My nephew began a new job recently as a salesman for a cutlery company. In his presentation, he mentioned that the knives were recommended by an arthritis organization. While I haven’t been able to validate that claim, I have another family member with arthritis who loves those knives and so I thought I would give them a try. What problem are you trying t [...]
Every Friday at Pack Health we bring in experts for brown bag lunch-and-learns. We gather round to hear about their work, and discuss its applications to what we do here. We’ve heard from leaders in the fields of nutrition, physical therapy, social work, psychology, disease management, and more. Most recently, Mirjam-Colette Kempf, Ph.D., M.P.H -- a P [...]
I have a friend who can go on for hours about her “runner’s high.” She drives me nuts. I do enjoy swimming. I feel great after a long walk. I practically burst with joy whenever I dance. But running? Not for me. I share this to clarify: it’s not a one-size-fits-all strategy. The benefits of being physically active are universal, but you have to fig [...]
If there’s one thing that being in an RA support group has shown me, it’s that rheumatoid arthritis affects each one of us differently. The range of people I know with RA runs the gamut from the wheelchair-bound to marathon runners. One person is hanging on by a thread, holding onto the phrase “easy does it,” while another pushes past the pain to do [...]
Smoothies can be a sweet treat or a beautiful breakfast to jumpstart your summer day. They’re refreshing, tasty, and can pack a lot of nutrients in every sip. But not all smoothies are created equal. Some smoothies on the market have more sugar than you should be eating in an entire day! A small Banana Berry Smoothie at Jamba Juice, for example, has 60g o [...]
Okay, we talk a lot about healthy eating and how to make it work for you. This week, we wanted to round up some more perspectives, and highlight how different bloggers with chronic conditions are making healthy food work for them. Here’s what we found: 1. Dina Niels talks her Top 10 Favorite Foods that Fight Inflammation here: amazing how changing your [...]
Eating healthy and exercising are important for our overall health. In theory, these things are supposed to make you feel better, but what do you do when they make you feel worse? Eat what you can. After I was diagnosed so many healthy foods had to be eliminated from my diet due to the pain they caused. Broccoli, cauliflower, peas (to be honest not t [...]
Finding the time to eat healthy is a tricky task - but not impossible! We've worked with a lot of members on this, and different strategies work for different people. Our top 5 tips include: Thinking ahead: We're all about planning and prepping meals for the week ahead of time. Plastic containers or tupperware can be super helpful here. You can bu [...]
