As I sit and think about all the goodies packed away in my freezer for Christmas my mouth starts to water.......butter tarts, snowballs, Christmas crack. Oh how I love the sweets. The other night I walked to Whole foods and ended up at the bakery. First off stores should not have bakery's they only cause trouble. I bought a creme brule'. I ate it like it was the last one I would ever have. I took my time enjoyed ever bit of it. It made me feel happy, my soul feel happy, and it brought a bit of peace into my life for a brief moment.....THEN ALL THE SUDDEN I heard this little voice saying "Erin you know better, this is your arthritis speaking and we have spoke about this so called treat eating already. You know that when you eat this stuff you piss me off and I hurt you".................as I finished the last bite I told myself this will be the last creme brule' of 2011......and 2012 maybe emotional strength depending. I would also like include that holidays do not count, or birthdays. They could be my free days. My point here is food makes a huge difference with my arthritis. I am now able to trigger my arthritis with certain foods. I would like to share some goods, some bads and the ugly........
What I have learned is everything that I love and have found comfort in is everything I should not be eating. Part of my "I Will" attitude for 2012 is to make a drastic change in my diet. Lets start with the UGLY. The ugly foods are foods that you know are not good for you. Foods high in saturated fats promote inflammation and can cause major issues with pain management. These would include things like french fries, onion rings, anything deep fried. Also anything with Omega 6. Omega 6 is most baking icing, sweets, candy and can cause major issues with inflammation. All those wonderful tasty bits that come bagged that seem to help me when I am down...CHIPS and dip these are bad. Oh gosh chips and dip a family staple. Anything that you can buy at 7-11...LOL is bad for you. Also beef I love a nice burger but beef is very high in saturated fat and even extra lean is not the best idea. Anything that is processed is not good. We've all had that craving and we go through the drive through, half an hour later we feel like crap. The problem is all of that food is process and has been modified and had stuff added her and there. Ever wonder why McDonald's french fry will never go moldy???? hmmmm that can not be good for you. My last rant is sodium, be careful of anything with salt. Salt causes water retention that can be extremely hard on the joints because it also bring about my favorite thing which is inflammation. You must be careful with any canned veggies. Be sure to rinse them off very good before cooking with them. Check the back of your labels for sodium, fats and try to make them minimal amounts. One more thing about the ugly...POP or any canned diet, no caffeine bubbling drink. Just don't do it switch to water, pure fruit juice and or herbal teas. I am sure I have only skimmed the top of the ugly train but now for some of the bad. I consider the bad to be foods I consider to be healthy but are just not the best choice for people with arthritis. Potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, and strawberry's are my top ones but when you search the intranet you will see alot of readings stating you should also be aware of banana's, pineapples, oranges, apples. Although I believe that for the most part a good balanced fruit and veggie plan is good just keep it all in moderation. No for the GOOD...yes the good. Since I have listed off everything I feel a little sad that it seems there is nothing to eat in my house...but AL LASS these are some of the things that are beneficial for us arthritis people. Olive oil, Flax seed, Salmon, Halibut, Squashes, Onions, Beans, Leafy greens, mulitgrain anything just try to stay away from white flour. Cinnamon and turmeric have been shown to help reduce inflammation in the body so it is important to make sure you are somehow incorporating it in there. The easiest way to remember the GOOD is to think back to basic food groups and try to stay away from anything white, or processed. I am not a pro at this I am only learning that as I get older and my arthritis progresses I want to have a healthy strong body. For every person it is different but you need to try out some to see to what extent it will bother your system. With autoimmune diseases it is important to keep our engine running properly. Make sure you take extra immune boosting vitamins, and drink lots of water. Try your best to squeeze in 2-3 fruits a day but most of all just try to eat in moderation. I am not a doctor and I know I have not touched every single item on the good, bad and ugly but I will try to update you every time I read more news.
While I sit here and write about all this food I have decided that maybe I should take all this baking to work or give it away. Gosh it's amazing how everything I baked is not so great for me.......very depressing actually.....okay well with that said please think about what you are eating this Christmas and how it is effecting your body, mind and spirit. The GOOD will make you feel good, the BAD will make you feel bad, but to much of the UGLY is just not good at all........
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