Welcome to Part 2 of my experience with a gluten free diet for psoriasis. If you missed it, you can read Part 1 on Why I’m Giving it a Try.
Today I’ll be sharing how I went about shifting to the gluten free diet. You can be sure I did a ton of research on psoriasis as well as the gluten link – I wasn’t about to make a huge change to my diet without cause. Interestingly, the more I research, the more I realize that psoriasis is much more than a simple skin condition.
A quick snapshot of what we know about psoriasis:
- Psoriasis is one of the most common autoimmune diseases, affecting 3% of U.S. adults – about 6.7 million people. Kim Kardashian, Jon Lovitz, and LeeAnn Rimes all suffer this condition – so we’re in good company!
- There is no cure for psoriasis. You can manage the symptoms, though, which often appear as dry scaly patches of skin that can be itchy and/or painful. Conventional treatments include medication and UV light therapy. If only it were as simple as prescribing more beach time 🙂
- Some alternative/complementary therapies can given some relief. Yoga and tai chi, for example, can reduce stress, a common trigger for worsening symptoms. Dietary supplements such as omega-3 fatty acids may also help.
- Research indicates that about 25% of people with psoriasis are also sensitive to gluten. In this case, the adoption of a gluten free diet may help reduce symptoms.
I was curious to see if a gluten free diet made a difference with my psoriasis.
Switching over to gluten free eating involved a series of revelations for me.
Revelation #1:
Let’s be clear I could never have attempted a gluten free diet but for this one simple truth:
With that touchy business of coffee (aka Life Liquid) out of the way, I focused on actual food, which led me to…
Revelation #2:
It was a relief to realize that much of my everyday foods are naturally gluten free. While I never really thought about it before, my regular diet of veggies and salads, dried fruit, nuts, chicken/fish/beef/pork, eggs, rice and potatoes all fit into this new lifestyle with ease. Yay! Simple is my favorite way to eat 🙂
Revelation #3:
Gluten-free oats were going to be at the top of my grocery list, since my fave go-to breakfast is oatmeal with walnuts, raisins, and maple syrup.
Fine, and butter.
Yes, I put butter in my oatmeal.
Shut up.
No, you shut up.
But you’re a DIETITIAN.
I know. But it’s damn delicious. Leave me alone. #baddietitian
Now I get the hashtag.
Revelation #4:
If I’m having actual dreams (and truly thrilling dreams at that) about sneaking a buttery toast crust from my kid’s leftover breakfast, it’s pretty clear I need to stock up on some gluten-free bread. I’ll warn you, the sticker shock can be pretty severe – I am paying twice as much for a loaf half the size of our typical loaf of whole grain bread. However, the quality is good and so I extend my thanks to Glutino and Udi’s Gluten Free brands. They’ve allowed me to satisfy my apparently overwrought love of toast.
Revelation #5:
I discovered I really missed baking. After several weeks, my sub-conscious was playing a running loop of baked goods in my head…inches of buttercream on fluffy layer cakes, warm chocolate chip cookies, deadly dark brownies with huge chocolate chunks…yes, I’m seriously afflicted.
I finally bought some all-purpose gluten free flour. I’ve made muffins several times, and now I’m ready to move onto the decadent stuff! I’m thinking of these gorgeous beauties…Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies.
Revelation #6:
I had to become more of a planner than ever before. This is hard for someone who finds it ‘exciting’ to have life sprung upon her, rather than to know what’s coming next 🙂
The planning comes into play primarily in these 2 ways:
- I spend a lot of time reading ingredient labels to look for sources of hidden gluten. This also means I spend more time searching for one of my 10 pairs of dollar store eyeglasses, which are often aggravatingly on top of my head.
- I research restaurants online before going. A couple of recent favorites include Seasons 52, which has a separate, and extensive, gluten free menu, as well as local Red Heat Tavern, which makes nearly their entire menu gluten free!
The best surprises of this gluten free diet? Some of my fave treats get the green light!
All in all, I have to admit that going gluten free eating was relatively painless for me. [Note: I find that bacon, applied judiciously, relieves you of all kinds of pain haha!]
Whether it is making a difference in my psoriasis, it is hard to be sure one way or another. Stay tuned…
I went gluten free for a month and my psoriasis completely went away. I went back to eaten my regular foods (burgers and all) and to my surprise all my guttate psoriasis came back. I am just starting to go back to being gluten free (I started yesterday – Monday) and will check my progress again for the next several months and see if it goes away. This will let me know for sure if it was me going gluten free that really helped my psoriasis.
Hi Kristina – So glad that it helped your symptoms. What a relief, right? I did it for 11 months were virtually no change in symptoms for my mild psoriasis. So I went back onto gluten fully. 4 months later, my psoriasis was gone. So weird, and now I have no idea if it was the gluten or not, but I’m still on gluten 6 months later and it has not returned. A mystery! Continue good luck with your efforts.
Hi Julia, did the gluten free diet work for your psoriasis?
Hi Sarah,
The short answer is ‘no.’ I noticed virtually no difference in my mild psoriasis despite 11 months of mostly gluten free. I plan to write a blog post in the next week – thanks for checking in!
Butter in your oatmeal ? I can’t even picture it. Walnuts I can , oh yes! I’ll have to give butter a whirl now!
You’ll curse me later cuz you’ll most certainly love it 🙂 It’s like eating a warm buttered muffin!
I’ve been diagnosed with psoriasis for many years now, and more recently found out I am coeliac. In the eight years since coeliac diagnosis and going gluten free, I can’t say that I have noticed my psoriasis much changed by the gluten free diet, although everyone reacts differently, I imagine. I’m also allergic to lactose, which has persisted a long time after going gluten free, so I assume it’s for life now. If they ever make a good lactose-free Stilton or Brie, I’ll be right there, buying out the stock! But I agree wholeheartedly that actually very little has changed about what I eat day to day (other than cheese), and it’s pretty manageable.
I’m actually surprised to hear that going gluten free didn’t help considering you’re coeliac diagnosis – just goes to show you these conditions are impacted by so many factors, some yet unknown. Cheers to you and if I hear of a delicious lactose-free Stilton I will surely let you know!
Oh yes please! And like you, I am much consoled by the fact that coffee is gluten free. 🙂
I’ve been gluten free since 2009 and while I didn’t go that route for psoriasis reasons, I do have an autoimmune disease (lupus) that seems to improve without wheat! Dairy is also an issue for me, but I cannot cannot give up cheese #cannotdoit! I eat butter in my GF oats as well–my mother made it that way and it’s the only way to eat it if you ask me! Going gluten free can be a challenge, and I would also be sure to check ingredients in shampoos, lotions, makeup, and deodorant. Not kidding, it’s everywhere! Thanks for sharing such an informative piece!
Thanks, Kristi – and yes gluten is everywhere. I’m thankful my issue isn’t severe nor do I have to worry about a real allergy. I’ve wondered if dairy is the next step but can’t imagine putting a fake creamer in my beloved cold brewed coffee. I’ll live with the annoying psoriasis if it comes to that I think 🙂
My husband and daughter have always been gluten intolerant and both have issues with depression. My daughter always says that her depression is caused by all the great things she misses out on eating regularly – she knows she’s kidding but would definitely relate to you lusting after that piece of buttered toast!
I’m sure sometimes she actually feels that way! Good news is there are so many decent substitutes for those favorites. The only item I can’t find a decent replacement for is Triscuits. I really really miss Triscuits.