Published: 22:38 BST, 5 September 2026 | Updated: 22:41 BST, 5 September 2026
For two decades, Janine Price suffered with agonizing, itchy red patches across her body and debilitatingly painful joints.
‘It came on completely without warning, when I was pregnant with my first child,’ recalls the 50-year-old mother of two.
‘I developed random spots on my arms and body, but for me, the scalp was the biggest thing – I thought I just had a terrible case of dandruff.’
After being diagnosed with psoriasis, an autoimmune skin condition which affects up to eight million people in the US, she tried everything from steroid creams that dampen inflammation to light therapy and even a form of chemotherapy.
‘It just kept getting progressively worse,’ she says. ‘Something might work for a brief while, but then it would come back with a vengeance.
‘They were far more visible – it was angry and red in appearance – they were noticeable. And I became conscious of it, especially as patches started appearing on my face.’
The condition began to affect her day-to-day life, particularly when she developed psoriatic arthritis – joint pain that hits a third of psoriasis sufferers.
‘It was really painful, even just doing things around the house – which then meant I became less active, which made the condition worse,’ says Janine.
Janine Price's psoriasis came on without warning when she was pregnant with her first child
After being diagnosed Janine tried everything from steroid creams to light therapy and even a form of chemotherapy but she says the skin condition just got progressively worse
After years of discomfort and frustration, Janine finally found a solution – diet and exercise.
She cut out ultra-processed foods, reduced her sugar intake, ate more fruit and veg and began every morning with an aloe vera drink that she swears by.
Alongside the changes in diet, Janine took up yoga and running – she is now competing in half marathons.
The approach transformed her body. In all, she lost around 42 lbs and went down from a size 10 to a size 6.
