Can a Special Diet Help You Manage Psoriatic Arthritis?

• Lean meats
• Fish
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Nuts
• Seeds

Foods that are not considered part of the paleo diet include grains, legumes, dairy products, potatoes, refined sugar, salt, and highly processed foods.

Can It Help Psoriatic Arthritis?

Like the Mediterranean diet, this diet is high in anti-inflammatory foods such as:

• Fish
• Nuts and seeds
• Fruits and vegetables

And it restricts foods thought to cause inflammation, such as:

• Refined sugars
• Processed foods
• Fatty cuts of meat

The paleo diet “encourages food in its original, unprocessed form, and those who follow this diet tend to cook more,” says Gibofsky.

What to Consider Before You Try It

The paleo diet “lacks grains, dairy, and legumes, so there’s a lack of fiber, which keeps you regular and lowers your risk of cholesterol and diabetes,” says Gibofsky. “Constipation and bone health can be a concern.”

And while you may experience weight loss on the paleo diet — a good thing for psoriatic arthritis management — it may be due to the fact that whole categories of foods have been eliminated from the diet. From a nutritional standpoint, “there’s a difference between removing a single food that may cause symptoms and removing an entire food group,” says Gibofsky.