Greetings, friends and lovers of good nosh! If you’ve been following me on Instagram this summer, you know that I’ve embarked on a trial of a gluten free diet for psoriasis. Why would I do that?
It is NOT because I couldn’t resist a trend (unless gray highlights are trendy?), or because I want to lose weight. And, it’s definitely not because I finally believe, despite excellent scientific evidence to the contrary, that grains are bad for us (They are so good for us!).
It’s just that I am human, and a little bit vain, and I don’t like the red, flaky splotches on my legs which are caused by psoriasis. I know that I am one of the lucky ones. My dermatologist classifies it as a ‘mild’ case. It is painless, and barely even itches. But it is annoyingly ugly. I look like I’ve just returned from a stint on Survivor.
Psoriasis requires constant vigilance and treatment to ensure it doesn’t worsen. If I can make it go away, or reduce it significantly, by making a bearable change to my diet, then I’m cool with that.
But why am I focusing on a gluten free diet for psoriasis?
As it turns out, about 25% of people with psoriasis are also sensitive to gluten. Psoriasis is an inflammatory condition, and in those people, gluten could actually be worsening the disease. By removing gluten from the diet, they may be able to reduce inflammation, and ultimately reduce the symptoms of psoriasis.
But, Juju, isn’t there a simple blood test you can get to see if gluten is the culprit? No, unfortunately, there is no reliable test.
That is why I’m here – several weeks into a gluten free diet. It will take at least 3 months of gluten free eating to know if there’s been an impact, so this will continue through October.
How’s this gluten free thing going so far?
It’s going just fine, and I am in no way starving. The bulk of my largely whole foods diet is naturally free of gluten anyway…avocados, apples, eggs, salads, nuts, rice, potatoes, chicken, fish, coffee, etc.
I do miss Triscuits, but there’s plenty of good food that I am enjoying. Here’s a few snaps!
♦ An excellent rack of Memphis-style dry rubbed ribs at the highly accommodating Sticky Fingers restaurant in Charleston, SC .
♦ My new fave one-pan meal, loved by the whole family: One Pan Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet!
♦ Let’s not forget the all-purpose and completely fabulous FRITTATA (get the how-to here!)
♦ Dark chocolate, coconut and almonds piled on gluten-free oatmeal.
♦ Addicting sweet and salty olive oil granola, made with gluten free oats (recipe by my friends at What We Eat)
See? I told you I’m not starving 🙂 So far, so good. In a post coming up, I’ll share some basic adjustments I made to my everyday diet to accommodate this new lifestyle, and some of the surprising treats I didn’t have to give up! Because, let’s face it, if I had to truly deprive myself, this would never work.
Speaking of this gluten free diet for psoriasis and whether it’s working, here’s how I look at it…
If it works? FABULOUS. I will know that my efforts are leading to a healthier me and fewer medications and continue with my generally whole foods diet, paying close attention to potential gluten-containing foods.
If it doesn’t work? FABULOUS. I will know my efforts led to a conclusive answer, and will continue with my generally whole foods diet, without having to pay particular attention to gluten.
Hi, I have had psoriasis for 70 plus years and 4 months ago a friend who had psoriasis for almost the same length of time told me she went GLUTEN free and is completely free of psiriadis. I decided to give it a try and 4 months later I too am clear. So many years of different prescription creams, shampoos and smelly tar based creams is over. I eat Glutino bread cereals, treats and all are delicious. The bread is found in the freezer section of many supermarkets. There are so many GLUTEN free products available that you don’t feel you are missing out. I hope this will help other psoriasis suffers but it does take a fee months. Thank you.
Thank you, June, for your comment. So happy to hear it worked for you. I tried it for 11 months with virtually no change, so I’m back to having gluten. Certainly it’s easier since I live with 4 other people, which it comes to shopping and cooking. I will say, though, that I never felt like I was missing out! I did plenty of baking with GF all purpose flour, which worked perfectly well in my usual baked good recipes. Glad you’re saved from more years of treatments!
I’ll be anxious to hear the results of your test since I have a friend with psoriasis. All your meals look fabulous!
Thanks, Janice. I’m hoping there’s an obvious difference – none so far though.