Tag Archives: Functional Medicine

My role as a Functional Medicine certified Health Coach

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Many of you would have read my post where I had written about how my daughter’s eczema has healed now. Well, it has been a year now that she has gone off all her medications and her eczema has healed. I have set up the first Functional Medicine Health Coaching practice in Mumbai last year.

You can learn more about my practice on my website

aninditarungta.com

New logo with name

Nourish Heal Connect

Lodha Supremus,

804, 8th floor, 2, Senapati Bapat Marg

Lower Parel, Mumbai 400013

But what is Health Coaching?

Health Coaching is a process by which a person is empowered to make better choices and change habits that can improve health outcomes. As the world struggles with a rising number of chronic, complex diseases, a different healthcare system is needed which can provide the much needed support to people as they embark on their journey back towards good health. The sheer number of people who have type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, autoimmune conditions, cancer and other chronic conditions outnumber the number of health professionals and doctors required to treat them. Fortunately, nutrition professionals and health coaches can fill that gap.

Functional Medicine Health Coaching

Functional Medicine Health Coaching is a particular type of Health Coaching which incorporates the principles of Functional Medicine along with Health Coaching. Functional Medicine is a way of treating chronic conditions by getting to the root cause of the disease. The management of patients using this approach involves a personalised programme in the areas of nutrition, stress, movement and activity. Thus Functional Medicine is by nature personalised, preventive and participatory and engages both the client and health coach in a therapeutic relationship.

This is a field that is growing rapidly across the world and the healthcare industry is now incorporating health coaches into various settings including but not limited to hospitals, clinics, corporate wellness programmes, spas and private practices.

Functional Medicine Health Coaching blends the principles of Functional Medicine along with that of Health Coaching and focuses on food as medicine, the concept of mind body medicine and positive psychology. Functional Medicine Coaching Academy or FMCA was formed in collaboration with the Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM) which is the global leader in Functional Medicine education.

A Functional Medicine Health Coach collaborates with a client and helps to set his or her health goals through an inquiry process using the motivational interviewing technique. Using a client centered approach, the coach helps the client brainstorm and arrive at their own conclusion and embark on their health journey with the coach acting as a guide. This empowers the client to take charge of their health and work towards their health goals by making the necessary changes in their life. This discovery of the client’s own power to make changes is a key part of the coaching process and is made using the tools of positive psychology.

A Functional Medicine certified Health Coach is trained in the science based principles of Functional Medicine as well as health coaching

Using this approach, the coach focuses on what is going right with the client and helps the client discover their signature strengths and use them to change behaviours and help them to thrive again. Health Coaches can help people build a bridge between where they are currently and where they want to be in terms. This is done by providing the much needed support and accountability required to achieve their health goals.

As they start believing in themselves once again, they can once again regain their “spark”.

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How I healed my daughter’s eczema (and leaky gut)

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In my last post on my daughter’s eczema treatment, I had mentioned once again the Functional Medicine treatment that is helping her heal her eczema from within. In this post, I am really happy to say that she is better than before and her eczema is under control.

She is finally off her immunosuppressive medication after 5 long years of depending on systemic drugs to keep her eczema under control. She has been on prednisone (oral steroid), cyclosporine, azathioprine and methotrexate (at various points in time) to manage her very severe eczema for the past 5 years. For those of you who have been following my blog know that it has been a very long journey filled with a lot of ups and downs. When I started Functional Medicine treatment in 2015 I was convinced that it works but I knew that it would not be easy to implement the changes needed and the discipline that would be required. Countless others have been healed by this treatment for various chronic conditions including the seemingly “incurable” ones like Multiple Sclerosis (read Dr Terry Wahls recovery from a crippling MS here), Rheumatoid Arthritis, Hashimoto (read Dr Isablella Wentz’s story here), Alzheimers (read up on Dr Dale Bredesen’s amazing work here).

The struggle is part of the story

 

It has been worth every second, minute and hour that I have spent on healing her gut from within when I see her soft and radiant skin today

It has been worth every second, minute and hour that I have spent on healing her gut from within when I see her soft and radiant skin today. It has been worth every tear that I have shed when times were difficult and I questioned myself on the path that I had chosen to follow. It has been worth the effort that I had to put in to make the changes in our diet and lifestyle as product availability was poor initially and I struggled with finding the recipes for a different way of eating (gluten and dairy free). It has been worth it when I hear in her voice the delight of sharing her lunch with her friends in school, where her friends look forward to having the very same (gluten and dairy free, unprocessed foods) foods that she used to once eat alone.

Healing a leaky gut

leaky gut symptoms

It was a precious day for me last Thursday as her Functional Medicine pointed out in my daughter’s latest test reports of how her gut has healed slowly from being “leaky” and how this has resulted in her eczema coming under control. Her stool (GI Map) analysis showed that her gut lining had healed to the extent that the protein called Zonulin was no longer present in high quantities as previously tested over the last couple of years. In other words, the tight junction of the gut lining had healed to the extent that it no longer any undigested foods, toxins, bacteria or yeast into the bloodstream and activate the immune system. This had helped calm down her immune system which had helped bring her eczema under control and allowed her to be pulled off her immunosuppressive medication. There were a few things that still needed to be taken care of as had shown up in her urine metabolite ONE test but every single marker had nonetheless shown improvement.

What had worked for us was a combination of lifestyle change and the right nutrition for her. Healing the gut from within also forms a part of the ancient healing traditions of Ayurveda as well as Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Some of the key things that we did that helped us to heal her eczema-

  • Remove trigger foods (like gluten, eggs and dairy), refined, processed and sugar laden foods (baked products, beverages etc) yeast, nightshades to name a few
  • Remove and reduce toxin exposure by switching to safe and eco friendly laundry and dishwashing detergents, personal care products (shampoo, lotion, cream etc)
  • Use therapeutic grade essential oils to manage and prevent infections and skin conditions; I later started using these for a variety of other ailments as a safe and effective preventive measure including minor burns, cuts, headaches etc
  • Add probiotics and fermented foods like kefir/sauerkraut to help increase the ratio of favourable bacteria in the gut against the harmful ones
  • Increase vegetable intake (through soups, juices and meals) as well as fruits (all colours)
  • Add supplements like Glutamine, licorice amongst others to help heal the gut lining
  • Add supplements like cucurmin, NAC, omega 3, phytonutrients etc to boost her antioxidant levels and lower overall inflammation in the body
  • Address the chronic stress of living with eczema with the help of books, emotional support and mindfulness
  • The whole family supported in making these changes without which we would not have been able to make this kind of difference

Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations

 

cross road on hillside meadow in mountain at sunset

Eczema remains a part of our life today in spite of what we have achieved. However, as I have mentioned in my earlier posts, it is only a part of who my daughter is and does not define her

Eczema remains a part of our life today in spite of what we have achieved. However, as I have mentioned in my earlier posts, it is only a part of who my daughter is and does not define her. And it is even truer today than ever before. It may remain a part her life but it is not something that she needs to be scared of. She will most likely need to be much more careful of her diet and lifestyle than many others but I believe this will give her a better insight and control over her own health which will actually help her in the years to come. While she has matured over the last few years due to her struggles, she has retained her innocence which gives her a freshness that children naturally possess. I can only hope that these years of learning and accepting the various changes in her young life will shape her into a compassionate, strong and beautiful young woman in the years to come.

As her mother, caregiver and a human being even I have come a long way since I started writing this blog about four years back. Today I would like to share some of the things that I have learned along the way.

  • Remember to always trust your own intuition and instinct where your child is concerned; there is no better advocate for your child than her mother (and father)
  • Try and work with doctors (and other healthcare practitioners) as partners so that you can work efficiently as a team; this is true for chronic conditions where treatment may take years to show any results
  • Food is medicine; nutrition plays a HUGE role in our health whether we realise it or not
  • I have learned not to compromise on the quality and safety of anything that we put in or on our body; buy the best quality and non toxic (if possible organic) produce and consumer care products
  • Taking care of your child’s emotional health is equally important and has a huge impact on their self esteem and confidence; we can unknowingly end up neglecting this aspect of our child’s health while focussing on their medical treatment
  • Self care should be a regular part of the daily routine for the primary caregiver (usually the mother) of a child; without taking adequate care of yourself you simply cannot give the best of yourself to your child over a long period of time
  • It is important to include forgiveness as a part of your approach in taking care of your child; this is true both for your child as they may fail at times to adhere to the treatment plan and for yourself as you may make mistakes even if it is unintentional
  • And last but not the least remember to enjoy all the good that is there in your life and treasure each moment with your child; their childhood can disappear in a flash if we are consumed only by trying to tide over the ‘bad times” till “good times” take over

I am thankful for my struggle because without it I wouldn’t have stumbled across my strength

There is so much that has happened in the past few years, so much that as a family that we have covered together and much that we have learnt along the way. While I wish my daughter did not have to go through what she did, it was something we had no control over at all. It took us a while to accept this fact and at the same time be thankful for all that we have. As this year comes to an end, I am grateful to have to come to this point in my life where I have so much to share and an opportunity to make a difference.

As this year comes to an end, I am grateful to have to come to this point in my life where I have so much to share and an opportunity to make a difference

I discovered my passion for helping others in need in the domain of healthcare and have set up my Health Coaching practice. This was done after completing my one-year online course from the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy. I also discovered my passion for writing and creating awareness for various health related topics like the ones mentioned below (links are given below)

 

Nourish. Heal. Connect

I set up India’s first Functional Medicine Health Coaching practice in Mumbai where I work with adults and children who are dealing with various chronic health conditions. In my sessions, I help my clients connect the dots between how they are feeling to their lifestyle and diet.

By helping YOU find out the root cause of your chronic condition, I can help YOU address these root causes and achieve the objectives mentioned below.

With my guidance and support, YOU can 

 

lift your mood and boost your energy

learn ways to transform your relationship to stress so that you feel less stressed and anxious

rediscover ways to tune into your body and feel good about yourself

end the confusion about which “diet” to follow and enjoy food which is good for YOU

embrace and love your new healthy lifestyle and start to enjoy activities you would never have done before

be an example to your family of healthy, balanced living

be able to continue with the customised lifestyle interventions

Incase you are interested in knowing more about my practice, please get in touch with me at

Email: anindita@aninditarungta.com

Contact : +918879340920

Fb: @nourishhealconnect

Twitter: @aninditarungta

Heal

Creating health and not just treating a chronic condition (like eczema)

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adult and child hands holiding red heart, health care love and family concept

My last post on our own journey was quite a while back. A LOT has happened since then.

This has been a really eventful year but in a much better sense than it has been over the past few years. This is the year when we saw a glimpse of how eczema can simply fade away when the root cause is treated and the body heals. This is the year when I completed my nutrition and dietetics course but more importantly I also completed my Functional Medicine Health Coach certification from the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy.

All those who have been following my blog know that it has not been an easy road that has led me here. It has been a struggle to say the least not knowing for sure that the treatment and the offbeat path I was following for my  daughter’s eczema would even work or not. This was a treatment which would work from inside out by strengthening her immune and digestive systems by providing the right conditions for her body to heal. That our body has an innate power to heal itself given the right conditions is something that we probably have witnessed to some extent or other but rarely give much importance to.

The path that I chose takes a much longer time, effort and involvement. Because of this reason and also due to a lack of awareness is why we usually seek out conventional medicine as a “quick fix”. I had the same approach to our health till our daughter’s health got affected really badly. 

Don’t get me wrong, antibiotics and steroids and other drugs have saved millions of lives and they will continue to do so. But this same approach does not work well for chronic health conditions. The other problem is that we take our bodies and our health for granted at times due to our busy schedules. And then when things go wrong we usually end up looking for a quick and painless solution.

But I am digressing here.

Eczema and our lives now

First I would like to give an update about the treatment and our daughter’s eczema today. The Functional Medicine treatment that I had started exactly 2 years ago has now started showing some results. It has been a slow and gradual healing journey (which is not yet over) but then I guess it works only when it actually becomes a way of life. I have written various posts on what this treatment is all about earlier and you can check them out.

5 R framework

Functional Medicine treatment in our daughter’s case focussed on healing her gut and the issue of intestinal permeability primarily through dietary changes but also with the help of various supplements. We followed a 5 R framework- remove, replace, reinoculate, repair and rebalance. Over time this has helped her digestive and immune system to recover and become more strong and also balanced. Her skin has showed the results on the outside by becoming smooth and soft. For the first time in many years, we have been sleeping well as a family and through the night. As any parent with a child suffering from eczema will tell you, that is a luxury!

Of course, this does not mean that we can stop doing our work and that her skin condition can never become worse again. Her skin is her weak point in the immune system and may flare up when there is a trigger (in terms of food, toxins, stress etc) and she will always have to be careful. She is still on her immunosuppressive medication, Methotrexate but it is at half the dosage as earlier at 5 mg. Also I need to tell you that we have had a minor setback since coming back from our US trip this month. We spent about 2 months there during the kids’ summer break and even with lapses in her dietary restrictions (excluding gluten which does not suit her at all), her skin condition was at its best in a long time inspite of the sun exposure and other uncontrollable factors during traveling. But ever since after we came back her skin condition became a bit rough and itchy overall. What had changed for her was the environment and everyday stress and her body is taking some time to acclimatise and settle down.

This was a real eye opener for me. This incident showed that even when her diet had improved since being at home, changes in the external environment (read water and air pollution) had a big impact on her skin condition. I immediately ramped up her antioxidant levels to combat the external stressors through a combination of diet (cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and other leafy greens like spinach) as well as supplements like vitamin C and cucurmin and Hist D Jr. The last one has ingredients like quercetin ( a natural antioxidant), NAC (an amino acid which is a precursor to one of the most important antioxidant in our body called glutathione) and vitamin C ( a natural immune booster, anti oxidant and histamine lowering vitamin). Her skin has subsequently improved quite a bit and is settling down. I am keeping a close watch on how she is over the next few weeks or so.

On a more personal note 

Over the past few years of dealing with my daughter’s health related problems I realised a couple of things. One, initially I learned all about eczema so that I could help my daughter but after a while I realised that I had a genuine interest in knowing how to create health and apply it to our lives. The other realisation was that I wanted to bring this information to help and guide others in moving towards their own health and life goals. One thing led to another and my quest for knowledge led me to the Functional Medicine Health Coaching course which has turned out to be the perfect fit for me.

I enrolled with Functional Medicine Coaching Academy (FMCA) which is a US based organisation. FMCA is offering this course in collaboration with the main body for Functional Medicine, Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM). I  completed the course last month and I am proud to say that I am India’s first certified FM Health Coach!

Health-Coach-Certificate-Badge_web

“A Health Coach is someone who really listens to you, focusses on what is right with you, supports and guides you”.

As a Health Coach I will thus be providing customised guidance and support for various chronic health conditions on

– nutrition and hydration

-exercise and movement

-sleep and relaxation

-social relationships and connections

-mindfulness and stress management

Functional Medicine Health coaching – a new beginning

I am in the process of setting up a clinic with Dr Amrita Talwar (my daughter’s dermatologist) in Mumbai. I will also be having my own practice at the address mentioned below-

Nourish. Heal. Connect

Lodha Supremus

Unit 804, 8th floor,

2 Senapati Bapat Marg, Opp Kamala Mills

Mumbai 400013

The setup for dealing with chronic conditions is quite different from that of dealing with conventional medicine due to the time and commitment required both from me and the person involved. I am in the process of setting up my practice with the help of latest technological platforms relevant to coaching which are suited to dealing with chronic conditions. I am also in the process of customising relevant dietary guidelines for Indian conditions and sensitivities. In case you are interested in reaching out to me for health coaching for any chronic health conditions, please feel free to write to me at

anindita@aninditarungta.com 

You can also reach out to me at

Twitter: @aninditarungta

Fb: @healthcoachinindia

As someone wise had said, “You have got a new story to write. And it looks nothing like your past”. 

This is definitely true for me and it is equally true for you! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only impossible journey is the one you never begin….( we are on our way)

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Man on top as silhouette in mountain

A new year has begun and we are two months into it already! I know I have been missing in action lately and I am really sorry. Having said that, I am happy to say that there are lots of developments at my end. A few of these are to do with my daughter’s treatment and a few others are associated with related topics. So you see, I have a lot to share with you.

First I would like to mention a few things which are uppermost in my mind. I would like to begin my first post this year by expressing my gratitude for all that I have and enjoy. I am really grateful for all the precious and memorable moments spent together as a family. I am also thankful for the constant and untiring support provided by my daughter’s doctors and by our extended family. As a family dealing with a child with a chronic condition, we know only too well how difficult it becomes from time to time, how very exhausting. It is only with all the support that we get that we have managed to come this far.

While it is very difficult to witness the pain and suffering that my daughter has to endure on and off due to her severe eczema, we make sure that as a family we do not forget to have fun, to do the small and big things which we enjoy. Those of you who have been with us from the beginning will know that we have come a long way in the past few years.

Confirmation of a “leaky gut”

leaky_cycle-716x675

(Source: http://draxe.com/4-steps-to-heal-leaky-gut-and-autoimmune-disease/)

In my earlier posts I have shared with you that my daughter is currently on a treatment based on Functional Medicine principles. I have written in details about Functional Medicine in my earlier post (https://eczema-anindianperspective.com/2015/09/10/the-functional-medicine-and-gut-health-approach-to-managing-chronic-conditions-including-eczema/) and you can find out more about it for yourself using the links given in the post. My daughter has been on this treatment for a bit more than 3 months now and we have just done some tests for her to see if there are any improvements. But before I get to that in my next post, a bit more about these tests which confirmed that she had a gut health issue and determined her course of treatment.

The whole approach of this treatment is to heal the gut (or small intestine), wherein lies the cause of many autoimmune disorders and chronic conditions including eczema. These very specific and specialised tests which were done in London last year confirmed what I had been reading about and what I had suspected over the past year or so. Having a “leaky gut” meant that undigested food proteins and bacteria were passing on to the blood stream from inside the intestine and causing her immune system to overreact. This had caused systemic inflammation inside her body over a period of time and had led to her eczema eventually.

One of these tests assessed the gut barrier damage by measuring antibodies to barrier proteins called Occludin and Zonulin. The other factor was the presence of Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) which are toxins given off by some of the gut bacteria. If they are found in the blood, it usually means there is a breach in the protective gut lining. Both of these were present in her bloodstream in high amounts.  The other tests showed that her microbiome (the collection of symbiotic, commensal and pathogenic bacteria, fungi and viruses which reside in our gut) was also in poor shape and that her body was not able to digest and absorb the nutrients efficiently. All of these tests collectively reaffirmed the fact that she had a gut health issue leading to a “leaky gut” .

Ongoing Functional Medicine treatment

 

Gut Health Word Cloud On a White Background.

The primary objective was to start healing her gut using a combination of supplements and medical foods, lifestyle and dietary changes. Hopefully, over a period of time theese measures would reduce the chronic inflammation in her system and bring her eczema under control without the use of harsh medications. I had already made the necessary changes as far as her diet (https://eczema-anindianperspective.com/2014/12/29/our-new-eczema-diet-and-a-heart-full-of-gratitude/) and lifestyle (https://eczema-anindianperspective.com/2015/07/23/green-power-greener-alternatives-for-laundry-and-cleaning-products-especially-for-eczema-and-sensitive-skin-2/) were concerned.

She has been prescribed supplements to repair and reinoculate her gut and strengthen her immune system. These include supplements like L- Glutamine (to repair intestinal lining), probiotics (we use a brand called Culturelle as well as Bifido Complex by Metagenics), Omega 3 (Nordic Naturals), Metagenics GI Sustain (a medical food containing vitamins, prebiotics, minerals). It has been a bit more than 3 months since we started her on this treatment which continues along with her regular immunosuppressive medication (Methotrexate). Her test results will come in anytime now and will show if there is any improvement since we started her on these supplements in October. I will share the results with you as soon as I can.

The silver lining in all of this is the fact that for the first time since the doctors put her on harsh immunosuppressive medications since 2012 (Azathioprine, Cyclosporine, Methotrexate at various points in time), this is the first time that I have been able to reduce her dosage from the optimal level. She has been doing fine on this dosage for the past month or so. It is a small but important step in the right direction and it really counts.

(For further reading: http://draxe.com/4-steps-to-heal-leaky-gut-and-autoimmune-disease/

http://drhyman.com/blog/2014/10/10/tend-inner-garden-gut-flora-may-making-sick/

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-10754/the-6-best-ways-to-heal-your-gut-restore-your-health.html)

Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations

Famous Redwood Highway

It is so true! This is something I have come to know the hard way. Life changed for us completely about 4 years back when our daughter’s eczema turned into something so much more severe and complicated in the form of a chronic condition. I had to let go of my past way of living as a full time working mom and commit myself full time to taking care of the family and my daughter’s special needs. Of course, the whole family has had to make changes regarding our social commitments, travel, diet and other aspects of life. It has not been an easy road for any of us and indeed our daughter has faced the brunt of it. But even as I wish my daughter never had to deal with eczema at all, it has shaped us all in ways which have made us stronger, kinder and more resilient than ever before.

I have been sharing my research and knowledge about eczema and its related topics with you through my blog.  I also realised that in order to make all the changes necessary to manage my daughter’s eczema, I had to first make sure that she understood her condition in an age appropriate manner. I did this with the help of information and facts on eczema, countless discussion and counselling, story books and other means. This has helped her to not only accept the physical aspects of dealing with eczema (like moisturising and bathing routine, diet etc) but also deal with the far more difficult emotional aspects of living with this chronic condition.

My daughter’s dermatologist Dr Amrita Talwar has been instrumental in encouraging me to share our story and subsequently to write a book about eczema specifically for children. This has led me to write a book for children on this topic and is the first major development at my end. Both Dr Talwar and I realised that while there are many many resources for parents and adults who are looking for information on eczema and ways to deal with them, there is practically nothing for the children who are actually suffering from eczema. Hence the decision to write a book based on the experiences of a young girl dealing with her severe eczema. This book should help other children understand, accept and ultimately deal with their condition in a better manner. This book is scheduled to be published in the month of April and I will keep you posted on the same.

The other development at my end is that I will begin a new chapter in my life in the form of health counselling as a certified Health Coach. Over the past few years I have gathered a lot of knowledge about eczema and related topics pertaining to lifestyle ( clothing, detergents, moisturisers etc), foods  ( gluten free, nut free, dairy free) and their availability in India, essential oils, stress management through mindfulness meditation etc. I  would like to put all of these practical knowledge of dealing and living with a chronic condition as a caregiver to good use and share with others who are struggling with similar issues.  I decided to augment my experience and practical knowledge with a course from the esteemed Dr Sears Wellness Institute in the US to become a certified Health Coach. As many of you may know already, I had also started a Support Group for parents whose children suffer from eczema in Mumbai. I had taken a break due to my other commitments last year but I am planning to restart the Support Group meetings as well. My counselling work is also likely to begin in the next couple of months.

I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust the sails to always reach my destination

sailboat and sunset

This is exactly what I have had to do  in order to cope in the past few years as the primary caregiver for my daughter. This is what I teach her as well. While we cannot always change or control all the tough situations that life brings us, we can choose how we react to them.

In this post I have decided to focus only on the few baby steps that we have taken forward. We need to celebrate every little bit of achievement even if it may not look like much at all at that time. We have realised the hard way that dealing and living with a chronic condition is more like a marathon than a sprint and every step forward is a reason to rejoice. I hope we have more such reasons to celebrate in 2016!

 

The Functional Medicine and Gut Health approach to managing chronic conditions including eczema

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I have written briefly about Functional Medicine earlier in my posts. I have also mentioned how I have gradually moved towards it over the past couple of years through my research to find a less harmful way of managing my daughter’s extremely severe eczema. I  have shown her to a Functional Medicine practitioner in London this past July and got some tests done to determine her Gut Health. The tests show that she indeed has a “leaky gut” or “intestinal permeability” issue. But before I get to that, in this post I would like to cover Functional Medicine and Gut Health in much more details and why we should all know more about it. (Of course just to be clear, I write as a parent who is trying out a Functional Medicine approach for her child and not as an expert or health professional).

A BESPOKE medical approach

We are all used to wearing clothes which fit us well and pay a premium if we need to for clothes which are customized for our body shape and size. But when it comes to health, we are used to an approach which is just the opposite. It is a “one size fits all” approach!

This has worked well in the past when we were dealing with infectious diseases like chicken pox, measles, cholera, small pox and others which have been brought under control which much-needed antibiotics and antifungal medicines. But a lot of the medical issues that we are facing today are due to not only our genetic predisposition, environment but also our lifestyle choices (food habits, diet and exercise) and stress. Hence, most of the times we do not realise that a lot of our chronic medical problems (autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, coeliac disease, Grave’ disease and others like migraines, digestion issues, allergies, psoriasis etc) cannot be wished away by just popping a pill.

We will need to look beyond pills to deal with most chronic conditions. Luckily for us, there is an entire stream of medicine which is geared to do just that.

What is Functional Medicine?

Functional Medicine is an approach which is different from the conventional way that we use to deal with any kind of illness currently. Conventional medicine is of course necessary for dealing with acute illnesses which require immediate intervention either through medication or through surgery. So one needs to be very clear whether the health issue is an acute illness or a chronic one. Also, while conventional medicine focuses on symptom relief, Functional Medicine addresses the root cause of a problem. It has a patient centric approach that tries to find the root cause of any illness or condition by looking at each patient differently based on his/her lifestyle choices, food and dietary habit, genetic and environmental factors and other psychological factors like stress which has a tremendous bearing on a person’s well-being.

Functional Medicine is also science based and combines conventional medicine with a holistic approach by adding diet, supplements and stress management techniques etc which are not usually used in conventional medicine treatments. What is also important that it uses scientific methods like laboratory testing and latest diagnostic techniques to find out the root cause of any illness. Functional Medicine thus provides tools for the patient and the practitioner to customise and design a health management programme for each individual which is geared up to create health and not just to banish illness.

Ayurveda- a holistic approach towards diseases

Here I would like to mention briefly about our traditional treatment philosophy which is also patient centric and holistic in its approach towards diseases. In India, we have a tradition of healthcare called Ayurveda which translated in English literally means the “science of Life”. It focuses on how to prevent illness and how to address the root cause if it happens and is one of the earliest holistic treatments known to man. In that sense Ayurveda has a lot in common with Functional Medicine. But with the progress of Western medicine it has taken a kind of backseat in India over the years.

(I have written about our experience with Ayurveda in my earlier post- https://eczema-anindianperspective.com/2014/08/25/our-tryst-with-ayurveda-and-our-first-eczema-support-group-meeting-in-mumbai/).

Ayurvedic treatments are based on the principles of wholeness and balance. That is why the mind, body, spirit, emotional balance of a person as well as diet, lifestyle, stress is considered to be as important for treatment if not more than the actual medicine. It emphasises on treating the cause and not just the symptoms and hence looks to preserve a person’s well being and not just treat him. Unfortunately, due to various reasons (which is beyond the scope of this blog) ayurveda has come to relegated as an “alternative” medicine. This was all the more so due to a revolution in the history of medicine brought about by the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century which has saved countless lives. But today we face a very different challenge which may need to be tackled quite differently.

Chronic illness- a growing phenomenon

As we all know the use of antibiotics has helped saved millions of lives since its discovery and has even helped eradicate diseases like smallpox etc. This new era of medicine honed its skills in targeting a particular agent which caused an infectious disease and then evolved to treat a particular symptom caused by a disease. This is the current approach of medicine towards all illnesses. But while acute medical issues have been dealt with very well by conventional medicine, chronic and lifestyle related issues are not faring as well. And the incidence of chronic illnesses are increasing exponentially led by the USA and followed by other countries all around the world.

(Sources: http://www.who.int/dg/speeches/2011/global_forum_ncd_20110427/en/

http://www.cgdev.org/doc/expert%20pages/nugent/Nugent_Annals_article.pdf)

A chronic illness also does not go away on its own, indeed grows worse over time and usually has multiple causes. The medications usually only treat the symptoms which make recurring episodes a regular feature. This means leading a life visiting doctors, popping pills and putting up with many symptoms. This is even more problematic since ironically we are living longer lives than our previous generations.

Also a myth that has been associated with chronic diseases and developing countries like ours is that chronic diseases affect only the elderly and wealthy parts of a society and is prevalent primarily in developed countries. That notion no longer holds any truth. This problem is all the more compounded when you add in the economic costs associated with the growing burden of chronic noncommunicable diseases. We now not only have to deal with the rising healthcare costs associated with chronic illnesses over long periods of time, we also have to factor in the loss in income due to same.

In India, the incidence of  Type 2 diabetes is steadily reaching epic proportions especially in the urban areas. Autoimmune disorders like Rheumatoid Arthritis, eczema and others like heart diseases, migraines etc are also on the rise.

Some of the articles whose links are given below will give you some idea of the criticality of this situation globally and in India-

http://www.who.int/chp/chronic_disease_report/part1/en/

http://archive.oxha.org/initiatives/economics/chronic-disease-an-economic-perspective

Gut health and Functional Medicine

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Functional Medicine recognises that though the symptoms may be similar in two different individuals, the medical approach required to deal with them will usually be radically different. This is due to the fact that while the manifestations of the disease is similar in both individuals, the genetic makeup of both are different, environmental factors like exposure to toxins are different and their lifestyles will also be completely different.

In this post I am focussing on one major aspect of Functional Medicine which is being recognised as the root cause of most chronic conditions including autoimmune diseases. That aspect is our “gut health” (or lack of). The others include genetic predisposition, lifestyle and environmental factors concerning each individual.

We are slowly coming around to this very important fact that our microbiome (or the many thousands of types of bacteria and other microorganisms which reside in our gut or intestines) determines our health and causes many autoimmune and other disorders when compromised. We carry about 2 kilograms of these microbes in our gut consisting of roughly tens of trillions in numbers and a part of the microbiome is unique to each of us.

This intestinal mircoflora has various important functions such as

  • digestion and absorption of certain foods
  • aids in the production of some vitamins such as Vitamin B and K
  • it has a protective function in keeping toxins, allergens out and balancing  out the unfavourable microbes
  • forms a protective barrier as a part of our immune system

Our gut system becomes off-balance and our health suffers when there is too much of harmful, pathogenic microorganisms like bad bacteria, yeast and parasites and too less of the health promoting bacteria. As mentioned earlier, this leads to chronic illnesses which are far more serious than just indigestion and heartburn.

Our gut health can become adversely affected due to various reasons like

  • a high calorie, sugar laden, processed food, low fibre diet that promotes the wrong kind of microflora
  • high use of medications like antibiotics which disturb the balance between the good and the bad bacteria
  • undetected low grade food intolerance and allergies (gluten, eggs, dairy etc)
  • deficiencies in pancreatic enzymes leading to issues with digestion and absorption of foods
  • toxins like mold, chemicals, pollutants etc which affect the gut and thus the health adversely
  • and last but not the least stress

Another serious issue which can crop up due to poor gut health is intestinal permeability or leaky gut syndrome. The lining of the gut acts as a barrier by containing the undigested food, toxic wastes and harmful microbes and filtering out only the required nutrients after breaking down the food into vitamins and minerals. This incredibly useful gut immune system may develop tiny gaps in the intestinal wall and allow leakage of undigested food particles, microbes and metabolic wastes which the body would then recognise as foreign invaders. This is called the leaky gut syndrome and can cause one to become allergic to all kinds of foods since the immune system starts defending the body against what it perceives to be foreign invaders. The hyperactive immune system if left untreated over prolonged periods of time can create inflammation and may eventually manifest itself in the form of various chronic conditions. Depending on the symptoms the illness is then classified as digestive disorders like Irritable Bowel Syndrome; migraines, chronic fatigue, arthritis, eczema and other autoimmune conditions.

(Sources for further reading-

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/290747.php

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22583600

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/285122.php)

How is Functional Medicine really useful?

Abstract word cloud for Gut flora with related tags and terms

Given this backdrop Functional Medicine is poised to play an important role. By customising medical care based on the individual and not the symptoms of the illness, Functional Medicine is concerned with the problems afflicting the various organs and systems inside the body. As mentioned earlier it our intestinal (or gut) health which determines which nutrients are absorbed by our bodies and which toxins, mircobes and irritants are expelled. If anything happens to disturb this balance and affect our gut health adversely, it affects our health in myriad ways. (I have briefly touched upon this topic in my earlier post- https://eczema-anindianperspective.com/2015/06/12/not-all-those-who-wander-are-lost-eczema-and-our-ongoing-journey/). Functional Medicine focuses on this very important aspect of our health by trying to heal the gut health first and foremost in tackling chronic illnesses and autoimmune conditions.

Some of the basic changes that we can make to heal our gut would be

  • eat whole unprocessed foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts seeds etc which are high in fibre, nutrients
  • limit intake of sugar and processed foods
  • cut out/limit foods which you are sensitive to (gluten, dairy, eggs, shellfish)
  • take help to increase healthy bacteria in the gut and repair the instestinal wall (if damaged)

Functional Medicine also advocates the 4 R programme which acts as a framework based upon which we can make changes to improve and repair our gut health.

1. Remove- remove the allergens ( gluten, dairy, eggs, shellfish etc), inflammatory foods like sugar, processed foods and other irritants like alcohol, tobacco etc

2. Replace- replace the good stuff which are essential for good gut health like digestive enzymes and of course whole, unprocessed plant based foods, low sugar diet

3. Reinoculate- this step is all about restoring the balance of good bacteria in the gut microflora.This is done by taking prebiotic and probiotic supplements (containing the benefical bifidobacteria and lactobacillus species).

4. Repair- the necessary ingredients have to be reintroduced for the gut to repair itself which includes supplements like zinc, omega 3 fatty acid and vitamins.

There are tests available for determining the gut health. I am not sure about the availability of these tests in India yet though there is a clinic in Kochi called Heal Wellness which claims to be the first IFM certified clinic in India. (I am also not aware of any further details other than that what they have provided on their website).

A few of these tests include intestinal permeability test through urine samples; nutritional evaluation tests which can determine nutritional deficiencies and hence help in supplementation and comprehensive stool tests to determine the microbiome health in the gut. There are Functional Medicine practitioners who are health professionals trained and certified by the Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM) who can help in determining which tests need to be carried out and the subsequent course of action.

The Institute of Functional Medicine is the main body for Functional Medicine and is based in Santa Fe, USA. It was cofounded by Dr Jeffrey Bland who is considered to be the father of Functional Medicine. He has also written several books on this subject and if you want to know more about chronic illnesses and why they happen; the role of Functional Medicine etc you can read his book ” The Disease Delusion“.

(You can read more about IFM here – https://www.functionalmedicine.org/AboutFM/History/)

Physician- heal thyself!

There are some well-known Functional Medicine practitioners who though trained initially in conventional medicine are now following Functional Medicine principles in their work. Some of them had a taste of Functional Medicine when they suffered from their own health issues. Where conventional medicine failed them, Functional Medicine was able to control and even reverse the chronic condition in one case. Now they are all following Functional Medicine approach in treating themselves and their patients. You can read about them here-

Dr Mark Hyman (https://www.functionalmedicine.org/AboutFM/ourteam/faculty/bios/hyman/)

Dr Robert Hedaya (https://www.functionalmedicine.org/AboutFM/ourteam/faculty/bios/Hedaya/)

Dr Gerard Mullin at John Hopkins Hospital (http://thefoodmd.com/about/)

Dr David Perlmutter (http://www.drperlmutter.com/)

Dr Mark Houston (https://www.functionalmedicine.org/AboutFM/ourteam/faculty/bios/Houston/)

Dr Amy Myers (http://www.amymyersmd.com/2013/01/heal-your-gut-heal-yourself/)

Dr Terry Wahls (http://terrywahls.com/about/about-terry-wahls/)

Our health in our hands

Fruits And Vegetables Diet Word

Our health is determined by a myriad factors but the basic ones are our diet; lifestyle; exercise and movement levels; stress related factors; our environment; personal relationships and our relationships within the community.

Also, my experience of dealing with my daughter’s severe eczema over the past few years has taught me that we need to take some responsibility for our own health instead of leaving it completely to our doctors. We also need to take care of our health not just when we fall ill but much much before.

That means taking care of our bodies and treating it as a friend rather than an adversary that needs to be either tamed (through various fad diets) and/or ignored (either intentionally or unintentionally) till such time an illness crops up. (Of course one can always fall ill even after taking adequate care but then like much else in life there are no guarantees here only possibilities) I would rather try to explore all the possibilities that life has to offer rather than have regrets due to a lack of effort, wouldn’t you?

The good news is that today we have access to information, knowledge and the experiences shared by other people on their own journey from sickness to health that we can all learn from. We can thus work along with our health professionals and use their expertise and knowledge to improve and maintain our own health. An example of a person coming to this realisation the hard way and which proved to be a major turning point in his life is the top tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic. You can read about his story in the book “Serve to Win”. One should however keep in mind that each of us is unique and what works for one person will not necessarily work for another. You will have to patiently find out what works for you and your loved ones.

“Take care of your body; it’s the only place you have to live”

Take Care Of Your Body Quote

I started writing this post planning to simply introduce the Functional Medicine approach to dealing with chronic illnesses like eczema, diabetes, migraines etc based on my understanding. But I realised that I also needed to include a detailed background given the increasing incidence of these illnesses in our lifetime. I hope I have been able to share a bit of what I have understood about this issue that you may or may not have been aware of.

I started on this quest because of and for my daughter who suffers from severe eczema and which is being managed through strong immunosuppressive medications. My family and I have reached this stage through a lot of trial and error but always with the guidance of our doctors who have been with us every step of the way. We have already seen some results with the changes we have made in our daughter’s diet but we still have some way to go. We will be starting treatment based on Functional Medicine principles soon for her with the help of an IFM certified practitioner. We are taking an informed decision based on studies backed by science and evidence and which has helped so many others like her to cope with various chronic illnesses. Even if we can simply heal her gut to begin with will itself be a minor victory.

I share all this with you so that it may encourage you to find out a bit more for yourself if you need to. We often do not realise how much more can be done to improve the quality of our lives if we really wish to. As one wise person put it very simply, we have only one life and one body. Our health depends on what we do with it.

“Not all those who wander are lost” (eczema and our ongoing journey)

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There are many of you who have been following us on our journey as we deal with our daughter’s severe eczema over the years. There have been many ups and downs; times filled with a seemingly never ending despair and other times where we see the silver lining that is hidden behind the dark clouds. We have many nights of sleeplessness, days and nights filled with endless itching and bouts of crying when it gets too much sometimes. There is also THE question which comes up once in a while, “Why me?” I have no real answer to her question which would satisfy her need to know.

But I do know this! 

Through all  these times we have experienced many precious moments filled with small pleasures, much love and loads of fun. We have learned how to appreciate all that we have by focussing on all the good things in our life rather than all that we do not have. This helps to put things in perspective and never fails to bring a smile to our faces. We have also learned to accept that our life and our daily routine is usually quite different from others and we have made peace with it. We simply have different requirements than most other families when we travel, eat out and socialise amongst other things.

We have come to realise over a period of time that this is our new “normal”. Whatever normal family life we had envisioned for ourselves when we had our first child fell by the way side when our daughter’s eczema became a huge part of our lives. We have simply changed the definition of leading a “normal” life and now use one which works for us! 

Our life has thus changed drastically over the past few years in terms of lifestyle, food habits and priorities. I have been sharing these changes with you through my blog for almost two years now. In this post, I have shared the actual changes that we have made to our food habits over the past 9 months or so.

Our diet today based on eczema safe foods

 

I had mentioned in my post last month (https://eczema-anindianperspective.com/2015/04/08/you-are-what-you-eat-eczema-and-food/) that I would write about her diet in details in my next post and here I am!

It has been roughly about 6 months since I started to follow a very specific diet to control my daughter’s eczema based on the book “The Eczema Diet” by an Australian nutritionist, Ms Karen Fischer. The initial 3 months have been the toughest so far with restrictions on the number of fruits, vegetables and spices amongst other things. I did however prepare her mentally over a period of time prior to starting her on the diet to make this transition as smooth as possible. This is a huge change in lifestyle since food comprises a big part of our lives and this change needs to be handled well especially for a child. Once my daughter understood why we were making these changes and how it had benefited others like her suffering from eczema, she became a willing participant. 

These restrictions are to repair my daughter’s system from within by restricting the intake of the various naturally occurring chemicals (salicylates, sulphites and MSG), allergens, anti nutrients and restore acid alkaline content in the body. Eczema unfriendly food groups like ,wheat, dairy, eggs, sugar etc were all removed even though initially I did give her low gluten foods like spelt flour, rye and barley (no wheat). Eventually over the past few months her diet has been gluten and dairy free, she mostly has organic grains and produce, no refined sugars are added (only much less acid producing maple syrup and golden syrup in low quantities is allowed) and mostly free of preservative/chemical/colouring free (the only exception is the occasional rice pasta).

Simultaneously the acid-alkaline balance in her body is being restored through a higher intake of alkalising foods like moong bean sprouts, celery, beetroot, carrots etc on a daily basis and taking only those acid-forming foods like legumes/wholegrains/chicken etc which are good for skin or are nutritious in other ways. Restoring this acid-alkaline balance is very important because our diets nowadays tend to be filled with mostly acid forming with foods like bread (containing yeast); sugar in processed foods like breakfast cereals, bakery items apart from beverages (fruit juices, sodas etc); corn and corn based foods; cheese just to name a few. While going to an extremely alkaline diet is not recommended, our body needs a healthy and balanced diet to maintain healthy kidney function and prevent weakened bones, muscle wasting and of course the itchiness which is prevalent in those with eczema.

(Further reading resources: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5165/Alkaline-Acidic-Foods-Chart-The-pH-Spectrum.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3195546/)

The diet is divided into 2 phases- Phase I and Phase II and I have written about them in my earlier post-

https://eczema-anindianperspective.com/2014/12/29/our-new-eczema-diet-and-a-heart-full-of-gratitude/

Phase I–  The phase I recipes were very basic and initially I followed most of the recipes given in the book. But I had to adapt some of the recipes a bit to suit our Indian taste and add a few of my own in order to ensure that I could give her some variety even with all the restrictions. She was allowed only garlic and parsley as far as spices and herbs were concerned which proved to be the toughest part about following the diet since Indian food is filled with all kinds of spices. The other difficult part was cutting out all (100%) processed foods and eating only homemade food. Some of the foods that my daughter enjoyed in the first phase were baked fish (pomfret) with garlic in white sauce made of soy milk and brown rice flour; baked chicken in garlic and in a similar sauce; mutton/chicken biryani (or lightly flavoured mutton/chicken in a kind of rice pilaf) with only garlic and broth as the main flavour.

While initially it was difficult for her to forego a lot of her favourite foods (pizza, Maggi noodles, baked items like doughnuts, cupcakes, biscuits and candies to name just a few), over a period of time she has accepted it as a way of life and has made peace with it. In response, her skin condition improved visibly and her itching reduced to an extent. But I should also mention here that since she was started on a new immunosuppressive medication (Methotrexate), the changes would be due to both her medication and diet. But while medication would have helped to suppress and control her eczema, her skin tone has gone back to what it was 2 years back and all the weight that she had put on due to oral steroids simply fell off. I attribute these two significant changes to the changes in her diet.

Phase II – The second phase has been much easier to follow as compared to phase I. Also the fact that I have honed my skills as a baker and chef has helped immensely. I can honestly vouch for the fact that necessity is the mother of invention! All the restrictions that circumstances have placed upon my daughter and as a result on our family have helped me to innovate and become a better cook/baker than I would possibly have ever been otherwise.

Our family is eating a larger variety of healthy foods than ever before with minimal processed foods (so bye-bye preservatives, sugar, chemicals, refined and simple carbohydrates, junk foods) and loads of heart healthy, skin friendly fruits, vegetables and protein (mostly fish and chicken) with natural/organic ingredients. The fallout of all this is that both my husband and I have shed some of our excess weight naturally as a result of incorporating green and healthy juices/smoothies, healthy snacks etc into our own diet.

(You can read more here- https://eczema-anindianperspective.com/2014/12/29/our-new-eczema-diet-and-a-heart-full-of-gratitude/)

SInce I had to restrict my daughter’s diet to ones with very specific ingredients, I started making a lot of the desserts/foods like crackers, cookies, doughnuts, cakes etc with eczema safe ingredients at home. Over the last 6 months I have added a lot of variety in terms of foods like jowar, brown rice and brown rice flour, flour, quinoa, sweet potato, sprouts (all kinds), vegetable juices and smoothies. Quite a few of these changes have been for the entire family.

There are however “The Itchy Dozen” foods according to the book which are healthy for most people but do not usually suit those with eczema and is best avoided. Some of these foods that I now avoid giving my daughter are tomato, corn, grapes, dried fruits, deli meats (sausages, ham etc) since all these foods are high in amines, sulphites and MSG (in varying proportions and various combinations). You can read more about these foods at the link given below-

http://www.eczemalife.com/pages/top-12-eczema-itchy-foods-to-avoid

A few suggestion for meals and snacks

Making snacks which are tasty and at the same time eczema safe has been a big challenge but I have managed to adapt and find alternatives which work for us. Working with Indian staples like puffed rice or murmura, flattened rice or poha, lentils and pulses like moong daal, red chana, kabuli chana some of the food items I started making are mentioned below-

  • bhel (a dry mix of puffed rice, potatoes, carrots, coriander leaves, cucumber with citric acid and a touch of cumin)
  • potato/sweet potato tikkas with/without mutton kheema/minced spiced with ginger, coriander, whole cumin (mashed potato croquettes shallow fried in the pan)
  • Moong daal chilla (or crepes with moong daal soaked overnight and then made into a batter) with onions, coriander accompanied by mint and coriander chutney
  • hummus dip(chickpeas, garlic and citric acid with a bit of cumin) and vegetables like carrots or cucumber
  • popped jowar (a delicious alternative to popcorn) is a favourite for both my children and is made pretty much the same wasy as pop corn

Some of the main courses that my daughter enjoys apart from our regular Indian meals are-

  • veggie and rice pasta with loads of garlic and mixed herbs (no cheese) with/without chicken
  • Brown rice and moong daal dosa with potatoes (I am not giving her any fermented products yet)
  • mixed veggies and rice flavoured with broth and a few whole spices (bay leaf, cinnamon and cardamom) with/without chicken
  • I make various soups with eczema safe and skin friendly vegetables like beetroot, sweet potato, carrots, and others like chicken and veggies soup, chicken and pasta soup, mutton stew (occasionally)
  • brown rice noodles (occasionally) with veggies

You can be as creative as you want but the key thing here is to plan ahead. Also, keep in mind that eating healthy does not mean eating only a few foods and having dull or unappetizing foods. Since I have been forced to look outside my comfort zone of eating/preparing the same foods all these years, it has actually opened my eyes to the amazing variety and richness of foods that is available to everyone if one knows where to look.

The availability of different varieties of foods (quinoa, gluten free flours, golden syrup, organic produce, kinds of microgreens and salads, gluten free milk like almond and soya to name a few) both offline through Godrej Nature’s Basket and Foodhall stores in Mumbai and online (gourmetco.in, foodesto.com, naturallyyours.in) have really helped us a lot.  

It’s not a diet, it’s called Eating Healthy

As our daughter now says, she is not following any particular diet as of now but simply eating “healthy”.This is true not only for her but for the entire family. Of course it is not always very simple or easy to eat healthy especially while travelling or eating out even though our daughter’s eating out now is extremely restricted for obvious reasons. But now I realise that after more than 9 months of changing our food habits at home, my husband and I tend to think twice before we order the next cake, sugary drink or buy a packaged food. What started off as a necessity to manage our daughter’s eczema has become a habit for us. It became easier for us to accept and change our food habits once we realised the critical importance of diet in managing chronic illnesses like eczema (I have written about this in my earlier post- https://eczema-anindianperspective.com/2015/04/08/you-are-what-you-eat-eczema-and-food/).

Also, even though I have expanded her diet and modified it to suit our Indian tastes over a period of time, the book “The Eczema Diet” is what first made me consider food and diet as a tool for managing eczema. I have now come across and follow various other blogs and websites which are dedicated to managing various kinds of chronic conditions through food and dietary changes, reduction in stress levels, yoga and other forms of mind- body excercise etc.

As mentioned in my post (https://eczema-anindianperspective.com/2015/04/08/you-are-what-you-eat-eczema-and-food/) we will be getting some tests done in London with the help of a Functional Medicine practitioner for “gut health” permeability. Gut health is determined by a healthy variety and a community of about 100 trillion microbial cells in our digestive tract and impacts our physiological, nutritional, metabolic well-being including our immune system. It is now considered to be one of the leading causes of all kinds of chronic illnesses like coeliac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, eczema (now considered to be an auto immune disease), Graves disease, Hashimotos just to name a few and it’s importance is best explained by the image below. I will be wrtiting more on these once we get tests done next month and have more clarity on the same.

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.<br /> Object name is 1741-7015-9-24-1.jpg

You can do your own research on this and use this knowledge to make an informed decision about the making food and diet an important part of the treatment for your child or anyone suffering from autoimmune disorders/chronic conditions.

(Image source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3065426/figure/F1/)

(Further reading: http://www.nih.gov/researchmatters/october2014/10062014autoinflammatory.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3667473/)

Not all those who wander are lost

And so it is with us. Our journey is long and is filled with twists and turns and Atopic Dermatitis seems to be our constant travelling companion whether we like it or not. So over a period of time, we have learned to gracefully accept these circumstances to make our journey more comfortable and even memorable. This is true even though all the while we are constantly trying to manage our daughter’s eczema in ways which are less harmful to her in the long run. Whether we realise it or not, sometimes it is the journey which teaches us a lot about our destination….

 

 

 

 

 

 

You are what you eat (eczema and food)

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In my last post I had written briefly about the Eczema diet I had started for my daughter in October 2014. It is almost 6 months now and we have had some time to get used to her new diet. I have become very familiar with new foods (for me) like Spelt flour, quinoa, apple cider vinegar, Carob powder (alternative to cocoa) and have become well acquainted with foods like Sorghum (jowar), soya milk and beans, sweet potato, beetroot amongst others. More importantly, we have seen a gradual but definite improvement in her eczema under the combined influence of her immunosuppressive medication (Methotrexate) and her diet.

This is the first time in 3 years that she played a bit of Holi (a festival of colours in India) this year with safe, organic colours and it was delightful to see her so happy to take part in an activity which others can take for granted. There is one other thing that I want to point out in this regard. There have been a few of mild flare ups in the last 6 months- this has been partly due to introduction to new foods in her diet, sweating etc. But what stands out is the fact that usually tweaking the diet a bit for a short while helps to calm the flare up without the need for any additional medication like topical steroids etc every time. Now in fact, after a long time, Aiyana’s eczema is only on her neck and ankles and not all over the body. Her eczema is still a work in progress with a long way to go yet but each small step forward is a cause for celebration for all of us.

You are what you eat (so don’t be fast, easy, cheap or fake)

real food word cloud

Even though I am not a certified nutritionist or an expert and my family’s journey to control eczema through diet has just started, I want to share with you what I have learned so far. I hope that my story might encourage you to find out more about your own diet, lifestyle and its impact on your health and make changes if required. What I love most about using this path to treat my daughter’s eczema is that this is in my control  since I get to decide and control the quality of ingredients and nutrients which enter our systems. This is very different from giving medicines and trying out other treatments where there are various (and sometimes harsh) side effects, none of which are under our control.

One of the key learning for me this past couple of years has been the realisation that the foods that we eat have a far greater impact on our health and wellbeing than I could have ever imagined. I always knew that food gave us energy and was a necessary part of our lives but never knew or realised the critical role that it plays as far as our health is concerned. There is obviously no only one right diet for everyone. And we are talking about real food here and not which comes from a package. Our food habits have changed a lot in the past few generations and we have moved away quite a bit from natural, unprocessed and simple foods. In India though, the emphasis is still on fresh home-made foods for most of us on a daily basis. But packaged, processed, sugar laden foods have become a big part of urban Indian lifestyle as today and we have an increasing incidence of  lifestyle diseases like childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes amongst others.

Simply put, the food that we eat plays a vastly important role and has both negative and positive impact on the body depending on what foods we are consuming. Also, in addition to food there are several other important factors which affect our health. These are namely, the toxins and chemicals we are exposed to on a daily basis, how we live our lives, how much we exercise and what kind of support system we have in terms of family and friends. Of course, in spite of taking all precautions and leading a very healthy life one can still fall ill due to various reasons beyond our control.

Life gives us no guarantees of course! But isn’t it still better to make the most of what we have till such time we can instead of taking our health for granted?

One word of caution here though. My daughter suffered from a life threatening infection due to a major side effect of the drug azathioprine which was meant to control her eczema. But it was also antibiotics and the timely critical medical care which saved her life. So one needs to take a well thought out and balanced approach when deciding on medical care. There are times when one has to take whatever measures like surgery, treatments and medications that are required to fight an illness or a health situation. Other times if there is a chronic illness or condition which just doesn’t improve with medicines and surgery alone, one can look at a combination of holistic approach and medications. At all times one has to take a decision about the relevant and proper medical care depending on the circumstances. The type and combination of medical care and a well balanced diet will differ from individual to individual.

(Sources and further reading: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15639678

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3028965/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11229668)

Our relationship with food

Our relationship with food can be a bit tricky at times. Sometimes we use it as a crutch to help us through difficult times; other times it forms a part of our celebration apart from simply filling our stomach. We may also have strong feelings associated with it depending on our relationship with food. However, like many others I was not aware of the healing power that food has to offer. Simply put, we maybe able to control and in some cases reverse the effect of various disorders (especially chronic conditions) by making the necessary dietary changes. Hence, the food that we eat is a critical part of our healing process and we need to understand and respect that.

I am learning more about it everyday and I am slowly but steadily incorporating it into my entire family’s diet. However, diet alone may not have the desired impact for those with medical conditions since a combination of other factors like environmental toxins, stress, a leaky gut and infections usually affect the desired results.

There are various reasons why we do not hear about our diet as an part of our healing process (in addition to life saving medications and surgery whenever required) and this has been very well captured by Dr Terry Wahls (clinical professor of Medicine at the University of Iowa) in the article below-

http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/doctor-didnt-learn-medical-school.html

Stories that inspire me

inspiration word in metal type

Dr Terry Wahls is just one of many who have successfully controlled (and in her case even reversed) their medical condition. She used a combination of dietary changes, excercise, supplements, electrical stimulation, meditation (for stress management) to successfully stop and also reverse the rapid progress of Multiple sclerosis (a neurodegenerative disease where the immune system attacks the Central Nervous system and has a whole host of symptoms which differ from individual to individual). The treatment that she followed is based on the principles of Functional Medicine.

She has published the details of her treatment and recovery in the science magazine Neuroscience 2011 and the link to the abstract is as given below-

http://www.abstractsonline.com/Plan/ViewAbstract.aspx?mID=2773&sKey=09785855-9734-496b-b682-d5b790e3eb46&cKey=4f661b9f-223e-44e7-89cd-c464d1222d6d&mKey=%7b8334BE29-8911-4991-8C31-32B32DD5E6C8%7d

You can also read about her at-
http://terrywahls.com/about/about-terry-wahls/

Another physician, Dr Amy Myers, has had a similar experience with her struggle with an autoimmune disorder involving the thyroid gland called Grave’s disease and where conventional medicine could not provide any solution. Dr Myers unsuccessfully underwent ablation surgery (permanently destroying the thyroid gland) before using Functional Medicine successfully to control her condition and has helped many others do the same without resorting to ablation/surgery unless absolutely required.

You can read her story here-

http://www.amymyersmd.com/2014/02/hyperthyroidism/

(Functional Medicine is a customised approach to medicine which differs from person to person and imbibes the best of science, research and innovative tools to treat the patient. It is completely patient focussed and takes into account the genetic factors, environmental and lifestyle influences of each individual before starting any treatment and thus does not treat the symptoms of a disease only. It strives to combine the best of conventional medicine and integrative medicine like nutrition, exercise, supplements etc)

Another person I would like to mention in this regard is another physician, Dr Naomi Rachel Yemen. She follows a completely different path to deal with her severe chronic condition called Crohn’s disease. She is a pediatrician by profession and is currently a Clinical Professor at the University of California for Medicine. However, the way she has dealt with her severe autoimmune disorder, Crohn’s disease, from 15 years of age for more than 50 years is what I wanted to share with you. Though her doctors had given her a life expectancy of only 40 years she has embraced life and has lived through a coma, eight surgeries, intensive therapy with powerful drugs and surgical removal of her large intestine. She has used a holistic mind/body approach in combination with other medications and surgeries in order to not only survive but also to deal with her intense suffering and chronic pain. In the process she has cofounded one of the first cancer support groups in the US and helped countless others who were otherwise medically beyond help. Over the years of dealing with her patients she has come believe in the power of healing from within often when there is no cure as in her own case. She has shared her thoughts in the link given below-

http://www.rachelremen.com/some-thoughts-on-healing/

You can read more about her life and the books she has written on her website-

http://www.rachelremen.com/about/

There are countless other such cases even though I have highlighted only a few examples in this article. What is common in all these cases and countless others is that it was ultimately something beyond conventional medicine which made all the difference to the quality of life even when there is no cure. One has to find what combination works best.

The long and winding road

cross road on hillside meadow in mountain at sunset

My daughter has been dealing with her condition for some time now and it is hard and a lot for an eight year old to deal with at times. However, we face the good days and the not so good days as a family and it helps her to get through the rough patches. I started writing this post thinking I would be focusing solely on her diet but ended up sharing with you much more. But I felt that it was important to tell you about the people who inspire me on this journey.

In this post I decided to share with you a few of those genuine and real life stories about people which have shown me that none of us are ever the only ones with these kind of problems. There are many others who have such serious, chronic medical conditions and deal with them in such healthy and non conventional ways. It is definitely worth knowing more about them and then finding out what works best for you. In my next post later this month I will write in more details about the actual diet that I am following for my daughter and its impact so far.

I also realise that while we have seen some improvement in her skin condition with the dietary changes and the medication she is currently on, it is not enough. I plan to take the help of a Functional Medicine practitioner and I am currently in the process of getting in touch with one in London. (I do not know much about the Functional Medicine practice in India and would need to find out more about it). I plan to get the requisite tests done for my daughter for determining the condition of her gut health through bacterial dysbiosis test (test for small intestine bacterial overgrowth), yeast infection, food intolerance test etc depending on the recommendations.

Gut health is considered to be of immense importance in Functional Medicine and is considered to be the cause of many allergies, arthritis, autoimmune disorders, chronic fatigue amongst a host of other medical conditions. Hence a good digestive system is very important for a healthy body and it may be severely or mildly but adversely impacted by various factors like stress, diet, overuse of medications, low-grade chronic infections like yeast, bacteria etc. There are tests to determine the gut health which would help me to focus on the areas that would need special attention for restoring the gut health for my daughter instead of trying out everything all at once. This is very important in order to remove the inflammatory foods, replace them with foods and ingredients required for restoring gut health, increase good bacteria in the system and repair the system by adding nutrients like Omega 3 etc.

The last time when we dealt with an experienced and well-known pediatric dermatologist in London, he recommended a course of treatment after carrying out the requisite tests which had disastrous consequences (I have captured this in my earlier blog post- https://eczema-anindianperspective.com/2013/10/27/the-tough-get-going-part-2/). This time around the treatment is based primarily on food and other natural ingredients which are in my control and have very limited side effects (if at all). Also, the past 6 months of following a specific and restricted diet (wheat free, dairy free , egg free amongst others) has given me the knowledge and confidence to handle major changes in the way we eat.

(Sources and further reading about gut health: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15790845

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14522724)

It is not an easy journey for us as a family with restricted travel and social outings due to the dietary restrictions. But I try to make up for it at home in various ways with the help of my husband, other family members and friends. I now know that there are so many others like us who are on similar journeys of healing themselves with food and healthy lifestyles and I am truly inspired by them. We are in this together as a family and that gives each of us a lot of strength.

As a wise person once said ” Life is like a journey, so lets enjoy the ride!”