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Diet Pegano with psoriasis
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 19.10.2021

As you know, psoriasis is classified as an autoimmune disease that can not be cured. However, in reducing the intensity of the manifestation of its symptoms - a characteristic rash on the skin - nutrition can help in accordance with the principles on which the diet of Pégano is based on psoriasis.
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General information of the diets of Pegano
To explain the essence of the diet, which almost forty years ago developed and successfully applied the American physician John O. Pagano (John O. Pagano), should briefly highlight his views on the pathogenesis of the disease, which is still considered a "dermatological riddle."
In his famous book "Healing Psoriasis: The Natural Alternative", Pegano wrote that psoriasis is only an outward manifestation of the body's attempts to get rid of internal toxins, and outlined his version of the natural relief of patients' condition.
According to Pegano, if you look at psoriasis "from the inside out," this disease can be seen as a result of an overload of the body's defense mechanism, which can not cope with the excretion of toxic products of vital activity through the intestines, liver and kidneys. Accumulation of substances harmful to tissues and organs leads to an increase in intestinal permeability and toxins entering the lymph and blood. And then, according to Pegano, our skin is trying to remove toxins from the body. That is, the integuments act as a reserve system of excretion, but, since for them this is an impossible task, psoriasis becomes a reaction.
The goal that the Pegano diet should achieve in psoriasis is internal cleansing, release from endogenous toxins accumulated in the body (including in the intestine), and restoring the correct balance of alkaline and acid-forming foods coming with food. Vegetables and fruits (alkalinizing products) should account for two thirds of the diet, and for meat and cereals (acid-producing products) - one-third.
The best way to start a diet is with a three-day cleansing, which consists of eating apples (three days you need to eat only apples - without the restriction of quantity). You also need to drink plenty of water: 6-8 glasses a day. And then it is necessary to switch to the use of only allowed products, and to avoid what should be excluded from the diet.
What can and what can not?
So, what can you eat with the diet of Pegano? You can eat an unlimited amount of alkaline foods, such as vegetables, leaf salads and greens, various fruits. It is better to eat them raw or after a minimal culinary treatment.
It is allowed to eat low-fat mutton, chicken (only white meat) and turkey, sea fish, mushrooms, legumes, cereals (in moderation), buckwheat and brown rice, bread (whole-grain, bran, bezdorozhzhevoy), pasta from durum wheat , citrus fruits.
You can and should drink fresh (that is, not pasteurized or sterilized) fruit juices, carrot juice and celery juice.
Vegetable oil (for dressing salads) can be any, but best of all, of course, olive. Nuts, seeds, and almonds can be eaten two or three times a week for 50-60 g.
Consumption is restricted: dairy products (cottage cheese, cheese, butter, yoghurt, etc.), eggs (no more than two boiled eggs a week), cereals, caffeinated drinks.
By the way, salmon, broccoli, carrots, garlic, sweet potato, turmeric, chicory (leaves), turnip and linseed oil are listed in the list of products that contribute to the reduction of psoriasis plaques, compiled by the FDA.
And in the list of what can not be eaten with the diet of Pegano, all kinds of red meat, by-products, sausages, ham, cold-boiled pork, lard, and the like got into the diet; mollusks and crustaceans; fried and deep-fried food; whole milk; White rice; potatoes, tomatoes (including tomato juice and ketchup), eggplant, pepper (all nightshade vegetable crops); white bread, biscuits, cookies, cakes, cakes, etc .; citrus fruits and strawberries; sugar, candy, chocolate, honey. And, of course, canned food, fast food, breakfast cereals (snacks) and alcoholic beverages.