Your Diet Could Be Making Your Skin Inflammation Worse

Can your diet make inflammation worse? Dermatologist Dr. Dray explains how dietary patterns may influence inflammatory skin diseases including eczema, psoriasis, and hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), and what the research actually tells us about food, inflammation, and skin health. This video takes a closer look at the connection between sodium and inflammatory skin disease, including research linking higher sodium intake with increased eczema risk, active flares, and disease severity. Dr. Dray also discusses sugar and refined carbohydrates, processed and red meat, metabolic health, weight loss and hidradenitis suppurativa, and the evidence surrounding Mediterranean and plant-based diets. Rather than promoting an extreme "anti-inflammatory diet" or restrictive elimination diet, Dr. Dray discusses practical ways to build a more nourishing dietary pattern, including eating vegetables frequently, incorporating legumes, choosing whole grains and minimally processed starches, eating whole fruit, limiting added sugar and refined carbohydrates, reducing processed meats, and paying attention to sodium intake. In this video: 00:00 Can your diet make inflammation worse? 01:09 High-salt diets and inflammatory skin disease 04:32 Sugar, refined carbohydrates and inflammation 07:54 Red meat, processed meat and inflammation 08:53 Hidradenitis suppurativa and diet 12:53 What should someone with inflammatory skin disease actually eat? 15:17 Why you shouldn't fear whole fruit 16:01 Sodium and