My Anti-inflammatory Eating Journey

I was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis in 2009. Since that time, I've gone through massive flare ups, long periods with an inability to walk in the mornings, days when I could not climb down steps at all and had to slide down on my butt, massive pain, and so much frustration over the fact that I have to live with an autoimmune arthritis. I was so frustrated about it, in fact, that for the first few years after diagnosis I told very few people what I was going through. I went through the pain alone, fought it, pushed through it, and often made it worse in the process.

I didn't take control of my situation. I felt a victim rather than empowered (I'm happy to say that I now feel empowered). I assumed that whatever a doctor was telling me to do, was the best solution. I'd never met anyone else my age with arthritis. I didn't know what I was supposed to do with that information.

In the past few years though, I've finally shared my story. I have taken control of my experience. I have tried acupuncture (it hardly helped). I've bought orthopedic (but stylish) shoes. I've changed the way I eat.

A few years ago I began to look in to how my diet may be affecting my autoimmune arthritis. I met others with autoimmune diseases. I spoke to them about their diets. I made changes. The first change that I made was to remove lactose and dairy from my diet. In addition to just generally making my digestion work better, I realized that I must actually have been lactose intolerant all along. I do not drink milk, eat cheese, or really consume any dairy products anymore (like ice cream, whipped cream, butter, etc). I feel that removing dairy has impacted my arthritis positively and made my life generally better. 

Despite the fact that removing dairy made a noticeable difference in my health, in 2013 I went through an extremely hard 6 months of flare ups and was having a hard time walking or partaking in my main hobby: swing dance. It was frustrating. So, upon suggestions from a few fellow autoimmune arthritis friends, I decided that I would try to remove gluten from my diet. They all said that it had helped them and I had high hopes that it would help me.  I spent six rather unpleasant months gluten-free. It made literally no difference. I continued to have my worst and most long lasting flare up to date. Going gluten-free was not my solution (much to the relief of my friends and family). It worked for others, but not me.

In the past year, I began to look in to what foods generally cause flare ups and inflammation. I stumbled upon nightshades and a number of other foods to avoid. The prime suspect was sugar. Cutting out sugar seemed hard, though. I love sugar. Like many others, I began to realize that I was pretty darn addicted to sugar. So, I began to look in to what it does to the body. I was shocked. Fructose was pretty much a poison. I'd always been told that an apple a day kept the doctor away and I'd always been told that fruit was fructose. How could it be bad for you? The more and more I read, the more I realized that I needed to cut it out of my life as much as possible. So, last spring I began a challenge where I ate no added sugar OR even things that converted quickly in to sugar. The impact was almost instantaneous. I felt so much better. Unfortunately I was unable to sustain my sugar-free (read fructose-free) lifestyle. In an effort to feel better and generally take control over my body and my health, I've begun the process of really cutting down my sugar intake in a sustainable and manageable way. I'm hoping to get to the point where I only consume a maximum of 5 days of sugar in a month (equaling 60 days of sugar consumption in a year).

I know that sugar reduction isn't the only solution though. I know that I need to avoid other inflammatory foods. I know that I need to take control of my experience with my doctors. I know that I need to continue to try my hardest to make the best of my situation. I am not my arthritis. 

Despite the months and weeks and days of pain that I've gone through since 2009, I am thankful for my arthritis. You read that correctly: I'm thankful for my arthritis. I've had to re-frame my experience. I know that it doesn't make sense, but my arthritis has actually made me a better person.

Reasons I'm thankful for my autoimmune arthritis:

1. It has forced me to really appreciate when my body is working well and the ways that it moves even when I'm having a rough patch.
2. It has helped me to become more cognizant of others and both their sufferings and their joys.
3. It makes me appreciate the people in my life and the adaptations they make to make my life easier.
4. It causes me to reflect on how my stress and emotions can cause damaging physical effects.
5. It makes me appreciate dancing and swimming so much more and motivates me to find a solution for my inflammation so that I can continue to feel joy in movement.  

These are only a few of the reasons that I am grateful for my Psoriatic Arthritis. I have built a better sense of empathy from the experience. I have grown so much. I am taking control of my health, my life, and my larger impact on the world. It would be so easy to feel downtrodden by my Psoriatic Arthritis. It would be understandable to be sad. I am not sad, though. I consistently aim to live positively and find the best ways to make my life deliciously joyful despite autoimmune arthritis. 

Recipe: Hazelnut Chocolate Date Bars //I've Cut Out Added Sugar But I Want A Candy Bar

I'm not gonna sugar coat it for you: Cutting out added sugar is hard. (See what I did there?) 

Sugar cravings are real and though living with less inflammation is worth it,  it can sometimes feel as though you're depriving yourself of something that you really love and that genuinely lifts your spirit. With autoimmune arthritis some days are rough, and just like with all rough days, our favorite foods can be comforting. 

I don't know about you, but my favorite comfort food is CHOCOLATE. When I am having a hard day, chocolate always makes it better. In cutting out most added sugars, I've cut out most corner store chocolates and candy bars. I've been sticking mostly with 85% cocoa chocolates or higher. 

There are some days though, when I don't want a single plain square of super dark chocolate. Some days I want a candy bar. I want something that has chocolate and caramel or chocolate and nuts. Today I'm going to share with you my recipe for Hazelnut Chocolate Date Bars. If you've ever seen a LÄRABAR, that is where I got the idea. I looked up recipes and found this one (from the blog Use Real Butter) which I adapted to make in to a Nutella-esq Hazelnut Chocolate Date Bar. The bar from the recipe I adapted was mainly nut and fruit based, mine is nut and chocolate based. 

Ingredients:

1.5 Cup toasted hazelnuts

2.5 Cups pitted medjool dates

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 oz. 100% Unsweetened bakers chocolate, broken up

These amazing bars, despite having unsweetened (and really very bitter) chocolate, are deliciously sweet because of the dates. They require no baking and are extremely simple to make if you have a food processor, a pan, and some cling wrap. 

Directions:
1. To begin, you start by pitting your medjool dates. After pitting them, you should have 2.5 cups of dates. 

2. Measure out 1.5 cups toasted hazelnuts. 

3. Measure out 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder.

4. Break up 1 oz of 100% Unsweetened Bakers Chocolate.

5. Place all four ingredients in your food processor.  

6. Pulse until ingredients start to begin to clump together. (You can leave it as this thick choppy texture or...) Scrape sides of food processor and then pulse until the hazelnuts, dates, and chocolate become a fine paste. 

7. Spread the date, chocolate, hazelnut paste into a oiled pan. The paste should be about a centimeter to a half inch thick. 

8. Place the tray in the freezer and let cool for 30 minutes. 

9. Once they've cooled and solidified, cut them in to bars. You should be able to make 9-12 Hazelnut Chocolate Date Bars. It might be hard to get the bars out of the pan as the dates make the bars stick to the pan. It is best to use a thin spatula to remove the bars from the pan.

10. After cutting them up, wrap them individually and keep in the freezer until you are in need of a super delicious treat with no added sugars! (The bars do not have to stay in the freezer. They can be kept at room temperature. However, they taste particularly yummy when cooled. I've both kept them in my freezer and dropped one in my bag to bring with me to work.) 

I hope that you enjoy this recipe and that it helps you when it feels hard to live without added sugars. I don't want you to feel like you're depriving yourself. Living your best anti-inflammatory life doesn't have to be horrible. It can be delicious. 

***Warning: Just because these are made out of all healthy whole foods and natural sugars, does not mean you should eat a crazy ton of them. Just like with candy bars, you should eat them in moderation. Enjoy!

Nutrition Is My New Tradition

If you have an autoimmune arthritis like I do, it really helps to live in San Francisco. There are gluten free, organic, vegan, paleo options for everything. If you want artisanal gluten free bread, we have it. If you want grass fed bison, we have it. If you want organic free-range farm grown eggs, we have them. San Francisco is a restrictive eater’s paradise. But living in San Francisco is expensive.

San Francisco recently surpassed New York as the most expensive city in America. The cost of rent has gotten astronomical. Whole communities are being pushed out in a mass exodus. The city looks completely different from when I grew up here. The neighborhood where I live, the Bayview, used to be considered the Harlem of the West because it was comprised of shipyard workers, mostly African American. It wasn’t given the same resources as other more prosperous (read: white) neighborhoods in the city. This trend has continued despite the fact that the city is now home to multi-billionaires. The Bayview is a Food Desert. Some of you may never have heard the term “Food Desert” before. It refers to whole neighborhoods in urban settings that have no access to grocery stores, butchers, or fresh produce. There are usually only liquor stores and fast food joints in Food Deserts. I am fortunate to own a car, have a full time job, and have a moderate savings. I am able to get by, but as someone who works in the nonprofit field and makes a modest living, food and medical expenses add up quickly.

As a newcomer to the Bayview I’ve had the chance to see how the community is trying to rebrand itself. “Nutrition Is Our Tradition” has been posted throughout the neighborhood. Murals have gone up. Banners have been on display at bus stops. Corner stores have started to sell small batches of produce. Community gardens have popped up. Food pantries have long lines for fresh vegetables from the Food Bank. Things are changing slowly and I’ve taken my cue from my new neighborhood. I’ve begun to realize how important nutrition is to me as someone with an autoimmune arthritis.

I was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis six years ago, when I was 23 years old.  Psoriatic Arthritis is an autoimmune arthritis (like Rheumatoid Arthritis) which means that it is an inflammatory illness that not only affects my joints, but also my tissues and organs. Unlike the commonly known Osteoarthritis (the type most people get when they’re much much older than I am), autoimmune arthritis is caused by cellular malfunction, aka my body is attacking itself. With Psoriatic Arthritis there are symptoms of nail pitting, skin psoriasis, fatigue, low grade fevers, myalgia, and brain fogginess in addition to joint inflammation and deterioration.

During a recent visit to my rheumatologist, I had an x-ray and a blood test taken so that my doctor and I could get an update on my joints and bones. I’d been on NSAIDs or Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for six years. But when my x-ray results got back, I found out that I needed to go on to a more aggressive treatment. My joint deterioration was now more serious and was beginning to affect the bones surrounding my joints. In other words, the deterioration was spreading. Through talks with my rheumatologist, I realized that I was not only going to have to go on even more aggressive treatment, but that I was also going to have to make some big changes in my diet. The best way to fight inflammation is to get proper nutrition. Proper nutrition, as we discussed, is hard to find in my neighborhood, on my budget. So, here begins my journey. Nutrition is my new tradition and I’m going to find a way to change my diet and my lifestyle to reduce my pain in any way I can. Fighting inflammation one bite at a time. Here begins, DELICIOUS ARTHRITIS.