The following article will discuss a psoriatic arthritis diet that can be used to help the symptoms of the disease. I remember after my diagnosis of the condition being given a 2 page handout explaining the suggested medication for psoriatic arthritis. Early on in the handout it was simply stated that they were not really sure how the drug helped the arthritis but it did. I recall the list of potential side effects just kept going on and on, among them cancer of the liver, in the end it almost seemed worse than having psoriatic arthritis in the first place. A treatment that potentially leads to other diseases like cancer sounds like your just swapping one disorder for the other.
I did not feel that medication was an option for me. I thought that this disease had come about due to my actions and lifestyle choices and that therefore if I made the right choices I could reverse it. Hippocrates is the father of modern medicine and once said 'let food be thy medicine'. And while food may not be the only solution to this disease, I feel that it can be a very good starting point and should form a part of any holistic treatment program. An auto-immune disease is one in which the body has become hyper vigilant and will attack its own body tissue, such is the case with psoriatic arthritis. I don't feel the solution to a problem like this lies in drugs and medication.
A basic way to start on a good psoriatic arthritis diet is simply consuming more live foods. This is just eating more fresh food. Food that has not come in a jar, packet, box, carton or packaged on the shelf. Just eat more fruit and vegetables. Things that have a long used by date, forget about them. An easy starting point is to start having salads with your meals. If the thought of that seems difficult, just add salad to your current meals, you don't have to take away anything. Even if you are eating junk at the moment, just eat it with a salad, simply wrap it in the salad. This will get some good nutrient dense food into your system and help you get the taste of real food. Over time you will crave fresh live food and junk food will be seen as the bland nutritionally empty food that it really is.
Go to any nutritionist, naturopath or herbalist who treats a wide range of diseases and disorders and you will notice one of their stock standard solutions for whatever walks in their door is the elimination of wheat and diary. This is especially the case with auto-immune diseases and certainly should be for a psoriatic arthritis diet. There are many theories behind why, ranging from the effect these molecules have on our gut lining to the fact that these are probably the most heavily farmed, commercialized and processed food groups now a days. Whatever the reason, these seem to definitely cause a pro-inflammatory response in the body. You may initially think this doesn't leave you with a lot to eat. I will admit it is different and takes some getting used to, but a wheat-free, dairy-free diet is more popular now and there are plenty of resources available to help you out.
Finding good clean protein is a really important part of a psoriatic arthritis diet. Things like chicken, beef and fish are going to be your main protein sources, so they need to be healthy and clean. What exactly does that mean? It means as natural as possible. For your beef, that means grass fed and not grain fed, and no hormones or antibiotics. When beef is grass fed it will have a good balance of essential fats, which is vital for health. Chickens and their eggs should be free of anti-biotics and hormones and if possible also grass fed. Fish should not be farmed. When you get back to eating clean sources of protein and animal fats, it can make a tremendous difference to the body. Protein is the building blocks of the body, and fat is an important part of every cell in the body.
This article is just a brief introduction into some starting concepts about a psoriatic arthritis diet. A cure for the disease is a strong word, but I feel it is a better solution than masking your symptoms with medication. The body has an innate wanting to be healthy, there may have been some roadblocks that got in the way, if you remove the roadblocks it will want to restore itself back to a health optimal state. Diet and nutrition may only be a small piece of the puzzle for some. For more information on the other pieces of the psoriatic arthritis puzzle that includes diet, nutritional supplements and stress reduction please check out my other articles.
