Psoriasis and Constipation

Some people might find it difficult to establish a relation between these two problems- psoriasis and constipation. Reasons is very simple: They would say that constipation has never been an issue in their lives and still they are having psoriasis. Hence, without delaying any more, I would like to make it clear that this article doesn’t portray constipation as the root cause behind psoriasis development. But yes, if you are dealing with constipation since a long time; if constipation is a very frequent problem in your life, then definitely this condition of troubled bowel movement might have played a role in developing and/or persisting psoriasis patches on your skin.

What is constipation 

Difficulty in bowel movement due to hardening of stools is known as constipation. Due to poor diet, less intake of water and unhealthy lifestyle (less physical activity), constipation is a common thing these days and most of the people would not take occasional constipation seriously. But if are suffering from psoriasis, you don’t enjoy this concession. For you, smooth bowel movements to ensure regular thorough flushing out of body toxins is tremendously important.

Certain medication, particularly some antibiotics can also cause constipation. Elderly people having long stays in bed and taking prescribed antibiotics often face the problem of constipation. With change in medication (after consulting the doctor) and mild physical exercise, this problem can be managed.

Psoriasis and Constipation

I have had a history of chronic constipation and it irritates me some time even today. Hence, when I come across various articles over the internet claiming constipation as one of the triggers for psoriasis, I readily find this claim logical. I remember Dr. John Pagano quoting “Avoid constipation at any cost” in his famous book about natural healing of psoriasis.

• Chronic constipation increases accumulation of toxins in your body

Let us try to understand that how toxins are produced in your body. Your body requires energy to perform various functions to sustain life. This energy is provided by the burning of the nutrients (glucose, amino acids and fatty acids) in the food that you eat. Burning of these nutrients is facilitated by the oxygen that you breathe in.

This combustion of nutrients results in the release of various waste products and toxins as a byproduct.

Various waste products can be divided in three categories:

1. Gaseous waste products like carbon dioxide and other gases – to be removed through the lungs by breathing-out
2. Liquid waste products (water soluble) like urine and sweat- to be removed through the kidney (urine elimination) and skin (sweating)
3. Solid waste products like stool- to be removed through the colon by bowel movements

Luckily, all the gaseous waste products are easily eliminated from your body through breathing. Breathing is an obvious automatic process that your body keeps on doing by its own.

But the elimination of liquid and solid waste products (urine, sweat and stool) from our body is obstructed by ourselves due to faulty lifestyle.

Let me elaborate it. Drinking enough water is required to facilitate formation of urine. But, these days people drink less water; either due to lack of awareness or due to a busy lifestyle. When you drink less water, you would be making your stool hard and difficult to flush out. Also, sometimes you hold the urge for urination or bowel movement for a long time- either due to ignorance or busy schedule.

Apart from this, bad diet (less fiber and more calories) and poor lifestyle (very little or almost no physical exercise) make your body an easy target for chronic constipation.

All these factors can cause the problem of chronic constipation. When this problem of constipation is quite frequent, then accumulation of these liquid and solid waste products (toxins) takes place and these toxins started to spread throughout the body and such an alarming condition can surely trigger your psoriasis. When toxins accumulation in your body goes beyond the elimination capacity of the liver (and kidney), then your skin would come forward to help these organs by facilitating the elimination of body toxins through skin itself in the form of psoriasis flakes. 

Read more: Detoxification helps in Psoriasis Healing

• Chronic constipation can weaken your immune system

As explained above, chronic constipation can promote the accumulation of toxins in your body. Gradually your colon would get filled up with hardened stools over an extended period of time. This accumulated stool would start to decompose, inviting various harmful germs and bacteria to prosper in your gut. These harmful foreign matters would hamper your immunity and make your body susceptible to various diseases. In such a situation, psoriasis flare up is highly expected.

• Chronic constipation can cause leaky gut syndrome and skin inflammation

Chronic constipation increases the level of toxins in your body beyond the safe limit over an extended period of time.This condition of excessive toxins can irritate the inner linings of your intestine. This irritation leads to inflammation causing the microscopic pores in the small intestine to expand. These microscopic pores are meant to transfer only nutrients from your food to the bloodstream. But due to their expansion, body toxins and undigested food can also leak into your bloodstream causing all sorts of problem.

Conclusion

Your skin is a reflection of your internal body metabolism. Healthy gut implies healthy skin. In India, there is a saying that if your bowel movement is not smooth; if you have chronic constipation problem; sooner or later you would attract some really nasty disease.

Body detoxification has always been considered one of the most effective ways to make the things back in order to heal psoriasis. And, I think that avoiding any chances of constipation on every single day is the easiest way to do so. Consuming a healthy diet coupled with elimination of constipation would definitely reduce the level of toxins in your body soothing your psoriasis symptoms. Always remember- psoriasis and constipation; it is a terrible combination. If you have psoriasis, avoid constipation at any cost.

Also, avoiding constipation and enjoying smooth bowel movement in the morning would make feel fresh and energetic throughout the day.

Important links:

How to avoid constipation naturally with diet and lifestyle