Plant-Rich, Low Saturated-Fat Diet May Help Reduce Psoriasis Severity: Research

New Delhi: A diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy foods, and lean meats, low in salt and sugar can help reduce the severity of psoriasis -- a skin disease --, according to new research. Psoriasis is a long-lasting inflammatory skin disease that causes flaky patches of skin that form scales. The condition, which affects millions worldwide, is believed to be caused by a problem with the immune system. The study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, showed that greater red and processed meat intake was associated with more severe psoriasis. On the other hand, plant-based diets and low-saturated fat items significantly reduced the severity.

"Our findings point to the potential benefits of dietary interventions in improving patient outcomes," said Sylvia Zanesco, doctoral student from the Department of Nutritional Sciences at King's College London, UK.

"Given the impact of psoriasis on physical and psychological well-being, incorporating dietary assessments into routine care could offer patients additional support in managing their condition," she added.

The team analysed data from 257 adults with psoriasis who had completed an online survey. They found significant associations between diet quality and the severity of psoriasis.

The study contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting dietary modification as a complementary strategy in psoriasis management to potentially alleviate disease severity and improve patients' quality of life.

Professor Wendy Hall, Professor of Nutritional Sciences at King's College London said the research brings much-needed evidence that there may be a role for dietary advice besides standard clinical care.

As the findings confirm that diet plays a prominent role in managing symptoms of psoriasis, Hall stressed the need for further research to understand the importance of diets rich in healthy plant foods in reducing symptoms of psoriasis in a controlled clinical trial. (IANS)The peer-reviewed research, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, warns that CGMs could be overestimating blood sugar levels in healthy adults, leading to unnecessary dietary changes.

“CGMs are fantastic tools for people with diabetes because even if a measurement isn’t perfectly accurate, it’s still better than not having a measurement at all. However, for someone with good glucose control they can be misleading based on their current performance,” said Professor Javier Gonzalez from the Department for Health, from the University of Bath.

“For healthy individuals, relying on CGMs could lead to unnecessary food restrictions or poor dietary choices. If you want to assess your blood sugar accurately, traditional methods are still the way to go. We want to better identify the sources of the error in CGMs so that we can improve their performance in the future and have active research on this topic,” Gonzalez added.

Researchers measured blood sugar responses in healthy volunteers (non-diabetic, within a healthy BMI range) using two methods — a CGM and the gold standard finger-prick test — to assess the accuracy of CGMs in fruit-based products, ranging from whole fruit to smoothies.

The CGM consistently reported higher blood sugar levels compared to finger-prick tests. When participants consumed a smoothie, the device overestimated the GI by 30 per cent, reporting a GI of 69 (medium) compared to the traditional test result of 53 (low).

Whole fruit was misclassified as medium or high-GI foods by CGMs, while the finger-prick test showed they were low-GI. This could lead users to mistakenly believe that fruit could cause harmful spikes in blood sugar.

The research also debunked the common myth that blending fruits into a smoothie raises their GI. Whether eaten whole or blended, fruits like apples, bananas, mangoes, and oranges remained low on the GI.

CGMs are unlikely to be a valid method to determine whether a food has high or low GI, said the researchers.

Gonzalez said the CGMs may be inaccurate because they measure glucose in the fluid surrounding your cells, not directly in your blood. “This can lead to discrepancies due to factors like time delays, blood flow, and how glucose moves between different parts of the body.” (IANS)

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