About 10 years ago, I developed excruciating back pain, which extended down my right leg. My right side of my body became partially paralyzed. I could barely move. When I walked, my leg dragged behind me.
This came on rapidly and it quickly progressed. Because I had more faith in alternative medicine than in pharmaceutical drugs, I took a holistic approach.
The good news is I am now nearly symptom free and I can walk again. I can walk around the block, a couple of times if I want. During the worst of my illness, I could barely make it across the room.
I’m no longer in intense pain either. Although I sometimes have a little pain, it’s something I can live with. There’s some debate over whether my type of nerve pain is autoimmune in origin. I’ll leave this one to the experts. Personally, I really don’t care. Because the dietary solution is the same, regardless of whether or not I’m dealing with autoimmunity.
What I need to do is to my inflammation in check. This is something I’d need to do anyway, when dealing with chronic pain. Whether or not it springs from autoimmunity matters little. The path to wellness would be the same, regardless of the diagnosis.
Although mainstream doctors do recognize that excess inflammation is bad, they don’t seem to grasp the importance of managing it naturally, as a way of regaining your health. They’ll prescribe certain medications, but these drugs don’t address the root cause. Pharmaceuticals also come with potentially serious side effects.
Drugs may temporarily relieve certain symptoms. But they don’t lead to better overall health, and they don’t offer a cure. You may also develop new problems from the side effects. Please understand, though, that I’m not a doctor. So everything you see here is my personal opinion only. Do not neglect getting proper medical care because of anything you read on this site.
Diet Help for Autoimmune Disease
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When my disease was at its worst, someone lent me a copy of a book describing The Chilton Program. It was a game changer. This book explained how inflammation was at the root cause of disease. And it outlined an easy way that I could change my diet, and short circuit the inflammatory process.
There was little doubt that runaway inflammation was causing my problems. Figuring I had little to lose, I gave it a try.
The focus of this method is on reducing your intake of foods that contain high levels of arachidonic acid. This included animal fat and egg yolks. Instead, of these foods, the advice is to eat foods that inhibit inflammation.
I immediately believed what I was reading. It also solved one mystery. On Sunday mornings, my husband would cook omelets for everyone. This is also the day my symptoms would flare.
The book and the diet it described became my guideline. I never followed it exactly, but I did reduce my intake of foods that were high in arachidonic acid. It seemed to make a big difference.
Now, as my body has recovered more, I don’t have to be as careful. For instance, I eat eggs again, in moderation.
Excess inflammation is what fuels the disease process, including autoimmune conditions, according to various alternative health experts. A more holistic approach to treating your illness will invariably focus on reducing this trigger. The human body appears to have an amazing ability to repair itself, once disease-causing factors are removed.
Following other anti-inflammatory diet experts, I also eliminated wheat and dairy from my diet. Later, I started eating mostly organic foods and seasoning everything with Himalayan salt, which contains 84 minerals and trace elements, in just the right proportions. I highly recommend this over regular table salt, which is chemically different from real salt and stripped of its natural nutrients.
We’ve been eating Himalayan salt for years, and would never go back to using regular table salt again. Some grocery stores carry this delicious pink salt. But if you can’t find it locally, it’s available here.
HImalayan salt also contains magnesium, something many of us do not get enough of. Studies have shown that this crucial element can help reduce inflammation.
Diets For People With Autoimmune Disease
Since I’m not a doctor or a trained dietitian, I can’t give dietary advice specific to any one person. So I encourage you to work with your healthcare professionals to find a workable diet that can potentially help manage excess inflammation. Dietary interventions have helped me so much.
I cook nearly all of our family meals from scratch. Also, I limit the meals I eat in restaurants, which contain unknown ingredients. This might sound difficult. But, once I learned how to make healthy meals from whole foods, it became a lot easier. Fortunately, I had help. A good friend who’d been eating organic food for years taught me how to shop.
That’s why I encourage my readers, who need a little help, to sign up for Real Plans for a month or two. They will get all the help they need, in terms of shopping and cooking. Once a week you’ll receive a shopping list. This contains everything you need to prepare a week’s worth of healthy meals. Food waste is virtually eliminated, since you buy only what you need. Real Plans customers can also take advantage of the live chat function if they have any questions. Gluten-free menus are available as well. For more information, click on the image below.
Disclaimer
These statements have not been approved by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. People with health concerns should discuss them with a doctor.
I’m not a healthcare professional, so all of the above statements are my personal opinion, and are not intended as medical advice.
