Lupus can affect anyone. And although this is true, we do not want to ignore the fact that lupus disproportionately affects certain people. We have discussed how it affects young women, but we haven’t discussed how it affects young Black women. Lupus affects 1 in every 250 Black women and when compared to the white community, the prevalence of lupus in the Black community is 3-4x higher. It is well established that Black lupus patients tend to be sicker, need more aggressive medications and have worse outcomes. And despite the amazing advancements in testing and treatment, Black patients don’t benefit from those advances to the same extent as their white counterparts.
[Read more…] about Race & Lupus: Understand the ConnectionAutoimmune Lifestyle
Chronic Pain & The Nervous System
Chronic Pain. Fibromyalgia. Arthritis. So many have to deal with the accusation that it is “all in your head.” Even if said with the best intentions, this statement is gaslighting at it’s finest. It is telling those with pain, that what they feel and experience isn’t real. Which, of course, we know it is.
[Read more…] about Chronic Pain & The Nervous SystemArthritis & the Heart Disease
Heart disease. We all know about it, we all want to prevent it and sadly, we all know someone with it. When we think of heart disease, our minds naturally think of heart attacks or maybe heart failure. We think of an overweight man with high blood pressure and diabetes, although we know women are just as affected. But did you know that inflammatory arthritis can be associated with heart disease? In fact, most autoimmune or inflammatory arthritis types can lead to disease of every part of the heart. Watch the video above or keep reading to learn more!
[Read more…] about Arthritis & the Heart DiseaseWhy Meditation is the best medication
We all hear how great meditation is. And at some point we may have been advised that we should be doing it. To start a new meditation practice sounds easy, but I know first hand, it is not. It can be hard to start something so out of our norm when the benefits aren’t easily apparent. If we have chronic medical conditions, especially if they are rheumatologic, inflammatory or autoimmune, it can seem as if meditation isn’t for us. That perhaps we are too far down the “sick road” to get any benefit. But that couldn’t be further from the truth! EVERYONE benefits from a meditation or mindfulness practice – but what does it do exactly and how can it benefit you?
[Read more…] about Why Meditation is the best medicationFinding motivation to stay healthy
Finding motivation to do anything can be difficult. Especially when you don’t see any value in what you are trying to do or achieve. Although most of us would say that staying healthy is a top priority, why do we find motivation to make the necessary healthy changes difficult to find?
This New Year, as we turn the page on 2020 and get ready to face whatever 2021 has in store, I’m offering up some food for thought about how we approach our health and why we may be having problems staying motivated. This advice is made based on years of observation and working with a lot of patients struggling with all kinds of health issues. No one has it all figured out and everyone struggles with motivation at certain points. But what keeps one person going while another finds it hard to even get started is something I’ve been interested in my entire career.
[Read more…] about Finding motivation to stay healthy