Scleroderma Dietary Principles
Welcome to Sclerodermadefiance.com!
Sclerodermadefiance.com is a health promoting resource with information, helpful links, recipes, lifestyle tips, and much more! The primary objective is providing those with Scleroderma safe and effective strategies for improving quality of life, overall health, and reducing symptoms. The information in this website is not just useful for people with Scleroderma, but anyone seeking to improve their health and well-being. The lifestyle tips and recipes provided here can be used and implemented by anyone willing to make changes for their health.
This website will help you modify your diet and lifestyle to combat disease and improve health by providing the knowledge necessary to do so. Sclerodermadefiance does not recommend a “one-diet-fits-all” approach. Instead, any non-restrictive whole-foods diet free from additives and processed foods but rich in a variety of nourishing fruits, vegetables, and nutrient dense foods is recommended. It does not matter whether you are a vegetarian, vegan, or an omnivore, as this website and the knowledge contained within it are relevant for all types of eaters. With any kind of diet, a key part to maintaining health is to be aware of the foods you are consuming and their preparation. Being aware is important because it allows you to make informed decisions regarding health and lifestyle. The impact food and its quality have on the human body is frequently understated and poorly understood. Much time, effort, experimentation, and research has gone into creating this website to help those seeking to live healthier lives.
As with any chronic disease, proper nutrition is essential not only for management but also prevention. Many people with Scleroderma are considered malnourished due to the nature of the disease. This makes it even more important for people with scleroderma to eat a nutrient dense diet that suits their needs. Many people unfortunately have a preconceived notion that healthy food is tasteless and bland. If you feel this way, it just means you need more exposure to healthy foods. Many people also have different opinions on what foods are considered healthy and which are not. This topic strikes a lot of debate but it is usually agreed upon that home cooked meals are generally more health promoting than pre-made, restaurant, and fast food. One of the main principles of this website is encouraging visitors to cook more of their own food. When you cook what you eat, you are able to save money and prevent many chronic diseases currently afflicting people all over the world. Awareness of how food is prepared and knowledge on how to prepare it yourself are both essential to making lasting lifestyle change. You do not have to sacrifice many of the things you love in order to be healthy but you do sacrifice your health if you place little importance on diet and lifestyle.
In short, general dietary recommendations for scleroderma include:
1. Avoid processed foods (this does not include fermented or cultured foods) and foods high in additives
2. Prepare as much of your own food as possible
3. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains (also known as plant based foods)
4. Heavily use antioxidant-rich herbs and spices
5. Incorporate fermented, cultured, and probiotic foods into your diet
6. When consuming meat and dairy products—look for local, grass-fed or pasture raised animals