I was so surprised to hear the Walgreens pharmacist call this out to Brady.  It was just another reminder of how far he has come to improve his health.  He used to be such a frequent customer of the pharmacist that she knew his name.  He no longer was in there as often.  Thank goodness!

The Diagnosis

In December 2016, Brady heard the rheumatologist tell him he had rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and lupus.  The next thing she told him was that there was no cure.

If you’ve ever had a chronic illness or had a relative get a diagnosis, you know how heavy that feels.  On one hand it’s good to know what you’re dealing with and on the other hand it’s daunting thinking of coping with the illness.

There were medicines to try to manage the symptoms of his autoimmune disease and plenty of supplements to balance the side effects.  It was good to know what was causing his pain and exhaustion and we were hopeful the medicine would help.  It still was heartbreaking though.

With all these new medicines and his heart medicines, Brady was taking a lot of prescriptions daily.  He did get some relief, but life was not the same.  He had to be super careful to not get sick since his immune system was being suppressed.  The methotrexate, a chemo drug, was wiping him out every weekend.  He was just surviving, not at all thriving.

The Change

A year later I found the autoimmune protocol diet and convinced (possibly begged) him to try it.  We’ve been blown away by the results and continue to see improvements in his health. This year he was able to get off the methotrexate completely.  He got his life back and we got out of the cycle of having “chemo days”.

Last month he had his checkups with his cardiologist and his rheumatologist.  His cardiologist was impressed with his progress and even asked him for advice on nutrition.  Turns out the doctor also had an autoimmune illness.

I’m happy to report the anti-inflammatory diet also improved his heart health!

Brady’s appointment with his rheumatologist was better than we could have hoped for back in 2016.  His blood work came back in the normal range for all three of his autoimmune illnesses!  He has beaten the odds.   He’s not cured, but he knows how to manage his symptoms to stay feeling his best.

The rheumatologist credited the one last medicine she had him on for all the progress.  We know differently-food became the best medicine for Brady.  His way of eating improved his health.

Not everyone has autoimmune illnesses so the urgency to get healthy might not be there.

In 1972, Dr. John Travis introduced the wellness continuum.

Wellness is a process, never a static state.

Your Change

Sometimes we think that the absence of illness means we’re healthy.  In the wellness continuum, your health is declining or getting better.  In the middle is the comfort Zone.

A lot of us find ourselves there.  We know we could be healthier, but we’re not suffering from a chronic illness.  Or maybe we’re managing okay with prescription medication.  Someday we’ll start eating healthier.  Someday we’ll get back to exercising.  Someday we’ll lower our stress.

See the top 5 warning signs of inflammation here.

I find it easiest to look at your health like its a scale. In the middle, you aren’t showing signs of disease, but if you aren’t working towards healthier habits, you will eventually find yourself on the left end of the scale.

As you move towards the left, you have more signs and symptoms of disease, add more medications, and your health affects your daily life.

As you move towards the right, you prioritize eating right and exercising. You learn more about wellness and have energy and the mindset to live the life you want.

With your current eating, exercise, and self-care habits, which direction are you headed?  I want to encourage you to make those small changes to get the inflammatory foods out of your diet, get moving, and start believing that you can age well and get better with time.  The choices you make today can improve your health!

As we age, we must work harder to make progress to the right.  I’d love to help you come up with a plan to instill healthier habits that fit into your lifestyle!  Let’s tip the scale to be healthy!

Grab my Inflammation Guide HERE.  Take the quiz to find out how inflamed you are so that you know where to start to improve your health!