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Six Lifestyle Tips if You Suffer from an Autoimmune Disease

    Having an autoimmune disease can be devastating. Not only for you, but for those around you who love you. It drains the joy from your life and, at times, makes you feel as if you will never function normally again. Especially if you’ve got Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia. According to XpertDox, this disease affects twice as many women as men, is treated by steroids, immunosuppression, and blood transfusion, and its complications are more autoimmune disorders. These six lifestyle tips will help you navigate the complications of this disease.

    Move More

    One of the biggest tips that seems to be counterintuitive is to move more. When you have an autoimmune disease, it can be difficult, if not impossible some days, to get in exercise.

    It doesn’t always mean you have to go to the gym and work out for an hour. It could mean that you move more by sitting up and raising your arms above your head twenty times. Or as much as you can. There are plenty of low impact ways to get movement into your life.

    Using the NEAT method, non-exercise activity thermogenesis can be an effective way to get movement into your life if you are experiencing a flare-up of your symptoms. The key is to get creative in finding ways to include movement in your life, whether you’re feeling great or feeling horrible.

    Eat what Helps

    Nutrition is extremely important for managing your autoimmune disease. Do the research and find out what foods will help reduce swelling. Green leafy vegetables like kale and spinach are great for helping keep inflammation in check. Also consider fatty fish and nuts like salmon, tuna, and almonds. Fruits are also an important part of anti-inflammatory health.

    Fruits should include things like apples, blueberries, and cherries. You’re looking for foods rich in antioxidants and polyphenols. By eating what helps your autoimmune disease, you’re also helping your mood. Foods rich in these nutrients have also been known to improve your mood and overall outlook, so it’s easier to accomplish the other tips.

    Relaxation. It’s more than destressing

    There are many people who talk about destressing under normal circumstances. The average American experiences many times more stressors in their life than their grandparents did. But if you struggle with an autoimmune disease, it’s more than having more stress. It can come with added anxiety and depression, which is exacerbated by the physical inability to function.

    You know you’ll never be able to remove your stress, but you can find ways to include relaxation into your daily routine. Practices such as meditation, yoga, and biofeedback can help you relax.

    The idea is to be more mindful of this moment and finding ways to help your body and mind let go of the anxiety and worry that naturally comes with the burden of having an autoimmune disease.

    Check your attitude at the door

    Do you struggle with keeping a positive attitude? Most people with an autoimmune disease struggle with their own point of view about their disease. This contributes to and can exacerbate the negative effects of your autoimmune disease.

    Daily journaling or talk therapy as well as mindfulness practices can help you keep your mind from going to the dark side of this disease. When your attitude is hopeful, you will generally have more energy to focus on the other tips and continue to manage your autoimmune disease better.

    Heavy Metal. Rock stars welcome

    According to the Centers for Disease Control there are 212 different chemicals and metals that stay in our bodies and don’t get naturally washed away. While we all love to be rock stars, having a buildup of heavy metal in our systems probably wasn’t what we were thinking of.

    Get tested for heavy metal buildup in your system with your health professional and then develop a plan to naturally remove those toxins from your system. This is critical to help reduce your inflammation, but it’s also been known to improve your mental state, as well. Don’t let heavy metal get you down. Be a real rock star and get that stuff out of your body.

    You have guts!

    Many people tell you how amazing you are and that you have guts for continuing to fight this autoimmune disease. You do have guts to keep fighting. But you also have real guts. The one’s inside your midsection and lower trunk.

    Having a leaky gut can greatly contribute to making your disease worse. Make sure you have a healthy gut by getting it checked by your health professional and using antibiotics to remove the infections, then use probiotics and healthy foods to replace the bad microbes with good microbes.

    These six tips will help you manage your autoimmune disease better and keep you on track to staying healthy.