What People With Psoriasis Can Learn From the Pandemic

Improved Diet

The combination of working from home and restaurant dining being restricted has led many people to cook at home more. This gives you more control over your diet.

For people with psoriasis, it’s important to limit alcohol (especially for men), and eat anti-inflammatory foods such as berries, fatty fish, olive oil and certain herbs including cumin and ginger. It’s also important to lower intake of red meat, dairy, and refined sugars.

Having more time to cook and prepare food may help a lot of people prevent flare ups. Although the stress of having everyone home may inspire some indulging in libation, spending less time around alcohol is important for preventing flare ups. While many are now starting to return to the office, finding ways to cook meals at home (especially lunch) and learning to say no to just one more drink could help you stay healthier and continue to avoid flare-ups.

Also, knowing exactly what is in your food might help you identify specific foods that cause issues so you can avoid them.

The downside is that many people have engaged in stress eating, which often centers around cravings for unhealthy, processed food and refined sugars. Many people have learned that they deal with these urges.

Increased Outdoor Exercise

With gyms closed and exercise equipment hard to find, many people got into the habit of exercising outside, specifically walking. Being out in nature reduces stress, and walking is an ideal exercise for people with psoriatic arthritis, who often struggle with more intense activity.

People have taken to just walking the streets of their neighborhood or nearby parks, where it is easier to social distance and they can generally avoid wearing a mask.

In addition to reducing stress, walking increases creativity and reduces stress eating. Walking has also been shown to be good for your immune system and thus may help regulate it better, reducing flare-ups. You don’t even have to walk very far or devote a lot of time to it in order for it to be beneficial for your health.

The pandemic has generated a lot of stress and anxiety, and for many people these mental health issues are going to be lasting. However, it’s also taught us the value of looking after ourselves. For psoriasis sufferers, the extra time to meditate and cook healthy food that supports their immune system has proven to be helpful. These are habits we should all try to keep up going into the post-pandemic future.