Kim Kardashian West Eats Plant-Based to Help Alleviate Her Psoriatic Arthritis

Is she, or isn't she plant-based? There are differing opinions out there in the social sphere, but we choose to take comments at face value. So, where is the scoop on whether or not Kim Kardashian is actually living the plant-based life?

By her own declaration, she is eating plant-based at home. But then upon closer inspection of her well-analyzed social media posts over the last ten days, it was not clear whether she was truly eating plant-based or making the statement as a way of covering her well-known derrier for comments about climate change, and other controversial posts.

First KKW posts in front of a nearly empty fridge, to show off her new Skims line of shapewear, and the twitter storm is savage, with comments like:

So the fridge is empty, just like the rest of the house? Do y’all even live there girl?

and:

I see nothing in that fridge that reflects a family with 4 kids haha! I just cant relate. Sorry

and:

Yall eat air too?? coz I see no food in that fridge ma’am

Then, a few days after the nothing-but-milk fridge "reveal," KKW comes back at her detractors to show her "actual" fridge. This one is a walk-in-closet style pantry with shelf after shelf of plant-based and fresh foods. And, again, out came the well-sharpened knives. Her caption explained that this is where she keeps the good stuff and that they are even going to far as to plant organic trees and grow their own vegetables.

Kardashian West then took the time to explain that this is the family's real fridge, the one with the healthy foods. Later she also showed her plant-based meals that included vegan tacos, and said: "You guys know I eat plant-based now." She was, we can only assume, referring to an announcement back in April that she was following a plant-based diet at home. She wrote on Kourtney Kardashian's Poosh website that the switch to plant-based eating was motivated by her getting a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis. The flare-ups look raw, persistent, and painful.

Kardashian West is in amazing shape, as her own IG posts attest. So we'll have what she's having.

What Is Psoriatic Arthritis?

Her pictures of psoriasis on Poosh and her IG stories just go to show that you never know what someone has to deal with–even under the makeup and fancy clothes. Celebrity or not, our heart goes out to anyone who has a chronic illness or condition like this one.

She has to deal with flare-ups of her psoriasis, an auto-immune condition that causes painful, itchy, raw and red raised skin rashes. It also carries a risk for painful bone-deep aches similar to rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. On the show, KUWTKs, she was tested for rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and other related conditions. After some confusing false-positive results, her doctor was able to confirm that indeed hers was related to her psoriasis—something that has plagued her since she was 25 and that her mother Kris also has had to deal with.

Kardashian West tried tanning beds (which worked for her mother to soothe and abate some of the symptoms) but they just caused her flare-ups to itch more. So she turned to plant-based eating, for the most part. In story after story about people suffering from psoriasis, some people believe that going on a plant-based diet and avoiding processed foods helps put the autoimmune condition into remission. 

Dr. Michael Greger, founder of NutritionFacts.org and author of the bestseller How Not to Die and the sequel How Not to Diet, posts on his site that plant-based diets work to lower inflammation, and arthritis sufferers (he mentions rheumatoid specifically) are told to try eating plant-based to calm their symptoms. So KKW tried it. She hedges her bets by explaining that this is how she eats at home—so if anyone sees her pick up a sushi roll with tuna at Nobu, rest-assured, she covered her commitment.

Whatever her level of plant-based eating, we here at The Beet say: Eating even partly plant-based is better than not. And trying to cope with a painful, immune-triggered condition such as psoriasis by eating healthier and choosing whole foods that are plant-based is always a good idea (since meat, dairy and processed foods can lead to inflammation). As for the milk in her fridge? We tried to see if it was plant-based but the picture was a little hard to read. If so, good job. If not, we highly recommend Oatly, Califia, and Blue Diamond Almond Milk. But there are many other good ones on the shelves (check out The Beet Meter for our faves) and as for the family's going plant-based: Your kids won't even know the difference.