Okay, so something special is going to happen. You’re a bridesmaid in a wedding, your high school reunion is coming up, and you have a big day planned with friends or family.
You need to feel good for one single day, at least!
6 tips for squeezing out a feel-good day:
- Try going to super low-inflammatory foods for a few days before your event. Seriously stick with fruits and veggies, smoothies, scrambled eggs, walnuts, and lean turkey, and lay low on the gluten. High-fat foods, salt, and sugar are serious autoimmune triggers. Be a good girl and don’t eat these for a week before your event.
- Stay out of the sun at all costs. Not even a minute. UV light is a major trigger for Lupus-related fatigue. Try putting pop-up screens on the side windows of your car.
- Red dye. It’s the worst for triggering Lupus symptoms. Sad to say, but Hot Tamales, cherry sours, and cinnamon bears, (all my favorites), might set off a bout of symptoms.
- Don’t do anything extra. Focus on feeling good. If you work, put your feet up when you get home. Read, lay low, rest.
- The day before your event, take a long Epsom Salt (not a true salt but magnesium crystals) soak in the bathtub. Epsom salts not only soothe sore joints and muscles; they also give you a burst of energy in the form of magnesium.
- Get your nails done and your pedi finished the day before. Shave your legs and press your clothes, all the day or week before. That way, a quick shower is all you need the day of.
- Are you taking turmeric? This common Middle Eastern spice is available in supplements and is super anti-inflammatory. The Lupus Inspiration Foundation says it is comparable to hydrocortisone and phenybutazone in reducing body-wide inflammation. Take turmeric supplements for a week or so before. Don’t forget your daily vitamins, all the Bs, folic acid D, and C.
- Try tonic water. Quinine is a common treatment for autoimmune diseases, and a glass of tonic water topped with lime knocks back that achy feeling.