The Ultimate Anti-inflammatory Food Guide for Lupus

According to the Center for Disease Control, autoimmune disease rates have been on the rise. A recent study showed that the prevalence and incidence of autoimmune diseases like lupus, celiac disease, and type 1 diabetes is increasing and scientists don’t know why.

Anti-inflammatory diets are one of the few things that people can do to help combat and alleviate some symptoms of autoimmune diseases and reduce the chances of other diseases. These diets have become more popular in recent years because inflammation has several negative effects on people’s health.

If you were to eat an anti-inflammatory diet, you reduce the chance of general inflammation, which can greatly reduce the odds of falling ill.

A deeper understanding of autoimmune diseases

In a person who does not live with an autoimmune disease, the immune system works to protect the body from any disease or infection. Conversely, someone who has an autoimmune disease, the immune system cannot tell the difference between healthy cells and unhealthy cells, resulting in the immune system attacking its own healthy cells. When there is an autoimmunity present, the affected immune system becomes hyperactive and starts to attack the healthy body tissue, like the thyroid gland in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, or the protective covering of the nerves in the case of multiple sclerosis.

One of the most frustrating things about autoimmune diseases is the difficult nature of the diagnosis. Many autoimmune diseases take years to accurately diagnose and understand. Plenty of people see several doctors before they get the actual diagnosis, which, according to some doctors, takes about four years. While this seems hard to understand, remember that the patient who goes to the doctor with autoimmune symptoms  disease may interpret the symptoms as ailments rather than symptoms of a greater issue. Aside from being terribly frustrating, this process can be very dangerous. If a person with an autoimmune disease goes for a long time without a proper diagnosis, they may see their condition worsen.

Attacking autoimmune diseases with an anti-inflammatory diet

An anti-inflammatory diet fights chronic inflammation, which is uniformly seen as a serious health impediment and is sadly on the rise.

“Anti-inflammatory diet” is actually a misnomer, since this way of eating is not really a diet, but a lifestyle change. In other words, a person on an anti-inflammatory diet is not counting calories and trying to lose weight. Although, that may happen. Instead, they’re eating foods that naturally help to promote health and resist inflammation. The anti-inflammatory diet is also about removing foods that cause inflammation and disease.