The management of psoriasis through diet

nagement of psoriasis through diet Review (1843) Total Article Views Authors: Duarte G, Barbosa LO, Rosa ME Published Date August 2012 Volume 2012:2 Pages 45 - 53 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/PTT.S24755 Received: 24 April 2012 Accepted: 11 June 2012 Published: 07 August 2012 Gleison Duarte,1 Luan Oliveira Barbosa,2 Maria Elisa A Rosa1 1Dermatology Division, Alergodermoclin, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil; 2Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública Salvador, Bahia, Brazil Abstract: Diet is an important factor in the management of several dermatological diseases, such as dermatitis herpetiformis, acne vulgaris, gout, phrynoderma, pellagra, psoriasis, and acrodermatitis enteropathica. New concepts have emerged concerning the influence of diet on psoriasis. For example, diet has an adjuvant role in the management of several cardiovascular comorbidities that exhibit a higher-than-expected prevalence in psoriatic patients. Functional foods, such as yellow saffron and fish oil, may exert favorable effects on immune and cardiovascular functions. A gluten-free diet may promote significant clinical and histologic improvement. Folate supplementation may induce clinical improvement of psoriasis, but side effects may also occur. Diets rich in fresh fruits and vegetables are associated with a lower prevalence of psoriasis, and vegetarian diets were associated with clinical improvement. Additionally, many drug-diet interactions (retinoids, methotrexate, cyclosporine) must be considered in patients with psoriasis. Therefore, in addition to current nutritional advice given to psoriasis patients, further studies are necessary in the role of diet in psoriasis therapy.