Globally, at least 5 million people have lupus in some form or the other. Evidences suggest that women have a much higher chance of being affected by lupus than men. However, awareness about this dangerous autoimmune disease, which leads to inflammation in various parts of your body, is still very low. So, World Lupus Day is celebrated on the 10th of May all over the world to educate more people about the condition.
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Here it is to be noted that Lupus occurs when your immune system becomes overactive and attacks your normal healthy cells and tissues affecting any part of the body starting from heart, kidney and lungs, to central nervous system, joints, skin and blood. If you are suffering from this life-long disease, you may experience a wide range of symptoms like fatigue, mouth ulcers, pain or swelling in joints and muscles, fever, hair loss, arthritis, seizure, skin rashes, etc. There are different types of lupus namely systemic lupus erythematosus, discoid, drug-induced, and neonatal lupus. Though the exact cause of this disease is unknown, certain factors including hormonal imbalance, viral infections, genetic factors, environmental toxins high levels of female hormones and certain medicines can increase your risk of lupus lupus. As its symptoms are not specific and resembles those of the other conditions, it is quite difficult to diagnose the condition. To confirm lupus, your doctor will suggest a battery of tests including blood test, urine test, tissue biopsies, imaging tests, etc.
However, it is worth mention here that sadly, there is no specific treatment option available for this disease. However, certain lifestyle changes and medications can help reduce the symptoms. “There are certain anti-inflammatory foods that can help you manage the condition and then there are those inflammatory ones that can trigger the symptoms. Diet acts as one of the most significantfactors in shaping our microbiota (gut flora), preventing some conditions and helping us manage their symptoms,” says Ritika Samaddar, Regional Head of Dietetics, Max Healthcare, Delhi. According to the Lupus Foundation of America, “The scarcity of lupus-specific diet and nutrition information remains a great frustration. But research has given us insight into foods and lifestyle choices that can help diminish the harmful effects of lupus. In particular, there are foods that can affect the body’s inflammatory response.” Therefore, it extremely important to make smart food choices when it comes to the management of lupus symptoms. On this World Lupus Day, we help you make an informed choice and live better.
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