Systemic lupus erythematosus dietary considerations

  There are no special contraindications to the diet of SLE patients. However, certain foods, such as celery, parsley, figs, mushrooms, smoked foods, alfalfa seeds and bean pods, can trigger lupus erythematosus and should be avoided as much as possible.  Seafood, commonly known as hairy food. Some patients with SLE may develop allergies after consuming seafood (most SLE patients are hypoallergenic), triggering or aggravating the disease.  Mutton, dog meat, venison, cinnamon and lychee are warm in nature and can aggravate the symptoms of internal heat in SLE patients with yin deficiency.  Spicy foods, such as chili, raw onion and garlic, can aggravate the internal heat of patients and should not be consumed.  Pay attention to a low-salt diet, and eat more bananas, apples, oranges, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables rich in potassium. If the patient has renal failure and high potassium blood, he/she should not eat the above-mentioned foods with high potassium content, and patients with diabetes should also limit staple foods and sweets.  Patients who take hormone therapy for a long time can cause disorders of calcium and phosphorus metabolism and loss of bone calcium, resulting in osteoporosis and, in serious cases, osteonecrosis, so in addition to taking calcium supplements routinely, they should also eat more calcium-containing foods.  Note that some health care products are not beneficial to SLE patients, but harmful. For example, ginseng, American ginseng, gynostemma and their compound preparations contain ginsenosides, which can improve both cellular immunity and humoral immunity of human body. However, for SLE patients, these supplements can aggravate or induce SLE because they increase immunoglobulins, increase immune complexes and activate anti-nuclear antibodies. Avoid drugs and foods containing estrogen. Royal jelly, toadstool oil and some female contraceptives contain estrogen, which is one of the important factors in the development of SLE.  In conclusion, SLE patients should have a light, low salt, low fat and high quality protein diet.  In fact, the taboos of SLE are very complicated and vary from person to person. These taboos listed above are only relatively general, and individual problems should be treated individually because of the great differences between individuals. The principle of mastering them is neither to choke nor to be reckless, and patients can master them appropriately according to their own body experience.