Marijuana treatment
Medical cannabis offers an alternative remedy by addressing several different elements of psoriasis.
Compounds in cannabis–particularly cannabidiol (CBD)–contain powerful anti-inflammatory properties, working on CB2 receptors in the skin to help soothe inflammation and leave the skin feeling healthy. A study found that cannabis effectively slowed the proliferation of skin cells in psoriasis and reduced T cells’ activity, helping to mitigate the immune response that produces excess skin cells.
Medical marijuana also helps to minimize the pain associated with psoriasis flare-ups, with plentiful research documenting the role cannabis plays in soothing experienced pain. The anti-inflammatory elements in cannabis also reduce pain and itchiness at the site of plaque, relieving unwanted discomfort.
Another study observed that cannabinoid receptors play a role in wound repair, suggesting the usefulness of cannabis to address the cracking and bleeding in psoriasis-affected skin patches.
Meat-only diet
A carnivore is an animal that feeds on other animals. Therefore, strictly speaking, someone on a carnivore diet will just eat animal-source food such as ruminants, pork, poultry, and seafood and drink water.
However, a broader version of the carnivore diet can include all foods that come from or are produced by an animal including ruminant meat (e.g. beef, lamb, goat, and bison), pork, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy, and honey.
All plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts are excluded from the carnivore diet.
Can this diet fix psoriasis?
The carnivore diet can potentially help treat psoriasis because this diet removes a potential cause of psoriasis: plant non-protein amino acids, eliminate important psoriasis triggers, and reduce some risk factors of psoriasis.
Fish foot therapy
Ichthyotherapy, also known as a fish pedicure or fish spa, is a form of biotherapy in which the hands, feet, and whole body are immersed in a pool or tub of water filled with the fish Garra rufa which feeds on dead human skin.
Ichthyotherapy originated in Kangal Fish Spring in Turkey, a spring located in Kangal, a district of the Sivas province. According to local history, the therapeutic properties of the spring were first noticed in the early 1900s.
Water fasting
There is preliminary research that suggests that fasting reduces systemic inflammation and may act by reducing pro-inflammatory T-cells and cytokines, including many involved in plaque psoriasis, as well as by increasing anti-inflammatory T-cells.
Coal tar
Dermatologists have been prescribing coal tar for over 100 years to treat psoriasis, which is considered safe for long-term use.
Like all medicines, some patients should avoid coal tar. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding may want to use a different treatment. We have too little information about how coal tar can affect an unborn baby or a child who is nursing.
People who are sun sensitive or take medicine that makes them more sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) light should also use a different treatment.
Forest therapy
Inspired by the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing,” forest therapy is a guided outdoor healing practice. It encourages people to be present in the body, enjoying the sensation of being alive and deriving profound benefits from the relationship between ourselves and the rest of the natural world.
How does forest therapy affect the body?
Stress raises levels of the hormone cortisol. Long-term stress and chronic elevations in cortisol play a role in high blood pressure, heart disease, headaches, and many other ailments. In test subjects, levels of cortisol decreased after a walk in the forest, compared with people who walked in a laboratory setting.
Trees give off volatile essential oils called phytoncides that have antimicrobial properties and may influence immunity. One Japanese study showed a rise in the number and activity of immune cells called natural killer cells, which fight viruses and cancer, among people who spent three days and two nights in a forest versus people who took an urban trip.
