When you're young, you think only others get sick. I never understood my grandmother's birthday greeting, "The main thing is to be healthy! Why do you have to wish for that? Health is a matter of course. I thought! Last summer, a few weeks before my 60th birthday, I was proven wrong. Out of the blue I got hellish pains in all joints in parallel. 24 hours without a break. Especially at night. It felt like someone was ramming knives into my wrists. I could no longer get out of bed, wash my hair, get dressed, cut bread, open cans without help. Impossible! Overnight I had become an invalid and shocked to my painful bones.
How could this happen? Sport was always an integral part of my life, I ate a healthy diet, mostly meatless, didn't smoke or drink, and then this! I was very interested in labeling my illness. I wanted to know which enemy was living in my body. After intensive research, my self-diagnosis went in the direction of "rheumatoid arthritis." And according to Dr. Google, it was not curable. That was then so until the end of my life?! I was devastated. So nothing like off to the rheumatism doctor...but as much as I phoned around, I got the earliest appointment in three months! How could I stand this pain until then? I was deeply depressed.
Overnight, my life was defined by pain and dependent on help.
A cortisone shot from the orthopedist relieved me of the pain six weeks later, but of course I knew that it only addressed the symptoms, not the cause. Until my first rheumatology appointment, I read everything I could find about rheumatism. My research made me more and more discouraged. In the end, I guess I would have to learn to live with rheumatic episodes - if it was rheumatism - and would be dependent on medication for the rest of my life.
"Rheumatoid arthritis," it hammered incessantly inside me. As a journalist, I knew the power of words . They can cement themselves into our consciousness and then into our bodies, sabotaging the space for healing. My first step out of depression, therefore, was to erase the label "I have Rheumatoid Arthritis" in my mind and replace it with the words, "It feels like Rheumatoid Arthritis, but could be something else entirely." With that, everything was possible again, everything could be okay. I went into fighter mode. And then, mercifully, the heavens opened. I came across the book "Curing Arthritis" by Dr. Susan Blum, a New York physician . She herself had rheumatoid arthritis and had cured herself with complete dietary changes and intestinal rehabilitation.
Euphorically, I threw the rheumatism-unfit contents of my refrigerator into the garbage can or gave them to friends. From now on, there were none for me: Nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers), rice, pasta, dairy products (cheese, butter, milk, cream, curd, yogurt), eggs, meat and sausage products, cereals (bread, baked goods, cookies), coffee, juices.
That sounds bad, I know. And quite honestly, I probably wouldn't have managed this consistent change in diet in a pain-free state. Completely surprisingly, the agony soon turned into joy, because I discovered a completely new side of myself. Until my illness, I was often a snacker on the side. Really cooked with love, I have rather rarely. Now I became the biggest fan of vegan food blogs. I developed into an enthusiastic, creative cook and it turned out that delicious, vegan dishes could be conjured up from the "little" I was allowed to eat. To their chagrin, I bombarded my children daily via WhatsApp with photos of my new culinary achievements.
However, eating healthy only works if the intestines are also brought into the team. Unfortunately, we don't like to talk about this part of our body. It is associated with bad smells and flatulence. But it is much more. The intestine is the beginning of everything. We should treat it like a king, because it determines our mental and physical well-being.
Instead, we maltreat this three-meter-long marvel with antibiotics, medications, gluten, lactose, sugar, nightshade plants, industrially processed foods that are more dead than food, and they all damage our intestines until a so-called "leaky gut" syndrome can develop. Ever heard of it? Not me - until six months ago!
Leaky gut means that the mucous membrane of the intestine has lost its barrier function. Important nutrients and minerals, which should actually supply our body, get stuck in the disturbed intestinal barrier. While bad bacteria and toxins are not excreted, but pass through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream. This causes chaos in our body. Our immune system immediately goes on alert and attacks the invaders. Inflammations develop, which can lead to auto-immune diseases such as rheumatism or Hashimoto's. The body thus attacks itself. That is why it is so important to sanitize the intestines.
But how? I have made a list for this based on the book by Dr. Susan Blum. I replaced the American probiotics, enzymes, vitamins and minerals with German products and add them to my diet daily. (I can send you the list free of charge).
In the last six months, I learned to celebrate food. I have eaten mountains of vegetables and fruit, my digestion and mood are top notch, I'm going back to sports and can manage without any medication at all. And best of all, I haven't had a relapse yet....
In the meantime, I have the results of all the necessary blood tests, X-rays and MRIs. I still don't know exactly what I have. I am serum negative, i.e. I have all the signs of rheumatoid arthritis, but there are no typical antibodies in my blood. So my so-called "rheumatic flare-up" could also be the result of Corona or another viral infection, or stress-related. Who knows!!! Apparently nothing is more flabby than the rheumatic disease circle.
But I don't even have to name this disease anymore. The only thing that counts for me is that I have come closer to myself through this hard time and have learned to feel my body and its needs better. At the moment I am pain-free and I feel a great sense of gratitude for that.
Through my illness I have learned that it is important not to give up the responsibility for one's own health. The body has enormous self-healing powers and if you listen to it carefully, it can tell us what it needs.
Important! I am not a doctor and do not claim generality or completeness. These are my experiences, my way...and yes, it has worked. At least until now... I am very happy about that and I would be very happy if I could encourage others. I know how terrible it is when life consists only of pain and there is no light on the horizon.
What are your experiences? I look forward to tips and a lively exchange.
Was sind Ihre Erfahrungen? Ich freue mich auf Tipps und einen regen Austausch.
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Since many followers on Instagram have asked me about the allowed foods and additives, here is already a brief, not complete overview:
The complete list of my foods and additives, which I have created according to the book by Dr. Susan Blum, I can send you on request free of charge.
Cereals: buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa, gluten-free oats, chia, seeds (sunflower, pumpkin etc.), nuts (except hazelnut) NO corn or soy products
Vegetables: lentils, beet, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, zucchini, squash, carrots, beans, avocado, leeks, mushrooms, peas, spinach, chard, all lettuces, all herbs except chilli. NO nightshade crops such as potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, corn, peppers, chili peppers).
Fruits: blueberries, raspberries, bananas, apples, pomegranates, persimmons, tangerines, lemons, red grapes, grapefruit, etc.
Fish: Varieties with as little mercury as possible ( Honestly difficult!!! What fish are still uncontaminated?!) Cod, herring, achovis, halibut, sardines, Arctic char, wild salmon.
Animals: lamb, game
Dairy products: Milk and yogurt from coconut milk, vegan egg, goat cheese
To sweeten: honey, maple syrup, birch sugar
Für die Darm-Sanierung:
Probiotika, Enzyme, Vitamine und Mineralstoffe:
Probiotika (Wichtig: magenresistent, in Deutschland hergestellt, Minimum 60 Milliarden / Tag),
L-Glutamin
Verdauungs-Enzyme
Traubenkernextrakt
Schwefel
Curcuma / Zimt / Weihrauch
Vit. B-Komplex
Vit D3
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My diet looks something like this:
For example in the morning:
Porridge (I have already posted in my IG Stories): puffed amaranth, quinoa and millet, gluten-free oats, flaxseed, chia, all boiled up with coconut milk, sweetened with maple syrup, plus e.g. fresh berries, apples, mango, bananas.
and other meals:
E.g. salad: lentils, cucumber, carrots, sweet potatoes, chicory, green salad, raisins cashews, sunflower seeds, coriander. All chopped small. Salad dressing: sweet mustard, apple cider vinegar, linseed oil, possibly gluten-free soy sauce, salt, pepper, possibly chili, dressing: linseed oil, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper. Pomegranate seeds55
This salad can be varied infinitely with all the vegetables allowed.
For example, oven vegetables: cut cauliflower into slices, pour a little oil salt, pepper. Bake in the oven until slightly crispy. Of course, the same goes with Brussels sprouts, cabbage, zucchini. What is left over can be added to the salad the next day.
To this possibly an oven fish
