Today we report a study merely as a reminder that just because it is in a scientific journal does not make it the Gospel.

It was a very small study, out of Japan, based on self-reported dietary history questionnaires. (The accuracy of self-reported dietary histories is probably right up there with the accuracy of online dating profiles.)

The study, of 70 Japanese patients with psoriasis (some of whom also had psoriatic arthritis), found that “psoriasis was associated with … low intake of meat.” Yes, that’s not a typo: compared to healthy people without psoriasis, this study found people with psoriasis ate significantly less meat.

Also, the “intake of … green/yellow vegetables in psoriatic patients with arthritis [was] higher than those in the patients” with just psoriasis. Kids have been trying to tell parents for decades that vegetables are the problem!

What to make of it all? The study size was too small, and the self-reported dietary histories used were likely not reliable. But if you want a Big Mac today, at least now you can say you are doing it for your health. [That’s a joke, folks.]

[Last updated 11-3-2019]