What Should I Know About Vitamin D and Psoriasis?

Vitamin D and psoriasis have a long and well-documented connection.

Have you heard about the benefits of vitamin D for psoriasis? Perhaps your doctor has recommended light treatments or encouraged you to get sunlight regularly to increase your vitamin D levels. It sounds so simple, but vitamin D really can affect your psoriasis.

Light therapy, also known as phototherapy, can decrease the immune response in the area affected by psoriasis. Sun exposure has the same effect, but it’s not as targeted as light therapy.

What is vitamin D?

Vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin, is an essential and fat-soluble vitamin that’s found in some foods and available as a dietary supplement.

When ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun hit your skin, it causes vitamin D synthesis. Recent research has linked vitamin D deficiencies with psoriasis. While a deficiency does not seem to cause psoriasis, it may affect overall skin health.

While vitamin D is synthesized by the body from sunlight, it can also be taken orally as a supplement and applied topically to the skin as an oil. It can even be found in some foods.

Research on vitamin D and psoriasis

Vitamin D can help strengthen your immune system. Specifically, vitamin D assists in the type 1 helper cell (Th1) pathway, an important pathway in the immune system. Psoriasis symptoms are associated with inflammation and proteins found in the Th1 pathway.

Additionally, vitamin D plays an important role in inflammation function. Vitamin D has an anti-inflammatory effect on immune system cells and has been found to reduce pro-inflammatory proteins.

Vitamin D also helps maintain a healthy skin barrier. Research from 2016 suggests there may be a link between the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and psoriasis susceptibility. This means that low vitamin D levels can make the skin barrier more vulnerable to infection and inflammatory conditions like psoriasis. However, more research is needed.

It’s common to experience a vitamin D deficiency, especially if you:

• are older
• have darker skin
• live in parts of the world where there’s not a lot of sunlight

Low vitamin D levels have been associated with elevated markers of inflammation, which can affect psoriasis.

Other studies have found low vitamin D levels in people with psoriatic arthritis and that people with lower vitamin D levels have more severe psoriatic arthritis activity.

Topical or oral vitamin D: Which is better?

Sunlight exposure has been used as a psoriasis treatment for decades. Vitamin D therapy is one of the most popular therapies for psoriasis.

Research from 2017 shows that vitamin D can successfully treat psoriasis when used topically, particularly with the hormonally active form of vitamin D, commonly known as vitamin D3. In addition, synthetic vitamin D can slow plaque formation, thin or flatten plaques, reduce scaling, and help treat scalp and nail psoriasis.

Taking vitamin D supplements may help with psoriasis, but they’re not an effective long-term treatment. Other medications, like corticosteroids, have active ingredients that may work better for some people.

Vitamin D in moderation is good for you, but taking too much through supplements can be harmful. Vitamin D toxicity can lead to too much calcium in the blood and cause symptoms like frequent urination, weakness, and eventually kidney problems.

Vitamin D supplements can be taken orally as a pill, capsule, or liquid. The current recommendations are 400 to 1,000 international units daily. Talk with your doctor to find out what dose is best for you. They may recommend starting with a lower dose and gradually increasing it.

Vitamin D can also be found naturally in the flesh of fatty fish, beef, egg yolks, and cheese, though the levels can depend on the animal’s diet. Mushrooms and foods that have been fortified with vitamin D, such as milk and cereals, are also good sources of vitamin D.

The takeaway

The research on topical vitamin D and psoriasis is well established, but more research is needed on vitamin D supplements. Be sure to talk with your doctor before starting any new supplements, including vitamin D.

If you have a personal or familial history of skin cancer, you may decide against UV light treatments and instead opt for topical or oral vitamin D. You can also work with your healthcare team to determine if there are other medications that may offer additional benefits.

The effects of vitamin D on psoriasis symptoms can differ for everyone, so your doctor can help tailor your treatment plan to best fit your needs.