Carnivore Diet and Psoriasis [All You Need to Know]

What Is Psoriasis?

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease that results in the overgrowth of skin cells and is characterised by thick, silvery scales and red, itchy, and even painful skin patches.

This autoimmune skin condition makes skin cells multiply too rapidly and move to the surface in just a few days. The scars can appear everywhere on the body but are most common in elbows, knees, scalp, lower back, and nails.

Psoriasis affects not only a person’s body but their lifestyle, as it can cause self-consciousness, discomfort, and emotional distress.

What can cause this annoying illness, and how can we know if we’re involved? The following subsections will clarify.

Causes

It’s not perfectly clear why Psoriasis occurs, but a combination of genetic, immune system, and environmental factors are believed to cause it. Let’s review these factors below.

• Genetic Factors: Psoriasis is believed to move among family members. But not everyone who has this gene will necessarily pass it to the next generations.
• Immune System Dysfunction: Psoriasis is caused by disorders in the immune system, i.e., the system attacks healthy cells in the body by mistake.
• Inflammatory Pathways: Psoriasis involves inflammation and interactions between immune cells (T cells) and some signalling molecules (Cytokines).
• Environmental Triggers: Stress, infections (like strep throat or skin infections), skin injuries (cuts or sunburns), certain medications (like lithium or beta-blockers), and smoking are among the environmental factors leading to Psoriasis.
• Improper Nutrition

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Symptoms

Psoriasis can show itself with various symptoms in differnt patients, but the following are among the most common.

• Red patches of skin, especially around the elbows, knees, scalp, lower back, and buttocks
• Dry, painful, and itchy skin, which can even cause bleeding
• Thickened, pitted, discoloured, or crumbly nails
• Red and itchy patches on the scalp can even lead to hair loss in some cases.
• Joint pain and swelling, aka psoriatic arthritis, mainly affects the fingers, toes, knees, and ankles.
• Emotional impacts of Psoriasis can include embarrassment, frustration, and even depression.

Now that we know enough about Psoriasis, let’s get to know more about the Carnivore diet to figure out if the Carnivore diet can help Psoriasis and cure it.

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What Is a Carnivore Diet?

The Carnivore diet is a dietary approach that focuses on increasing the intake of protein and fat and minimizing or eliminating carbohydrates.

To this aim, the Carnivore diet allows the consumption of animal-based foods, including meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs, and disapproves of eating plant-based foods, from vegetables and fruits to legumes and seeds.

This extremely low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) diet has simple rules as follows.

• Consume animal-based foods only
• Avoid plant-based foods
• Avoid processed foods
• Avoid sweeteners or seasonings
• Avoid or limit dairy
• Choose high-quality, nutrient-dense, grass-fed beef, pasture-raised poultry and meat, wild-caught fish, and organic eggs.

So, the question is whether the Carnivore diet or generally any kind of change in eating habits can help treat Psoriasis. The following section will focus on the role of diets in treating Psoriasis.

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Treat Psoriasis with Diet

While diet alone cannot cure Psoriasis, there have been some reports of managing Psoriasis symptoms with dietary modifications.

It’s no secret that dietary approaches impact individuals differently, and you can’t expect to experience the exact results others have experienced. Anyhow, these dietary considerations can work for Psoriasis patients.

Anti-Inflammatory Diets

Reducing inflammation is key to alleviating Psoriasis symptoms. Anti-inflammatory diets include foods rich in antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and anti-inflammatory compounds (source).

Gluten-Free Diet

Some Psoriasis patients are sensitive to gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains. Using a gluten-free diet can help these patients.

Elimination Diet

Removing or limiting the consumption of potential trigger foods, including dairy, eggs, soy, or nightshade vegetables, can decrease reactions in Psoriasis patients.

Vitamin D

Studies show that consuming vitamin D or the foods rich in vitamin D can help treat Psoriasis (source).

Weight Management

Excess weight can worsen Psoriasis symptoms and increase inflammation. So, it’s important to manage weight (source).

Hydration and Sleep

Drinking high amounts of water every day can help Psoriasis patients alleviate symptoms. Also, studies indicate that good sleep can help treat some skin conditions, including Psoriasis (source).

If you pay enough attention to the last two sections above, you can find similar items among the two, i.e., some features of the diets helping Psoriasis patients can be found in the Carnivore diet. Let’s get into details and see how the Carnivore diet can help cure Psoriasis.

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How Does The Carnivore Diet Cure Psoriasis?

A study conducted by Giuseppe Castaldo et al. (2021) on the effect of the Carnivore diet on curing psoriasis indicated that Psoriasis is associated with obesity in many patients.

Obesity can cause excess adipose tissue, resulting in a systemic inflammatory status from the active adipose tissue. So weight management can help fight this state.

This study focused on the effects of a ketogenic diet (consisting of high fats, moderate proteins and low carbohydrates, like a Carnivore diet) on the clinical parameters, metabolic profile, and inflammatory state of psoriasis patients.

Therefore, researchers exposed 30 psoriasis patients to a ketogenic diet and monitored them for a month. Their results indicated that a low-calorie ketogenic diet could be an effective strategy against Psoriasis-related dysmetabolism.

As this study and many others indicate, a healthy diet can indeed help alleviate the symptoms of Psoriasis. So, let’s find out what Carnivore-friendly foods we need to eat and avoid to improve Psoriasis symptoms.

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Foods to Eat

The main Carnivore diet foods that can help Psoriasis patients are as follows.

• Fatty Fish, including salmon, mackerel, and sardines, are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which have anti-inflammatory properties.
• Grass-fed beef contains essential nutrients, healthy fats, and a better omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio.
• Organ meats, including liver, kidney, and heart, are highly nutritious and rich in vitamins and minerals like A, iron, and zinc.
• Eggs have different vitamins, minerals, and high-quality protein
• Bone broth is a good source of collagen, amino acids, and minerals, which can improve skin health and gut function in Psoriasis patients.

Foods to Avoid

The main point is to listen to your body and avoid trigger foods, which can differ among individuals. Let’s find out the potential foods Psoriasis patients can avoid for improved health.

• Trigger foods like dairy products, gluten-containing foods, and nightshade vegetables, including tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplants
• Highly processed foods, including fast food, packaged snacks, sugary beverages, and refined carbohydrates, including white bread, pasta, and pastries
• Alcohol can increase inflammation and trigger or worsen psoriasis symptoms.
• High-sugar foods can also worsen psoriasis symptoms.
• Saturated and trans fats, including fatty cuts of meat, fried foods, processed snacks, and commercially baked goods
• Too much salt can cause fluid retention and worsen Psoriasis symptoms.

Summary

While the Carnivore diet cannot cure Psoriasis 100%, it includes foods that can help manage symptoms and improve the patients’ general well-being.

Fatty fish, grass-fed beef, organ meats, eggs, and bone broth are among the nutrient-dense foods that potentially benefit Psoriasis patients.

However, no one can claim that eating certain foods alone can cure Psoriasis or even those foods are useful for everyone. So, it’s essential to consult healthcare professionals before drastically changing your diet.