Vitamins & Nutritional Supplements for Psoriasis

Fumaric acid, in the chemically bound form known as fumaric acid esters, has been shown in case studies, preliminary trials and double-blind trials to be effective against symptoms of psoriasis. However, because fumaric acid esters can cause significant side effects, they should be taken only under the supervision of a doctor familiar with their use. Nevertheless, these side effects have been reported to decrease in frequency over the course of treatment and, if they are closely monitored, rarely lead to significant toxicity.

In a double-blind trial, fish oil (10 grams per day) was found to improve the skin lesions of psoriasis. In another trial, supplementing with 3.6 grams per day of purified eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, one of the fatty acids found in fish oil) reduced the severity of psoriasis after two to three months. That amount of EPA is usually contained in 20 grams of fish oil, a level that generally requires 20 pills to achieve. However, when purified EPA was used in combination with purified docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, another fatty acid contained in fish oil), no improvement was observed...