If you’re anything like me, you hate taking medicine, but you know that it’s important and necessary to do so when you’re living with a chronic illness.
However, I’m always interested in other natural ways to help my body and immune system.
Perhaps rather naively, I like to think that if I give my body as much nutritional support (along with proper rest and exercise) as I can, that it’ll help make the most of the medications I have to take.
And maybe, someday, I might be able to take fewer medications…
But, until that glorious day, I like to focus on what I can do now. And while the following list of foods are great for helping symptoms of sarcoidosis, they can be good for any number of autoimmune diseases. After all, so many autoimmune disease share a number of the same symptoms.
So without further ado, here are a list of foods that may help your body combat the effects of sarcoidosis!
Olive Oil
The good fatty acids in olive oil are believed to help bring an agitated immune system back into balance, which is certainly something to be desired when you have an autoimmune disease like sarcoidosis! Some people disagree on whether heating olive oil breaks down too many of the fats to be as beneficial, but it’s safe to say that using it as a salad dressing is always a good idea!
Turmeric
Now if inflammation is getting you down, turmeric is definitely something you need to add to your diet! Commonly used in Asian cuisine (and my favorite, Indian food!), turmeric has been a known anti-inflammatory for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. However, the compounds in modern medicine haven’t been around as long and may have negative interactions with turmeric, so make sure you talk to your doctor before adding a lot of turmeric to your food.
Magnesium
Magnesium is to cells what Gatorade is to athletes: fuel to recover and perform better. By supporting the function of cells, magnesium helps the cells run smoothly without any hiccups. Not sure how to add magnesium to your diet? Try some of these foods:
- oats
- brown rice
- soy
- avocados
- potatoes
- corn
Antioxidants
Since sarcoidosis causes inflammation within cells of the body, antioxidants are incredibly important. While they do not stop inflammation, they might be able to protect healthy cells from becoming inflamed. How? By rendering free radicals ineffective. Some delicious examples of foods with plenty of antioxidants include:
- tomatoes
- berries
- sweet peppers
- green tea
Water
- The purists among you will surely note that water is not a food! And you’d be right. But, water is essential to human life and without it we’d all wither and die. When you have an autoimmmune disease, water is especially important because it helps flush toxins out of your system.
- Indeed, when I had a mild flare, my rheumatologist simply told me to rest, don’t stress, and drink a lot of water. I won’t tell you the uncharitable thoughts I had about that advice, but I eventually had to eat crow when I realized that, once again, she was right. Water did help.
- So try to shoot for 6-8 glasses per day, and even more if you feel a flare coming on.
There you have it! A few quick, easy diet tweaks you can do to help make living with sarcoidosis a little easier. And that’s something we can all toast!
