2024 Autoimmune Community Summit Session Recap
Nutrition is complicated. Every box or package says something different and there are so many diets and claims of what is right for us to eat. Registered dietician and founder of the Arthritis Dietitian, Christina Montoya helps us simplify this message.
How to read nutrition labels
There are many components of a nutrition label from the ingredient list to calories, fats, and even macronutrients like Vitamin D, calcium and iron. Each component has its own purpose and importance.
Ingredient lists are written in order of abundance.
Macronutrients are included because there used to be deficiencies and in fact many patients with autoimmune disease are still Vitamin D deficient.
Service Size is how much of the food you eat to have each of the percentages listed on the label
What should you be looking for if you have autoimmune disease?
Some ingredients to pay attention to with autoimmune disease are saturated fats, trans fats added sugars.
Look at the ingredients and determine if any of these are bad for you, the name might look scary but that does not make it bad like ascorbic acid which is vitamin c.
Look into the claims like grain free, non-gmo, high protein and consider what might be acceptable in your country. Some countries might not accept high protein products so the claims will be adjusted for the product to be accepted.
Look for warnings like made in a facility that contains gluten or nuts. This indicates a risk of contamination even if the product has a label that is gluten or nut free.
Read everything on the package. Gluten free for example just means less than 20 parts per billion of gluten in a product.
If you are eating gluten free products watch out for high fodmap ingredients that could also lead to IBS symptoms.
What is anti-inflammatory and how do I choose a diet?
Anti-inflammatory foods means that they tend to have more anti-inflammatory properties like selenium, turmeric, ginger than other foods.
The Mediterranean diet is often touted by research to be anti-inflammatory.
Be wary of diets that restrict a long list of ingredients and restricting complex plant foods that are going to be your fiber and provide other benefits unless you have some health reason to not eat something in particular.
Everyone will respond to foods differently, so pay attention to what impacts you and be mindful of that when planning your meals.
Now that you know what foods to look for, let’s talk about cooking your meals. Cooking with arthritis can be especially challenging if you are in a flare. Christina shares with us some of her favorite kitchen gadgets and food prep tips.
Kitchen gadgets
Non-slip silicone grip material, exercise bands are something you might already have that you can use with this texture
Electric can opener - some of them have extra gadgets to help you open cans and bottles
Potato masher - use to mash bananas, potatoes and more
Utensils with large holders and thumb rest slots
Pizza cutter to slice other things like bread
Knives with good grips and blade support
Food prep tips
Bring a chair into the kitchen and make yourself comfortable
Start your grocery shopping in your kitchen, then look at the recipes to see what you need
You do not have to make different meals for every single day, prep foods that can be used in multiple meals and multiple ways
You don't have to meal prep the same meal, try batch cooking things like ground meats, rice, beans and use those in multiple meals
Look at what's on sale, see if you can price match
Use the perimeter of the grocery store to get all your fresh foods, but the whole grains the dried legumes, canned beans and vegetables will be in the inner aisles
Plant foods tend to be cheaper than animal products
Check out the guide for more tips and tricks.
Recordings from the 2024 Autoimmune Community Summit are available on YouTube.
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