Diet may be helpful in managing certain skin diseases

Chronic skin diseases are a widespread and serious health issue. For people with certain skin diseases, modifying their diets may be an accessible, healthy, and self-empowering adjunct treatment in managing their disease. At the recent 2018 Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo, Jennifer Burris of California State University and Kathleen Woolf of New York University discussed whether diet and other lifestyle interventions may improve some skin diseases and reduce risk for co-morbidities.

Although diet had been used as a method to control acne breakouts in the late 19th century and early 20th century, it fell out of favor after a series of studies in the 1960s and 1970s refuted the diet–acne link. Yet nearly 75% of acne patients believe their diets influence acne breakouts. The past decade has experienced an increase in research primarily based on epidemiological evidence examining diet and acne. According to Burris, high-glycemic dietary intakes are associated with acne. More specifically, diet-induced hyperinsulinemia and increased insulin growth factor-1 concentrations may influence some acne, promoting pathways that may cause or aggravate acne. This may explain why acne is virtually nonexistent in populations that consume non-Westernized, plant-based diets that are low in fat, added sugars, and dairy but high in omega-3 fatty acids, fruits, and vegetables. Burris said that more studies may definitively confirm or refute a link between diet and acne, but a low-glycemic index diet that is based on vegetables, whole grains, and fruits is not only beneficial to overall health but may promote clear skin.

Woolf discussed the association between dietary intake and psoriasis, a chronic, inflammatory, autoimmune skin condition. Psoriasis is not just a skin disorder, Woolf said; it is associated with multiple medical and psychiatric co-morbidities, including obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and autoimmune diseases (celiac disease, lupus, etc.). Various medical therapies for patients with psoriasis include topical agents, phototherapy, oral medications, and biologics. However, Woolf believes that dietary interventions such as weight reduction and a Mediterranean diet should be considered. Previous studies have shown that when patients with psoriasis reduced their weight, their incidence of psoriasis outbreaks also decreased. The Mediterranean diet may also be helpful in reducing psoriasis outbreaks because the diet is associated with reduced systemic inflammation, which is an underlying factor in psoriasis activity. Woolf concluded that dietary interventions in managing or reversing psoriasis are promising, but more studies are needed.