Do you remember that punch in the gut feeling you had when your lab results came back with red flags all over the place? Cholesterol high beyond range, blood pressure—too high, Vitamin D level—beyond low. Sometimes it just feel like every single result is abnormal or a red flag. By the time you leave your doctor’s office, you’ve got at least 4( 7 in my case) prescriptions in hand.
Whew!! Talk about overwhelming. while I completely understand that sometimes pills and procedures as the good doc says, must accompany your prayers for healing, the thought of relying on a chemical substance for the rest of my life just doesn’t sit well with me. It would be one thing if you’ve had a transplant or lifesaving surgery but a lifetime of meds to treat a symptom?? That just seems insane to me. I couldn't help but think there has to be better. I cannot heal or rid myself of the disease, but I can do something.
So, what did I do?? I gathered all my meds and began researching which foods contained some of the same properties and on their own, addressed some of the symptoms these pills were intended to alleviate. Again, this isn’t medical advice (consult your physician before making any adjustments on your health journey), this is what I’m doing in an effort to help my body heal itself. The manifestations of my disease are many ( soooo, so many) and my goal is to incorporate foods that offer natural, holistic support in healing the body. No, you can’t just go cold turkey with some of these medicines, that can be dangerous, but anything I can do to give my body the best fighting chance, naturally, I’m here for it.
Your list may not look like mine, so you’ll have to conduct your own research, but here’s my list of foods I’m adding to my diet regularly in an effort to cleanse, help and heal.
Beets— My circulation isn’t great. There are parts of my body where the blood just isn’t getting there. Claudication is serious and very painful. For this issue, usually Gabapentin is the medicine of choice among physicians. Rich in nitrates, beets help to relax and dilate blood vessels. The nitrates found in beets help increase oxygen to muscles, lower blood pressure and helps reduce inflammation.
Dino Kale- Without any explanation or indication other than Sjogren’s doing it’s best work, my cholesterol is consistently through the roof. The greatest threat of high( almost 300 hundred) is cardiovascular events( heart attacks, strokes etc.) Statins make me nervous but of course, that’s one of my many prescriptions. Has it helped? No. I’ve been advised that more time is needed ( up to a year or so) to monitor the results. While waiting, I ‘ll be adding Dino Kale, a food I’ve never eaten, is now part of the family. Much like the statin I have been prescribed, Dino Kale—the strangest looking leafy vegetable I’ve ever seen, works in the simplest way— it binds to cholesterol particles. This leafy superhero contains a unique combination of plant sterols, fiber and antioxidants. This trinity works in concert to keep LDL cholesterol from oxidizing, which help reduc inflammation. It also mimics the structure of cholesterol, helping to reduce the intake of actual cholesterol.
Corn Silk- Kidneys, kidneys, kidneys!!!! Disease like Sjogren’s and Lupus can wreak havoc on the kidneys. The chronic and systemic inflammation is responsible for the extensive damage that many times leads to dialysis or a kidney transplant. At this point for me, my team of providers are left scratching their heads. We don’t yet have answers as to how to control the problem, so while they continue to seek answers, I’m introducing my kidneys to corn silk tea. Historically, Native American and African cultures have used corn silk (those gold strands at the top) as a natural diuretic for kidney stones and UTI’s. Other cultures use corn silk to improve liver health and reproductive health. The one central theme among them all is the kidneys. You can buy it in prepackaged bags or simply strip the strands from the corn, boil, strain and drink. I haven’t used this concoction long enough yet to measure results but it’s certainly worth a try to avoid a date with dialysis.
If you’re new to this community, I can’t stress enough my profound respect and gratitude for my healthcare team. This journey has been and is full of unexpected and often unexplainable twists and turns, that being said healing also has more than one form in my opinion. Eating beets and drinking tea alone may not be the answer for everybody. For me, the reality is, one size doesn’t fit all. I suffered many, many years before receiving an accurate diagnosis, and there is no way to measure the immense, possible lifelong damage done from being untreated, then inaccurately treated. t this point on the journey, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to give my body all the help it needs to promote healing in the healthiest way possible. Til next time. ;)