Are your choices creating a legacy of disease or a legacy of health? Good habits today may lead us toward disease prevention for future generations. As both an autoimmune mom and grandma I, like many of you, conquer obstacles through self-care strategies.

Given that it’s my job to investigate how to be healthy, you might think that I’ve come across a single magical key to finding balance, harmony, health, and longevity. And I’d love to tell you that after a blissful nine-hour sleep each and every night, I rise with the morning chorus of birds to perform an hour of yoga, followed by an hour of meditation.

My pity party didn’t last very long because walking and using my hands were not optional for me, as I was a full-time mother of two young daughters. I began to look at rheumatoid arthritis differently by accepting it as just one part of me rather than letting it define the sum of me.

Through a long year of diving deep into these emotions and a lot of trial and error in the kitchen, I finally figured out what worked best for my body… And then I figured out how to tweak my favorite dishes to fit my needs

I was up at 6 am with the kids and by 9 am, I was lying on my floor asleep and drooling as the toddlers crawled around on mommy.  My hair was falling out, I was steadily gaining 2-3 pounds a month, my skin was turning to leather, I was depressed, my joints and muscles ached, and I was freezing cold all the time. My kids were losing their mom and my husband was losing his partner.

Thanks to the fact that gluten-free dining has become a dietary trend, many people assume that I can “cheat” and eat small amounts of gluten. I struggle with how to make people understand that it is not worth it to repeatedly inflame my intestines to the point of risking lymphoma or, at the very least, feeling like crap and setting up residence in the restroom.  

Managing four kids while being sick has been difficult. Before I knew I had Sjögren's, I barely got through my day and always wondered why I was so tired or thirsty.

Four years ago, I was at the top of my game. I was participating in Ironman Triathlon events, getting my master’s degree, and trying to be the best, most organized, never-missing-a-beat, mom and wife possible. Then, in no time flat, I went from Ironman triathlete to woman in a wheelchair.

I do get frustrated when I can’t attend any soccer games because it’s too cold, but I can host the Daisy troop in my kitchen for world-class cookie decorating. I tell my kids that it’s good to talk about how mad it makes us. But, I also remind them that if I go to an event that I shouldn’t, I could end up in bed for days.

From an early age, soccer was my game and there was no denying it. I lived and dreamed of soccer. It was my lifeline. Happy, sad, or angry— soccer was how I expressed myself. I became very ill when I was nine years old (strep-induced vasculitis). We were told that I may never be able to walk again.

While anyone can suffer from a vitamin B12 deficiency, autoimmune patients are especially susceptible. A B12 deficiency is almost a given for people with Pernicious anemia, Crohn’s disease, Graves’ disease, and lupus.