet can throw our hormones off balance, which can make psoriasis worsen. The body's stress hormone cortisol is also an inflammatory mediator, which explains why we see increased inflammation with more stress coming our way.
- Micronutrient Deficiencies: Research says vitamin D, zinc, and omega-3 essential fatty acids and B vitamins are important nutrients for proper immune modulation and skin health. They have antioxidant effects and are frequently deficient in psoriasis patients. Consequently, proper consumption of such nutrients can go a long way toward alleviating the symptoms and also addressing their root causes.
What is the real solution for your psoriasis?
To treat your psoriasis and get a solution beyond the psoriasis creams and conventional medications, you can try functional nutrition. Instead of just focusing on the skin, a functional nutrition approach considers the entire body by addressing inflammation, immune balance, and gut health to bring relief and treat the roots.
How Functional Nutrition Helps in Treating Psoriasis
- Proper Diet: Diet is a critical factor in managing autoimmune conditions like psoriasis. An anti-inflammatory diet rich in whole foods can help calm the gut and reduce inflammation. Many individuals with psoriasis find benefits in reducing or eliminating gluten, dairy, and processed sugar from their diets. At iThrive, the functional nutritionist provides a customised diet based on the root causes of your psoriasis. The customised diet protocol includes everything from what you need to take and what you need to eliminate.
- Gut healing: Supporting gut health is very important. Probiotics, prebiotics, and other gut-healing supplements can help prepare the gut lining and maintain a balanced microbiome. Collaborating with a functional nutritionist to identify the best gut healing protocol can help reduce inflammation and improve psoriasis symptoms. At iThrive, we recommend taking iThrive Essentials Probiotics with prebiotics, which helps maintain your gut health and strengthen your immunity.
- Stress Management: Chronic stress exaggerates inflammation, so finding effective ways to manage it can be transformative. Practices like meditation, deep breathing, and regular exercise can help regulate stress hormones and the immune response. At iThrive, we have integrated several healing elements that play an important part in stress management.
- Detoxification: Supporting the body‘s natural detox pathway, such as the liver, helps reduce toxin buildup.
At iThrive, we believe psoriasis can be reversed through a functional nutrition approach. We create personalised plans, provide supplementation guidance, provide continuous support, and help you heal from within. We study your health history, analyse the blood tests, and find root causes of your symptoms. Not all bodies are the same, and so is our approach. Book a free consultation with iThrive today and know more about how we can heal your psoriasis.
Have questions? We have answers
What are the causes of psoriasis?
Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease and is caused by immune system dysfunction. Some factors like gut health, diet, stress, chronic inflammation, and environmental toxins can trigger the condition.
Is psoriasis dangerous?
Psoriasis is not life-threatening, but it can impact a person's quality of life due to chronic discomfort and visible skin issues.
How to cure psoriasis permanently?
There are several root causes responsible for psoriasis that need to be addressed. There is no such permanent solution; it all depends on a comprehensive approach that involves diet, gut health, lifestyle changes, supplementation, and detoxification, which can lead to long-term remission and recovery.
Are creams we get in the medical store effective for psoriasis?
Creams and topical treatments can only provide temporary relief by reducing itching and inflammation. However, they do not address the root causes of psoriasis, which means the symptoms may arise once the treatment is stopped.
What can I do to address the root causes of psoriasis?
You can book a free consultation with iThrive and discuss your health history with our expert nutritionist. Once you sign up for our Alive program, we do the root cause analysis of your psoriasis and work on it. We create a customized diet plan and provide supplementation guidance, lifestyle interventions, and continuous support to heal you from within.