Thursday, July 30, 2009

Lupus Diet?

THE GOOD FAT VS BAD FAT



Agak sukar menghilangkan headaches this past few days.So I searched for alternatives other than paracetamol/acetaminophen to reduce headaches.Nope,ponstan/mefenamic acid won't help either. So I figure out maybe I could change the way I eat. Hmm...diet?

Well...Most diet is for non -chronic illness patients. Gee... I cannot do Detox Diet eventhough green tea had become routine. So I type out Lupus Diet on Google Search.So here goes SLEians, the simplified version of what I called Lupus Diet;

There is no special diet for lupus, you can practise any diet that doesn't contribute ractions woth drugs.
In general, you should try to eat a nutritious, well-balanced, and varied diet that contains plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, moderate amounts of meats, poultry, and oily fish, as fish oil has been found to help reduce inflammation.

Omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish appear to decrease the risk of coronary artery disease and may also protect against irregular heartbeats and help lower blood pressure. For these reasons, omega-3 fatty acids are important for women with lupus, who are at a 5-10-fold higher risk for heart disease than the general population.


AVOID ALFAFA!!
One food for people with lupus to avoid is alfalfa. Alfalfa tablets have been associated with reports of a lupus-like syndrome or lupus flares. The lupus-like effects may include muscle pain, fatigue, abnormal blood test results, changes in how the immune system functions, and kidney problems. These reactions may be due to the amino acid L-canavanine (found in alfalfa seeds and sprouts, but not in leaves), which can activate the immune system and increase inflammation.

If you plan to add herbs, dietary supplements, or vitamins to your diet you should first discuss your decision with your lupus doctor. This is especially important as herbs or supplements may interact with medicines used to treat lupus. Herbs or supplements should never be used to replace medicines prescribed to control symptoms of lupus or medication side effects.


You may have to cut back or eliminate certain items from your diet because of the medications you are taking, or because of the damage that lupus has done to certain parts of your body.
EFFECTS OF CORTICOSTEROID
Corticosteroids can :
-elevate blood pressure
-elevate the levels of cholesterol and lipids in the blood.


Therefore, if you are taking steroids, you should limit the fat and salt in your diet, as both can contribute to these conditions.
-cause or worsen osteoporosis, a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break.

If you have osteoporosis you should eat foods rich in calcium every day to help with bone growth: examples are dark green, leafy vegetables (spinach, broccoli, collard greens), milk, cheese, and yogurt or calcium supplements that contain Vitamin D.

If you are experiencing fluid retention that causes swelling (edema), you should lower the amount of salt and sodium-containing foods you eat; in particular, processed foods should be avoided.


There,voila~

p/s: I need to cut all the cheese meals(uuu....my favourites..) to cut down headaches encounters. Uuu...I hate it when HCQ pressure my eyes. Migrains won't leave me....

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Salam, been a silent reader of yr blog. It's yr attitude towards yr illness that interests me.There's a cure for SLE which only Allah knows. May He reveal the antidote in a good short time from now for you and all the others with SLE to enjoy a complete recovery.

Siti Salina said...

hi sarah,
i suka makan junk food, pedas2 and kekdg tu masam dan masin hehe. Cheese mmg i suka sgt. Setakat ni alhamdulillah takde masalah tapi i kena juga jaga makan mana tau masa depan. Orang yang sihat kena jaga makan apatah lagi kita yang berpenyakit. Lepas makan hcq and aza selama 3 bln ni alhamdulillah ok. Sedikit demi sedikit rasa letih tu hilang. Cuma i perasan masa nak period about 2 weeks before ada timbul sikit rasa sakit tu. Macam letih and nak tido je. Waktu kenalah bagi masa tido panjang sikit.

anumz sarah said...

salam anonymous,

I deeply appreciated your encouragement and prayers. For us,His servants we're subdue to obligations and our hope is only Him. Thank you for giving support and prayers for the effort count,whether silent or not.

=)

anumz sarah said...

Salam kak siti,

Wahhhh....anum rindu dgn kak siti!! How are u kak? Hope semua semakin ok. Although Allah will test us from time to time,InsyaAllah things will become better and better.

True,anum pun slalu tired especially when taking HCQ lagi-lagi nak dkt period. Migraine dobled pain! Uuuu... tak suka lansung kt HCQ but I need to cut down steroids... Our sleeping time mmg macam owl sikit. haha~~ kdg malu kat roomate sbb asyik tido je. Now,anum practise meditation utk control stress and get a good sleep. Oh ye, anum take EPO and fish oil plak skrg. Seems the migraine is lesser day by day...

InsyaAllah...we'll see how it goes...

Siti Salina said...

Akak bz sikit. Dah lama tak baca blog orang. oh...ye fish oil. Dulu masa sakit teruk bukan main cuba ni cuba tu. Termasuklah fish oil. Sekarang bila dah ok fish oil pun dah lupa. Nasib sarah ckp pasal tu. Nak kena amalkan balik.

anumz sarah said...

Biasa la tu kak...anum pun sama... T yg mak bebel 24 jam tu... Hehe...