My last log was a mess, so I've decided to create a new one--hopefully more organized than the last! I want to focus on research, autoimmunity, immunology, cell biology, gut microbiology, anatomy and physiology, biochemistry, nutrition (bioavailability, individual nutrients and their roles in the body [cofactors, enzymes, structural constituents, etc]), exercise, and all things related to health! Science in general really.
In this log, I'd like to do a handful of things.
1. Research topics with scientific scrutiny and dignity, referring to the latest research to backup ideas and and answer questions.
2. Keep track of my own health, and the results of experimentation, whilst acknowledging limitations due to multiple variables.
3. Keeping track of the variables mentioned in 2, such as sleep, stress, exercise, nutrient intake, and the like.
A bit about myself:
I have a family history of IBS and GERD, and a few family members have Hashimoto's thyroiditus. There is also a history of cystic acne. I was recently diagnosed with Psoriasis, which I've had under control for about a month or so. At it's worst, in addition to acne, I had little rashes in various places on my body, including my face. I used to be sick all the time growing up, but I haven't really been sick the same way for the past few years--maybe a runny nose here and there. Following autoimmune protocol type diets seems to have helped my acne (I am currently clear), but I want to know why.
What I want to know:
What evidence is there? What potential factors should I consider? What kind of mechanisms could potentially be at work? Are there case studies of individuals like myself? What do the animal models (if any) indicate? Is X nutrient bioavailable from Y food? What is X nutrients role in Z process? What does the dose response curve look like for X nutrient in Z process? What is involved in Z process?
What I am currently doing:
Avoiding:
- most grains
- legumes
- most dairy
- eggs
- soy
- nightshades
- excess sugar
- oranges
- latex fruits
- probably other stuff I can't think of
Doing:
- eating grass fed, pastured beef
- wild seafood, especially sockeye salmon, mussels, and oysters
- offal
- fermented foods, nutrient dense foods, and new foods in general
- leafy greens
- exercising often
- sleeping well
- socializing
- minimizing stress
- minimizing electronic use before bed
Limitations:
These are my thoughts, musings, and compilations more than anything else. These are things I've observed in myself, and I don't necessarily hold that they are correct. There are many factors that go into health. Nevertheless, It's a place to organize some of the things that I come across.
I generally like to keep my statements in line of with this mantra; "more research is needed." I believe one of the best things you can say is "I don't know." After recognizing that, you can do research to learn about what you do not know (I know, not exactly groundbreaking procedures
).
Final Thoughts:
Please feel free to ask me any questions you have, and I'll do my best to answer them! I'll expand on some of the things I am doing, as well as provide scientific data, in future posts. It's almost finals time for me, so it may be a few weeks before I do all that (or my inner procrastinator may assume direct control, and I may end up writing a novel
).
- eating grass fed, pastured beef
How often do you visit PubMed and Google Scholar? You can dig up a lot of stuff there, especially free texts. 
If you want, I can post studies about IBS/GERD, psoriasis and diet here. I don't know if your doctors ever elaborated about diet and your diseases, but you could always ask!
Your diet is beautiful and basically- through mimicking the diet you are genetically created to thrive on, you have balanced out your intestinal bacteria levels, stomach acid and hormones. I would love to talk more with you about the how and why if this through messenger
How often do you visit PubMed and Google Scholar? You can dig up a lot of stuff there, especially free texts.
If you want, I can post studies about IBS/GERD, psoriasis and diet here. I don't know if your doctors ever elaborated about diet and your diseases, but you could always ask!
Hey Michelle! I visit them fairly often! I've yet to really start looking up stuff for my specific/familial autoimmune diseases. I don't think my doctor keeps up with the latest research, unfortunately. I'd appreciate any links very much!
Your diet is beautiful and basically- through mimicking the diet you are genetically created to thrive on, you have balanced out your intestinal bacteria levels, stomach acid and hormones. I would love to talk more with you about the how and why if this through messenger
Beautiful?!? Haha, thanks for the compliment! Feel free to send me a message, I'm always willing to talk about food and exchange ideas. 
How often do you visit PubMed and Google Scholar? You can dig up a lot of stuff there, especially free texts.
If you want, I can post studies about IBS/GERD, psoriasis and diet here. I don't know if your doctors ever elaborated about diet and your diseases, but you could always ask!
Hey Michelle! I visit them fairly often! I've yet to really start looking up stuff for my specific/familial autoimmune diseases. I don't think my doctor keeps up with the latest research, unfortunately. I'd appreciate any links very much!
Your diet is beautiful and basically- through mimicking the diet you are genetically created to thrive on, you have balanced out your intestinal bacteria levels, stomach acid and hormones. I would love to talk more with you about the how and why if this through messenger
Beautiful?!? Haha, thanks for the compliment! Feel free to send me a message, I'm always willing to talk about food and exchange ideas.
I'll give you an update here:
Right now I'm looking into the psoriasis-diet connection, particularly fish oil since there seems to be more evidence behind that than anything else. Mayoclinic gives a nice summary about it, saying the evidence behind fish oil has been mixed. Of course I'll post the specific studies, but some of them I can't get the abstracts, let alone the free texts. It may take me a while to compile everything, though.
How often do you visit PubMed and Google Scholar? You can dig up a lot of stuff there, especially free texts.
If you want, I can post studies about IBS/GERD, psoriasis and diet here. I don't know if your doctors ever elaborated about diet and your diseases, but you could always ask!
Hey Michelle! I visit them fairly often! I've yet to really start looking up stuff for my specific/familial autoimmune diseases. I don't think my doctor keeps up with the latest research, unfortunately. I'd appreciate any links very much!
Your diet is beautiful and basically- through mimicking the diet you are genetically created to thrive on, you have balanced out your intestinal bacteria levels, stomach acid and hormones. I would love to talk more with you about the how and why if this through messenger
Beautiful?!? Haha, thanks for the compliment! Feel free to send me a message, I'm always willing to talk about food and exchange ideas.
I'll give you an update here:
Right now I'm looking into the psoriasis-diet connection, particularly fish oil since there seems to be more evidence behind that than anything else. Mayoclinic gives a nice summary about it, saying the evidence behind fish oil has been mixed. Of course I'll post the specific studies, but some of them I can't get the abstracts, let alone the free texts. It may take me a while to compile everything, though.
Thanks for that! I've seen articles and publications here and there about fish oils and fats in general when it comes to their relationship with skin and a handful of disorders. I think that's a good place to start looking as far as compiling info. Anecdotally, the times where I was the most clear in terms of time and the actual status of my skin was when I was taking krill oil, so I've started taking it again. Thankfully the brand I take also is very open in terms of their supplement quality and product testing results. There is some epidemiology out there as well that I've seen that talks about skin disorders being lower in populations with high fish intake--so I'll have to dig that up as well!
For future reference when I start digging:
1. Are there animal models that demonstrate some of the mechanisms described in psoriasis, eczema, and acne, where fats play a role?
2. What kinds of fats specifically?
3. What kinds of pathways?
4. What does the epidemiology say?
5. Are there case studies? Small studies? What were the results?
Health History
I thought I'd post a little bit about my health background, as it might give some ideas of what to research further. To clarify, most of these things are not issues anymore--unless I stray from my diet/lifestyle. As far back as I can remember, up until the past few years, I was always a fairly sick, lanky child. I have had skin conditions for the same amount of time. It started with eczema. I had my first breakouts in the 4th grade, whiteheads all over my forehead. It looked more like some strange disease rather than acne. It's come and gone in cycles, getting progressively worse, back to clear, and then much worse. Most topicals flat out made my skin MUCH worse. Proactive and Murad in particular did very strange things to my skin; not just breakouts, but rashes. Eventually, after high school, I got cystic acne. It was itchy sometimes, but not always. Most recently, it has been psoriasis.
Digestive disorders are common throughout my family. Various indigestion issues plagued me through most of my life. I've never been diagnosed with IBS or GERD, though it does run in my family. There are also Hashimoto's diagnoses, type II diabetes, arthritis, and a handful of other illnesses. There seem to be some crossover in terms of metabolic pathways and immune markers when it comes to these diseases, so it stands to reason that there could be some underlying causes between some of them.
Health History
I thought I'd post a little bit about my health background, as it might give some ideas of what to research further. To clarify, most of these things are not issues anymore--unless I stray from my diet/lifestyle. As far back as I can remember, up until the past few years, I was always a fairly sick, lanky child. I have had skin conditions for the same amount of time. It started with eczema. I had my first breakouts in the 4th grade, whiteheads all over my forehead. It looked more like some strange disease rather than acne. It's come and gone in cycles, getting progressively worse, back to clear, and then much worse. Most topicals flat out made my skin MUCH worse. Proactive and Murad in particular did very strange things to my skin; not just breakouts, but rashes. Eventually, after high school, I got cystic acne. It was itchy sometimes, but not always. Most recently, it has been psoriasis.
Digestive disorders are common throughout my family. Various indigestion issues plagued me through most of my life. I've never been diagnosed with IBS or GERD, though it does run in my family. There are also Hashimoto's diagnoses, type II diabetes, arthritis, and a handful of other illnesses. There seem to be some crossover in terms of metabolic pathways and immune markers when it comes to these diseases, so it stands to reason that there could be some underlying causes between some of them.
Now that you mention eczema, that gives me an idea. 
Okay, I'm back from the psoriasis and fish oil research!
Here's how many I found:
1. A DOUBLE-BLIND, RANDOMISED, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIAL OF FISH OIL IN PSORIASIS,
"28 patients with stable chronic psoriasis completed a trial in which they were randomly allocated to receive either 10 fish-oil capsules ('MaxEPA') or 10 placebo capsules (olive oil) daily. Patients were specifically instructed not to change their normal diet. After 8 weeks' treatment there was a significant lessening of itching, erythema, and scaling in the active treatment group, with a trend towards an overall decrease in body surface area affected. No change occurred in the placebo group."
2. The effects of dietary supplementation with fish oil in patients with psoriasis
"Ten patients with psoriasis resistant to conventional topical treatment were given dietary supplements of fish oil, providing approximately 12 g of eicosapentaenoic acid daily for a period of at least 6 weeks. In eight patients there was a modest improvement in their psoriasis, the principal effects being a diminution of erythema and scaling. The dietary treatment resulted in a substantial inhibition of leukotriene B4 production by the peripheral blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes in vitro. The discrepancy between the high degree of inhibition of leukotriene B4 synthesis and the modest therapeutic effect suggests that leukotriene B4 is not the only mediator involved in the development of the psoriatic lesion. Furthermore, the in vivo cutaneous levels of leukotriene B4 might not have been inhibited to the same extent as the polymorphonuclear leukocyte levels in vitro.
Further studies on the use of fish oil supplements, both on their own and in conjunction with other forms of treatment in psoriasis are warranted. It will also be important to determine whether the altered profile of 5-lipoxygcnase products found in the blood is also seen in the skin."
"An open study testing the effects of fish oil supplementation on psoriasis in 26 patients is described. None of the patients with plaque-type psoriasis vulgaris showed clinically significant improvement; however, a patient with generalized pustular psoriasis showed marked improvement with the fish oil supplementation. In this patient, scale leukotriene B4 levels were determined and shown to be significantly decreased after completion of the study, but the leukotriene B4 levels did not correlate with her clinical course. The results of our study are contrasted with those of a recent study that did show beneficial effects of fish oil supplementation on plaque-type psoriasis."
"Several studies have indicated that certain lipoxygenation products of arachidonic acid, particularly leukotriene B4 (LTB4), may be involved in psoriatic pathophysiology. One way of inhibiting the formation of LTB4 is to replace arachidonic acid in phospholipids with eicosapentaenoic acid. Eicosapentaenoic acid is converted into LTB5, which has a lower biologic activity than LTB4. In the present study psoriatic patients were put on a low-fat diet supplemented with dietary fish oil (Max-EPA 30 ml daily), a source of eicosapentaenoic acid, for 4 months. Twenty-six out of 30 patients with psoriasis vulgaris completed the study. Moderate or excellent improvement was observed in 58% of the patients, while mild improvement or no change was observed in 19% and 23%, respectively. The capacity of peripheral blood neutrophils to synthesize LTB4 and LTB5 in vitro was determined after stimulation with A23187. Before the study, negligible amounts of LTB5 were formed. After 1 month the average of LTB5/LTB4 ratio was 0.42. No further increase of the LTB5/LTB4 ratio was found. There existed no relationship between the clinical response and the LTB5/LTB4 ratio. The results of the present study suggest that dietary fish oil supplementation may be used in the therapy in psoriasis. However, studies defining the dose and the quality of fish oils are imperative."
5. Study on the use of omega-3 fatty acids as a therapeutic supplement in treatment of psoriasis
"Previous studies have suggested a benefit for patients with plaque psoriasis when omega-3 fatty acids are added to topical treatment. This study evaluated the efficacy of a nutritional complement rich in omega-3 fatty acids in patients with mild or moderate plaque psoriasis. Thirty patients were recruited, 15 of whom were given topical treatment with tacalcitol, forming the control group. The remaining 15 patients were given topical tacalcitol and 2 capsules of Oravex() daily. Three visits, the baseline, intermediate (week 4), and final (week 8), were held over an 8-week period. The main efficacy endpoints were the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), Nail Psoriasis Severity Index (NAPSI) and Dermatological Life Quality Index (DLQI). A clear and significant improvement was observed in all the efficacy endpoints in both groups between the baseline visit and the end visit. This improvement was significantly greater in the group treated additionally with Oravex() than in the control group. Supplementary treatment with omega-3 fatty acids complements topical treatment in psoriasis, and makes a significant contribution to reducing PASI and NAPSI and improving DLQI; and to reducing scalp lesion and pruritus, erythema, scaling, and infiltration of the treated areas."
6. A 1990 summary of fish oil and psoriasis, detailing some of the studies I've listed above. Scroll down to page 2 to see the chart.
7. Another one here which is another summary, scroll down to psoriasis and fish oil section.
Fish oil's possible mechanisms of action, if you haven't gathered from the abstracts already, are inhibiting LTB4 and raising LTB5 and decrease IL-1 and the tissue responsiveness to inflammatory reactions. But the problem is the quality of studies are so poor it's really hard to gather anything from it, let alone the appropriate dosage. It may take an extremely high dosage (30 pills daily in this study which is cited in study #7) to have some effectiveness, considering EPA and DHA in OTC fish oil is often less than 250 mg each in the pills and you may need at least 1.8 grams of both omega-3 fatty acids. Essentially, taking OTC fish oil for psoriasis is a potentially expensive gamble and obviously more research is needed. Considering all the hype surrounding fish oil, I wouldn't be surprised one bit if these effects are overblown.
That's amazing, thank you so much Michelle! Truly grateful for the time you took to compile that. I looked at everything, and plan to dig really deep into the research to figure out the ifs and hows of integrating something into a regimen for myself.
From the looks of it, as you mentioned, this is a lot of fish oil. Potent fish oil in terms of EPA and DPA as well. Trader Joe's has some pretty tasty sockeye salmon and canned wild salmon (not so fond of the canned as far as taste, but it is cheaper. Perhaps I need to go deeper and find a good recipe for canned salmon that I can do 
). I eat fatty fish about 2-3x a week, but perhaps I could do it every day as well. I'd be getting a lot more nutrients as well compared to isolated fish oil, so that'd be a plus. There's that one psychological placebo like effect that happens when people take a heaping handful of pills too, so that's a potential plus 
Have you looked into linoleic acid? It's an important component of sebum in the function of mammalian skin and mammals with skin problems have been found to be deficient. And I don't recall which human skin problem most of the studies were about, could be psoriasis. Could be excema. I have a thread on it as I started looking into it after finding info on dogs as my dog has skin problems.
I suppose I should calculate the costs of a fish oil-psoriasis regimen:
I'm taking the price and amount of Omega-3s (EPA and DHA) from Nature's Bounty Fish Oil 1200 mg Rapid Release Liquid Softgels Twin Pack, because it shows how much EPA and DHA it has unlike some other brands. 180 count per bottle, 360 capsules total. Serving size is 1 capsule containing 360 mg of EPA and DHA (separately? I think it might be, but I'm not sure.)
To get 1.8 grams of EPA and DHA like one study I linked above, you need to consume 5 of these capsules daily. 1800 mg / 360 mg = 5.
360 capsules / 5 daily = 72 day supply. The twin pack would cost you about $27.99 online on Walgreens at the moment. To last you a year, you need to buy about 5 twin packs. 5 x $27.99 = $139.95. This is not including taxes, different brands, or if the price goes up.
I don't know how much disposable income you have, but is $139.95+ too big of a gamble to you? I don't want you to spend that much yearly on a gamble, especially if you have a tight budget.
Whew, late reply! Happy new year everyone
Have you looked into linoleic acid? It's an important component of sebum in the function of mammalian skin and mammals with skin problems have been found to be deficient. And I don't recall which human skin problem most of the studies were about, could be psoriasis. Could be excema. I have a thread on it as I started looking into it after finding info on dogs as my dog has skin problems.
Have you looked into linoleic acid? It's an important component of sebum in the function of mammalian skin and mammals with skin problems have been found to be deficient. And I don't recall which human skin problem most of the studies were about, could be psoriasis. Could be excema. I have a thread on it as I started looking into it after finding info on dogs as my dog has skin problems.
I'm not sure if the quote function works, but I've bought some cold pressed hempseed oil to experiment with. I'm not sure what triggers the flare ups of psoriasis on my face, as it wasn't a problem when I was vacationing and being rather lax with my diet. Perhaps I need to reevaluate how I cope with stress and other factors. Sea buckthorn oil seems to help topically as well, but that's much more expensive.
Have you looked into linoleic acid? It's an important component of sebum in the function of mammalian skin and mammals with skin problems have been found to be deficient. And I don't recall which human skin problem most of the studies were about, could be psoriasis. Could be excema. I have a thread on it as I started looking into it after finding info on dogs as my dog has skin problems.
I'm not sure if the quote function works, but I've bought some cold pressed hempseed oil to experiment with. I'm not sure what triggers the flare ups of psoriasis on my face, as it wasn't a problem when I was vacationing and being rather lax with my diet. Perhaps I need to reevaluate how I cope with stress and other factors. Sea buckthorn oil seems to help topically as well, but that's much more expensive.
I tried hempseed for a month and my KP started returning. I just went back to safflower although I will be blending it to use it up. Hempseed is only about half linoleic acid. Safflower and grapeseed are nearly 80%
Have you looked into linoleic acid? It's an important component of sebum in the function of mammalian skin and mammals with skin problems have been found to be deficient. And I don't recall which human skin problem most of the studies were about, could be psoriasis. Could be excema. I have a thread on it as I started looking into it after finding info on dogs as my dog has skin problems.
I'm not sure if the quote function works, but I've bought some cold pressed hempseed oil to experiment with. I'm not sure what triggers the flare ups of psoriasis on my face, as it wasn't a problem when I was vacationing and being rather lax with my diet. Perhaps I need to reevaluate how I cope with stress and other factors. Sea buckthorn oil seems to help topically as well, but that's much more expensive.
I tried hempseed for a month and my KP started returning. I just went back to safflower although I will be blending it tomuse it up. itHempseed is only about half linoleic acid. Safflower and grapeseed are nearly 80%
Sea buckthorn seed oil is about 70% alpha linoleic and linoleic acid, and it seemed to absorb better than the hemp seed oil did. I've been using the SBO for about 3 nights and 1 night it was mixed with the hemp seed oil. Neither broke me out or gave me more blackheads. It would seem actually that my t-zone sebaceous filaments on my cheeks are not as present, sort of like when I was using an expensive mychelle serum + acnescript. This is much more affordable, which is nice.
My psoriasis spots on my face are considerably improved, and my skin isn't nearly as itchy as it can be. I just wipe off the oil with a paper towel and leave the rest without any issues. My face actually doesn't look oily after I do this; in fact, it sort of has a nice matte finish/glow -- something I wasn't used to seeing without using expensive topicals.
I had a problem of scratching the spots in my sleep (I don't scratch/pick in the daytime), and it seems to have gone away as well. Kind of curious how that works. Probably some substance P histamine type stuff going on -- another thing to look into!
I'm going to try and find a nice high shelf turnover grapeseed or safflower oil at the co-op or farmer's market this weekend to experiment with, and I'll continue to make progress reports!
Have you looked into linoleic acid? It's an important component of sebum in the function of mammalian skin and mammals with skin problems have been found to be deficient. And I don't recall which human skin problem most of the studies were about, could be psoriasis. Could be excema. I have a thread on it as I started looking into it after finding info on dogs as my dog has skin problems.
I'm not sure if the quote function works, but I've bought some cold pressed hempseed oil to experiment with. I'm not sure what triggers the flare ups of psoriasis on my face, as it wasn't a problem when I was vacationing and being rather lax with my diet. Perhaps I need to reevaluate how I cope with stress and other factors. Sea buckthorn oil seems to help topically as well, but that's much more expensive.
I tried hempseed for a month and my KP started returning. I just went back to safflower although I will be blending it tomuse it up. itHempseed is only about half linoleic acid. Safflower and grapeseed are nearly 80%
Sea buckthorn seed oil is about 70% alpha linoleic and linoleic acid, and it seemed to absorb better than the hemp seed oil did. I've been using the SBO for about 3 nights and 1 night it was mixed with the hemp seed oil. Neither broke me out or gave me more blackheads. It would seem actually that my t-zone sebaceous filaments on my cheeks are not as present, sort of like when I was using an expensive mychelle serum + acnescript. This is much more affordable, which is nice.
My psoriasis spots on my face are considerably improved, and my skin isn't nearly as itchy as it can be. I just wipe off the oil with a paper towel and leave the rest without any issues. My face actually doesn't look oily after I do this; in fact, it sort of has a nice matte finish/glow -- something I wasn't used to seeing without using expensive topicals.
I had a problem of scratching the spots in my sleep (I don't scratch/pick in the daytime), and it seems to have gone away as well. Kind of curious how that works. Probably some substance P histamine type stuff going on -- another thing to look into!
I'm going to try and find a nice high shelf turnover grapeseed or safflower oil at the co-op or farmer's market this weekend to experiment with, and I'll continue to make progress reports!
Are you in California? That's where the brand I use comes from.