Managing an Auto-Immune Disease

I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder about 18 years ago now. It’s the kind of thing that sometimes I rarely think about, but know I need to give more care to, especially since I just turned 60!

With the new year just beginning, it’s the perfect time to re-focus on your health so you can thrive in 2026 and beyond. If you’re experiencing the annoyances of aging combined with a disease like this, it can be a lot. I honestly don’t want to stop doing things I enjoy, but even walking longer distances is getting harder. So it’s even more important to manage my disease on a daily basis for optimal health.

When you have time to yourself, use it for self-care, and focus on an anti-inflammatory lifestyle! Even for those who aren’t affected by a chronic condition related to inflammation, these tips are still great ways to keep your body healthy. Now that the holidays, and all those indulgences, are behind us, it’s time to make health a priority.

Knowledge is Power

Get into the right mindset to fight inflammation and get healthier this year. I like to pull a few library books, a magazine at the grocery store, and/or peruse some online articles on the effects of inflammation on the body and tips for managing it as well as possible.

I got this magazine recently, and even though there wasn’t much new information to learn, it did inspire me by reminding me of the importance of this topic! If this is on display by the store cash register, it must be a fairly popular topic!

I’ve learned plenty from publications like this as well as much trial and error in my own story. So here are some of my personal tried and true tips for keeping inflammation in check, and feeling healthier and vibrant.

Tips for Fighting Inflammation

Diet. This is so important, and probably the hardest thing to change with all the temptations out there (especially at holiday time). Fried and processed foods are terrible, in general, but for those of us who worry about inflammation, they are your worst enemy. You have to try your best to avoid them, and focus on fresh and ‘real’ foods as much as possible.

The Mediterranean diet is perfect to keep inflammation at bay. Leafy greens and vegetables, fruits, lean proteins and whole grain carbs. See this great article from the Cleveland Clinic for a description of the diet and list of foods.

I have found that making bowls is a terrific and easy way to pull fresh ingredients together that are tasty, filling and nutritious. Check out an upcoming post on our experience making many varieties of bowls over the years!

I’m especially glad that poke bowls have been gaining in popularity because I love ahi tuna all day every day! But other proteins are great in bowls too. To construct one, just add something from each of these categories:

• Rice (or other grains like quinoa, couscous)
• Lean seasoned protein- chicken breast, pork, fish or seafood
• Crunchy raw or cooked bite-sized veggies- cabbage, broccoli, snap peas, cucumbers, spouts
• Something pickled- onions, beets, cucumbers
• Sauce- depending on the flavor profile of your bowl- we tend to love the Japanese barbecue sauces which go well with pretty much any ingredients
• Fried egg. Just because it’s delicious!

Juicing. This is also a great way to get your nutrition in a delicious and easy way. I got my daughter a juicer for Christmas that she is loving. Whether fresh-pressed juices or smoothies, opting for these for breakfast or snacks a few times a week makes it simple to get your daily fruits and vegetables.

Coffee! If I need to take something ‘extra’ to boost my immunity and decrease inflammation and it’s easy enough to do- why not? But tell me that there’s something I already enjoy drinking every day that will help? Bring it on! I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the antioxidants in coffee help keep inflammation down. Yay!

Weight. I hate to even mention it, given I’m up like 15 pounds from the holidays, but hand in hand with diet is making sure your weight and BMI are within reason. Lugging around extra weight makes it more difficult to stay active and leads to high blood pressure which is terrible for inflammation. If you’re interested in a fun activity to do with friends and family that helps encourage weight loss as a team, check out my post on our family’s Biggest Loser Challenge!

Stress. There’s a direct correlation between increased stress and inflammation, so it’s really critical that you make every effort to minimize it. Some ways I do this are: 

Daily Meditation. This has become a morning ritual that sets me on the right course for the day. I have several tips and tricks to get started with meditation. If you’re interested, check out an upcoming post on this!

Journaling. A great tool at your disposal to release anxiety, is the habit of regularly getting thoughts out of your head. Read my post about how to get started with journaling, and the many benefits of it!

Get lost in something for a while. Similar to meditation, that ‘takes you out of your head’, engage in something ‘mindless’ for a bit during your day. The idea is NOT to think, so as not to overthink. Things like a good novel, an online word game or puzzle, playing an instrument, or coloring in an adult coloring book are all fun, and require little brain activity.

Exercise. Try to get at least some cardio each day which burns away stress and gets the blood flowing. It’s been shown that weight lifting also has a positive effect on inflammation. See my post in strength training for mature moms! And of course, throw in some calming yoga which stretches joints and muscles and calms the nervous system.

Hydration. This is so much more important than we think. I have had doctors tell me to make sure to drink plenty of water before a blood test in order for the test to come out as well a possible. And when my blood pressure has been high, the nurse had me sit for a few minutes with a bottle of water. Naturally you need to further hydrate when exercising more. But in general, make sure you’re drinking water at least a few times a day. Check out this article about the relationship between inflammation and hydration.

I particularly like the flavored hydration packets that I swear by when traveling. They multiply the hydration you would get from plain water alone and taste great. Plain water is not exactly exciting to think about on its own. These packets (or a slice of lemon, lime, orange, or other fresh fruit) help it go down so much easier.

Remove or minimize harmful habits. I recently learned that drinking alcohol regularly causes inflammation in the body. I probably didn’t want to know this!

I have posted on things like summer cocktails, cocktail party stations, and even my suggestions for the best Sauvignon Blancs, so am no stranger to enjoying cocktail hour. But with aging, autoimmune issues, etc, I’ve decided it couldn’t hurt to cut down a bit in 2026 and see how I feel. I’ll be writing a post in the next months about my experience with this.

Smoking is another habit that is no good for inflammation. According to the NIH,

Several toxins present in cigarette smoking have immunomodulatory effects. Cigarettes also contain trace amounts of microbial cell components, including bacterial lipopolysaccharide. These and other constituents induce chronic inflammation at mucosal surfaces and modify host responses to exogenous antigens.

Vitamins and Supplements. I had a doctor who really followed the latest research on autoimmune disorders tell me to take a hefty (1000 iu +) dose of Vitamin D daily. Ever since, I have been regularly screened for it in my bloodwork.

Mushrooms (not the psychedelic ones) have also been shown to decrease inflammation. Lion’s mane, Reishi, and Turkey Tail are some of those believed to help.

Probiotics. I have been hooked on these the past six months or so. I love them, because they keep my digestion so regular and I feel overall lighter. But I have come to understand that there is a serious connection between gut health and inflammation.

Do you have experience living an anti-inflammatory lifestyle you would like to share? The more people who talk about it and share what works, the better! Let me know!