Lupus Diet

The importance of a healthy diet for lupus patients is undeniable and can go a long way to improving the patients’ overall health.



Lupus is today accepted as a significant and relatively common illness. Lupus causes the patient’s immune system to become overactive and can affect any of the organs.



A lupus recovery diet should ideally be a broad and nutritious diet with a slightly increased consumption of oily fish like mackerel, salmon and sardines and a slightly decreased intake of red meat. Alfalfa sprouts are the only food that needs to be avoided as this may cause a flaring of lupus.



It is extremely important for lupus patients to closely regulate and restrict their calorie intake to the recommended levels as the risk of cardiovascular diseases, heart attacks, cancer and strokes are significantly raised in lupus patients.
Lupus patients may often be on corticosteroids and steroids which may cause weight gain and increase the risk of cardiovascular problems making lupus and diet quite inseparable. It is absolutely necessary to maintain a healthy weight. Two types of diet that are ideal for any patient suffering from the disease would be the standard calorie controlled diet and the glycaemic index diet that has become increasingly popular in the last few years.

The low glycaemic index (GI) diet works on the principle that certain foods cause an increase in the blood sugar rapidly as these foods containing sugar are easily digested. Thus this diet would typically include proteins such as meat and fish as well as certain fruits like strawberries and vegetables. High GI foods would obviously be limited and these include foods containing refined sugars like biscuits, most breakfast cereals and sweets. Dark chocolate contains very little sugar and may be consumed in moderation.



Weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight can be achieved by adhering to the diet strictly. The standard calorie diet also works at consuming a low calorie food intake while eliminating high calorie foods. Green leafy vegetables, fruits and a small amount of fish would form the basis of this diet, while almost all foods with a high fat content should be reduced. Junk foods and other products with monosaturated fats should be eliminated completely from a lupus recovery diet.

You can choose either diet for lupus treatment as both are equally effective and have been found to help patients lose weight gained as a result of the condition through medication. Following a lupus diet has also been found to help overcome feelings of tiredness associated with the disease.