Why Maintaining a Healthy Weight Can Help Psoriasis — and How You Can Do It

From everydayhealth.com

Even losing a few excess pounds can benefit psoriasis management and treatment 

If you have psoriasis, one of the most important steps you can take to control your condition and help make treatment more effective is to lose excess weight. That’s because while maintaining a healthy weight is important for your overall health and well-being, it can also help make psoriasis less severe, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD).

How Excess Weight Can Affect Psoriasis

“We think of psoriasis as just a skin disease, but we now know that it’s associated with a variety of other illnesses, including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other metabolic disorders,” says Apple Bodemer, MD, an integrative dermatologist at UW Health and associate professor of dermatology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. “Psoriasis is a whole-body disease and when we carry around extra weight, we’re stimulating inflammation over the entire body.”

This inflammation affects the body in myriad ways. “Our fat cells make a lot of hormones that increase inflammation, and there’s some evidence to say that this worsens psoriasis,” says Eden Lake, MD, an associate professor of dermatology at Loyola University Medical Centre in Burr Ridge, Illinois.

According to the AAD, if you have psoriasis and are overweight, losing weight can help reduce flares, decrease the need for psoriasis medications, and improve psoriasis treatment. “A lot of medications for psoriasis are also going to be less effective if you are at a higher weight,” says Dr. Lake, who notes that she’s had patients whose medications stopped working adequately after weight gain. “If we can get them back down to a healthy weight and decrease that inflammatory load … then those same treatments that stopped working might be more effective again,” she explains.

Research shows that losing even 5 percent of your body weight can reduce the severity of psoriasis, according to the AAD. That means if you weigh 200 pounds, losing 10 pounds can make a big difference. “Studies show that it doesn’t have to be a lot of weight to improve your psoriasis,” says Dr. Bodemer, because even small increments of weight loss can help decrease the inflammatory load, which helps control psoriasis.

There are plenty of ways to keep your weight in check, including eating a healthy diet, doing squats during TV commercials, and wearing a smartwatch.iStock (3)

Smart Strategies to Shed Excess Weight

Sneak in exercise throughout the day. One key component of maintaining a healthy weight is regular exercise. “Having regular exercise be part of your life has a really potent anti-inflammatory effect,” says Bodemer.

As for what kind of exercise, moving more whenever you can is more important than dripping sweat every time you work out or spending hours in the gym every day, says Lake. This is especially the case for those who have psoriatic arthritis, which can affect as many as 30 percent of people with psoriasis, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF).

Start with small changes and incorporate them into your routine. Some ideas:

• Get up during commercial breaks when you’re watching TV and move around — do some push-ups or squats against the wall or go up and down stairs in your home, then increase reps if you can, Lake suggests.
• Join a weight-loss support group or find a buddy to inspire you, cheer you on, and work out with you, says Bodemer.
• Use a smartwatch or wearable fitness tracker to set reminders to move around every hour or so, and set realistic and attainable fitness goals. “You’re going to be a lot more satisfied if you’re reaching your goals and surpassing them than if you’re constantly missing them — that’s going to discourage you very quickly,” says Lake.
• Find something you like to do. Whether it’s walking with a friend or tending to your garden, do something physical that’s enjoyable for you “so that it’s sustainable and not just a quick ‘one and done, this didn’t work for me, I’m going to stop,’” suggests Lake.
• Be careful and follow your healthcare provider’s advice. If you have psoriatic arthritis, check with your doctor or physical therapist to see what types of exercise are right for you. They may recommend precautions such as avoiding activities that require prolonged standing or walking or that put too much stress on your hips, spine, and knees, according to the NPF.

Eat a healthy diet. Another habit that can help you stay at a healthy weight is to eat more fruits and vegetables, says Bodemer. She suggests replacing the pro-inflammatory high-fat, high-sugar, processed foods that are common in the American diet with plant-based foods like nuts, seeds, oils, vegetables, beans, whole grains, and legumes.

Lake recommends finding a healthy eating plan that’s right for your individual needs rather than trying to adhere to a fad diet, which is less likely to be sustainable. But she notes that there’s solid science showing that an anti-inflammatory diet, such as the Mediterranean diet — which includes healthy protein such as fish, lean chicken, and beans and vegetables and healthier grains like quinoa — is a great option for most people, especially those with an inflammatory condition such as psoriasis.

In addition to reducing your risk for obesity, a healthy diet can also benefit psoriasis by keeping your gut healthy, which has been shown to help psoriasis, says Bodemer. “There’s a lot of data that shows that our gut microflora may even impact our tendency toward obesity,” she says. According to an article published in March 2022 in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, a healthy diet, including probiotics, can benefit the gut microbiome, which can reduce inflammation and lessen psoriasis severity.

Some pro tips to keep in mind: Instead of trying to cut out everything you love, try to make healthier choices to satisfy your cravings, suggests Lake. For instance, swap soda for carbonated water with mashed-up berries or slices of lemon, or have a small amount of healthy dark chocolate or frozen chocolate-covered banana bites instead of a candy bar. “It’s about making healthier choices that are still really satisfying [so you can] stick with it,” says Lake.

Get enough sleep. Not getting enough sleep increases your cortisol levels, which is a stress hormone in the body, says Lake. Insufficient sleep “revs up inflammation like crazy, and it absolutely makes it harder to lose weight,” she explains, adding that it can also affect your mental health and energy levels, making it harder to exercise.

According to Bodemer, “sleep is a time when the inflammation dials down in our body.” Consider using tools that can promote healthy sleep such as night-time meditation apps or breathing exercises.

Cut alcohol. While the research on alcohol and psoriasis is not definitive and often contradictory, if you’re going to imbibe, do so in moderation and opt for wine over sugar-laden cocktails, Lake says.

It’s also worth noting that alcohol contains a lot of calories, which can contribute to obesity, and that heavy drinking, like obesity, may have a negative impact on psoriasis treatment. A study published in June 2021 in the British Journal of Dermatology found that alcohol misuse and obesity hindered the effectiveness of psoriasis treatment.

Bottom line: “Psoriasis is a chronic condition and we have no cure for it,” says Lake. “It will always be a part of your life, and you have to figure out ways to make it a healthier part of your life.”

The key, says Bodemer, is to focus on making small, durable changes in your lifestyle choices so you don’t do something for a few months and then fall off the wagon. “Make small changes that you can maintain over time that you can build on to live your best life,” she says.

https://www.everydayhealth.com/psoriasis/why-maintaining-a-healthy-weight-can-help-psoriasis/