During the process of finding out my diagnosis I was told I had entirely too much protein, potassium, and needed less sodium in my body. As most people know, almost everything consist of at least one of these three ingredients. This meant big time changes in my diet. At first I was totally confused as to what I could and couldn't eat, not to mention I didn't have much of any kind of appetite. This is where I started researching and putting all the "what not to eat" list from the doctors together to come up with a diet that I could live with as far as cravings as well as work with my newest health issues. I've always loved mostly any kind of fruit and vegetable so you would think it would be easy...not so much. Almost every fruit that I completely love has high levels of potassium in them as well as many of the veggies I enjoy. Every tropical fruit was out of the question, of course bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, and the list continues. Even coffee has potassium in it so, while I could continue to have my one cup of black coffee every morning, that's the only cup I could have the whole day, so it had to count! I come from a large Italian family, which, of course means lots of pasta and heavy carbohydrates and lots of salt and seasonings. This took a toll on my grocery list being that a quick pot of spaghetti was one of the easiest things I could fix up along with stuffed shells, and of course pizza. No more of any of that, at least the way I was used to. I was told my blood pressure would get out of control again and I needed to avoid the sodium as much as possible. Now on to protein. Of course when I thought of protein, I would think meat, steak, chicken, fish, etc. Obviously these types of food have protein but what many people don't realize is what else contains protein. Many veggies also contain protein, beans, and nuts are also examples. I thought, goodness, what CAN I eat??
While my doctors were helpful in telling me what to stay away from, they were not going to make me a diet plan with breakfast, lunch, and dinner...this was my turn to learn about food, my body, and my disease. I learned that organic options along with gluten free foods are great for lupus patients, many different types of fish, especially salmon, is wonderful for lupus (just have to be careful on the size of the fillet due to high amounts of potassium in the salmon), dairy free profits were better options, and, thank goodness, fruit! I began my pantry and refrigerator makeover. The chocolate candy and cookies were replaced with all natural dark chocolate chips, dried fruit, and lots of fresh fruit. The bags upon bags of chips and crackers were replaced to gluten free bagel chips, gluten free pretzels, and gluten free rice cakes. My fridge and freeze went from steaks, pizza, and ice cream to be transformed into salmon, tilapia, chicken, and lots of zucchini, squash, tomatoes, and the list goes on.
I do not claim to have a perfect diet nor do I claim to have everything figured out of what to eat and not to eat. Every day is a learning experience and its a wonderful journey. I've learned gluten free options make me feel better than foods that contain gluten. I've also learned cheating only hurts myself and in turn makes me feel worse.
As many of you know, this diet doesn't come cheap or easy! This was the start of a new project and newest hobby that I can forever enjoy!
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