If you have psoriasis, it is very important that you understand what this condition actually is before you can properly approach avenues for healing. Your skin is made to reproduce new cells slowly throughout a months time but with this condition, skin is producing at a more rapid pace. Instead of weeks at a time, it reproduces every few days. This is why large patches of skin are found on different areas of the body of someone with this condition. While psoriasis does affect the skin, it is commonly mistaken as a skin condition when really, it’s an immune system problem! When the skin is reproducing rapidly, this is actually an autoimmune response that is occurring in the body.
There are many things that can get through the digestive system from different foods that we eat. These things can then make its way into the bloodstream, which causes our bodies to produce antibodies to proteins in a lot of the foods that we eat. It could also be a viral or bacterial issue that leads to autoimmunity. There is something in our bodies called a TH17 cell. When this cells response becomes overactive, it leads to autoimmunity. It starts to attack other cells and create the inflammatory response. There is also something called a T regulator cell that helps take anything foreign out of the body but when those get suppressed, combined with the overactive TH17 cell, it creates the autoimmune response.
If psoriasis is only seen as a skin condition, the root cause will never be addressed. A mistake that a lot of people make, including doctors, is to treat psoriasis with topical creams such as steroid creams. Steroid creams are a cortisone cream that lowers inflammation for a time, but it is not the answer. These types of creams are toxic and actually suppress your immune system. If there is already an issue with your immune system, it does not need to be suppressed! We need to look at the root issue rather than just the symptom.
Four Test Recommendations to Get to The Root Cause of Psoriasis:
1. Food Allergy Test
This test will show you what food allergies your body is experiencing. Dr. Kyle has had many patients to only take out their food allergies and be completely healed from psoriasis! Some people need to search with more testing, but this is the first place to start.
2. Stool Test
This test will show a detailed analysis of what is happening in your gut. The lab will evaluate your stool to see how your gallbladder is breaking down fats, how your pancreas is breaking down carbohydrates, it will show if you have a parasite, if you have any bacteria or yeast overgrowth, it will check how your liver is working, how your stomach acid is breaking down protein, and will look at your microbiome to see what good bacteria you do or do not have. It will also check to see how much inflammation is in the gut!
3. Vitamin D3 Levels
Vitamin D3 is essential to your health! If you have low levels of vitamin D3 you can take this in a supplement form to get your levels higher as well as get more sunlight!
4. Test for Autoimmune Markers
If you have psoriasis, there is a chance you could have other autoimmune issues and this is important to find out so you can properly approach what to do next. Testing your antibodies can show you more about what’s really going on!
If you would like more information on how to receive these tests and plans, please contact our office via email, phone, or in person.