With World Psoriasis Day tomorrow the 29th October it brings about a great opportunity to raise awareness of this illness and what it actually means to have psoriasis.

Lately i have noticed some ads on TV identifying the shame and embarrassment that many psoriasis sufferers feel.

I myself have felt this way on numerous occasions and still do at times. Even if you have the tiniest spot on your foot or hand or even somewhere where you think no one will notice there will always be someone who feels the need to point it out or act in a way that is heartbreaking as they edge away from you.

If you have acted this way, it's fine we have all had times where we react in a way that perhaps we didn't think out carefully.

Next time it would be great to be mindful that the psoriasis sufferer is not in a great place. They already feel very self conscious about it so perhaps just continue on with your conversation as normal.

For the psoriasis suffer its best not to attach any emotion to this moment. It needn't be an issue perhaps using it as a positive thing and keeping you motivated to improve your lifestyle and diet will help you move on.

So what can you do to help your psoriasis?

Regardless of the treatment you are undertaking there is always something you can do to help your skin heal.

Here are my top 5 diet tips i recommend:

Include green leafy vegetables at every meal and yes that includes breakfast. It can be a juice or a smoothie but only include 1 fruit.

Drink 2-3 litres of water per day. This water needs to be warm and sipped throughout the day. Don't consume water in large quantities as this needs to be filtered by your kidneys in the quantities you consume.

Avoid refined carbohydrates. This recommendation is based on the link between insulin resistance and psoriasis researchers have found. Refined carbohydrates cause high levels of insulin to be released resulting in increased inflammation in the body. This in turn makes the skin more inflamed and irritated.

Avoid inflammatory foods such as gluten, yeast, dairy, sugar and fried greasy foods. These foods increase inflammation in the body and will result in more inflamed skin.

Eat when relaxed. If you are stressed or busy when you eat the body will not be focused on digesting the food. the chemicals in your body that are released when you are stressed such as cortisol and adrenalin don't see the need to promote digestion. Survival is key when stressed so these chemicals in the body cause an increase to your muscles not to your digestion. The result is poor digestive function and a reduction in absorption of nutrients from the meal you have just consumed.

If you are interested in sourcing some tasty recipes that help psoriasis read about our Healing Psoriasis with Mediterranean Cooking Cookbook.