Q. Your readers did it again! I’ve been drinking oolong tea for over a month now, and the patches of psoriasis have disappeared along with the flaking. I still have a couple of areas that need some ointment now and then but overall I can wear shorts now without being embarrassed about my skin. (My skinny legs are another matter.) Thanks.
A. A study more than a decade ago in Japan found that oolong tea was effective in easing treatment-resistant eczema (Archives of Dermatology, Jan. 2001), but we have found no studies of oolong tea for psoriasis. The subjects in the eczema study drank a liter a day, or approximately four cups.
Oolong tea is intermediate between green and black tea in the amount of fermentation/oxidation the leaves undergo. It is also intermediate in caffeine content. Some people find that they need to acquire a taste for oolong tea, while others take to it immediately.
Several visitors to our website have reported that drinking oolong tea eased their psoriasis. Others have noted that turmeric or cilantro also can be helpful. You’ll find a number of natural approaches to psoriasis in The People’s Pharmacy Quick & Handy Home Remedies, from National Geographic.
