Previously I wrote about some of the links between heart disease and lupus and how diet can be used to reduced the risk of heart disease – you can read that article here.  Depression is also commonly experienced by lupus sufferers and I have written extensively about diet and depression in various articles including these.   In my research review I write extensively about the link between both depression and heart disease with inflammation. Lupus is an inflammatory condition so it doesn’t surprise me that conditions such as depression and heart disease show up in lupus sufferers.   In a recently published study (1) research scientists wanted to evaluate the association between depression and cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The scientists concluded that “In SLE, depression is independently associated with vascular disease”. In fact they found that “psychological variable depression was associated with nearly 4-fold higher odds for vascular disease”. The study was only an association study and does not prove that SLE patients who suffer with depression are at an increased risk of heart disease and stroke – but the study is interesting and does provide further evidence for links between these inflammatory conditions.   Although nutritional studies in lupus sufferers are limited it would seem sensible to look at the diet of the lupus sufferer. Many studies (as linked above) have shown the benefit of diet for reducing the risk of heart disease and depression and many studies indicate the importance of….

Valentine’s day is only a week away.  The thing I like about Valentine’s day is that it reminds me that I am continually learning to love myself along my journey with health.  Many lupus patients forget to treat themselves with the love and gentle attention that they need.  I am happy and excited to share the following blog post with you.  It has been written by the ‘self-love and prosperity coach’ Glenn Moore.  It was first published on my website www.nurturewithlove.com where you can purchase my hand-crafted ‘love-bags’   Self Love   Glenn Moore, www.mooredynamicprosperity.co.uk, is a self-love and prosperity coach. He is accredited as a Coach by the Institute of Leadership and Management, having been awarded a Distinction in his accreditation programme. He is a certified trainer of NLP and an Insight Leadership Graduate. Glenn is an intuitive and passionate coach and I am deeply grateful to him for writing the following piece about self-love: There is tremendous value in self-love.     Love is the energy which fills our heart and soul, and much more! It’s the essence of all that is. Learning to love yourself is learning to connect with your true self.   Many of us think of the love we experience as being outside of ourselves, but it really comes from within. Ultimately, you are the source of your love. This is the love that you feel, that makes you happy. As Don Miguel Ruiz says: “The whole world can love you, but that love….

Mindfulness was something I first came across over ten years ago when I began to learn meditation. It has now become popular in the UK with courses and talks being given in various locations. Interestingly mindfulness is now being researched for health benefits to the body, mainly via stress reduction.  Since pain and stress are features of lupus I thought I would write about a recent study looking into mindfulness based stress reduction programs for chronic pain.     A recent study (1) has found that Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs may be as effective as multidisciplinary pain intervention (MPI) programmes for individuals with chronic pain. In this study Wong 2011 compared the clinical effectiveness of an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program (a structured form of meditation) with a MPI program in terms of pain intensity, pain-related distress, quality of life, and mood in over 90 patients with chronic pain (that had lasted for at least 3 months). Participants were randomly allocated to either the MBSR program (51 participants) or a MPI program (48 participants). The study used validated versions of self-reported questionnaires measuring pain, mood symptoms, and health-related quality of life. Patients in both the groups were comparable with regard to demographical characteristics, pain intensity, mood symptoms, and health-related quality-of-life measures before intervention. In both the groups, patients who completed the trial demonstrated statistically significant small improvements in pain intensity and pain-related distress. “This randomized, clinical trial showed that both MBSR and MPI programs reduced pain intensity and….

In the article written for the Cambridgeshire LUPUS UK group (which can be found free to download in the free resources section) I wrote about the potential benefits of antioxidant nutrients to lupus sufferers.     Inflammation is linked to the production of free radicals, destructive chemicals, which cause oxidative stress in the body. Studies have shown that omega 3 fats may be useful in lupus sufferers by reducing the amount of oxidative stress in the body. Inflammation is also linked to depression, there is a lot of strong evidence that EPA and DHA (potent anti-inflammatory omega 3 fats) are highly beneficial in treating depression, and as mentioned earlier depression and low mood is common in lupus. For more information and references on this please see my Research Review available here:   Free radicals can attack cells and cell membranes causing further inflammation, depression, sun damage and heart disease. There are a variety of antioxidants in food which can quench the production of these free radicals and hence may be useful to reduce inflammation and damage in lupus sufferers. Vegetables, fruits and spices such as ginger, turmeric, chilli peppers and garlic are rich sources of antioxidants (such as certain vitamins and flavonoids or plant chemicals). Certain minerals such as magnesium and zinc are also antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. A diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts/seeds, beans/pulses and unprocessed wholegrains will go far in providing the body with an array of antioxidants. Again, I write more about this in my research review….

  Just a brief post to promote a business that I have started www.nurturewithlove.com the aim is to provide hand-crafted gift/shopping bags for women who are used to being givers rather than receivers, and those who need a big dollop of self-love in their lives.   I began this business because I recognised, especially after my lupus diagnosis, that taking great care of myself was important and that I wanted to help others do the same.  I love to support women who are learning to love themselves and from this place I decided to begin creating gifts that were nurturing.   Please do visit my website and facebook page http://www.facebook.com/nurturewithlove  If you like what you see please press the ‘like’ button on my facebook page.   Written by Ani Richardson

  Evidence suggests that individuals with lupus are at increased risk of heart disease.  This isn’t particularly great news, however there is a lot that can be done with diet to reduce heart disease risk and inflammation, which contributes to heart disease.   Here are a few links to articles I have written with regards diet/nutrition and heart disease: More evidence links high sugar diet to increased risk of heart disease Refined carbohydrates linked again with increased risk of heart disease Women eating foods with a high glycaemic index could be increasing their risk for heart disease Replacing dietary fat with sugar and refined carbohydrates is probably damaging to health   General articles I have written about heart disease and diet can be found here   For more specific information about lupus and the research linking diet and lifestyle please see my research review

For years before my official diagnosis I would get really ill for about 4 days before each period.  My symptoms included extreme fatigue, intense muscle pain, fevers, sore throat and flu-like symptoms.  This still happens now but I can handle it better because I know what is going on.  I can prepare and take better care of myself in the week before my period.     I wanted to look into whether there was any research into premenstrual flares.  A study (1) published last year found that many patients with lupus had higher pain, fatigue and disease activity during their period.  The authors of the study note that pre-menstual syndrome and flares may be confused but that there does seem to be menstrual cycle flares in lupus.     In an article written by Professor Graham Hughes (2) called  Is it Lupus? – The St. Thomas’ Hospital “Alternative Criteria”  premenstrual exacerbations are mentioned:  “All rheumatic diseases are clinically influenced by the menstrual cycle, and none more so than lupus. Some patients are almost immobilised during the 2 to 3 days preceding menstruation. It is my practice in some cases, to alter the dose of medication during this time. Although difficult to quantify, I believe that significant pre-menstrual disease flare is sufficiently prominent in lupus to be included in this “alternative criteria” list”.     I think that it is helpful to understand that lupus might be impacted by the menstrual cycle.  I find this empowering because I can take better….

A new study (1)which took place in Essex, UK, was set up to investigate stress as a potential flare trigger in lupus. The study was quite small, involving 54 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). 4 patients were male and 50 were female. Of the 54 – 20 were Caucasians, 22 Asians, and 12 Africans/Afro-Caribbean. The results reported that 33 patients, 61.1% reported that stress was a trigger for lupus flares. Interestingly there were differences within the groups reporting stress as a trigger for flares: most (85%) of the Caucasian patients reported that stress triggered their disease flares, however, only 50% of the African/Afro-Caribbean patients and 45.4% of the Asian patients reported stress as a trigger for disease flares. There was no correlation found between reported number of flares per year and characteristics such as age, age at diagnosis, age at disease onset, or disease duration (1).     You can purchase the full research paper from the Journal here     There are actually many studies that have looked into stress and the link to lupus. The results are a little conflicting and sometimes confusing. I have written more about the studies linking stress and lupus in the review paper that I have on sale for £10.00     There is no doubt that stress changes the biochemistry in the body of all people – with stress hormones being released and impacting body and brain. Whether stress can actually trigger a flare is not specifically known, although from my….

This is a new format for the blog.  Each week I plan to update the blog with new research done in the general field of nutrition and health.  In addition to this I will be posting blogs specifically related to lupus so please keep checking back for new content.   * Research finds that women may reduce heart disease risk by eating omega 3 rich oily fish.  Read more about it here  .  For evidence based articles that I have previously written on heart disease please click here   * Research finds that stroke risk in women may be reduced by eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruits and wholegrains.  Read more about it here.    For evidence based articles that I have previously written on stroke please click here   * Research reviews the risk of stroke, diet quality, overeating and weight.  Read more about it here   * Research finds that an intermittent, low-carbohydrate diet may be superior to a standard, daily calorie-restricted diet for reducing weight and lowering blood levels of insulin.  Read more about it here   * Dr Briffa writes an evidence based article about calcium, vitamin D and fat.  To read it click here   Posted by Ani Richardson

  The Cambridgeshire Lupus Group Newsletter has been published, I contributed by writing about diet/lifestyle considerations in lupus “Lupus, Diet and Lifestyle – Is There Any Evidence?”.  If you would like to read the article please download the newsletter: CLG.Christmas 2011 EM The newsletter is full of other news including the fabulous information day that was held at Fitzwilliam College and how Cambridge went that extra mile for lupus!   Posted by: Ani Richardson