We have just had a new clinical study published in the peer-reviewed journal Marine Drugs. In this study - people with diverse skin disorders like psoriasis and eczema were targeted to see how many we could help with our SeaFibre extract, and if this was linked to specific inflammation signatures. In this clinical study, participants with psoriasis-like skin conditions were identified and compared to people without these conditions.
Notable signatures for diet and microbiome in psoriasis sufferers
Two things stuck our between these groups - the first being that the gut microbiome signature was different for those with skin conditions, and the second was that this group also ate less yoghurt. Now these two things are not new findings on their own, but together start to reinforce the strategy of targeting less inflammatory diets and supporting gut flora development to address inflammatory skin conditions, including with fermented foods (like yoghurt or non-dairy fermented foods) and prebiotic fibre to support a better gut flora.
Inflammatory cytokines put back in their place
Cytokines are part of our immune system and they help us to respond to injury or challenges by creating and then suppressing inflammation in a controlled way; but they can also get out of control in a cytokine storm which you might have heard about in relation to COVID. Psoriasis is also known to be triggered by a cytokine storm of sorts, and the cytokines we targeted are increasingly being linked to psoriasis. We need to get them back under control, and this is where the term anti-inflammatory diet comes in. An anti-inflammatory diet is not so much a diet that turns inflammation off like drugs do, but it is one that doesn't trigger inflammation unnecessarily which a modern western diet can do and allows you to naturally regulate inflammation.
SeaFibre linked to reducing psoriasis inflammation triggers
TNF-α is just one cytokine marker that we know plays a key role in the triggering psoriasis due to its stimulating effect on the overproduction of skin cells. TNF-α was one of 5 inflammation markers that were improved in psoriasis sufferers who took SeaFibre compared to those that didn't, showing that SeaFibre might improve psoriasis through supporting regulation of the immune system from the gut.
SeaFibre is not the end of the story
It is important to note that 23% of the participants showed a significant improvement or recovery in their skin condition. This does not mean that more participants were not helped, but it emphasizes that inflammation and skin health are not driven by one factor alone. The rest of your diet, other deficiencies like Omega-3 or calcium, sleep, excercise and low stress are all equally important.
Deficiencies in diet that relate to psoriasis can also include things like Omega-3 or calcium and other minerals. This is why we also introduced Omega-3 in SeaFibre-3, and balanced the boron and magnesium with calcium in SeaFibre-Cal - all things that are important in good skin health and that you can tailor to your specific needs.
A lifestyle approach with SeaFibre
I always say that you cannot live a life of stress, low mobility and a poor diet and then expect one pill to fix it. Taking SeaFibre could clearly be one of the weapons in your arsenal to help to manage or eliminate psoriasis symptoms, but you need to take charge of overall lifestyle decisions outside of this as well. The good news is that you can find a solution to make things better through lifestyle choices - so let's start making them.
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Roach, L.A.; Meyer, B.J.; Fitton, J.H.; Winberg, P. Oral Supplementation with Algal Sulphated Polysaccharide in Subjects with Inflammatory Skin Conditions: A Randomised Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial and Baseline Dietary Differences. Mar. Drugs 2023, 21, 379. https://doi.org/10.3390/md21070379