Mar 23 2016
A new online platform, Alba’s Post (albaspost.com), is taking new measures in helping people with psoriasis taking control of their disease, by providing information on the effects of nutrition.
If you are living with the chronic skin disease psoriasis, like the famous Kim Kardashian and Cara Delevingne, you probably know the feeling of trawling the web for good advice that may help you experience fewer red and itchy patches on your skin.
Unfortunately, searching the Internet can be quite the bumpy road to take – the amount of information is vast, and distinguishing between what may actually help you and what won’t, can be a difficult task.
This has inspired the creation of the new and free online platform, Alba’s Post, which has set out to help people with psoriasis get informed about the benefits nutrition can have on the disease.
Based on what ingredients, foods or diets people with psoriasis search for online, Alba’s Post supplies scientifically validated information about nutrition and psoriasis.
Alba’s Post is launched by LEO Innovation Lab, an independent innovation unit, in order to improve the lives of people with psoriasis.
“We know that certain nutrients can have an impact on psoriasis” says Kristian Hart-Hansen, CEO of LEO Innovation Lab. “Unfortunately, the little scientific evidence that exists on the subject is often not directly available to the people who need it, because it is hard to read and even find for people outside the scientific community. We want to make this information available to people with psoriasis to help them gain more control and to actively cope with their disease.”
Bringing in experts
Alba’s Post is partnering with scientists, dermatologists and dietitians with knowledge about the effect nutrition have on psoriasis. Among them is John Zibert, Ph.D. in psoriasis and Medical Director in LEO Innovation Lab, where he joined to help create these new services.
“In one recent study it was found that weight loss definitely had a positive effect on psoriasis. We are now working on more studies to define if specific nutrients or diets can have a positive effect as well. Hopefully with Alba’s Post we can also make this information available to the people who need it the most,” says John Zibert.
People’s own experiences
Besides enabling users to search scientific information about the effects that particular diets and foods may have on psoriasis, Alba’s Post also conducts multiple surveys to map the personal experiences that people living with psoriasis have with specific diets, foods or nutrients and how these affect their disease. Furthermore, the overall user ratings are shared online through albaspost.com.
“A lot of people with psoriasis experiment with alternative ways of reducing their symptoms, such as specific foods or diets, which they either come up with themselves, find on the internet or are recommended by their friends and family,” says Kristian Hart-Hansen. “We believe that by aggregating these experiences and making them available together with the scientifically based information, we empower people with psoriasis to make informed decisions about what to eat and drink.”