Do you know your P. triggers are? Salt is a biggie!

[Quest4Cure]

I read Freds post on salt and it made me curious if others have a salt trigger for P.
I have known for years that my plaque P. always was seasonal , foods never seemed to be a trigger for me. It's what I put on them that I now realize is one of my triggers. SALT. I have always added salt to all my foods.

Research in mice shows a high-salt diet can speed the progression of autoimmune diseases. Some may find reducing salt in their diets can help their psoriasis. I have replaced salt with spices and eat no prepared foodsfor the past 3 months.

Below is a quote from a study from a scientific study from UCLA.
"Could something as simple as a high-salt diet cause your psoriasis to progress more quickly? It’s too soon to say for sure, but research published in the journal UCLA Science research Center found that when mice are fed high-salt diets, they overproduce immune-system cells that attack their own tissues."

As we all know autoimmune disease is one where your body mistakes its own cells for foreign invaders and attacks them. Psoriasis is an autoimmune disorder in which something triggers your immune system to mistake normal skin cells as foreigners. You then overproduce new skin cells that cause raised, red, flaky lesions to form as well as PSA.

Quote."The high-salt diet the mice were fed stimulated a type of white blood cells — T-cells called Th17 cells.“It has been clearly shown that Th17 cells trigger psoriasis,” Dr. Yamauchi said." That’s why some of the drugs that have been developed to treat psoriasis, such as the biologic Stelara (ustekinumab), target the pathways driven by Th17 cells. Yamauchi noted that new biologics are in the pipeline for psoriasis that also target the Th17 pathway."

I thought this was interesting for all the PC members taking Stelera if anyone had noticed that eating salt was a trigger. I know now it's one of my triggers. Just as a example of my salt intake it's horrendous. Not good at all for many other reasons. This could be why my P. seems to be worse from drinking Margaritas, salty nuts, pop corn etc., with all that extra salt in prepared foods. Now it makes sence. i have cut down my total salt intake, substitute spices the past 3 months & noticed my P. / itching has calmed down with less spots and itching.

Anyone else noticed what their triggers for P. are and has it helped your Psoriasis to cut out your triggers?
Food, stress, winters, drug reactions,  insect bites, scratches cleaning chemicals?

[jiml]

Very good read Quest, I used to add salt to my food but haven't for the last few years. There is more than enough added to most processed food and we try to avoid that as much as possible, but we do eat out a lot. Most food at restaurants has added salt which I can't avoid

And although it doesn't seem to affect my psoriasis it may have an effect I'm not seeing ..... For me I'm sure it's stress that triggers off flares . So I spend my life trying not to get stressed and walk away from stressful situations if I can't change them

[Fred]

Nope I've given up trying to work out what causes a flare up. And if I followed all the advise about what I can and can't eat or drink my life would be pretty boring. I prefer to enjoy what I eat and drink and not worry about it, obviously in moderation is the best way to go but cutting things out that I enjoy would be enough to cause a flare up.

This is the old thread for those interested: Is Salt bad for psoriasis?