When I first learned I had psoriasis over four years ago, I knew nothing about the condition.  I honestly don’t even think I had ever heard of the word “psoriasis” before at that point.  I just kind of went with a “learn as I go” mentality.  As the years have passed, I have become much more aware of what types of foods and drinks aggravate my psoriasis.  I thought it was just random breakouts before, but I quickly learned which foods I needed to avoid, or at least limit.

Nightshades

The main types of foods I have found to aggravate my psoriasis are the darker nightshades, such as tomatoes and peppers.  I forget which psoriasis book I read it in, but the author specifically mentioned avoiding tomato-based products if you are trying to keep your skin clear.  Whenever I consume pizza, pasta with marinara sauce, salsa, or the like, my skin always feels hotter and almost always looks worse the next day.

Another nightshade that seems particularly bothersome is peppers.  For me personally, red peppers give me more problems than green or yellow.  I have also been a big fan of cayenne pepper for many years; I sprinkle it on everything.  But cayenne seems to be one of the worst culprits of psoriasis aggravation.  Anything spicy seems to affect my skin negatively.  I have found black pepper to be fine for my psoriasis, and have heard it does not normally affect most psoriasis sufferers.

Red Meat and Poultry

I have read in more than a few places that red meat and poultry should be consumed in limited quantities by individuals with psoriasis.  While I have never had any problems with poultry aggravating my psoriasis, I have found red meat is somewhat bothersome.  I have heard that people with psoriasis have a harder time digesting protein, so I try to avoid eating large quantities of it.  My general rule of thumb is that I can still eat and enjoy both red meat and poultry, but to just make sure I don’t overdo it.

Alcohol

It should come as no surprise that alcohol has been long-known to be extremely detrimental to psoriasis.  I love having a couple of drinks with my friends as much as the next person, but I know that if I am trying to keep my skin clear, I must avoid alcohol as much as I can.  All kinds of alcohol are bad for you – beer, wine, vodka, rum, whiskey, and on and on.  If you are a person who HAS to have some drinks, I recommend just a couple of beers or glasses of wine.  But if you have severe skin breakouts or are trying to keep your flare-ups down, lay off the sauce.

Those are the main things I have found that aggravate psoriasis.  Of course, everyone is unique and different, so your aggravations are likely to be different.  If you are unsure of what your food/drink triggers are, keep a journal of the foods you eat for a couple weeks and how your skin looks the next 12-24 hours afterwards, and hopefully you will be able to figure out which ones you need to stay away from.