Psoriasis is an auto-immune condition that results in increased skin production, itching and localized inflammation. Because of the increased growth of skin cells, reddish patches or psoriasis plaques can develop in large regions of the skin. Psoriasis usually appears on the limbs, but can also appear on the back and even the genital area.

In a joint study spearheaded by researchers from Brigham University and Harvard University and published in the Journal of Dermatology, it was found that beer consumption and the worsening of psoriasis have an inverse relationship. Simply put: the more you drink beer, the more you increase the risk of worsening your psoriasis.

It has long been thought that beer consumption played a role in increasing the risk for psoriasis, because people with this condition tended to drink more.

And those who drank little or none at all usually had no psoriasis or only very mild manifestations of this auto-immune condition. It should be noted, though, that psoriasis itself is not a bacterial or viral infection and is not transmitted by hand to hand contact, no matter how the psoriasis plaques may appear on the skin of the affected individual.

Using data collected from over one thousand respondents, it was found that women who drank an average of 2 1/3 drinks every week were 72% more likely to suffer from psoriasis or were at risk for worsening their existing psoriasis.

What about other alcoholic beverages, like wine? After analyzing the data once again, the researchers confirmed that only regular beer had a causal connection with psoriasis. Reduced-calorie beers or light beers, as well as other alcoholic beverages like red wine were not associated with psoriasis at all.

Because of these results, researchers are now looking at which non-alcoholic compounds in regular beer were potentially triggering psoriasis in women.

One theory is that the fermentation source for beer, barley, may be playing a role in instigating the auto-immune condition. Because reduced-calorie beers had less barley content, these did not generally contribute to the risk of a person for developing psoriasis. So if you are hankering for a drink with friends, drink light beer or better yet, red wine so you can have a good dose of resveratrol - a protective compound found in grapes.

Sources:
sciencedaily.com
sciencedaily.com