Diet in Dermatology
Importance of Integrative Diet in Dermatology
One of my relatives told me about mouth-watering `Dalgona
Coffee’ and sent me the recipe, upon my request. So, after a hectic day with
discussions, I prepared it at around 7 pm, thinking that it will be ready by
fifteen minutes. Since I do not have a beater in my kitchen, I used a spoon to
beat the coffee, but took nearly 30 minutes to get the required consistency.
But it was our dinner time, so I thought to drink it after dinner at around 10
pm. It was my first experience with Dalgona. After going to bed I had an uneasy
feeling at night with increased intestinal movement and could not sleep that
whole night. I was thinking about whether beating the coffee would increase the
air cavities to make it so fluffy and shiny? Whether this air cavities affect
the digestion process. My experience with this process made me think, how diet
is essential in one`s life.
Every patient who comes for dermatology consultation is worried about diet. Always they will be asking whether we can eat fish, meat, etc. Previously I was not giving much importance to this. But after my coffee experience, I gave a thought. There are some diseases in dermatology where a correct dietary protocol is mandatory. The list goes like this
- Eczema which includes Atopic dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis (nickel, etc.)
- Urticaria
- Psoriasis
- Vitiligo
- Xanthelasma
- Dermatitis herpetiform
- Obesity and so Acanthosis nigricans
- Arthritis and increased uric acid level
- Hyperhidrosis
- Hair fall due to anemia and vitamin deficiency
- Metabolic syndrome
- Patients on immune suppressive to prevent gastritis
- Gluten-free diet in most of the diseases
- Acne vulgaris
- Rosacea
- Genetic and metabolic disorder (phenylketonuria, porphyria, G6 P D deficiency)
- Nutritional deficiencies like Kwashiorkor, marasmus, phrynoderma, pellagra, scurvy and acrodermatitis enteropathica
Patients in our country both rich and poor are more concerned about the diet, what to eat, what to avoid in the hope that it will help them to cure their disease at the earliest. So, dermatologists can help the patients along with dietitian to prepare a proper protocol considering their cravings, digestion, calorie intake without compromising the nutritional value. Avoiding certain things, yet to maintain a balanced diet is difficult but possible, to achieve a cure. Besides, the concept of Ayurveda which says Virudda aahara (like eating fish and curd together) is harmful to health. According to Ayurveda, eating 3 hours before sleep is a scientifically proved now in patients with Gastro-oesophageal reflux. By the combined effort of Ayurveda and dietician along with dermatologists what we call in our institute as the integrative approach, gives a smile with satisfaction in our tired patients.
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