Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that attacks the skin.
When your immune system functions correctly, it will protect the body from what it perceives to be an intruder. Inflammation is the immune systems way of responding to an intruder or injury to the tissues or cells, this is how the body repairs itself. When inflammation becomes chronic than the body becomes susceptible to certain illnesses and diseases.
In the case of autoimmune disease, the body is unable to turn off its response to an intruder’s perceived attack; thus, the body turns on itself. While Doctors do not know why the body would attack its own organs, with psoriasis the overactivity of the immune system creates inflammation in the body, and it is this inflammation that causes skin cells to reproduce quicker than the body’s ability to shed excess skin. This causes raised lesions to appear on the skin.
If you are suffering from an autoimmune disease than here are some things that you can do to keep your body’s inflammation flare-ups to a minimum.
- Get more rest: during sleep, the body uses that time to regenerate itself, if the body cannot rest, it remains in a state of disarray, this can trigger inflammation
- Decrease your meat intake: it takes the body up to 72 hours to break down the proteins in meat for digestion, this creates a massive burden on the body, depriving it of the necessary energy to address other areas of the body. It takes less than a day to digest fruits, nuts grains and vegetables, thus decreasing your meat intake, and increasing your fruits and vegetables, takes stress off the body by creating a healthy environment free from most toxins, and giving the body time of much-needed rest.
- Manage your menopause: proper care of menopause keeps the stress hormone cortisol down, and the happy hormone, endorphins up.
- Stay away from foods you are allergic to milk, gluten, peanuts, etc., cause inflammation.
- Stay away from alcohol and cigarettes: these two things keep the lungs and esophagus, inflamed continuously.
- Exercise: helps with weight loss, decreases stress, and inflammation, by helping to rid the body of toxins.
- Apple cider vinegar: helps with the itching that psoriasis causes by changing the PH of the affected area.
- Natural oils: Oils that are found in coconut, fish, and flaxseed are rich in omega 3 fatty acids. Which boost the immune system. And decrease inflammation. This causes a decreased in the outbreak of the psoriatic lesions.
- Tea tree Oil: Comes from a plant that is indigenous to Australia named Melaleuca, it carries properties that are antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal. It is gentle enough to be used on the skin and can be used as an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory.
- It cannot be stressed enough that giving the body every opportunity to fight illness, by making healthy choices that boost the immune system is essential to the foundation of good health.
