Okay, so something special is going to happen. You’re a bridesmaid in a wedding, your high school reunion is coming up, and you have a big day planned with friends or family.
You need to feel good for one single day, at least!
6 tips for squeezing out a feel-good day:
- Try going super low-inflammatory foods for a few days before your event. Seriously stick with fruits and veggies, smoothies, scrambled eggs, walnuts and lean turkey and lay low on the gluten. High fat foods, salt and sugar are serious autoimmune triggers. Be a good girl and don’t eat these for a week before your event.
- Don’t do anything extra. Focus on feeling good. If you work, put your feet up when you get home. Read, lay low, rest.
- The day before your event, take a long Epsom Salt (not a true salt but magnesium crystals) soak in the bathtub. Epsom salts not only sooth sore joints and muscles; they also give you a burst of energy in the form of magnesium.
- Get your nails done and your pedi finished the day before. Shave your legs and press your clothes, all the day or week before. That way, a quick shower is all you need the day of.
- Are you taking turmeric? This common Middle Eastern spice is available in supplements and is super anti-inflammatory. The Lupus Inspiration Foundation says it is comparable to hydrocortisone and phenybutazone in reducing body-wide inflammation. Take turmeric supplements for a week or so before. Don’t forget your daily vitamins, all the Bs, folic acid D and C.
- Try tonic water. Quinine is a common treatment for autoimmune diseases, and a glass of tonic water topped with lime knocks back that achy feeling.