Beat Arthritis Naturally with Emily Johnson

In today's episode, VJ is joined by guest Emily Johnson, who developed arthritis at a young age and has shared her journey of overcoming arthritis with the community she set up in 2018 as part of her wellness blog the Arthritis Foodie. 

Emily Johnson is the author of bestselling book Beat Arthritis Naturally (2021) and Eat Well with Arthritis (2023), as well as the founder of Arthritis Foodie.  

Emily has lived with seronegative arthritis for over ten years. In 2018, Emily started her international health and wellness blog Arthritis Foodie to document her journey with alternative therapies alongside her medication.   

For her book, Beat Arthritis Naturally, Emily recruited over 10 healthcare professionals to contribute, including rheumatologists, doctors, nutritionists, physiotherapists, immunologists and more. Backed by scientific research, Emily delves into a variety of topics to help you naturally feel better, such as:  

- Healthy delicious recipes  

- Key anti-inflammatory foods and potential inflammatory foods  

- Pain management  

- The importance of sleep  

- Mindset and how to think more positively 

Her second book, Eat Well with Arthritis, is packed full of even more science-backed ways to take care of your health and live well with arthritis, including: 

- 85+ new anti-inflammatory recipes 

- Tips for cooking from chronic pain experts 

- New scientific evidence 

- Meal planner 

- Beautiful recipe photos and more 

Both books include forewords and sign-offs from rheumatologists and nutrition experts and have helped tens of thousands of people all over the world. 

Combining Emily's own challenges with seronegative arthritis and backed-up expert advice from leading therapists and rheumatologists, Emily's books will give you the confidence you need to live a healthier and happier life. 

Emily Johnson is a writer, marketeer and content creator. Her blog Arthritis Foodie has amassed a following of over 25,000 people since its inception, and her Instagram account is the third most-followed in the world for arthritis. She has worked with two of the largest arthritis charities globally, with a fierce determination to change what arthritis ‘looks like’.

You can find out more about Emily and her books here.

You can download your free copy of The Autoimmune RESET here.

And you can access all of VJ's free resources here.

If you would like to book a free initial consultation with VJ Hamilton, The Autoimmunity Nutritionist, to find out how nutritional therapy and functional medicine could improve your health, you can book an appointment here.

Learn more about the functional medicine services at The Autoimmunity Nutritionist Clinic here.

Thanks for listening! You can join The Autoimmune Forum on Facebook or find me on Instagram @theautoimmunitynutritionist.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

I'm Vijay Hamilton and welcome to the Autoimmune Reset, the place for you to learn how to thrive with autoimmune disease, a feeling of how to take steps to transform your health to feel better than ever. You can start making changes today to improve your health. So, with every episode, my mission is to share with you simple ways to unlevel your data and lifestyle with key learnings from my own journey reversing autoimmune disease. An inspirational story from those who have reset their autoimmune symptoms and are now thriving in life. I suffered from autoimmune disease for over 25 years and now I live completely free. And I wish the same for you as well. So thank you for being here and sharing this time with me. Now let's get started. Hello and welcome to today's episode of the Autoimmune Reset Podcast. I'm your host, Vijay Hamilton. I'm a nutritionist, scientist, an expert in autoimmune disease, and I'm very excited to have Emily Johnson here as part of Arthritis Awareness Month. And if you don't know Emily, she is the founder of Arthritis Foodie, which is a wellness blog that Emily set up, I believe, in 2018, where she shared her experience of managing arthritis, and she now has 25,000 members of that community, which is fantastic. And on top of that, Emily has written two amazing books, uh Beat Arthritis Naturally and Eat Well with Arthritis. They are incredible books. Um, Emily had lots of experts that helped her on those books, but she also shares her story. But on top of that, that's lots of delicious, healthy recipes as well. So if you don't have those books, certainly check them out because they are so helpful, whether you have arthritis or another form of autoimmune disease. So welcome, Emily. Thank you so much for being here. I'll hand over to you to um introduce yourself in a bit more detail and then we can dig into your personal story in a bit more detail.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

Oh, brilliant. Thank you so much, BJ, for having me. And what a wonderful introduction. I'm not sure if there needs to be anything else to say. Absolutely amazing. But um, yeah, thank you so much for that. My first book came out in 2021. It actually turned three a couple of uh days ago. And Eat Well with Arthritis. Yeah, I know. And Eat Well with Arthritis came out a year ago, and it's sort of an extension of Beta Arthritis Naturally, where beet arthritis actually sort of gives you sort of a big guidebook on everything you need to know about living with arthritis, whether it be pain management, sleep, anti-inflammatory components, recipes, mindfulness, exercise, it's all in there. And eat well with arthritis is an extension of that with lots of delicious anti-inflammatory recipes and two more uh health experts, including an NHS chronic pain health expert, occupational therapist, and of course yourself, who has kindly uh kindly reviewed all of the delicious recipes as the autoimmunity nutritionist that you are. So, yeah, I'm I'm I'm super proud of the books in terms of uh, you know, I never thought I'd end up writing them, and and it's just the yeah, they're helping a lot of people. So I hope they get to reach even more people through this wonderful podcast of yours.

SPEAKER_00 3:10

Oh, thank you, Emily. Yeah, I love your books because I feel like anybody who is going through arthritis and really doesn't understand it, you you explain things really simply. Um, but on top of that, your advice is really practical. I think the reason people are so drawn to you is because of your own personal story. Because I think before you came on the scene, everybody saw arthritis as something that happened to you when you got older. But the truth is you were really young, weren't you? So would you be able to share your personal story of overcoming arthritis or managing your symptoms of arthritis?

SPEAKER_02 3:44

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for that. And I was really young and I I uh sort of, like you said, I didn't see anyone either that was like me. So, you know, it it's uh it's really important for people to see people like me out there that do live with arthritis from day to day. So yeah, I I actually first got my symptoms when I was four years old. Um, I was hospitalized uh for a couple of weeks with swollen knees, and um my parents didn't know what was going on at the time, no one could really tell them. I was checked for juvenile idiopathic arthritis. I thought it was in the months following, but actually my mum was like, it was probably about a year, Emily. I was like, oh right, okay. So I was checked for um juvenile arthritis and sort of nothing came of it. And I mean, the fluid in my knees went down, um, and I sort of was a happy child and kind of went back to normal. And then uh, you know, I say that, you know, um your genetics hold the bullets and your environment pulls the trigger. And I was 20 years old. So I always had this sort of susceptibility to getting arthritis, and um, I was 20 years old, and um I was quite kind of a I'm a bit of a Taipei personality, I'm always a go-getter doing things, juggling things, and I was juggling, juggling a number of things, wasn't really taking care of myself. And I, you know, I was working as a tutor in Italy. I'd come back, I was working at a bar, as at a hotel, I was I was seeing my friends doing this, that the other. So I wasn't really looking after myself. So my baseline was probably not great, plus the genetic susceptibility. Um, and then I I got food poisoning at a friend's barbecue. It it lasted about two weeks, um, and it was really unpleasant. I had the symptoms lasted, yeah, just over two weeks. And by the time I got to doctors, those particular symptoms of of diarrhea and things had had gone. So I kind of thought, oh, maybe it's fine, I'll be okay. And then um I was not okay. Um, I my joints started to swell, so to get fluid in my fingers, um, and then my thumbs, and I I I went back to university and it started to get worse and worse when I got to university. And of course, you know, being in I was in my final year, but of course, when you go back to uni, I'm not sure if it still happens now. Um I'm I'm old school in my 30s, but do people still do freshers? I don't know, but it was fresh week. It was fresh as week and um, you know, I was trying to join in with my friends, but I was just so unwell. Um, I was sneezing constantly, I was sleeping like 16, 17 hours a day. I was really quite unwell, my joints were really swollen and and and stiff. And um, you know, I I went to the doctors and they were saying, Oh, it's you probably just got fresh as flu, like, you know, because I'd had the typical symptoms of freshers flu, right? Um but I was like, no, but my hands and I saw several GPs. One point I went even went to AE with my housemate Charlie, she was so sweet, and um they turned me away and they were like not sure what's going on here anyway. In the end, um my mum picked me up and um went back home and she was like, right, let's just get you in at our RGP and let's just oh let's really kind of push this. And she came with me to appointments and things and finally got um got an appointment with a rheumatologist, but of course, this takes months, it takes ages, you you know, with the NHS, God love them, but you know, it's these things don't happen very quickly. So uh initially, um, you know, I I got sort of diagnosed with a like a chronic fatigue syndrome, and um, you know, but I was like, yeah, but what's going on with my hands? And he couldn't really tell me, and then it was like, oh, it's inflammatory arthritis, you've probably got an infection, and then it's gonna go in a year. Um, and that, you know, there was just loads of different things thrown at me. Um, and then they finally finally landed on arthritis after about 18 months, nearly two years, and that's when I started treatment and um and what have you. But yeah, it was really not uh not a good time for me at all. And I was I was so down, and I also just didn't want anyone to know. So, in some ways, like me back then would be like, You've done what you're talking about arthritis for what? Um, because I was so I was so embarrassed, but I I'm not now, and I and and it's so important to speak about these things. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

What led you to start speaking about these things? Obviously, you you started making some changes, didn't you? And as you decided to set up the arthritis foodie. So it's good that you got over that embarrassment because I I felt the same when I started talking about feature. You you try and hide it um for various different reasons. But it's actually great that you've been able to come out and share your experience because look where it's led you.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

Oh, yeah. And I don't I like yeah, absolutely. And I like to think that it helps it helps other people as well. You know, it does it it also it gives me a sense of comfort to know I'm not alone, but I think it also gives other people that too, and I'm sure you've experienced the same thing with your autoimmune conditions. Um so yeah, I I I was on methotrexate, and um that seemed to be seemed to be working, but I was still, you know, kind of rushing around doing what I'd just uh started a new job in London. I was like, I'm not gonna let mouthwise stop me. I was kind of just kind of uh pushing my bodies to all limits, and which would usually mean I'd be in bed really early. I wouldn't really have much of a weekend, I'd I'd always be tired, I'd always be full of cold, like, oh my god, even in the summer, I just constantly have a cold. Um and so yeah, I was not in a in a in the healthiest uh position. Um, and then I got a really bad um flu uh Christmas 2017. I was really unwell. And then it sort of triggered um triggered a flare-up in my ankle, in my right ankle at first. And I remember being in the shower and I looked down and I was like, oh no. And I was like, I was like, oh gosh, I've triggered, I've triggered a flare from the from having the flu because your immune system's trying to fight, you know, you know how it is. Yeah, fight's the wrong thing. So uh yeah, I I sort of obviously spoke to my rheumatologist and she said, right, let's get you some steroid injections, see if that helps. And normally they did, sort of tied me over. Um, and that didn't seem to help. She's like, then she's like, right, we can look into biologics as well, but obviously that's going to take some time. Anyway, I thought, do you know what? I'm just about by after six months of this, so from the January to the June of 2018, I just really hit rock bottom. And I was on holiday in uh in America with some friends, and my elbow like really swelled to the point where I couldn't properly stretch my stretch my arm. And that was just like, no, I can't, I can't carry on like this. And um, my colleagues at the time were super healthy, like not to say that I was unhealthy, but could have been a lot healthier, and a lot of pre pre-made foods and quick, you know, quick, easy prepared prepared foods, quite processed. And um, they were like, why don't you just try looking at diet? You know, what's what's the harm? What can it, you know, what could it do? So it's like, okay, I was like, right, after this holiday, that's what I'm gonna do. So I got back from America and I started looking at arthritis diets, arthritis foods, uh, on Google and on Instagram, and I just couldn't find anything relatable or anything that I felt was necessarily supported by science or backed by anything at all. So I thought, oh, do you know, I'm just gonna do a food diary. Everything that's out there, I'm just gonna try it. So even, you know, like from like the craziest ideas to the to the most, you know, non-craziest, I was just trying absolutely everything. And um, I thought, right, I'm just gonna record everything on Arthur Studio. I did it anonymously at first, and and it started to get a bit of traction, and people were kind of interacting with me. And I met a lot of people my age who had uh the same kind of arthritis as me. And I was like, oh my gosh, um, this is like I've really got a lot out of that. And um I generally did start to see a difference in in my overall health and well-being, obviously a lot, you know, alongside my medication, but I always say, you know, if you are living with an inflammatory condition, you have got more inflammation than the average person. So you know, if your medication's helping that inflammation, but then your diet isn't and your lifestyle isn't, and you're adding a load of inflammation there, then that's gonna counteract, and the medication's not really gonna be able to do its job very well, is how I frame it. Um, so you know, I I that yeah, so bringing in a lot of anti-inflammatory lifestyle changes and diet and everything, and yeah, I really started to see a difference, and you know, people were starting to ask me for a book, and I was like, oh my gosh, maybe there is one in this. Um, because you know, when I first got my thrust, I couldn't find a book dedicated, you know, or the books that were out there were like 25 years old, there wasn't anything kind of new. So I thought, right, I'm gonna start writing. So I started writing in 2019 and then yeah, started conversations sort of end of 2019, start of 2020, and then of course the pandemic hit, but I still was beavering away on my laptop even though I was in I was in that what did they call it? Yeah, the the lockdown that we had and um shielding as well. So yeah, I just was working away on my laptop writing BTOS writing actually.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

Quite a good timing in a in a sense, because you were we all uh were at home and couldn't go out and do things to actually get a book written. Um so, in terms of your own symptoms, how long did it take for you to start seeing some form of results? Because I get asked this a lot in my clinic, how long can it take? And I the truth is everyone's going to be different, but when you started making those changes, when did you start to see a difference in your joint health?

SPEAKER_02 13:08

So I'd say after three months, I started to feel a lot better in myself in terms of like energy levels, I was sleeping better. Um, my my friends were commenting on how clear clear my skin was and that I looked really like glowy and stuff because I just completely overhauled everything. Um, and yeah, so about three months, but then it was probably six months that I really, really start to see a difference with my joints. Um, and you know, and and also whilst I was doing it, I was tracking things as well. So I was cutting out stuff, but then I was bringing stuff back in to see, okay, does this trigger my symptoms? Does this trigger up a flare-up, or which is which is like you said, different for everyone? All these things are very personal, aren't they? And based on your genetics, your gut microbiome, you know, all of those the genetics of your gut microbiome. So um they're all dependent on that, aren't they? So it's different for everyone. But for me, um, certain types of dairy are just an absolute no-go for me. Um, you know, one example, I was like, I was um in New York with my partner um recently, and uh I was like, oh, I really want to do, you know, I'm in New York, I really just want to try a bit of New York pizza, like, you know, just a little bit, even though I would never eat this at home. And it was just straight away my joints felt it straight away after eating it. It's like, oh my goodness me. So yeah, um, picking out the kind of things that I know will flare my joints up by sort of, you know, keeping that food diary was just absolutely, yeah, so important. Um, highly recommend that people do that as well.

SPEAKER_00 14:39

I mean, that that I I recommend that as well. Was there any were you reading things and that gave you the idea to start tracking things? It sounds like you did your own elimination protocol. Great, uh, just to be able to do without any support. So what gave you that idea?

SPEAKER_02 14:55

I don't know. I think I think I saw something on on someone else's Instagram of the like raw diet, I think it was like, or maybe medical medium or something like that. I think I saw it might have been medical medium, and you know, I mean, he some of his diets are very extreme, like raw diets and you know, celery juice five times a day and things like that. So, so there's gotta be a balance. But um, I think I got it from here. I think I saw him, and also like Deliciella at Dr. Rupee of Doctor's Kitchen, um, plant powered doctor, like all these amazing doctors and nutritionists that are already kind of doing this kind of work. I thought, oh wow, like you know, there must be something in it. Um, and of course, when I was researching to find a nutritionist for my first book, I came across you as well. So you were a lot of inspiration as well. So yeah, it's you know, it it there's so much out there now, which is fantastic. Um, and so so needed. But of course, you know, yeah, in 2018 there really, really wasn't, and especially when I first got my arthritis in 2013, there was nothing out there. Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

So obviously, this has led you to not only be able to like be symptom-free, or I know you're managing your symptoms, and we can't ever uh control what's going to happen to us in our environment, whether we get sick, um, but you're managing your arthritis really well, aren't you? Um, and that's led to you becoming the arthritis foodie. So how about your illness? Because it certainly happened with me as well, but how has your illness and condition led you to doing this amazing work that you're doing now?

SPEAKER_02 16:31

So I think for me it's given me a massive purpose. And and you know, I think without arthritis foodie, I don't know, I don't know where I'd be or what I'd be do what I'd be doing. I don't think you'd be as happy. And I definitely wouldn't feel as as good in my own health as well. Um, and the way I, yeah, the way you've talked about it about, you know, sometimes you can't control your environment, which is absolutely true. But I think when things do happen, you want to have some element of control and things in your toolbox that you can pick up and use to help you through those times. Um, you know, because I think when I first had my arthritis in the in the first sort of five, six years, I felt so helpless. Um, I felt I felt completely sort of disengaged from my own body. I didn't want to know. And I sort of handed my my personal sort of control over my health to to my rheumatologist, to, to my medicine, to, to, you know, what people were telling me. I kind of just, I was like, that, you know, they'll sort it out. If I get a flare up, I'll just get a steroid injection. You know, I don't need to do anything. And I kind of sort of didn't have ownership over my own health. And I think what I try and say with my books and in Arthritis Foodies, you know, take that ownership of your health. You're living in your body day in, day out. Only you know it as well as you do. No one else is going to know it as well as you do. And no one's gonna know how your condition manifests inside you as well as you do. So I think, yeah, I'm really strong on sort of having an ownership of your own health and being an advocate for your own health and and learning everything you can about it because it's it's it's so powerful. It really, really is. And um, yeah, my flare-ups are definitely a lot, lot less than they used to be. And and you know, some things I can control, like not having a New York pizza. Um, but uh some things you can't, like like stress, stress is a huge one for me, and lack of sleep as well is one, you know, when sometimes you can't control those things.

SPEAKER_00 18:23

Deadlines deadlines or things that you need to know.

SPEAKER_02 18:26

Yeah, deadlines, yeah, all of those things, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:29

I think that's the point you make, I think almost it once you've made that step into kind of health empowerment and actually I'm gonna take the reins on my own health now. And that's certainly I was pushed into it because I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and just told that the only option for me was rest. And I had jolly things going on. So I just thought, actually, I'm not being given a magic pill here, I'm gonna have to work on this get better. Um, and that gave me the motivation, which I'm really glad about. But I suppose when you go to your doctors and they give you medication, um, it the there's an interesting fact that I came across recently where 30 to 50 percent of uh patients who will get medication for arthritis might not see the results that they're looking for through the medication. On top of that, your medication is going to work a lot better when you have those key nutrients and your body is in a much better state for healing. Um I know you're not either, I'm certainly not anti-medication, but actually you have a choice in everything that you do for your condition. And I think we need to get past that. Well, you know, what's somebody telling me to do it, take the advice, especially if they're an expert in that particular area, or if you know, if if your doctor or rheumatologist is telling you, but you have the choice, and um, yeah, I think I think what you've said is so important. That to me is like the first step. Then you implement all these changes, like the changes that you recommend in your book, and that can make such a big impact. Um, but you really do need to take that first step. And when I clients come to me and they want to work with me, um, I I I always give them this readiness for change, and it's uh it's a really great document which kind of goes through the different stages of when you are ready to change. Um, and it's good to know that because I want my clients to get the most value, and if you're not ready for change, um maybe you're not at the right point.

SPEAKER_02 20:22

That is yeah, that is such a that is such a good point. Yeah, such a good point because I actually just had a memory come back to me. Um, I found my old iPad from like 2014, 2015, and I was looking in the notes of it and I'd written down like um foods for inflammation or something, and I'd listed like all these foods, yeah, like I can't even remember what was it with blueberries or not not back by science or anything. I think I think I'd just seen um like articles on the internet and and I've just I'd just pasted it all. But was I ready to to do it then? Clearly not, clearly not, clearly I was not ready to to kind of adjust my diet, adjust my lifestyle. And sometimes, sadly, you know, it takes that really kind of like rock bottom moment for you to go, do you know what something's really got to change? Um, and it's only from them that you really start to go, okay, what can I do? Um, and you know, yeah, it has to come from you. No one, no one's no one can do it for you, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_00 21:19

You know, the great thing is, and I this is where I got started as well, is through books and podcasts. And obviously, you have your two books. Um, so it'd just be helpful for anybody listening who hasn't got your book to understand some of the key concepts that you share in those books and what if you've got any maybe your top three tips from those books that you can share today with the audience. Um, because you know, as I said, I've got both books. I I love the recipes in the books, and I love how you set everything out. So it'd be great for you to share that.

SPEAKER_02 21:48

Oh, thank you so much. Yeah, I I think one of my points I've already kind of mentioned quite a lot, but I'm gonna mention it again is about having ownership over your own health. That's such a that's such a big one for me. And I think, yeah, learning. everything you can about your health, about your condition, even about the medication you're taking and what it's doing, what the side effects are doing and how you can cope with them. You know, I've got a recipe for um a really nice mint tea that helps with like the nausea of methotrexate if you are on the tablets. You know, so it's about taking taking my books if if it's arthritis or whatever condition you have where you've got those resources, soaking them in, but also seeing how they apply to you and taking that ownership of your own health. That would be tip number one. Tip number two would be being kind to yourself and being compassionate. You know, sometimes we can do all of these things and um you know take care of ourselves in the best ways but sometimes life throws us things out of nowhere and uh you have to adjust and amend as you as you can. So I think yeah being kind to yourself is such a massive one. And you know the fact that yeah you you only you can take care of you in a way you obviously of course you know it's important to have wonderful friends and family around you but also you know you've got to take care of yourself and yeah be kind to yourself. And and um number three would be uh time give yourself time um I know these are all quite airy fairy in a way but like uh but um they're not kind of structural kind of eat this many uh vegetables per day or whatever any anything like that you can get that in my book but yeah my third one about time is that you need to give these things time so like we were saying earlier they're not gonna happen overnight it's not a magic pill it's gonna take time and you really have to be patient. So you know they the doctor will say to you give your medication 12 weeks see if it works. Then you go back and they'll say oh let's give it six months and see if it works well if you're not giving your diet and lifestyle changes the same chance you're not gonna reap the rewards and you're not gonna see the difference. So give everything time. So yeah ownership of your health being kind to yourself and giving yourself time and patience will be my will be my three three tips.

SPEAKER_00 23:59

That's so important when it comes to these types of conditions aren't they I think that being kind to yourself is is absolutely vital because especially when you're starting to make changes and I find a lot of clients that work with me or even just people that I know or people that contact me they feel like once they're kind of off track that they've blown it and they always use the word fail. And I because I just think you haven't failed you've actually you've probably learnt loads you've also made some changes which has probably massively helped your health already yeah you had a bad weekend or you had a bad week or even a bad month um but it's all about uh getting back on track and as you say being kind to yourself and I think we need to watch ourselves with our language a lot of the time um you can really say negative things about yourself without realizing and that's never helpful um especially when you're you know trying to make these positive changes for yourself. So mindset is something that I work on a lot with my clients as well because I think that is how you see results for the long term. Yes I think um it would be interesting to hear from you if you're if you're happy to share but no no problem um but to hear about kind of what's been the biggest challenge for you because I you know I know that there's been various things throughout what when I had all my symptoms over that 25 years were various things where I just felt like so fed up not I wouldn't even say fed up I just just felt hope hopeless at times. Was there ever a time that you felt like that and how were you able to kind of manage it and move forward?

SPEAKER_02 25:36

Oh gosh absolutely 100% there's been multiple occasions where I felt like that even in the last six months even in the last two months like yeah 100% that that there's definitely ups and downs when you live with something like this. And especially knowing that you're going to live with it pretty much for the rest of your life it's it can feel quite daunting. But yeah I've definitely had I've definitely had low points over the years and um I've had to pull myself out of it but I think probably the worst the worst of it was in 2021 when my symptoms were you know I was doing I was actually doing quite well I was really happy my arthritis was in quite a good place and then um COVID you know I I lost my job lost my house my granddad passed away yeah it was just like everything all at once and um I was trying to find a new job trying to find new a new house with my housemate um just I had to go to my granddad's funeral the the book was also about to come out in May as well so I had all of that as well which is which is so exciting but also it's a bit stressful. So yeah there was just so much going on and um my arthritis flared up in such a big way um and I knew it was stress. I knew I couldn't do anything you know at that point I just had to really recoup and take care of myself um but I was really down I was in a really in a really bad way and that took a few few months if not six months to about to really kind of get back to my baseline. But yeah during that time I mean you've just you've just got to be kind to yourself like I've said um but also you know use those tools in your toolbox the ones that you know are easy to do and that you really actually enjoy and finding that joy as well in those moments. So for me I love I love having a bath I just love it. I love putting candles on I love getting my Epsom salts and just you know having a lovely soak and putting a podcast on or listening to some music. So I did a lot of that like three or four times a week I was doing that that massively helped um I meal I meal prepped so that I wouldn't have to worry because you know my pain wasn't great. So I was I was prepping quite a big amount of food freezing it putting in the fridge that was making a difference and doing light yoga as well and getting early nights and just kind of really kind of reducing you know my output as much as possible. But yeah whilst knowing that you know had lots of things going on trying to like in the evenings especially just bring that back down again. So yeah that was a really tough time.

SPEAKER_00 28:10

Sounds like you can't got through it and actually that's exactly um how I would recommend like managing a flare almost having a list of your favorite things to do or the things that make you feel relaxed or the things that give you energy have a list of them because actually when you're in that flare you might just think I'm just gonna do nothing but actually integrating these you know activities or even just relaxation that's going to help you um can make a big difference and I actually this podcast is called the autoimmune reset but I do have a free um handout which goes through my five day kind of plan when you go into a flare with some of the activities that you've already mentioned but just in case you need any ideas I will put the uh for the or if for anybody listening I'll put the link to that in the show notes. But the other thing I find that people uh struggle with is diet and actually making those changes. We're living in this world now where there are so many processed foods we know that there's um health conditions that are now linked to ultra processed foods um it's almost well I think a lot of the written new research is showing that it can all it's almost as bad as smoking.

SPEAKER_02 29:22

So if somebody is getting started and you know like us both you know like different things that probably doesn't have much time how is someone best to start incorporating uh cooking from scratch and and experimenting with whole foods yeah I think I think starting small and starting with what you know and then gradually building your spice cupboard your herb cupboard your freezer essentials all that kind of thing over time really helps so I think when like when I first started when yeah when I completely overhauled my diet in 2018 I was like right that's it and I made like a massive list of everything I needed to buy did it did it all not not all at once but nearly all at once and just really wanted to like go for it. But obviously not not everyone's gonna do that. And sometimes you just you know buy the things as and when you make a recipe and then you'll find over the course of a few months to six months then you have all the spices that you need but I have a list of absolutely everything you need in your cupboards everything that you need um in your fridge in your freezer for essentials but um I think like yeah what what would be an easy thing to start with I'd say because it's the summer months right now as we're chatting for lunch today I had a just a really easy quinoa salad. I made the quinoa ahead of time got out of the fridge chopped up some tomatoes um had put some tuna with it um some out half an avocado um what else did I put in there? A bit of rocket um bit of balsamic vinegar extra virgin olive oil salt pepper and that was it and that's so simple and it didn't take me long to make um if you don't want tuna you could have tofu you could have egg um you could have salmon or or maybe chicken if you eat meat you know so I think it's it's kind of realizing that when you get into the routine of these things they're actually they're actually not that complicated um and you know you just have to be a bit sort of prepared and a bit ahead of time but I now know that whilst I was I'm I was making that side I thought right I'm gonna make it for the next few days so I've had it today I'll have it tomorrow and I'll have it on Thursday and I know my lunch is done my lunch is set um you know and that means I can also take it up where to the park and sit and eat it in the park if I want to do that which I sometimes do. So yeah I think realizing that these recipes don't have to you know they don't have to be extravagant um but yeah but if you can pack as many antifarmatic components so now I'll add you know I'll add more things to to a salad that I might not necessarily have added before you know if I if I had I've run out of chickpeas but if I had chickpeas I would have added those in you know you just start to learn learn what what to do but yeah it doesn't have to be hard.

SPEAKER_00 32:01

But it it's adding those things in actually because people just think oh this is fine for lunch but actually you're adding extra nutrients when you get yeah variety which is important for your gut health and that's what I love about your book actually you have the meal plans don't you and in the meal plans you have almost like well make this for dinner and then you can have it for lunch the next day. Yeah yeah making it really convenient for you know anybody that's trying to start incorporating this.

SPEAKER_02 32:26

Um so yeah sorry I was just gonna say uh about the meal plan the recipes I get messages messages from families who have said that like their families enjoy the recipes too so then the the whole family gets a bit healthier as well so you always like that it has a knock on effect at other people which is great.

SPEAKER_00 32:44

Yeah so you're not alone at home you know with these things hopefully is there any and obviously this is not any type of advice if you are thinking about taking supplements then please speak to your healthcare provider. Um but I would I you know I'd love to hear from you Emily was there any particular supplement or even just a healthy powder that you feel like benefited you or that you use daily now that you think is helping?

SPEAKER_02 33:10

Yeah so omega-3 I actually would not be without my omega three um yeah I take that daily and I feel that it does it genuine I genuinely do feel the difference with that. In the winter months especially I take vitamin D. And there is a connection between low vitamin D levels and rheumatoid arthritis. So naturally of course you know that's something that I've always sort of paid attention to and when I first got my arthritis my vitamin D levels were severely low and had to be put on um tablets like from the from the doctors but now I just take I just take a really high quality you know all natural vitamin D supplement um in in the in the winter months take I sometimes occasionally take it in the summer but just not as much. So yeah I do that and then yeah sometimes take zinc and magnesium as well and magnesium's a good one for sleep um and fatigue so yeah but I'm always kind of uh trying different things I'm a bit I like to self-experiment so I've also tried E12 as well.

SPEAKER_00 34:09

Yeah yeah um but yeah if if I was to choose one out of all the ones then it would be omega three yeah and vitamin I think that's a great recommendation because often I I run um tests which will look at people's essential fatty acids in the body and different fats and even when somebody is really focused on eating plenty of fish in their diet their omega three is normally quite low yeah yeah it's astonishing yeah it's quite hard hard to get it to a certain level but yeah well they those sound like great nutrients that you're taking I'm glad they're working for you um we've talked a lot about diet today and we have touched on a few lifestyle factors um I know you mentioned that you love baths but is there anything in that you do on a daily basis or even a weekly basis that helps to manage your stress levels because as you mentioned you like doing things you're I'm just using your words your type A and yeah I'm sure you're ambitious and motivated and you've got lots going on what do you do to help with your stress levels because it is it is a key piece isn't it when you have oh massively yeah massively so um something that I I don't compromise on is is walking every day I will go for a walk in the fresh air every day if I can't do it at lunch or I you know I've got a meeting or whatever something's happening I go before work or after work or sometimes both and I that genuinely I actually feel it when I've not had that walk like mentally I'm like ooh um so yeah doing that daily 100% I have to do that um and then I yeah my yoga I love my yoga um even if it's just like 10-15 minutes like really calm stretches it doesn't have to be intense um but honestly for mindfulness and for stretching and for movement yoga is a is a huge one for me um they're definitely the yeah the main things that that that help my stretch I think if you're getting that out of yoga as well which I I haven't been practicing at the moment I've been really focusing on other things like Pilates but it it doesn't give me that same calm yeah it gives you uh so it's the breathing it's the breathing as well that just yeah amazing and and reading reading my books at night reading before bed that's another one that's like definitely helps my sleep and keeps me keeps me calm that's a good fiction book on a night yeah yeah okay well thanks so much for being uh a guest on the podcast definitely absolutely loved uh talking to you today as always um but could we end just by uh if somebody is listening to this podcast maybe has just been diagnosed with um some form of arthritis what would be your first piece of advice to them because you can feel quite lost when you first get diagnosed some people feel very empowered actually when they get diagnosed but where would you point someone to if they've just been diagnosed?

SPEAKER_02 37:02

Well I would definitely say um you're not alone that's like the first thing I'd want to tell them because when I first got my arthritis that's how I felt I felt really alone really overwhelmed and um sort of yeah I just wanted to hide um so that I'd want to let them know they're not alone and there's so many people living with this condition. And you know you'll have good days and bad days but just know that things will get better because the more you know about your condition and the better you feel in your own body I personally think mentally you will feel better about it over time. So yeah I would I that would be one of my main thing to say and then and then also go get my books. Yeah well that's where I was going to so where can I find you and find your books and obviously the community as well that you've got thank you Vijay so um yeah you can find me at at Arthritis Foodie across all social media channels my first book Beats Arthritis naturally is available in in pretty much all bookshops um and you can get it on world of books if you're listening not from the UK um and then eat well with arthritis as well uh is packed full of delicious anti-inflammatory recipes lots of colourful pictures as well in this one um so yeah go go go check them out they're actually um you know cheaper when you buy them together I think because if there's there's like a dis usually some kind of discount that Amazon's doing but yeah uh they're my book yeah I love I love eat well with arthritis it's such a beautiful book I mean I love both books but I just like to have that on my shelf in my kitchen. Oh thank you so much thank you so much for having me as well and for being such a wonderful support all these years as well and uh I love absolutely everything you do with uh the autoimmunity nutritionist and yeah thank you so much for having me on your podcast thanks Emily I'm sure we'll be doing things together soon but uh have a great rest of your week and uh I'll speak to you soon.

SPEAKER_00 38:51

Thank you VJ take care thank you very much for joining me today on the autoimmune reset. I really hope you enjoyed the discussion and be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode. And if you liked it I would hugely appreciate a review on iTunes as it helps me understand what you like about the podcast and to help share the information with more people. I'm excited to speak to you next time and remember you have the power to take the reins on your health so keep the faith and celebrate the small wins. Until next time