Overcoming Sarcoid Uveitis
4 Lifestyle Changes that can mitigate Autoimmunity
As someone who struggled and overcame the relatively unknown disease of Sarcoid Uveitis, I’d like to share some things which were pivotal in my healing journey. I have seen these principles being applied among my Health Coaching clients to their great benefit and have good reason to believe these changes could have far reaching benefit to those who suffer from all kinds of autoimmune conditions.
In this article, I’ll recommend the four most impactful changes to supercharge your wellbeing:
Vegan-Paleo diet, a.k.a the High Fibre-Low Grain diet
I eliminated all grain and grain products from my diet for a few months and then slowly reintroduced just a little white rice now and then. When I tested millets they suited me fine too in small quantities but I realised I needed to be off Gluten (Wheat, Barley, Rye) and Brown rice for much longer. What I recommend for you is to similarly experiment with a no or low grain diet. It ends up cutting back on the carbohydrate portion of your meal and reduces insulin resistance and inflammation levels. I added in a lot more vegetables, legumes and healthy fats and that satisfied my hunger quite well. Since dairy wasn’t suiting me and I knew that animal protein has been found to be inflammatory I eliminated dairy too (I was already vegetarian). Try to use vegetables and fruits of many colours. The more local, fresh and organic you can eat, the better. Frozen is great too!
Social Connection
Numerous studies have shown the link between loneliness and inflammatory conditions. Loneliness was reported to be more dangerous to health than smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. I noticed significant changes once I came out of social isolation back into interacting with people. Developing bonds, even at the early stages of friendship which have the potential to deepen over time, can be great for your well being. Dan Buettner in his book ‘Thrive’ talks about the length of time per day we need social interaction to be healthy being 9 hours! Just being around others can count. The deeper and more trusting the interaction though, the more healing it is as it meets our evolutionary need for connection, community, integration and friendship. Social connection is necessary for physical well being.
Qigong/Yoga
Mindful movement can be so healing. The nice thing about Qigong and Yoga is that they are the exercise branch of traditional Chinese and Indian Medical systems so if you have an experienced teacher, they can help you understand some principles, teach you to do the movements which will most benefit your body, and empower you to heal yourself! I also like that variations of these exercises are accessible to those who are restricted to wheelchairs and beds, who have weaker bones, and can even be done for a little while by those who fatigue easily. Qigong movements increase the circulation in our bodies and stimulate our organs in ways that are carefully crafted for our good health by the earliest biohackers in human history. Along with coordinated breaths and positive intentions, Qigong and Yoga becomes very powerful. My Qigong teachers get a huge portion of the credit in helping me get better. I strongly recommend finding yourself some good teachers.
Intermittent Fasting
If you can create a 12 hour gap between your last meal of the day and the first calories of the next morning, that is a good start. If you are able to push it to 14 or 16 hours and sustain it there, that is even better. Our circulation must focus on digestion when we put food in our system. But after 12 hours when digestion is complete, it can start to focus on addressing other problems in the body. Every hour past the 12 hour mark that you offer your body leads to a clean up of abnormal cells and aggressive inflammatory cells through a process known as autophagy. I remember feeling a sense of satisfaction when I managed longer fasts. Mentally I was saying ‘Take that you aggressive T cells! I will starve you and clean you out of my body.’ Intermittent fasting also helped a great deal in reducing all the weight I gained due to prednisone. And the loss of weight seemed to reduce my inflammation too. Win-win-win!
These four are powerful but they are not comprehensive. Having a good doctor to check on your progress, change medication dosage and help you keep track of all measurable aspects of your illness is vital. And addressing some of the emotional blockages that may have contributed to having such an illness in the first place also can help in your health journey.
I share my own Sarcoidosis Story here in case you’re curious.
I write about health related topics so please feel free to check out the rest of my articles in case they are helpful to you.
Janani Dhinakaran PhD helps those with Chronic Illnesses improve their quality of life using Positive Lifestyle Changes. She specialises in Autoimmunity but has a wide range of experience with Prediabetes, Anxiety, Acidity, Weight Loss etc. https://riselife.org/testimonials/ She can be reached at janani@riselife.org