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Dr Orrange received her BA in Biology at the University of California San Diego and a Masters Degree in Health Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health She received her MD from the USC Keck School of…
FAST FACTS
Every week I read several medicine journals and I've decided each month to pick an interesting and quirky study to blog about. This one caught my eye. Who decided to address this question? The Nurses' Health Study has resulted in many important findings some of which have changed the way we practice medicine. This observation about beer consumption may change things for those of you who battle the chronic and debilitating skin condition psoriasis.
Findings from the Nurses' Health Study indicate that women who consumed at least five bears per week were at increased risk of developing psoriasis. Here is how it went down: the women were followed over a 14 year period and asked about alcohol consumption. In 2005 they were then asked if they had developed psoriasis and those with new onset psoriasis were analyzed. The relative risk of someone drinking 5 beers per week compared to abstainers was 1.83. What is interesting is that this was NOT true for light beer, wine or hard alcohol.
So, what's the deal and why might this be REALLY interesting. A possible explanation for this study's finding is that gluten is found in beer and not in the other alcohols. Light beer has some gluten but much less, and only the women drinking BEER had an increased risk for developing psoriasis.
Does gluten trigger the onset of psoriasis? We aren't sure but as some of our celiac disease patients report, when they go on a gluten-free diet they notice their psoriasis clears up. It may be worth a try!
Dr O.
CATEGORIES:
News
CONDITIONS AND COMMUNITIES:
Acne
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Alcoholism
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Asthma
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Celiac Disease
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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
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Depression
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Diabetes Type 2
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Environmental Allergies
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Food Allergies
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Hidradenitis Suppurativa
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Hives
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Interstitial Cystitis (IC)
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Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
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Lupus
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Lyme Disease
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MCTD
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Nutrition
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Psoriasis
Displaying comments 6-1 of 6
Got a Question?
This article was credited to Jeremy F. Shapiro On the email, however I clicked on it, and the article is by Dr. Sharon Orrange.
My comment is that I have been gluten free for ten years because Elisa test results showed I was very sensitive to gluten among other common foods. Eliminating food allergens is a big part of the Best Bet Diet for Multiple Sclerosis. This diet has done wonders for my MS. However I still have psoriasis. I have had a 113 food scan and am sensitive to quite a few foods which I have eliminated from my diet. My skin has never completely healed though.
Are you sure that these people disgnosed with psoriasis who improve when off gluten don't actually have dermatitis herpetiformis? It is difficult to diagnose and is often mistaken for other skin conditions.
Wouldn't be the first time. In fact its very common. You can read many personal accounts in the Dermatitis Herpetiformis Support Group.
Sounds like a winner to me, however, gluten free doesn't mean that you can't eat things that taste good - you just have to be more selective and more resourceful.
Jordan Hoffman, L.Ac., Dipl. OM