Psoriasis: a case study

Harriet, a busy mum of two, came to me a few months ago as she’d been living with psoriasis for many years on her elbows, lower arms, knees and scalp. The red, itchy patches had got worse since her last pregnancy and, apart from seeing a slight improvement during a recent sunny holiday, it just wasn’t getting any better – despite trying some steroid creams recommended by her GP. 

People on the street and the kids at school were all asking ‘What’s wrong with your skin?'. 

Harriet decided it was time to do something about it and, on my recommendation, bought a stool test to take a deeper dive into her body. 

The root cause of every person’s psoriasis will be different but as the gut plays such a huge role in our overall health, stool tests are a great way of understanding what's going on in your gut and can help us get to the root cause of psoriasis quicker. 

Harriet’s test results showed: 

  • Low gut microbiome diversity (so a weakened immune system) 

  • Low levels of SIgA (which makes overcoming skin conditions more difficult) 

  • An increased level of candida (a yeast implicated in the development of psoriasis)  

What did we do?

So, we worked on a plan to improve her gut microbiome diversity, increase her SIgA levels and reduce the candida. This did involve removing some foods from her diet for a few weeks to see what effect these had on her symptoms – but also adding in lots of different foods that would be beneficial for her skin and immune health.  

We also talked about looking at ways of reducing and managing her stress, as high stress levels have been shown to trigger psoriasis flare-ups. 

After only three weeks, Harriet had already noticed an improvement in her skin and she also became more aware of how certain foods made her psoriasis and general wellbeing worse.  

Psoriasis patch before and after nutritional therapy support

Left: one of Harriet’s psoriasis patches before we started working together; right: the same psoriasis patch after only three weeks.

What Harriet had to say:  

“Before I came to see Andrea, I felt a bit lost and out of control with my eating habits and I hadn’t realised the effect these were not only having on my psoriasis but also my physical and mental health. 

My psoriasis patches are less angry now and my scalp has stopped itching. I’ve got better skin all round – not just improved psoriasis but also on my face. I’ve noticed my energy levels have increased too. 

Andrea wasn’t judgmental. She’s easy to talk to and I’ve learned so much.” 

Don’t struggle alone 

If you or someone you know is struggling with psoriasis, please book a free chat with me and let’s get to the root cause of it together. 

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Psoriasis: why it’s not a problem with your skin