I cured my psoriatic nail disease with lectin free food, supplements, and a scientifically proven nail oil I made at home. Maybe you can too!
Do you have psoriatic nail, or nail psoriasis? It's not only ugly, but sick nails are a tell-tale sign that more is going on with your health. I suffered with embarrassing psoriatic nail for seven years before I cured myself with food, supplements and a proprietary concoction made with two simple ingredients. Eating lectin free helps, but the cure to psoriatic nail involves so much more. I'm sharing my psoriatic nail protocol in hopes to help others with the disease.
If you're struggling with psoriatic nails, read on to discover the one food that's absolutely off limits. If you want your nails to ever look normal again, see my tried-and-true list of supplements I use to keep the disease from coming back. Finally, get the recipe for the miracle oil I made at home that finally got my cuticles to grow back.
What is Psoriatic Nail?
Psoriatic nail is a condition that usually accompanies psoriatic arthritis. The primary symptoms include:
pitted nails
inflamed skin around the nails
scaly skin
loss of cuticles
receding skin around the nails
exposed "half-moon" in the nail beds
The most frustrating symptom for me was the loss of cuticles. Without cuticles, nails just can't thrive. Later, after we talk about food and supplements, I'll tell you about the two-ingredient oil that was the key to growing back my cuticles. If you have any of these symptoms, even a single pit in one nail, you may have psoriatic nail.
My psoriatic nail journey started with a single pit in my left ring finger. It looked like a tiny pinhole, and I thought nothing of it. I became concerned when hundreds more pits appeared in that same nail, I lost my cuticle and the skin around my nail receded and became red and inflamed. One by one, my other nails showed the same symptoms. I searched to no avail for an article like this. By writing this blog, hopefully I can help the millions of people searching for answers to their psoriatic nail questions like I was.
Psoriatic Nail is Not a Nail Fungus!
Knowing what you have is the first step in curing the disease. Initially, I had no idea what I had. I went to a dermatologist who diagnosed me with a nail fungus and gave me his compounded topical treatment for nail fungus. I applied it diligently, to no avail. My condition worsened. I now had eight sick nails.
Dissatisfied with my initial diagnosis, I turned to Doctor Google. Typing in my main symptoms, I found the term psoriatic nail. I was on to something. At my next Botox appointment, I asked my doctor, who has an internal medicine background, if he thought it was psoriatic nail. He concurred, but said it was weird because I didn't have psoriatic arthritis that almost always comes first. So, he said likely it was a rarer form of psoriatic nail without the arthritis.
Once I had the diagnosis, I pursued the treatment. I sent photos of my nails to the psoriatic disease specialist at the University of Utah. She confirmed the condition and told me psoriasis is an autoimmune disease. She told me that once nails are affected, the condition was very difficult to reverse, but it was possible to stop progression. I took that as a challenge. She had some luck with patients prescribed immunosuppressant drugs. But, I had no interest in taking drugs. I wanted a cure.
Psoriatic Nail Is an Autoimmune Disease
I zeroed in on the fact that psoriasis is an autoimmune disease. At the time, the psoriatic specialist was conducting a clinical trial on a biologic treatment. Unfortunately, since my case was so mild, I wasn't accepted for the trial. But she did tell me that the trial was basically an obscene amount of vitamin D and advised me to simply start with 40,000 IUs. That sounded like a lot to me. But I did it anyway.
Later I realized, vitamin D3 was an important part of my healing. But it took so much more than just this one supplement.
Lectins Free Foods Helped Cure My Psoriatic Nail
Curing psoriatic nail starts from the inside. On the same day I discovered I had an autoimmune disease, I came across several published papers by Dr. Steven Gundry. His papers primarily pointed at lectins in foods as the problem. Lectins are sticky indigestible plant proteins present in grains, corn, soy, legumes, nightshades, and meat and milk from animals fed any of these things. When we eat lectins, they cling to our intestinal lining. Over time, lectins bore through the intestine causing a condition known as leaky gut.
Once our guts leak, toxins can seep through into our blood streams and organs. If you are predisposed to any inflammatory disease, leaky gut can bring it out of hiding. There are hundreds of autoimmune diseases that can be triggered by leaky gut, but here is a list of a few common ones:
psoriasis
rheumatoid arthritis
thyroid diseases like Hashimoto's and Grave's
scleroderma
multiple sclerosis
celiac disease
crohn's
type 1 diabetes
Guillain-Barre syndrome
alopecia
polymyalgia
lyme disease
If you have one or more of these or any other autoimmune disease, start by cutting out lectins from your diet. You'll be amazed at how quickly things can start to improve.
So, What Can You Eat on a Lectin Free Diet?
In my case, my nail psoriasis was triggered by a combination of leaky gut and nail trauma at a nail salon. Because I was eating all of the bad stuff: whole grain bread, oatmeal, yogurt, cheese, corn, soy, beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, etc., my gut environment was primed for psoriatic nail. And, when the salon technician burnt my fingernail with her tool, the autoimmune contagion began.
In his paper, Dr. Gundry concluded that eliminating lectins from the diet could put autoimmune conditions in remission in as few as nine months. I jumped on that and committed to the lectin free lifestyle that day. It was in July 2018.
Instead of mourning the loss of all the foods I couldn't eat, I embraced the long list of YES foods approved by Dr. Gundry. He has done extensive research to come up with the list, and he updates it periodically with new findings. Rather than repeat the already published list, I'm just providing it below in the downloadable PDF. I suggest printing out the latest list below published by drgundry.com and focusing on all the foods you CAN have.
The first meal I made was so simple. It was a wild-caught salmon cake with a mustard caper sauce served over a bed of arugula tossed in olive oil and lemon, julienned carrots and sliced avocado. It's the first entry in my extensive Lectin Free Gourmet recipe blog that contains, now, over 250 recipes. I provide free access to my recipe blog. My first lectin free meal was so nourishing and delicious, and I already felt better. Food is just part of the cure for psoriatic nail, but it's a first step. Please use my FREE blog to keep your lectin free lifestyle varied and tasty. Remember, focus on all the delicious foods you can have. We can even have Champagne!
What Supplements Help Psoriatic Nail?
Within a week of eating lectin free foods made with Gundry-approved ingredients, the inflammation in the skin around my nails was gone. That was enough for me to continue the lifestyle. But it was only the beginning. I knew I needed supplements and maybe more. I was already taking vitamin D3 as recommended by the U of U doctor. Dr. Steven Gundry is also a big fan of vitamin D3. And, 40,000 IUs is child's play for him. He's known to take 80,000 or more when he feels a cold coming on or before he travels. D3 is no joke, and it's "supplement numero uno" on my list. Here are the supplements I take for my psoriatic nail:
Vitamin D3
Vitamin K2
Biotin
Zinc
Magnesium
Silica
Vitamin C (time released)
Collagen
Hyaluronic Acid
Now, Dr. Gundry isn't a believer in collagen in and of itself. However, he does say that amino acids are essential to our diets. They're the building blocks for protein and they are key to supporting collagen growth in our own skin and joints. So, in selecting the right collagen, I always look at the amino acid profile. The best collagen, I've found, is grass-fed Collagen Peptides by Thrive Market, an online members-only grocery store that offers discounts for healthy foods, supplements and more. If you're not a member yet, you can get 40% off your first order with my link:
I add a scoop of Thrive Market vanilla collagen to my morning coffee along with MCT oil and a little whipped coconut milk. It's delicious, and I'm nourishing my nails at the same time with the amino acids in the collagen.
As for the other supplements, just be sure you're getting a time-release vitamin C, as C is absorbed immediately and not stored in the body. Same goes for B vitamins. With time-release formulas, the vitamin is slowly dissolved over time so that we don't get it all at once.
This Two-Ingredient Oil Cured My Psoriatic Nail
Healing sick nails is a long road. For me, it involved a lot of trial and error to get it right. But now that I have it down, I can share it to help others heal their psoriatic nail.
Earlier, I told you that the most frustrating symptom of psoriatic nail was the loss of my cuticles. With no cuticles, my nails could never be healthy. And, needless to say, nails with no cuticles look weird. I found myself tucking my nails under my fists to hide them. The food and supplements helped the skin around my nails and kept the disease from progressing, but my cuticles still hadn't grown back after nine months on the lectin free lifestyle.
So back to Dr. Google I went. I found a human study by Dr. Lin that was specific to psoriatic nail. He had his patients with nail psoriasis brush a simple concoction he called "lindioil" made of olive oil and indigo naturalis on their nails. The small study (33 people) showed great results after 24 weeks with most experiencing 50% or better improvement in their condition, even some cuticle regrowth.
I decided to make my own lindioil at home and try it on my own sick nails. It worked! My cuticles started growing back after just two weeks.
I used Gundry MD Polyphenol Rich Olive Oil. I believe the extra polyphenols proved essential in my recipe. You can save $10 on one bottle with my link. Just click the photo.
I purchased an indigo naturalis (qing dai) powder from a Chinese herbalist. Get the real thing! Don't waste your money on pre-made oils or ointments that say they contain indigo naturalis. They don't have enough indigo naturalis in them to make a difference in your nails. And, likely they have cheap oils. YOU MUST MAKE YOUR OWN.
The Recipe
Kristine's Homemade Lindioil
2 Tablespoons Gundry MD Polyphenol Rich Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Indigo Naturalis Powder (100% qing dai, no fillers)
Step 1: Mix the Ingredients
In a shot glass, mix the two ingredients well. It will look like black oil. Keep it covered in plastic when not using.
Step 2: Brush on Nails
With a small brush, paint all 10 nails (even the ones that are not affected) twice daily. Focus on the cuticle area.
Step 3: Massage the Nails
Work from the pinky finger to the thumb of your left hand. Use your right thumb to support the digit. Then massage in one direction only each finger's distal joint from the knuckle to fingertip at least 20 times. Repeat for the right hand. This, along with the oil, helps encourage cuticle growth. After doing all five digits of the left hand, repeat for the right hand.
Wearing cloth gloves after step 3 prevents any blue dye left on the hands from getting all over.
Hold the Dairy if You Have Nail Psoriasis
Now that I have my psoriatic nail cured and under control, I am committed to the lectin free lifestyle and taking the supplements. I have found this to be very effective in keeping my psoriatic nail disease in remission.
But, there still is one Gundry-approved food that I avoid. It's dairy! Even the grassfed organic a2 dairy like goat cheese, and Alexandre's yogurt can trigger a psoriatic flair up in my nails. It usually looks like inflamed skin around the nail, or a sick-looking cuticle. So, I just try to hold the dairy. Dairy is a proven problem food for people with psoriasis. So best to avoid if you want to cure psoriatic nail.
Consistency is Key
I realize my psoriatic nail protocol takes discipline. I mean, changing your diet, taking supplements, applying lindioil twice a day, giving up dairy – it's a lot. But the reward is 10 healthy, beautiful nails. Now I don't hide my nails, I show them off.
Once you get rolling on the lectin free lifestyle, it gets easier. My recipe blog is here for you to use free of charge. And if you like it even easier, try my packaged foods. I have ready-to-eat granola, pasta kits, coffees, dessert mixes, and lots more.
You don't have to hide your psoriatic nails. Cure them with lectin free foods, supplements that support skin and nail health, and make your own lindioil at home.
Please let me know how your journey is going, and if you have success with my protocol. Together we can end psoriatic nail naturally.