Living Well with Arthritis: Food, Community and Biostacking

My story

Hi, I'm Emily. I'm the founder of the Live Well with Arthritis course and coaching programme, a two-time bestselling author, a podcast host and a coach. I've lived with seronegative arthritis for over 12 years.

Getting a diagnosis took a long time. When my arthritis first appeared, I was at my most poorly: I was sleeping 16 hours a day, I had cold and flu-like symptoms, my hands and fingers were badly swollen and I was in a lot of pain. When the diagnosis finally came, not much changed except that I had a name for what was happening. At first I felt relieved, but I also felt a lot of grief.

It's not just a joint problem

The biggest misconception about arthritis is that it's only about joints. It's a whole-body condition: chronic inflammation affects your entire system. The second is that there's nothing you can do and only medication can help. In my own experience and with my clients, that simply isn't true. There is so much you can do through diet and lifestyle to improve your quality of life. And people just don't realise that arthritis happens to young people. It can affect anyone, at any age.

Good days and flare days

Flares are quite rare for me now, because I understand my body and what triggers them. Some I can't avoid, usually during stressful periods I can't control, like a bereavement or moving house.

When a flare does come, I'm really kind to myself. I eat the foods I know calm my inflammation, reach for my heat packs, run a hot Epsom salt bath, keep up some gentle movement and look after my sleep.

Why awareness matters

Awareness moments like World Arthritis Day matter to me for three reasons. First, people need to know arthritis is not an old person's disease. Second, there is so much we can do to live well with arthritis and feel better. And finally, I want everyone living with it to know they're not alone.

The support that made the difference

Early on, the biggest difference came from the love, support and compassion of my closest friends and family. Without them it would have been really, really hard. Second to that was the doctor who finally believed me when I said something more was going on.

What do I wish I'd known sooner? Everything I now teach on Live Well with Arthritis: an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle, sorting out my sleep, mindful movement, cutting out alcohol and managing stress. More recently, the biggest change has come from meditation, which has helped my body, mind and soul on so many levels.

I started Arthritis Foodie because I couldn't find the community I was looking for. That community has given me a real sense of purpose, and it's made me feel far less alone with my condition. It helps so much to know you're not the only young person with arthritis, that others have been through exactly what you have, and that so many people want to support themselves to live well too.

For friends, family and partners

Simply be there, love them and believe them. We have a hard enough time getting doctors to believe us, so being able to trust the people around us is vital.

Understand that this condition fluctuates. There are good days and bad days, and none of it is our fault. Learn as much as you can about it: there is so much support out there, and so much hope.

And accept that your partner, friend or family member may be grieving an old version of themselves while discovering a new one. Love them all the same.

If you've just been diagnosed

It's completely normal to feel overwhelmed, but you don't have to know everything overnight. Day by day, step by step, you'll discover what helps you, what hinders you and how you can help yourself feel better over time.

Cooking for future you

My biggest kitchen tip is to always think about future you. On the days you feel well enough, batch cook and freeze portions for the days ahead.

Overnight oats are my go-to low-effort breakfast. I make three at a time and keep them in the fridge.

My favourite anti-inflammatory meal right now is a poke bowl: salmon, cucumber, spring onions, grated carrot, kale, kimchi and sesame seeds with a homemade peanut dressing. I eat them all year round because they're so easy to meal prep and assemble.

On flare days, my go-to snack is a cup of rooibos tea with a few squares of extra dark chocolate.

Habits beyond the kitchen

Sleep, movement, mindset, pacing: all of them matter. I couldn't be without my morning and evening meditations; they're the vital bookends to my day, and sometimes I fit in a third. I move every single day, even if it's just a short walk. Breathwork, sleep, nutrition and pain management are all important too.

But making time for joy and for loved ones is a must. Not everything has to be optimised. You have to enjoy life too.

Building my support team

It has been vital for me to work with people who share my vision and who appreciate that medication can only take a person so far. In fact, medication can work even better when you're also making diet and lifestyle changes.

Biostacking at Biowell Health

Biostacking means combining more than one therapy in a single session or routine. At Biowell Health this can include red light therapy, cryotherapy, hyperbaric oxygen, IV therapy and compression therapy.

Everyone at Biowell Health is so welcoming, and I absolutely love the wellness centre. There's a growing body of research on red light therapy, compression and cold therapies for arthritis and autoimmunity, so naturally I had to try them for myself.

I've tried every therapy, and they're amazing, but compression therapy and red light therapy are my absolute must-dos. A typical visit looks like this:

• Compression therapy: at least 20 to 30 minutes
• Red light therapy: another 20 to 30 minutes
• In total: around an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes, including time to get changed

Compression therapy is the one I feel straight away. Pure bliss! Red light therapy I noticed most after a few regular sessions.

The therapy I was most nervous about was cryotherapy, because it's so cold. But you can choose your own music, so I put on some meditation music, did breathwork and meditated through it. It was over in the blink of an eye.

Being self-employed, I'm lucky that I can fit sessions around my day.

Fitting it alongside medical care

Diet and lifestyle changes are within our control, and so are complementary therapies like those at Biowell. In my opinion they're always worth trying, as long as you're being safe and have consulted your doctor first.

So if you're living with arthritis and thinking about biostacking, my advice is simple: as long as you feel safe and you've spoken to your doctor, go for it!

Quick-fire round

1. Favourite anti-inflammatory meal: poke bowls! Salmon, cucumber, spring onions, grated carrot, kale, kimchi, sesame seeds, and a homemade peanut dressing. I have these all year round as they’re so easy to meal prep and then assemble.
2. Go-to flare-day snack: rooibos tea and extra dark chocolate
3. Biowell Health in three words: innovative, supportive and impactful
4. Best advice I've ever been given: Be kind to yourself and learn to do what you can, when you can. Accept your diagnosis, but don't give up and always have hope.

Emily's experiences are her own. Everyone's arthritis is different, so please speak to your GP or rheumatologist before starting any new therapy. To find out more about biostacking, get in touch with the team at Biowell Health.