Hi all,

Over the last year I discovered, by accident, that certain foods
exacerbate my PA. Those foods are [drumroll]: peanuts and dried split
peas. I forgot about the pea one over the weekend when I ate some
homemade soup. Within a couple of hours I felt as though my whole
body had a toothache. It's a shame, as I enjoy both foods, but...

Incidentally, I have tried a couple of the "herbal" diets and found
them useless. Particularly the one based on the Chinese medicinal
axiom that red food is bad because it contains the Fire element.
Sheesh... Remember, Chinese medicine also advocates powdered rhino
horn for impotence. People will try anything when they're desperate.

This article was informative:

Namazi MR. "Why is psoriasis uncommon in Africans? The influence of
dietary factors on the expression of psoriasis." International
Journal of Dermatology. Vol. 43(5)(pp 391-392), 2004

The article identified low psoriasis rates among West African tribes
with a maize-based diet. I have extracted the following key points:

"Linoleic acid [found in maize] is a precursor of prostaglandin E2
(PGE2) and its high intake, especially in the absence of other
polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and riboflavin, results in high
tissue production of PGE2. PGE2 is known to suppress cellular
immunity, resulting in decreased expression of psoriasis."
"Recently, it has been shown that PUFAs [polyunsaturated fatty
acids], including linoleic acid, directly block T cell signalling,
leading to impairment of IL-2 production and expression of high-
affinity IL-2 receptor, with the resultant reduction of T cell
proliferation."

So, basically, polyunsaturated fats are good for psoriasis sufferers,
so possibly also for PA sufferers.

Hope this is helpful.

ER