Top Holiday Tips from The Lupus Dietitian

Hi everyone! You may already feel stressed and tired with all the extra tasks and decisions during the holiday season. How can you enjoy the holidays but also feel your best?

Make your food work hard for you!!

Fuel your body with nutritious, simple, whole foods to boost your energy to enjoy the holiday season!

What are they? Keep reading to find out!

Let's also talk about what self-care can look like ... =

1. Make time for you!

2. Say no! if you are exhausted and the fatigue is relentless, you may have to cut down on some extra responsibilities. Skip the things that don’t bring you joy, keep the things that do!

3. Eat Consistently: For people living with Lupus, we don’t have the luxury of our body bouncing back or weathering inconsistency; our bodies need extra care and consideration. Do not skip meals in anticipation of bigger meals or celebrations later. Without food, you’re setting yourself up for an energy or mood crash. Low blood sugars are associated with fatigue, irritability, anxiety, and dizzy or woozy feelings. Make sure to eat throughout the day!

4. Limit Alcohol: Alcohol, especially in excessive amounts, is inflammatory. If you need it mentally to feel as though you are celebrating, limit to 1 glass of a red wine (the most anti-inflammatory of the alcoholic beverages) for the night. If wine isn’t your favorite, try a non-alcoholic version of your favorite mixed drink.

5. Focus on the foods to include: Fill 50-75% of your plate with vegetables at your “regular meals” to ensure you’re filling up on the antioxidants your body needs. These can be a delicious homemade vegetable soup, roasted vegetables, a salad or a stir-fry. If you feel better avoiding nightshade vegetables, continue to do so. If you tolerate all vegetables - aim for eating the rainbow. Each color of vegetable signifies different vitamins and minerals. For example, include beets (red), broccoli or kale (green), and onions or mushrooms(white) for a more complete nutritional intake without looking up the vitamin content or nutrition facts.

   1. Kale, Collard greens, Swiss chard - Leafy greens! Kale collards, turnip, spinach, mustard greens, cabbages, are all great sources of Vitamin K, Vitamin E and magnesium. For people living with Lupus, in particular those with anti-phospholipid syndrome, have caution with increasing your Vitamin K intake as it can interfere with Coumadin or Warfarin.

   2. Beets - these lovely root vegetables stand out due to their high content of potassium, magnesium, iron and folate. One cup of cooked beets provides 34% of your daily value for folate and 14% of your daily value of potassium. Beets are also an excellent source of lycopene and anthocyanins: antioxidants that help reduce inflammation in the body.

   3. Sweet potatoes - a great source of Vitamin A, fiber, and vitamin C which is helpful for immunity and eye health. Mash, roast or add to a hearty vegetable soup for the cold weather.

   4. Kiwi fruit - great source of Vitamin C and fiber. My favorite way to eat is cutting it in half and scooping out the inside fruit with a spoon - no time intensive peeling required!

   5. Grapefruit - delicious, great source of Vitamin C and very low in sugar, but can also interfere with a fair amount of medications - always check your prescription labels or with your pharmacist before enjoying :) I like peeling into the small segments and eating plain, or adding to the top of a salad.

4. Rest and Adequate Sleep: It’s a tough season, and while staying up late may seem like the only way to get everything done, sleep deprivation is only going to make everything worse. Sleep deprivation is associated with the release of more stress hormones in your body. I recommend sticking with your bedtime routine that works for you. General sleep tips include: avoid the blue light from electronics and set your bedroom up for sleeping success - cool, dark and quiet (or with a white noise machine).

5. Focus on the important things: What brings you the most joy? Your aunt’s eggnog, baking Christmas cookies with your kids, your cousin’s famous ribs? Make room and prioritize enjoying a moderate portion of the foods that bring you the most joy - those are the things that holiday memories are made of. If they aren’t the healthiest choices, at least stick with a smaller portion that you truly savor.

Life is short and life with Lupus is full of uncontrollable variables. Please don’t let your worry about Lupus rob you of joy or your favorite memories. Do the best you can to keep your body happy for the holiday season so you can savor and treasure the most favorite parts and have the energy to do so!

The Happiest of Holiday seasons to everyone! If you're interested in joining the January group of The Lupus Breakthrough - an amazing 3-month jumpstart into feeling remarkably better - click here to learn more:

The Lupus Breakthrough Program

If you want to learn more - schedule a time to speak with me today!

Free 15-minute Discovery Call

Happy Holidays!!!!

If you're struggling to find the foods that help you feel your best, check out my free mini-course on getting started!