Which Vitamins Can Help Treat or Manage Psoriasis?

Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes painful flareups of dry and flaky skin. These flareups occur due to the over-producing and shedding of skin cells. Psoriasis can be diagnosed by a dermatologist upon physical examination or biopsy.

Although psoriasis has no cure as of now, there are several ways that it can be treated and managed. People with psoriasis might look to topical treatments, light therapy, and oral or injected medications.

Because psoriasis is an autoimmune disease, it’s important to maintain your overall health to limit inflammatory triggers. Monitoring the variety and dosage of vitamins in your diet is a good way to understand your overall health.

While no evidence suggests that increasing vitamin intake will cure psoriasis, some studies show that adding vitamins on top of other treatments can relieve symptoms.

Vitamins and psoriasis

There can be a ripple effect between the status of our overall health and the severity of the conditions we face. A diet rich in a variety of vitamins is a simple way to ensure a strong baseline of health to fight psoriasis. Additionally, a lot of vitamins and nutrients rely on one another to operate at full efficiency.

It’s helpful to understand what your current vitamin intake looks like by having a blood test administered by a doctor. Using your blood work results and some tips below, see what vitamins you could use more of.

Vitamin A

There are two main groups associated with vitamin A: retinoids and carotenoids.

While retinoids are known for skin care benefits, they are also prescribed orally or topically for psoriasis.

According to an older study from 2011Trusted Source, people with psoriasis were found to have less vitamin A in their skin, particularly carotenoids, than people without psoriasis.

Although more studies are needed to understand the relationship between psoriasis and vitamin A, implementing more vitamin A into your diet could improve symptoms of psoriasis. Foods with high levels of vitamin A include:

kale
spinach
pumpkin
avocado
carrots
sweet potatoes
corn
egg yolks

B vitamins

Biotin (B-7) and B12 have been found to help improve the symptoms of psoriasis.

Biotin deficiency is rare and has not been directly linked to healing psoriasis. That being said, biotin supplements may help build a healthy baseline for skin health. You may find that biotin supplements, which support healthy cell growth, ease symptoms.

Vitamin B12 is a strong topical treatment for psoriasis. Studies have shownTrusted Source that B12 deficiencies in the body can be linked to psoriasis. B12 is found in most animal products, but vegetarians can likely find plant-based foods fortified with B12.

Vitamin C

Oxidative stress occurs when the body has an imbalance between free radical activity and antioxidant activity. It’s been found that oxidative stress increasesTrusted Source in the body while fighting psoriasis. Increased occurrencesTrusted Source of vitamin C in the body have been found to help control oxidation in the body.

A case studyTrusted Source of one participant with severe psoriasis found that increased vitamin C (among other diet changes) eradicated the person’s psoriasis within 6 months. More research is needed to determine whether dietary vitamin C may improve the symptoms of psoriasis.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is created by the body when exposed to sunlight and is vital to our overall health. Vitamin D deficiencies have been linked to psoriasis, although not proven to be directly related.

One of the greatest benefits of Vitamin D is its immune-strengthening powers. People with psoriasis can benefit from keeping their immune systems as healthy as possible to improve their autoimmune response.

If you’re looking to up your vitamin D intake, consider taking an oral supplement, safely getting more sun exposure, and eating foods like:

cheese
egg yolks
fatty fish
fortified cereals

Other nutrients that may help treat psoriasis

Several other nutrients contribute to the health of our skin, body, and joints.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-3 fatty acids decrease inflammation in the body while improving the immune system. This makes them a great supplemental candidate for people with psoriasis. This nutrient is most readily available in fish oil capsules, but can also be found in: