John Arts Abundant Living www.johnarts.co.nz

Earlier this year I was approached by someone with a multiple of health problems including psoriasis, which has improved remarkably during a four-month period.

Her doctor is surprised at her skin improvements; and of course, my client is very pleased with her progress. The really interesting thing is that we did not add any particular psoriasis treatment into her programme. Our target was to reduce inflammation for some other problems, but also to help her immune system work a little better.
The most common symptoms of psoriasis are raised, red patches covered with white, flaky skin. It is generally classified as an autoimmune disease whereby the immune system somehow identifies skin cells as something to be attacked. The body then responds with an inflammatory response.
The effect is that excess skin cells are produced, causing the flaky skin. Medical treatments are varied and include topical steroid creams through to potent immune suppressing drugs. Her programme consisted of dietary changes to reduce inflammation, and supplements that were anti-inflammatory and supportive of normal immune function. Because low levels of vitamin D are implicated with psoriasis we added 2000IU of daily vitamin D3. Vitamin D creams are a mainstay of psoriasis treatment, but a research paper published in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment (2013) commented that oral supplementation of vitamin D is an important and often neglected component of psoriasis treatment. Nutritional therapy can really help psoriasis.
The focus is building the immune system with vitamin D, enzyme-building trace minerals, and various antioxidants – especially phenolics like grape seed extract.
If you have skin problems you should seek medical advice.
But it is equally important to understand that there are many nutritional strategies that can make a big difference.
Give me a call if you need help. Email: john@abundant.co.nz for the extended version of this column.
Also visit: www.abundant.co.nz.
John Arts is a qualified Nutritional Therapist and founder of Abundant Health. Contact John on 0800 423 559.
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