Lupus erythematosus dietary taboos

Give priority to avoiding foods that are clearly known to induce disease activity. Generally, you need to limit high-sugar, high-salt, photosensitive foods, and grapefruit/grapefruit according to your personal condition and medication. You don’t need to deliberately avoid other foods as long as you don’t feel uncomfortable after eating them.

Many newly diagnosed patients search for "10 foods that people with lupus must not eat". The biggest pitfall they have encountered is the controversy over photosensitive foods. Some doctors say, "You should not touch light-sensitive foods such as celery, amaranth, snails, and figs." Some doctors say, "As long as you don't expose yourself to the sun after eating, you'll be fine." In fact, both statements are reasonable. I met a sophomore patient before. In the summer, he ate two large plates of cold celery and went to the botanical garden for two hours. The next day, the butterfly-shaped erythema on his face became swollen and shiny, and small blisters appeared. ； But there is also a patient from the Northeast who eats dumplings stuffed with pork and celery every day in winter. He has never had a rash, not even a photoallergic reaction. Essentially, the psoralen in photosensitive foods only increases the sensitivity of the skin to ultraviolet rays, but does not directly induce lupus attacks. If you have a history of photosensitivity or have a recent active rash, you must avoid it. ； If you rarely bask in the sun and you don’t feel any discomfort after eating it, there is really no need to give up completely.

When it comes to precautions related to eating, the taboos corresponding to medication are what everyone must strictly abide by, and there is no controversy. For example, most patients will take hormones in the early stage of diagnosis. Hormones will cause water and sodium retention and slow down blood sugar metabolism. If you continue to drink milk tea and eat pickles at this time, not only will the side effects of moon face and buffalo back appear faster, but you may also induce steroid diabetes. The most exaggerated patient I have ever seen drank two cups of pearl milk tea every day while taking 10 hormone pills. He gained 9 pounds in half a month, and his fasting blood sugar directly touched the critical value of diabetes. Later, after controlling the sugar, his weight gain slowed down by half, and his blood sugar dropped back to the normal range. If you are taking immunosuppressants such as cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil, you must not touch grapefruit, grapefruit and related processed beverages. These fruits will affect the activity of enzymes that metabolize drugs in the liver, either causing poisoning due to too high blood drug concentrations, or making the drug ineffective. This is a taboo recognized in clinical practice around the world, so don’t take chances.

As for the "you can't eat seafood, mushrooms, and soy products" that are circulating on the Internet, there is currently no evidence-based medical evidence to prove that these foods can induce lupus activity. As long as you are not allergic to these ingredients, you can eat them normally. I have seen many patients who dare not eat anything after hearing the rumors. In the end, they were diagnosed with hypoalbuminemia and had to be hospitalized for albumin infusion, which was not worth the loss. There is also the question of "hair growth" that everyone often asks. There are indeed differences in the views of Chinese and Western medicine: if Chinese medicine diagnoses you as having a damp-heat constitution, it may be recommended to eat less spicy and warming foods, such as mutton, durian, and spicy hot pot, to avoid aggravating the heat syndrome in the body. ； The judgment standard of Western medicine is simpler. As long as you don’t have rashes or joint pain after eating it, and the reexamination indicators are normal, there is no need for taboos.

In fact, after working with lupus patients for almost 6 years, my biggest feeling is that many people overestimate the impact of diet and ignore the importance of balanced nutrition. There is really no need to turn yourself into an ascetic. Occasionally, you are craving for ice cream or crayfish. As long as you don’t do it every once in a while, there won’t be any big problem. If you are really not sure whether you can eat something, you can either keep a food diary and write down whether you feel uncomfortable after eating and whether the indicators fluctuate. Or you can ask the attending doctor during your next check-up. This is much more reliable than searching for those messy "taboo lists" on the Internet. To put it bluntly, a good attitude, adequate nutrition, and taking medicine according to the doctor's instructions are more effective than any dietary taboos.