Psoriasis is a complex disorder involving immune attacks in skin with chronic inflammation and  overgrowth of the upper layers of skin. Psoriatic plaques are covered with thick silvery scales which shed at an alarming rate - super dandruff. The disease usually involves the extensor surfaces of the body - the opposite to eczema which prefers the flexor surfaces. Psoriasis tend to be a chronic disease lasting years to decades and in some patients follows and erratic course - flaring and subsiding in cycles lasting many months.

People with extensive psoriasis tend to suffer stoically and are often unwilling to bare their body in public - swimming pools and beaches are of limits for some because of embarrassment about the skin lesions which do look rather menacing to onlookers who are not familiar with the disease. Swimming in salt water and sun exposure is often helpful. Ultraviolet light treatment has been used as a standard therapy. For years people have been treated with coal tar baths followed by ultraviolet light exposure with benefits. Now, of course, we are warning people against ultraviolet light exposure and have concerns about the carcinogenic potential of coal tar.

Little progress has been made in understanding and treating Psoriasis - it is one of the many immune-mediated diseases that rage-on unchecked. Medical treatments have not been very helpful and for many years psoriasis has been a target of dubious marketing practices - none of numerous creams and lotions offered to treat the disease have been  efficacious. Coal tar derivatives and peeling agents have been the most plausible treatments but offer little relief. Even the steroids - the all purpose drugs  for skin disorders -  are disappointing .

Nail Abnormalities

A good case can be made for food antigens causing psoriasis through a delayed hypersensitivity mechanisms. Food antigens may arrive in the skin as immune complexes, attach to skin cells and/or are presented by resident macrophages which trigger  lymphocytic activity. While this is just a theory, its better than no therapy at all and can lead to a  immediate therapeutic experiment. Psoriasis responds variably to Diet Revision Therapy. In several remarkable cases, remission of psoriatic arthritis with clearing of the skin lesions has been achieved by rigorous application of the Alpha Nutrition Program.