Your RA Toolkit: Building a Layered Anti-Inflammatory Toolkit So You Can Thrive

Life with Rheumatoid Arthritis can be filled with pain, fatigue, brain fog, feelings of isolation, and hopelessness...

But when you take advantage of layering anti-inflammatory strategies into your diet and lifestyle, you begin to improve your symptoms as overall inflammation levels are reduced.

Today I'm sharing the seven essential strategies that make up your anti-inflammatory toolkit.  

You'll discover:

• How the standard American diet may be exacerbating your symptoms 
• Explore the benefits of anti-inflammatory foods
• Hear practical tips on integrating joyful, low-impact exercises into your routine 
• The importance of sleep and self-care
• Invaluable insights on maintaining a positive mindset
• Effective stress reduction techniques like mindfulness and journaling. 

These actionable strategies will empower you to make cumulative, consistent choices that can significantly impact your well-being.

Happy Listening!

Links Mentioned in this Episode:
Grab my FREE Anti-Inflammatory Foods Checklist .

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*This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any illness or disease. The information provided herein is for general educational purposes, has not been reviewed nor approved by the FDA and is not intended to take the place of advice from your medical professional, licensed dietitian or nutritionist. You are solely responsible for your health care and activity choices. Your decision to try this formula does not constitute a client-coach relationship. For my full disclaimer, please visit: https://dawnlaflin.com/disclaimer/

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

It is something that is critical. When you have rheumatoid arthritis, you have to move your body. It can feel really hard and overwhelming when you're in a place of pain and fatigue. It feels like a I always say a catch-22 because you think I know I'm supposed to do this, but I hurt so much. How am I going to go do this thing? Well, when you combine that with eating an anti-inflammatory diet, you're adding another layer. Now remember I said that this takes a layered approach, so you're adding another layer that helps your body reduce inflammation.

Speaker 1: 0:34

I'm Dawn Laughlin, certified health coach and fellow RA warrior. It wasn't all that long ago that I was in this place where I was fearful of the uncertainty of my future, wondering when my next flare would come or wondering when the pain would let up. Fast forward through many trials, errors and lessons learned and you'll find a gal who is stronger, healthier and more confident in her future than ever before. Yes, I still have RA, but RA doesn't have me. I believe our lifestyle, food choices and mindset greatly impact the way our bodies handle rheumatoid arthritis. I created the Thrive with RA podcast to explore the science-based ways to realign your health through these three pillars and so much more. We'll be navigating both the messy and the blessings that come from living a life with RA. Each week you'll get a good dose of education, inspiration, encouragement and hope as you take small steps to improve your health and overall life.

Speaker 1: 1:23

If you've been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis or are still trying to figure out if the symptoms you're feeling are indeed rheumatoid arthritis, you are in the right place. My friend, let's get started. Hey there, friend, welcome back to the Thrive with RA podcast. I wanted to talk to you today about a toolkit of sorts, one that you build that will help you thrive with rheumatoid arthritis or any chronic inflammatory disease, and that's an anti-inflammatory toolkit. And here's why, when you are managing RA or chronic inflammation, it takes a layered approach. There is no one magic bullet. It requires a multi-pronged plan that helps you feel your best.

Speaker 1: 2:05

And this is where I think doctors are doing a disservice, as they're diagnosing a condition like RA. They're not sharing the importance of diet and lifestyle. More often, or not, they are just telling you about the medicine options that you have. They send you on your way to either think about which one feels like a good fit or to get you started on that medicine. But there are things that you can do cumulatively in this layered approach that will help you create a positive impact on your overall health and more control over your symptoms, and that's what I want to talk to you about today.

Speaker 1: 2:40

So what does an anti-inflammatory toolkit look like? Well, there are seven strategies that I share with my clients, and really we go in and customize where they need the most support. So I meet with you and we talk about what your life looks like and where you are and where you would like to go, and then we customize the strategies to fit you and your lifestyle so that you can reduce inflammation and feel your best and work to counteract the effects of RA. The first tool in the toolkit is nutrition. Now, this probably comes as no surprise to any of you, because I talk about the importance of eating an anti-inflammatory diet all the time, every day, all day, all year long, and for good reasons. When we continue eating foods that are high in inflammatory ingredients, we are adding fuel to our already inflamed bodies, which means more inflammation and increases the symptoms that you're experiencing. Now I want to spend a minute here, because so often on social media, you see the naysayers that diet and lifestyle doesn't matter. They'll say that eating a kale salad, yeah, that's going to solve my RA. Or if I drink a green smoothie, I'm going to feel so much better and it's not going to cure the RA. And to that I say you're right, because it's not a one and done action or thing that you're doing that's going to change your RA. There is no one magic bullet that's going to cure your RA. In order to thrive, you have got to change this mindset around the food that you eat.

Speaker 1: 4:12

The standard American diet that we all rely on, that we all grew up on, is highly inflammatory. It's full of fried foods, omega-6s that are high in inflammatory oils, and it's full of preservatives and ingredients that our body doesn't even know what to do with. They're not real ingredients that we're used to processing, so when you continue eating them, you're inflaming your already inflamed body, which is draining you of your energy. It's keeping you in pain and probably helping you feel hopeless in this future with rheumatoid arthritis. When you start to focus on anti-inflammatory foods, you'll discover quickly how beneficial the whole anti-inflammatory foods are for your body. They are naturally nourishing your gut, which may be a surprise to learn, but it desperately needs.

Speaker 1: 5:01

When you focus on eating nutrient-dense foods, your energy levels start to naturally increase. Now there's a lot that's going on down at the cellular level that is transforming your health from the inside out, so you start to feel those effects. You start to have more energy and when you do, you're able to move your body more, which is another one of the strategies I'm going to cover here in a minute. But when you're eating these nutrient dense foods, you're working to improve your overall health, which will impact your life in so many areas, from your mood, your hormones, your weight. There are literally benefits throughout your body that you are going to experience when you just start eating a healthier diet.

Speaker 1: 5:42

So what do anti-inflammatory foods look like? That is a great question and one I get all the time. They are healthy fats, especially your omega-3s, lots of dark leafy greens, a variety of colorful fruits and veggies, whole grains, plant proteins and lean, clean, well-sourced animal protein. Now, you may hear this list and just feel overwhelmed. It might feel a little foreign, in fact, because the standard American diet does not include a wide variety of plants. If you're feeling that and you would like a free resource to help you kind of navigate as you get started, be sure to see the show notes where you can grab my free anti-inflammatory foods checklist, where I break down a lot of that anti-inflammatory foods into categories so that you can start incorporating it into your diet. Today Now hearing this list again, it can feel like this mountain that you have to climb, but this is where having someone walk alongside you to encourage you, guide you, support you as you're trying to make these changes is so important.

Speaker 1: 6:43

I offer one-to-one coaching as well as group coaching. In fact, I have a four-week anti-food formula program that's gonna be launching soon, because there is no one perfect diet for everyone, and that's what I developed this program for so that you could help figure out what works best for your body, reducing your main triggers and then being surrounded by community of like-minded women as you figure out what is serving your body, reducing your main triggers and then being surrounded by community of like-minded women as you figure out what is serving your body best, what's helping you feel your best. Now, eating an anti-inflammatory diet is a foundational piece of living well with rheumatoid arthritis. When you fuel your body with foods that nourish, your body is better able to take care of you. Let's move on to tool or strategy number two, and that is exercise. Now, I talk about this all the time as well. It's something I share a lot of in my social media stories, because I feel like if I'm sharing what I'm doing in my life, people can see how really available and doable this can be. It is something that is critical.

Speaker 1: 7:45

When you have rheumatoid arthritis, you have to move your body. It can feel really hard and overwhelming. When you're in a place of pain and fatigue, it feels like a I always say a catch 22 because you think I know I'm supposed to do this, but I hurt so much. How am I going to go do this thing? Well, when you combine that with eating an anti-inflammatory diet, you're adding another layer. Now, remember I said that this takes a layered approach, so you're adding another layer that helps your body reduce inflammation. I always refer to my workouts as flushing the inflammation. So whether I'm in spin class, lifting weights, holding yoga poses or whatever, I'm moving my body parts to help loosen up the inflammation, especially in those small joints, they're typically harder to shake out.

Speaker 1: 8:28

The two things that are really important for you to know when it comes to exercise First and foremost, find activities that make you happy. If you aren't finding joy in the exercise and the movement you're doing, you're likely not going to continue it. It's always a question I get asked what's the best one, what's the one that's going to make you happy? Because if you're doing one, it's just a drag. Nobody wants to go do something they're not excited about.

Speaker 1: 8:50

The second thing listen to your body and honor what it can do in that day. For example, if your joints in your feet are hurting, going for a run is probably not the best thing for you. It's going to aggravate them further. But you could go spinning, you could go swimming, you could do many other alternatives that will help be less impacting on you, those joints that are hurting but still help your body move. You never want to hurt from a workout now. Muscle soreness is another thing altogether because, especially if you're just getting into the exercise, your muscles are going to be sore. They're not used to doing that movement. That's okay and expected, but if you're increasing pain, especially during, during the movements, stop, don't continue. Find another way to move your body. If you are new to movement now, it might help to talk with a physical therapist or a personal trainer who is accustomed to working with people that have rheumatoid arthritis, so that you can get help in starting that movement in a safe and varied way. That's going to help you have success.

Speaker 1: 9:50

As you get started, remember that you're starting slow. You are working your way up to bigger things. Five to 10 minute walk to the mailbox is fabulous if that's all you can do today. Chair yoga if that's what your body allows, that is fabulous. Start where you are and work your way up. Those small incremental steps will add up to big impact. I promise you, honor where you are and build from there. Your ultimate goal is 30 minutes a day. Now don't hear this and think, dawn, there's no way that that's going to work. Remember you're starting small and you're working your way up. Don't negate those small, little steps because they will be impactful, I promise you. Your goal is to get your heart rate up and break a sweat. Then you wanna be adding in weightlifting two times a week. Again, you're starting small and you're working with a specialist that's gonna help you get started as you move forward.

Speaker 1: 10:44

Also, know that there are different apparatuses that you can use that will help make those steps forward in your exercise routine safer, easier and better adaptable for you and for your body, for example, when I'm lifting weights. A lot of people, when they're lifting weights, they're using weightlifting gloves. I do that because I definitely want that extra padding on my the base of my knuckles, so that I feel like I'm supported in an extra way when I'm lifting those weights, especially as I move up into the heavier weights. So make sure you're doing correct movements. There are countless videos on YouTube that you can go out and watch to see proper form. If you don't have access to a personal trainer or to a physical therapist, there are ways. Do not let this become a roadblock for you. There are ways to seek out information for that. Take time to learn to do them correctly and get going small, but in small but intentional steps.

Speaker 1: 11:37

Now, one thing I want to also highlight here is don't get caught up in this mindset, in your mind of I used to be able to run so many miles and now I can't run any. Ra has taken that from me. Or I used to lift so much weight and now I feel like I can't lift any because of RA. The words that we tell ourselves are powerful. If you tell yourself you can't, then you won't. If you tell yourself that you can do hard things and you can rebuild and start a new, healthier you. Then you're gonna find yourself on a path to a powerful growth mindset and a better health overall. Remember the words you say are powerful, so think about them as you're saying them to yourselves. Case in point is I am stronger today and healthier, in spite of RA, than I have ever been in my entire life and I grew up playing sports all the years and that's thanks to the changes that I've made because of my RA diagnosis.

Speaker 1: 12:33

All right, the third tool in the toolbox is stress reduction. This is another big driver for RA activity and symptoms. Finding ways to decrease and maintain those stress levels is key. Mindfulness is a great example of what you need to work toward as you're trying to reduce stress being aware of what's triggering you, processing it and then moving forward. It's critical. There's also meditation and prayer breathing techniques. They can be powerful both in the moment of stress, helping your body come back down, as well as long-term maintenance. There's also journaling, counseling, where you can help process past traumas, which can be a big trigger in your RA journey relationship challenges, limiting beliefs and so much more.

Speaker 1: 13:18

Now, if you are local to Houston, I have two amazing stress reduction workshops that are coming up later this year. They're going to be in August and September here locally in-person events. I cannot wait. I've been meeting with the gal. I'm going to be doing a lot of this with. She's amazing in breath work, meditation, as well as a specialized movement program that's going to help us flush inflammation out. So I'm excited. Keep an eye out. I'll be sharing more details here. I'll be sharing a registration link as soon as that's available, so stay tuned for more on that. I promise you, if you are local, you're going to want to be there because it's going to be something that's going to help you really fill your anti-inflammatory toolkit box of strategies that help reduce stress in the best ways.

Speaker 1: 14:04

Now the fourth strategy is sleep and self-care. This one, I feel like sleep and self-care go together, because we it is self-care literally when we put ourselves to bed at night at a good hour. Now, if you're a mama, think about how regimented you were when you were getting your kiddos to bed every night. There was likely a wind down routine, a hard stop bedtime, let's go to bed timeframe, and we held onto that routine as long as we possibly could. I remember thinking, oh no, the kids are, you know, wanting to stay up later and later, but we held onto it as long as we could because we knew it made all the difference in how things flowed that next day. So why, oh why, do we not practice that in the same intention on ourselves? As adults, we have fallen into the routine of watching Netflix, binging a series or staying up to watch a movie that we could easily watch the next day. So why, oh why, are we doing this to ourselves, is my question.

Speaker 1: 15:01

Let's get back to intentional bedtimes, like we did for our kids, so that we can help our bodies do what it needs to. Naturally, every night, when you are sleeping, it's a transformative time for your body. That is when your body is repairing cells, it's resting, it's rejuvenating, it's doing all this inner work so that it can be ready to go the next day to face all the things that you're going to face that next day. You want to aim for seven to nine hours each night. Something that might help as you're thinking about this bedtime routine is winding down. An hour before bedtime. Maybe there's no electronics. Maybe you're sipping a cup of warm tea. You could be taking a bath, maybe with some Epsom salts or some essential oils, reading a book, whatever it is that's going to allow your brain and eyes to de-stress from the day and really kind of prepare your body to go crawl into bed and just go to fast sleep.

Speaker 1: 15:56

All right, so let's look at number five in the toolbox, and that is community. Community can be everything when you're working on your health and living life with chronic inflammation. We were not created to do this life alone. We were literally created for community. I always think about back to Adam and how God just knew that he needed a friend, so he created Eve. That literally started our sense of community. We need like-minded people that are in the same space and time that we are, that are working toward steps toward a healthier life for themselves as well, so that you have somebody that gets it, somebody that understands the steps you're taking and why you're doing it. Because, let's face it, this is a going against the grain, swimming upstream activity when we are looking to make healthier changes, because most people in life aren't doing it until they have a health issue that is requiring them to make changes. So you wanna be surrounded by people that are in this space, where they're working hard to make these changes so that you feel supported, so that you don't feel alone, swimming upstream as you're working hard to eat healthier and move your body and feel good in your day-to-day.

Speaker 1: 17:04

One of my clients last week shared with me how walking with her trusted friend five days a week fills her cup. It's everything to her. She's getting in her movement and sharing life with a friend. When you have that like-minded community around you, it lifts you up in a beautiful way. It's helping you build connections, accountability, support. You feel like you belong. It's truly a magical thing where everyone is helping each other out in their own special way, and this is why, when I'm creating my programs, I always have that group coaching element, because it offers a place for community to gather and really connect and continue to support each other as you work toward these hard goals and these new changes in your life.

Speaker 1: 17:45

Okay, let's move on to tool number six mindset and seeking joy. Having the right mindset is so important in order to thrive with RA. Now, remember that RA is not the end of your story. It is a piece of your story and I would argue that it's just the beginning of a beautiful season. There is so much growth that happens when you're on this journey, if you are open to it and I believe you are because you are here listening to this podcast you have to remember that in this season that you have to really move from a place where you feel like the disease has taken over your life to defining it as a season, a new chapter, where your body needs a whole lot of TLC.

Speaker 1: 18:27

Maybe you need to clean up your diet or prioritize sleep or reduce stress. Maybe you need to focus on moving diet or prioritize sleep or reduce stress. Maybe you need to focus on moving your body. More Essentially, you're figuring out what you need to give your body, which tools it needs the most to function at an optimal level for you. Now it's time to let go of those limiting beliefs that RA is in my genes. There's nothing I can do now. Or I've had this disease for so long. Making changes won't help me now because they will. And or maybe I've tried before and failed making dietary changes. What's going to be different this time? Friend? These are all examples of progress, halting limiting beliefs. Trust me, if you resonate with these, you are not alone. Overcoming mindset challenges is another foundational piece of the RA puzzle. When you have the right mindset, anything is possible. Let's look at this last tool in the toolkit.

Speaker 1: 19:18

Pharmaceuticals Medicine plays a big role in your walk with rheumatoid arthritis. It can be something that you need at the onset as you're working to get the inflammation under control. It can be something you'll rely on for years to come. But here's something I think it's important for you to know and understand when you take the time to do the hard work of improving your diet and your lifestyle, you may find that your medicine works better for you. You may also find that you need less of it, or you may find that you reverse your symptoms, that the disease goes into remission and your doctor decides to lower and or remove altogether your medicines. Now it's important that if you're reducing or removing medicine, it's only done with the guidance of your doctor and your goal is overall to protect the joints. Long term. Medicine goes to work to reduce this disease activity and slow that progression of the disease.

Speaker 1: 20:11

But the important thing in all of this that I'm saying is that it takes pills and skills. You cannot rely on the medicine alone. It doesn't work. The medicine alone will keep you on a slippery slope of more pain, more fatigue and other potential conditions coming your way and your body begins to fail in different areas. It takes skills and pills and it's so important that we understand that we don't just rely on one or the other and that we're working with qualified practitioners who are going to guide you in that step and decisions on what's best for your body based on what you are experiencing and blood work is showing in all those pieces together. So there you have it, the seven tools of the anti-inflammatory toolkit. It's filled with anti-inflammatory foods, exercise, stress management, sleep and self-care, community mindset and pharmaceuticals.

Speaker 1: 21:01

I hope that this has brought you a lot of value today and it helps you consider where to focus your attention. If you know you need someone guiding and supporting you through this process, it's what I do. Reach out on social media. I'm on all platforms at Dawn Laughlin Health. All right, sweet friend, I'll be here next week. Same time, same place. Bye for now, friends. That's it for today's episode. If you're ready to say goodbye to the overwhelm and get clear on what foods to eat to best support your body, be sure to grab my free anti-inflammatory foods checklist. You can do that by clicking the link found in the show notes below. Well, until next time, ra Thrivers, keep taking those small steps that lead to big impacts in your health.