Eczema and Psoriasis: What Does Ayurveda Look at Beyond the Skin?

By Dr. S. Ajit (B.A.M.S, P.C.A.S.)

Senior Ayurvedic Physician and Clinical Director, Ayurda Wellness
Over 40 years of clinical practice in traditional Ayurveda

Educational note: Eczema and psoriasis are distinct medical conditions. This article explains an Ayurveda perspective and is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It does not replace care from your GP, dermatologist or other healthcare professional. Do not stop or change prescribed treatment without speaking to the clinician responsible for it.

People are often surprised by how much time I spend asking about food when they have come to speak about their skin.

They may be able to tell me the name of every cream they have used, when a patch first appeared and exactly how the skin changed. But when I ask what they ate yesterday, whether they were hungry before the meal, how they felt afterwards or what their bowels are like, the answers are often much less certain.

This is not a criticism. Most of us have been taught to notice food by category: healthy or unhealthy, high-protein or low-fat, natural or processed. Ayurveda asks something more personal: Was this food suitable for you, at this time, and were you able to digest it well?

That question matters because Ayurveda does not examine the skin as though it lives separately from the person. It considers the visible signs, but it also looks at digestion, appetite, elimination, food habits, sleep, stress, season, daily routine and life stage.

The skin is where the condition can be seen. It is not necessarily where the Ayurveda enquiry ends.

Two conditions - not one conversation

Eczema and psoriasis are not the same condition. They have different medical features, and either can vary considerably from one person to another. A proper diagnosis belongs with an appropriately qualified medical professional.

Ayurveda does not erase that distinction. Nor should we take a modern diagnosis and casually assign it to one dosha. It is too simplistic to say eczema is always Vata, psoriasis is always Pitta, or that one internal imbalance explains every presentation.

When I meet someone, I want to understand the diagnosis and the history-but I also want to understand how the condition is appearing in that particular person.

Is the skin predominantly dry, thick, hot or weeping? How long has it been present? Does it stay in the same place or move? What tends to happen before it changes? Is sleep disturbed? Is appetite steady? Is the person feeling strong, depleted, overheated or heavy? What season are we in, and what stage of life is the person moving through?

No single answer decides the Ayurveda reading. The pattern emerges from how the details sit together.

This is an important difference. A diagnosis names the condition. It does not describe the entire person living with it.

What does food have to do with skin?

In Ayurveda, food is not simply a collection of nutrients. We also consider its qualities, how it has been prepared, when and how often it is eaten, what it is combined with and how the person feels after eating it.

This is why the label “healthy” is not enough.

A person may begin the day with peanut butter on toast, eat a large raw salad for lunch, have miso soup in the evening and use tomato sauce regularly. On paper, much of this may sound wholesome. But the useful question is not whether these foods are fashionable, traditional or nutritious in isolation. It is whether the whole pattern suits the person who is eating it.

Miso and other fermented foods are generally sour and salty in quality. Tomato sauce is concentrated and sour, and commercial versions may also contain sugar, salt, oil or chilli. Peanut butter is dense, oily and heavy. Raw salad is fresh, but it is also cold and demands more digestive work than warm, cooked food.

None of these foods is automatically forbidden. A small amount may suit one person without difficulty. The same food, eaten frequently or in a different season, may leave another person feeling acidic, heavy, bloated, cold or unsettled.

The same attention applies to what we casually call junk food. The concern is rarely one biscuit or one takeaway. It is the pattern that can build quietly: packaged snacks replacing meals, frequent fried food, excess sugar and salt, late-night eating, sweet drinks and continuous grazing without clear hunger.

People often search for the one food responsible for their skin. I am more interested in what is being repeated. What do you eat most days? At what time? In what quantity? Are you hungry before eating? Do you feel comfortable afterwards?

Food does not provide a simple explanation for eczema or psoriasis. But it is part of the person’s health history, and in Ayurveda that history cannot be separated from digestion.

Agni: not only what you eat, but what you can digest

Ayurveda calls digestive and metabolic capacity Agni, usually translated as digestive fire.

Agni is not another name for stomach acid. It describes the body’s ability to receive, transform and make use of what is taken in. Two people can eat exactly the same meal and respond differently because their digestive capacity, appetite, routine and current state are not identical.

I ask simple questions. Is there genuine hunger before a meal? Does eating leave the person comfortable and clear, or heavy and sleepy? Is there bloating, reflux, excessive gas or an unpredictable appetite? Are the bowels regular? Is the tongue heavily coated? Does energy remain steady after food?

These details help me understand whether digestion appears balanced, overactive, weak or irregular within the Ayurveda framework.

When food and experience are not processed well, Ayurveda uses the term Ama. It is often translated online as “toxins,” but that word creates the wrong impression. Ama is not a biomedical substance that can be identified through a laboratory test. It is a traditional Ayurveda concept understood through a wider pattern of digestive and systemic signs.

Agni and Ama are relevant to the classical Ayurveda understanding of many long-standing health concerns, including those that appear on the skin. That is not the same as claiming that poor digestion caused a person’s eczema or psoriasis. It means digestion is one part of the wider picture Ayurveda examines.

The pattern is often larger than food

I also ask what was happening in the person’s life when the skin changed.

Was sleep shortened? Were meals skipped or eaten late? Was there travel, grief, examination pressure, prolonged work stress or the daily strain of caring for someone else? Did the change coincide with puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause or another significant life stage?

Stress should not be blamed for a skin condition, and people living with eczema or psoriasis should never be made to feel they have caused it through their emotions. But stress can affect appetite, sleep, digestion and routine. A person may eat differently, shower differently, scratch more at night or have less energy to care for herself.

Ayurveda pays attention to those connections. It does not divide the mind, digestion and physical body into unrelated departments.

One ordinary question: how hot is your shower?

This question sometimes surprises people because it sounds almost too simple.

Very hot water may feel satisfying when skin is itchy, especially in cold weather. But dry or sensitive skin can feel more uncomfortable afterwards. I ask people to notice-not assume-what happens after the shower. Does the skin feel calm and comfortable, or tight, dry and more irritated?

A shorter, comfortably warm shower may be kinder than a long, very hot one. This is not a treatment for eczema or psoriasis. It is an example of how a repeated daily habit can become relevant when we look at the whole picture.

Why Ayurveda advice must be individual

It is natural to search online for the best food, herb or oil for a skin condition. The difficulty is that the name of the condition alone does not tell us what advice is suitable.

Two people with eczema may have different constitutions, appetites, bowel patterns, strengths, medicines, climates and stages of life. The same is true of two people with psoriasis. Advice that appears sensible for one may be inappropriate for the other.

This is why I would not give every reader one eczema diet or one psoriasis cleanse. Nor would I ask someone to stop prescribed care because an Ayurveda explanation sounds persuasive.

In consultation, the purpose is to place the details beside one another: the medical history, current care, visible skin signs, digestion, food, elimination, sleep, energy, emotional load, constitution, present imbalance, season, age and strength. Only then can we discuss whether an individual Ayurveda approach is appropriate alongside existing healthcare.

Frequently asked questions

Look at the skin. Then keep looking.

Living with eczema or psoriasis can be physically and emotionally demanding. The skin deserves appropriate care, and the person deserves to be understood beyond the visible condition.

This is what Ayurveda adds to the conversation. Not a quick conclusion. Not one forbidden food. Not the promise of a universal root cause. It asks us to notice the relationships: what is eaten, how it is digested, how the person sleeps, what pressures she is carrying, what has changed and what keeps repeating.

The skin may be where the story becomes visible. To understand the story, we must listen to the whole person.

To discuss your individual health pattern, book a Consultation with Dr. S. Ajit.

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Dr S. Ajit (B.A.M.S, P.C.A.S)

Ayurvedic Physician & Co-founder, Ayurda

With over 43 years of clinical experience, Dr. S Ajit is Australasia’s most experienced Ayurvedic physician. Founding patron of the Australasian Ayurvedic Practitioners Association and President of the International Council of Ayurvedic Medicine, he co-founded Ayurda with his wife Rippan to bring the timeless wisdom of Ayurveda to New Zealand and Australia.

About Dr. Ajit

Educational and medical disclaimer

This article presents traditional Ayurveda concepts for general education and awareness. It does not diagnose, treat or recommend remedies for eczema or psoriasis, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Do not stop or change prescribed treatment without speaking to the clinician responsible for it. Seek appropriate medical care for persistent, worsening, painful, infected or otherwise concerning skin symptoms.