Can Nutrition Help Manage Lupus?

Lupus symptoms vary widely from one individual to another, and what is true for one person with regard to medication and lifestyle changes that can help may not be true for another. In the same way, there is not a magical diet that can be guaranteed to help ease the joint pain, skin rashes, and other symptoms that often accompany lupus.

Dr. Eric Braverman, founder of PATH Medical in New York City and Assistant Professor of Integrative Medicine in Neurological Surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, cautions that "there is no special diet for lupus, despite the numerous claims on the Internet and in various books and other publications."

However, Dr. Braverman does offer these general guidelines:

1. "Try to eat a nutritious, well-balanced, and varied diet that contains plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, moderate amounts of meats, poultry, and oily fish, as fish oil has been found to help reduce inflammation."

2. Avoid alfalfa. "Alfalfa tablets have been associated with reports of a lupus-like syndrome or lupus flares. The lupus-like effects may include muscle pain, fatigue, abnormal blood test results, changes in how the immune system functions, and kidney problems," says the physician, who authored the "Younger (Thinner) You Diet.".

3. Corticosteroids sometimes are prescribed for those with lupus. This medication "can elevate blood pressure and the levels of cholesterol and lipids in the blood. Therefore, if you are taking steroids, you should limit the fat and salt in your diet, as both can contribute to these conditions," Dr. Braverman notes. "Corticosteroids also can cause or worsen osteoporosis, a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break. If you have osteoporosis you should eat foods rich in calcium every day to help with bone growth: examples are dark green, leafy vegetables (spinach, broccoli, collard greens), milk, cheese, and yogurt or calcium supplements that contain Vitamin D."

4. "For people suffering from lupus, I recommend using substances that have balancing effects on the immune system - reigning in the overactive components and stimulating the weaker areas," says Dr. Braverman. " A number of phytochemicals are powerful immunmodulators, and I have found them to be very useful in the treatment of autoimmune disorders such as Lupus." As examples, he lists phytosterols, which are "compounds found in several spices and other food plants." These compounds "are powerful in balancing and strengthening a weakened immune system. Green tea, garlic, ginger, oregano, thyme, turmeric and black pepper all get top scores for their contents of immunmodulating phytochemicals and abilities to control pro-inflammatory cytokines," the doctor notes.