Lupus is considered an autoimmune disease, meaning the body sends immune system messengers to attack organ systems and tissues. The inflammation that comes with this autoimmune disease can harm the heart, brain, lungs, kidneys, joints, skin, and red and white blood cells. Lupus can have symptoms similar to other diseases, so it can go undiagnosed for a while due to a potential diagnosis of the incorrect disease. While no cure has been found for lupus, there are treatment methods that can be utilized to help ease the symptoms.
What Is the Root Cause of Lupus?
Lupus has three primary causes – genes, hormones, and the environment. There are fifty genes that, if inherited, lead to a higher risk of developing lupus. The population that has been found with the highest numbers diagnosed with lupus are females between the ages of fifteen and forty-four. So, researchers took a look at potential links between estrogen and developing lupus, and it was found that, with higher estrogen levels, these women are more likely to experience symptoms linked to lupus. However, there is no direct link between estrogen and lupus. With the environment, receiving high levels of UVA and UVB from sunlight, being infected with the Epstein-Barr virus, inhaling high amounts of silica dust, taking certain medications (sulfa & tetracycline drugs, antibiotics), experiencing excessive amounts of stress, and being exposed to anything that makes your body work harder due to damage or illness can lead to a higher risk of being diagnosed with lupus.
What Aggravates Lupus?
Stress can be a significant reason why lupus symptoms flare up. This can include stress from the emotional toll of losing a loved one or divorce, being physically drained from too high of a workload, or having experienced an injury or going through surgery that is making the body work harder at healing. It is essential to recognize when one has a lupus symptom flare up so they can take the necessary steps to help calm it. Potential flare-up symptoms can include feeling extremely tired, aches throughout the body, joint pain, hair loss, having a high temperature, swelling, rash, lesions on the skin, having trouble breathing, dry eyes, pain in the chest, headaches, and feeling confused, or even as far as memory loss.
What Calms Lupus?
There are specific treatments that a healthcare practitioner can prescribe to help manage lupus symptoms. These can include hydroxychloroquine, NSAIDs, corticosteroids, or immunosuppressants. An individual treatment will be enough, or a practitioner might recommend a combination of these four, depending on the commonly experienced symptoms. Hydroxychloroquine is an antirheumatic drug that assists with symptom relief and makes it so that the symptoms do not change for the worse or become more severe. NSAIDs help reduce the amount of pain experienced and ease the amount of inflammation. While NSAIDs can be purchased over-the-counter, corticosteroids are a form of medication that can also help to reduce inflammation but must be prescribed. Immunosuppressants, as the name indicates, help reduce the immune system's activity.
What Foods Should You Avoid With Lupus Nephritis?
With lupus nephritis, it can be challenging to filter potassium and phosphorus. Because of this, it is best to avoid any food sources with these two minerals. To limit phosphorus, focus on fresh fruits and vegetables, restrict dairy products and avoid processed meats, cheese, soda, and frozen foods. Also, cut down on eating out at restaurants. Some great swaps for cow’s milk include non-dairy alternatives like almond, coconut, oat, or rice milk. Other options to replace soda are sparkling water or unsweetened iced tea. To limit potassium, salt substitutes should be avoided, and reduce processed meat intake. Other high-potassium food options are oranges, bananas, juices, and potato-based options. Suitable replacements for oranges and bananas are apples and berries. Instead of having a potato base for recipes, try replacing it with rice or cauliflower. While these are great points, discuss dietary changes with your healthcare practitioner or a nutritionist – they will provide you with the best personalized diet for keeping your kidneys as healthy as possible.
What Supplements Should I Take If I Have Lupus?
Vitamin D and fish oil are two supplements that provide the most significant benefits for someone with lupus. Vitamin D helps reduce inflammation, including that caused by autoimmune conditions. So far, in the studies conducted, after one year of taking a daily vitamin D3 supplement, those with lupus in the study group experienced lower levels of disease activity and were not as tired. Fish oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which also help decrease the amount of inflammation throughout the body. There is conflicting information regarding studies conducted thus far. Still, some results have shown reduced lupus flares, improved quality of life, and lessened fatigue when on a fish oil supplement. This subject must be discussed with your healthcare practitioner to determine what supplements will work best for your case scenario.
Choosing a healthy plant-based and vegan diet is most beneficial when it comes to:
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Higher levels of energy;
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Improved sleep;
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Aids in energy and overall happiness;
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Provides a sense of comfort and relief;
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Could prevent major diseases such as obesity and diabetes;
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Accomplish weight-loss and management; and
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Improves mental and cognitive functioning.
There are really no excuses not to try healthier habits in your everyday life. If you are a man or woman looking for specific benefits of adopting healthier habits or just want to know about the general healing properties of herbs. Please remember to comment or post any health questions, or contact us directly!
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References
Cleveland Clinic. (2023, September 6). Lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus). Cleveland Clinic.
Lovering, C. (2023, February 17). Can stress trigger lupus? Healthline.
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2022, October 21). Lupus. Mayo Clinic.
National Resource Center on Lupus. (2023, March 1). Eat healthy when you have lupus nephritis. Lupus Foundation of America.
National Resource Center on Lupus. (2024, April 30). What causes lupus? Lupus Foundation of America.
Wiginton, K. (2024, March 8). Vitamins and supplements for lupus. WebMD.
