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Consuming a balanced diet reduces skin, joint inflammation: Study
A study, led by UC Davis Health researchers, found that a diet rich in sugar and fat leads to an imbalance in the gut's microbial culture and may contribute to inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis.
Washington: A study, led by UC Davis Health researchers, found that a diet rich in sugar and fat leads to an imbalance in the gut's microbial culture and may contribute to inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis.
The study suggested that switching to a more balanced diet restores the gut's health and suppresses skin inflammation.
The findings of the study were published in the 'Journal of Investigative Dermatology'.
"Earlier studies have shown that Western diet, characterized by its high sugar and fat content, can lead to significant skin inflammation and psoriasis flares," said Sam T. Hwang, professor and chair of dermatology at UC Davis Health and senior author on the study.
"Despite having powerful anti-inflammatory drugs for the skin condition, our study indicates that simple changes in diet may also have significant effects on psoriasis," added Hwang.
What is psoriasis?
Psoriasis is a stubborn skin condition linked to the body's immune system. When immune cells mistakenly attack healthy skin cells, they cause skin inflammation and the formation of scales and itchy red patches.
Up to 30 per cent of patients with psoriasis also have psoriatic arthritis with symptoms such as morning stiffness and fatigue, swollen fingers and toes, pain in joints and changes to nails.
Diet affects the microbial balance in the intestines and skin inflammation. Food is one of the major modifiable factors regulating the gut microbiota, the community of microorganisms living in the intestines. Eating a Western diet can cause rapid change to the gut's microbial community and its functions. This disruption in microbial balance - known as dysbiosis- contributes to gut inflammation.
Since bacteria in the gut may play key roles in shaping inflammation, the researchers wanted to test whether intestinal dysbiosis affects skin and joint inflammation. They used a mouse model to study the effect of diet on psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. They injected mice with Interleukin-23 (IL-23) minicircle DNA to induce a response mimicking psoriasis-like skin and joint diseases.