Helicobacter Pylori & Psoriasis

A good friend of mine, Chris Hines, had a classic case of psoriasis. His psoriatic rash covered large areas of his face and head, as well as his upper body.

Chris is a very skilled and successful personal trainer and we sat at several courses together a few years ago. Chris’s story is an important one. He overcame his psoriasis by eliminating digestive infections (including several parasites), using a rotation diet and detoxifying his body.

Psoriasis is a nasty inflammatory skin disease that affects 1-3% of Caucasians and may severely compromise quality of life in folk who experience the disorder.

Although the severity of the disease varies from person-to-person, the psoriatic rashes can impact day-to-day activities and social interactions, which is why it can be so unpleasant.

As you will read, however, there is a strong case to argue that it isn’t actually a skin disease at all. Instead, it is simply a response to other things that are going on in other systems in the body, especially the digestive, immune and detoxification systems.

In recent times, advances in immunological research have increased scientists’ understanding of psoriasis as a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory disorder.

It has been suggested that H pylori infection may be one of the organisms capable of triggering psoriasis.  I would also argue that many of the other digestive infections we see on a weekly basis in our clients can also trigger or contribute to skin diseases such as psoriasis. These include:

• Worms such as Ascaris, Strongyloides, hookworm and flat worms such as liver flukes.
• Microscopic parasites such as Giardia, Blastocystis, Entamoebae and Cryptosporidium.
• Yeast and fungal overgrowth with organisms such as Candida, Rhodotorula & Geotrichum.
• There is also the possibility that some other chronic bacterial infections may contribute to skin disease., including psoriasis.

H Pylori & Psoriasis

The research on Helicobacter pylori and psoriasis is rather more limited than for H pylori and rosacea and urticaria.

One recent study found that the prevalence of H pylori was significantly higher in patients with psoriasis than in those without the disease.

There are contradicting reports on the benefits of H pylori eradication in patients with chronic psoriasis. Some studies have noted improvements in the disease when H pylori has been eradicated, where others have not.

A More Thorough Model For Healing Psoriasis

Let’s look at the potential causes of not only psoriasis, but for skin diseases in general:

• Food allergy and intolerance (especially milk, gluten, soy, corn, processed food)
• Man-made food additives that cause inflammation internally.
• Toxins in the air, food and water supply (e.g. pesticides, plastics, petro-chemicals and metals like mercury and lead).
• Direct skin exposure to chemicals at work or in personal care and cosmetic products.
• Digestive infections, including fungi, bacteria and parasites.
• Overload of the detoxification system (when this happens the body has to eliminate toxins through the skin, causing irritation).
• Hormonal imbalance, especially unchecked levels of androgen steroid hormones in women, which make the skin oily, creating acne.
• Fatty acid deficiencies (imbalanced levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids).

The truth is that any and all of the above factors can contribute to the development of skin conditions and psoriasis is no different.

You’ll remember I mentioned my friend Chris at the start of this article. Well Chris worked with the same Functional Medicine doctor who mentored me as I was learning this work.

Chris worked with Dr. Kalish for more than 12 months, following a strict rotation diet, avoiding gluten, milk, sugar and alcohol, removing parasites and detoxifying his body comprehensively. During his cleansing, Chris reported passing a fluke (either intestinal or liver).

After 12 months, as well as having infinitely more energy and stamina, better sleep and moods, Chris’s skin had virtually cleared and in his words he was “a new person”.

Chris’s case serves as a valuable lesson because his psoriasis was not actually psoriasis at all. It was simply a symptom that reflected what was going on inside his body. Anti-inflammatory skin lotions and creams were never going to heal Chris’s skin, because the skin was not the root of the issue.

I’ve personally seen countless clients whose skin complaints improved or disappeared by changing their diets, removing digestive invaders and detoxifying their bodies.

What To Do If You Have Psoriasis

Psoriasis is not a skin disease. It is a reflection of what is happening internally. As a result, in order to resolve your condition, you must do the following:

• Change to an anti-inflammatory diet, possibly using a rotation diet for a time to help reduce the load from your immune system.
• Switch to 100% natural and preferably organic personal and skincare products (or do not put anything on your skin at all!).
• Find and address food allergies using the Allergix blood and bloodspot profiles.
• Find and remove digestive infections and overgrowth using the GI Effects stool profiles.
• Check your ability to detoxify (e.g. liver and kidney function) using an Organic Acids test.
• Check to see which toxins you have stored in your body using the Toxic Effects profiles (these can be plastics, parabens, metals, pesticides, PCBs and more).
• Remove toxins using a comprehensive detoxification protocol that is professionally supervised by a detoxification expert.

In some of you any one of these layers in your program could be the magic one, meaning that when you address it, your skin begins to return to normal.

In others, addressing each layer may help a little bit and as you address them all, your symptoms slowly improve (as Chris’s did).

H Pylori & Psoriasis References

Hernando-Harder et al. Helicobacter and Dermatologic Diseases. Eur J Derm 2009; 19(5):431-44.

Duaden et al. CagA seropositivity in Helicobacter pylori positive patients with psoriasis. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2004; 18: 116-7.

Qayoom & Ahmad. Psoriasis and Helicobacter pylori. Ind J Dermatol Venereal Leprol 2003; 69: 133-4.