Real Food + MS Success Story With Linda

Transcript:

LEAH: Welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition, brought to you by Nutritional Weight & Wellness. We are a Minnesota company that specializes in real food nutrition education and counseling for real, everyday people. And today we've got a very special episode for you all. We are drawing back the curtain on the story of one of those everyday people for whom we at NWW have had the pleasure to know for the last 10 years and for whom real food, complimentary therapies, and steady, consistent support has been life changing.

This client was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called multiple sclerosis or MS for short. And like many autoimmune and chronic illnesses, the long term prognosis is often bleak. It is usually a tale of progression, disability, adding on medications, and just trying to manage the ebb and flow of symptoms the best you can.

But today's episode endeavors to tell a different story; one that involves remission, stability, hope, and empowerment, and hopefully a laugh or two along the way. And this person will be the first to admit it is a journey that has also taken a fair amount of courage; courage to do things a bit differently than the conventional path;

Courage to keep learning more and to carve out a path that felt right for her. And for what my two cents is worth, I think she is the perfect person for this job. So without further ado, let's do some introductions. I am Leah Kleinschrodt, a Registered and Licensed Dietitian. And here with me today is Linda Letourneau, who will be sharing how she has kept her MS in remission with real food nutrition and lifestyle changes without medications. So welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition, Linda.

LINDA: Thank you, Leah. It's great to be here with you today. Speaking of drawing back the curtains, it is so interesting to be on the other side of the microphone and get to see the making of a podcast. And yes, it is a journey, a journey always learning.

LEAH: Always learning. Absolutely. So yes, I'm excited to chat and I just want to start the conversation off with just some background on who you are, kind of your origin story, if you will, like help paint a picture for our listeners of the woman behind the microphone.

LINDA: Okay, I'm a 73-year-old woman who has been a widow for the past three years. My background is about 15 years as a chiropractic assistant, which is working the front desk and billing insurance claims. I owned a manufacturing company with my husband for 42 years. I was responsible for all the paperwork, talking with the customers and vendors, delivering parts, picking up supplies that didn't come and go by semi.

We raised two children and have five grandchildren and one great grandchild. I have lived in Minnesota my whole life, in the northern part of the country where more people are diagnosed with MS, more women than men. For 25 years, my husband and I rode Gold Wing Motorcycle with a group, of which I still have supper on Tuesday nights with them.

I'm an avid quilter. I belong to a quilt guild and I am involved with it. On my 50th birthday, I quit doing cartwheels, showing the grandchildren how it is done. I had decided nothing had broken, so don't push it. I still remember the last cartwheel.

LEAH: Yes, sometimes we have to make the smarter decision over working harder, right?

LINDA: Yes.

What is MS?

LEAH: Yeah. Yes, thanks for that background. So, let's dive into, you were diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called MS. And I'm sure you've gotten this question many times over the years, but can you give us your definition of MS? I've heard you say it before and I think you've just got a nice succinct way of describing what happens in the body with MS.

LINDA: It’s an autoimmune disease, where the body attacks itself, destroying the myelin sheath protection on your nerves. Without the myelin protection, signals cannot get from your brain to your area of the body the message is being sent. The myelin is like the plastic around an electrical cord. In other words, I tell my leg to lift and the message does not get relayed.

LEAH: Yes, and I know when we talk about MS, you hear a lot about lesions. Can you describe what lesions are for us?

LINDA: When I get my MRIs, on the MRI there are spots that show where the myelin has been damaged. They can be in the brain or cervical or thoracic regions of your spine. They show up as active, inactive and old.

LEAH: Okay, so the lesions are kind of the spots they're looking for that tells you where the damage is in your nervous system.

LINDA: Yes.

Linda’s MS story

LEAH: Yes, okay. Great. That lays out a great background. So tell us more about your personal journey with MS. Like, when were you diagnosed? What kind of symptoms were you experiencing at that time? What kind of symptoms do you experience now? Just tell us a little bit more about that.

LINDA: My journey began 15 years ago on January 1st, 2010. When I woke up that morning, I couldn't lift my right leg. But I could stand on it, and there was no pain. I thought, hmm, this is a little strange. I continued as a patient with my chiropractic care, and added acupuncture to my care. Because there was so much shingles that year, the chiropractor thought I could have shingles inside my body. I had not presented with anything drastically different than my previous visits.

I started to heal. However, I had a second episode or relapse a year and a half later in October of 2011. That followed a stressful week of my cousin being diagnosed with a brain tumor and died a week later. Stress is very hard on MS in the body. This would be part of the remitting relapsing of MS. My symptoms were not being able to lift my leg, but still no pain, and began losing control of my bladder.

My chiropractor diagnosed me with MS. I was 60 years old. I learned later that the issue with not being able to raise my leg is a system called foot drop. After 13 vials of blood drawn, multiple MRIs, and a spinal tap, it was confirmed on January 4th, 2012, I had MS. I seem to always be asked this question and the answer is no one in my family has MS besides me.

I have never smoked, though I've been around people smoking my whole life. Drinking is very moderate. No diet soda. Basically, I led a healthy lifestyle. The reasons for autoimmune disease are not known beyond being caused by inflammation in your system.

LEAH: Mm hmm. Yeah, and you made the point earlier, too, that actually the northern United States, so us up here in Minnesota, we tend to see a little bit more MS than maybe other parts of the country, which I didn't know, actually, before. Okay, you get this diagnosis of MS in early 2012, so what were your next steps? What was going through your brain at that point?

LINDA: Well, the recommendation for my neurologist was to start an immune therapy medication. I also distinctly remember them telling me that the medications came with no guarantee that they would work or work for the long term. We could always try another drug.

And it is common for someone who has one autoimmune disease to get diagnosed with more autoimmune conditions. I didn't like those odds. Through my work with chiropractic care, I understood how the body can heal itself. I knew I did not want to take these disease modifying drugs as they would ruin my immune system.

I am someone who rarely gets sick. My chiropractor's wife told me about a TED Talk I should watch by Dr. Terry Wahls. Dr. Wahls is a physician in Iowa City, Iowa, who has MS, turned around her MS symptoms of being in a wheelchair to riding her bicycle in one year's time with paleo diet when disease modifying drugs had failed her.

I was right. Disease modifying drugs was not for me. I needed to find out about paleo. I read Terry Wahls’ two books and thoroughly enjoyed the information like how you need real food to feed your mitochondria, a cell within a cell that takes your food and turns it into energy that is stored in your cells. Dr. Wahl's eating plan involved a lot of vegetables, six cups per day and three cups of greens.

LEAH: That's a tall order, even for those of us immersed in this nutrition field.

LINDA: It's tall for me.

LEAH: Yes. Dr. Wahl's story, I've heard about her story before too, and it's just truly amazing, and I love that somewhere along the line, some higher power kind of dropped that name or dropped some of that information in there for you. It sounds like that paleo way of eating was your first foray into changing your nutrition to help manage your MS. And then somewhere along the line, you found Nutritional Weight & Wellness also. So tell us a little bit more about that connection and your early work with us.

Outlining some of Linda’s food plan for MS

LINDA: Well, many times a friend of mine talked about listening to Dishing Up Nutrition on the radio on Saturday mornings. I finally listened to an episode, and then more episodes, and then called and set up an appointment for a consultation. My nutritionist at that time helped me design a paleo real food eating plan that would work for me, as well as a supplement routine to heal my leaky gut and to support my brain and nerves.

Schedule Nutrition Counseling

I eliminated eating gluten. Corn has a high starch content that turns to sugar, so I avoided corn. Rice is a grain and starch that turns to sugar. I eat only wild rice, which is a seed. I eat real food that I cook. I'm grateful that I grew up on home cooked food and I cooked meals at home for my family as my kids grew up. It was rare I ate in a restaurant until I was growing up. Someone might hear the list of things I don't eat and think, what's left?

LEAH: Yeah.

LINDA: What I eat is a lot of animal protein and fish and a lot of vegetables. I use only good oils, no processed oils. Only olive, avocado, and coconut oils, butter, lard, and bacon grease. Your other oils are processed oils. Bacon grease is great for hot German potato salad, sautéed green beans, sautéed Brussels sprouts, and sautéed red potato slices.

Your brain is 60 percent fat. So we need the good oil so we don't have brain fog, which is common for MS patients and many other people. I needed the extra animal protein to help with my balance and my gait, as I still cannot completely lift my leg. I have gained about 2 inches of leg lift, so I no longer need to swing my leg out to move forward.

And that's how I used to walk. When I do not consume enough animal protein in a day, I can feel it in my movement. When I have enough protein, I can move more fluently and have a better gait. I've also learned that sugar weakens my bladder control. I do have to wear pads, and I use the restroom every hour to two hours throughout the day. But if I have sugar and have more inflammation, I go even more frequently. Each gram of sugar on the label equals four teaspoons of sugar.

LEAH: I mean, breakfast is a big area where, you know, we often help people, yeah, make that pivot from some of the convenience items of bagels, cereals, things like that, to, like you said, things that have a lot less sugar, more protein, some of those great healthy fats. Yeah, so it is like it can be a change, but in your eyes, it's worth it because you notice a change in how you walk in your bladder control and just in inflammation in general, which those are just some incredible connections that you've made over the years as you've kind of tested these waters.

And you'll tell us a little bit more, but that you get regular imaging to assess your lesions and just kind of the status of your MS. So, tell us what happened with these studies and the lab work after you changed your eating.

LINDA: In November 2012, one year after my first MRIs and seven months after starting paleo, I went back to the neurologist and told him what I had been doing. The neurologist asked if I wanted to repeat my MRIs and I said yes. The results showed no new lesions and no active lesions. This is the good news report I get each time I have the MRIs repeated. Eating real food and good fats has proven to do better than disease modifying drugs that came with no guarantee.

My C-reactive protein blood work, which shows your level of inflammation in your body, is almost zero, and that is where it should be. No inflammation. I do not suffer from pain or brain fog. I have not had a relapse. They say on my MRI I have aging degeneration in my body. However, I do not feel it. For many MS patients, they first notice a problem with their eyes. I have not had an issue with my eyes.

I have yearly visits to the eye doctor whom I have seen for about 25 years. He knows my eyes and is watching for something I might not notice. It really is easy eating real food and using supplements for your health condition. And it starts at the grocery store.

LEAH: Yeah, gosh, that's amazing. And, you know, you and I had chatted prior to recording this podcast, and I'd also love for you to share what happened during the neuropsychiatric test that you had done about four years ago, because I think that is such an interesting but also powerful part of your story. Like, just tell us a little bit, why did you have that done in the first place, and what did the examiner tell you?

LINDA: Well, friends suggested I should have a neurologist in case something happened. The one I went to see deals only with MS patients; sent me out for the three hour test to get a baseline on my thinking and processing. Sitting across the desk with the healthcare professional, I went through the majority of the tests. When we did the tests with dice with red, white, and what I call half square triangles on them, I laid the dice on the desk to match the picture. You cannot correct it.

You go on to the next one. Well, they're not going to catch me again. The next one harder than the previous one, I made sure I laid down the dice correctly. I told him I put them together like I put together a quilt block. There was no ripping or re-sewing my block on this test. He closed the book and said, there's nothing wrong with you. I had passed all the tests at that point and there was no need to continue on.

LEAH: Yes. I love that story and it's just, again, shows the power of real food, real fats, and we're going to get a little bit more, we're going to do a deeper dive into a day of eating for Linda, some of the recipes that she makes, but we are going to take a quick break. So you are listening to Dishing Up Nutrition, and when we come back, we will talk a little bit more about how Linda has used real food to heal, and get her MS into remission, and we'll be right back.

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Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition, and we're going to continue talking to Linda about a day of typical eating for her. And again, like, what does real food nutrition look like for her day in and day out and how has she sustained this way of eating for, gosh, the last, at least 10 years, actually more like 15 years at this point.

Typical eating for Linda in supporting MS

So Linda, like let's take a, tell us more about your meals and how you go about making sure you have the right foods on hand for you.

LINDA: Well, as I said, my eating starts with what I purchase at the grocery store. No soy products or GMOs. No processed foods. They have high salt and sugar content and full of gluten. No diet soda or power drinks. They have chemicals and they weaken my bladder. I read the labels. Basically, you shop the perimeter of the store.

Breakfast can be scrambled eggs, nitrate and MSG free bacon or sausage, and fruit. Or it can be leftovers from the night before. To keep my walk more smoothly, I feel best if I have a high protein meal for breakfast. There's a reason years ago a large meal was the noon meal: energy to carry you through the day. I have four to six ounces of animal protein at each meal: breakfast, lunch, and supper.

I eat beef, pork, chicken, fish, and liver. I have always loved hamburgers and still enjoy them, just without the bun. If on the menu, I will order the 8-ounce hamburger, no bun. A salmon fisherman in Alaska told me not to thaw the salmon before cooking. You waste nutrients. It takes about two minutes longer to cook when frozen. I do the same when I bake cod. I cook it frozen.

I purchase organic vegetables when available. I can tell the difference in their flavor. They cost more. However, not purchasing a loaf of bread equals out the extra cost. When I cook, I prepare four to six servings. A couple servings for the refrigerator and a couple for the freezer. It is so nice not having to cook every meal. I do not have to be creative cooking at each meal, only creative once for four to six meals.

My husband died suddenly three years ago. As a widow, I still cook larger meals. I have kept to my diet or method of eating. This has kept me healthy during my grieving. We all have stress in our lives, and having healthy food choices protects your body from the damage stress puts on your body. I have not had any MS relapses.

The fruits I eat are red, black, and orange raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and cantaloupe. The reason for these fruits is they are low in sugar. I limit other fruits that have a high sugar count. I eat in season apples that are organic. And if I can purchase other fruits that are organic, they'll be in my basket; always remembering that sugar causes inflammation and inflammation flares autoimmune diseases.

LEAH: Yes, all, I mean, all of that sounds amazing and delicious. And those are more like how you create meals. How do you do snacks?

LINDA: Well, eating is not only three meals. There is snack time. I will put together a small charcuterie board, choosing from the following: I will use fresh vegetables, some homemade dip, olives, dill pickles, nitrate free sausage, smoked wild caught salmon. I smoke this on my, with ribs, in my Ninja Grill;

A few small cubes of cheese, doubled eggs, a few pieces of fruit, a few nuts. I try to make sure there is a balance of protein, vegetables, or the carbohydrates, and healthy fats, even at snack time. It doesn't take much for a snack, maybe a cup of soup. Having fresh vegetables already chopped in the refrigerator, you can open the door, grab a handful, and snack, instead of grabbing a handful of chips or some sweets.

Oh, chips and salsa used to be a go to snack for me. Now I have it a couple times per year. That was a big change for me in the beginning of my healing journey. The reason for the chips is it's corn, and the corn is high for sugar. There are a couple brands of chips that are paleo that I will treat myself with.

LEAH: Yes, and so it sounds like being prepared is so key for keeping your eating streamlined and it means having to make fewer decisions to make on the fly, which is a lot of times that's where we can get into trouble and we're just kind of having to pull it out of our brain right then and there. So you mentioned the chips and the salsa, but were there any other big changes that just for you proved to be a little bit more challenging, whether that was logistically or it was just kind of in your own mind, something that you had to get through?

LINDA: I definitely made some big changes and generally it is getting it through your mind. I was very lucky to have a supportive spouse. He was concerned about my health. Giving up bread was my first thing. What do I do without French toast, sandwiches, buns, rolls, garlic bread, bagels? You would be surprised how many people order a hamburger without a bun.

Restaurants are ready to accommodate your request of no bread or gluten in your food. You can tell a good restaurant by how a bun less burger comes out on the plate. Does it come out on a nice bed of greens with a variety of vegetables around it, and the presentation is still there, or is it just plopped on the plate?

Next was the snack of chips and salsas I mentioned before. Then it was the sweets. I do have dark, dark chocolate. I've discovered that you only taste what you are eating for the first few bites. So if I have have only a couple bites, my taste buds are satisfied. I also discovered after not consuming the no no foods, especially sweets, they do not taste as scrumptious as you thought you remembered them tasting. So a bite is all that is needed. I love ice cream. My bladder does not. Enough said.

Lastly, check out your cupboards for foods that are not good for you. Cleaning out cupboards and refrigerator, and not purchasing those items at the grocery store. It all starts at the grocery store. Reading labels because all the food we need does not come fresh. I do not avoid purchasing the can of salt, added salt to a can of stewed tomatoes. You need some salt as long as you are not consuming processed foods.

Processed foods is a big no no. I was craving potato chips for the taste of salt. Dar asked if I salted my food. I was lazy in not doing so. When I salted my food, that craving left. I do not purchase soy products or products with GMOs. We all have different levels of strength. We need to work with what we have and push forward.

Mine is this. There is good reason for me to eliminate gluten, grain, sugar, processed foods, processed oils, and GMOs. It has been said that if you have one autoimmune disease, you will get another. So far, I have not developed another autoimmune disease, and I'm not planning on it. I am aware of many who have developed another autoimmune disease.

LEAH: Yes. Amen to not planning on another autoimmune disease. And I love that you pointed out before that, I will hear that from a lot from clients too: craving the salt. And sometimes it's actually either a craving for carbohydrates or as you mentioned, like you're actually cutting salt too much from the diet.

So like, If you cut out the processed foods, you get rid of a lot of salt and sodium as it is. So it's okay to say, put a little salt on your vegetables or salt your meat. Put like, do the smoked salmon, as long as it's coming from real food. So I love that point that you made. And I want to point out that you've still been able to eat out.

You've mentioned like getting a bunless burger at a restaurant and you've been able to travel and even with all the nuances and some of like the particulars of how you eat. So just tell us a little bit more about your game plan when you know someone else is going to be making the food for you.

LINDA: Well, when traveling or eating out, I look for choices on the menu that is as clean as I can order. I have been lucky on a cruise ship. They're eager to cook for you to your diet needs. Ask the restaurant if they can make the adjustments you require on a meal. It just takes the courage to start asking those questions. I make sure to not miss taking my supplements when a meal will not be paleo.

Kitchen essentials Linda includes

LEAH: Yes, I want to touch on those supplements in just a moment, but are there any other little tips or kitchen essentials that you use frequently that just, it makes life a little bit easier to eat this way?

LINDA: I use my Instant Pot a lot. Put the food in it, set it, walk away until it's done. I cook beef stew and a lot of soups in it. You can quickly have a couple different types of soup waiting for you in the refrigerator. My granddaughter was recently diagnosed with COVID. I made for her chicken soup with chicken breast cut up, carton of chicken bone broth, carrots, celery, onion, Bok choy, cabbage, garlic, fresh ginger, and a sprinkle of cinnamon, which is an inflammation fighter.

Salt and basmati rice. Lower on the glycemic level load when paired with protein, healthy fats, and vegetables. It was ready in two hours and delivered to her door for her supper. The Instant Pot is the best for hard boiled eggs. Very healthy bone broth, mashed potatoes, and so many other meals. MS fatigue is a real thing, so it would be helpful to not have to be on my feet for an hour making a meal.

I also use a crock pot, the oven, and grill. The meals are always full of vegetables. Yes, chili and spaghetti with vegetables in them. I serve spaghetti over cauliflower mash. Cook cauliflower, mash it with butter, sour cream, whipping cream, chicken bouillon. Usually they suggest spaghetti squash. I love squash, just not the spaghetti squash.

Pizza, one of my favorites. NWW has the recipe for a deep dish pizza where the crust is cauliflower. On their website, there are a lot of recipes to try. The pizza recipe was one of my husband's favorites. One of my favorite side dishes is mashed root vegetables. It consists of red potatoes with skins on, cut into pieces.

The red potato skin allows the starch turning to sugar to slow down. Also add sweet potatoes, carrots, rutabagas, and parsnips. Cut these five root vegetables into pieces and boil together or cook in the Instant Pot. Mash with your choice of butter, sour cream, cream cheese, whipping cream, the healthy fats, and chicken bouillon. Both this root vegetable mash and cauliflower mash freeze well.

We are in Minnesota, home of the hot dish. Brown a pound of hamburger with onions. Cook crisp about six slices of bacon. Break up the bacon and add the hamburger and onions to it with the grease. And with cubed red potatoes, carrots, can of kidney beans, and can of stewed tomatoes. Add a couple bay leaves and simmer until tender. Yum.

How about pork chops, red potatoes, and/or cubed squash and sauerkraut, baked? How about stir fry? You have your healthy fat, protein, and plenty of vegetables. There are endless meals to prepare when you eliminate gluten and sugar.

Lastly, I like greens, but I do not always eat them every day as I should. I love kale, so this is one that's easy for me. You need to put it in a bowl with a little healthy oil and massage it for a few minutes to break it down. It takes away the bitterness. I have grown microgreens to top a salad or other meals. I purchased spring salad mixed greens and romaine lettuce.

A dressing is some maple syrup or honey, olive oil and vinegar and spices to match my taste buds, which usually is Italian spices. I never purchase store bought salad dressing. I make my own. There are many paleo dressings online to try.

LEAH: I love that root vegetable mash idea, so I think those root veggies are going to have to go on my shopping list the next time around. All wonderful ideas. So delicious sounding. And, you know, Linda, before we let you go, we, I promised our listeners, we were going to circle back on those supplements really quick.

Supplement support Linda has used for MS & her individual health needs

So just tell us about the supplements you use or which ones for you have been the most helpful.

LINDA: My standard supplements are MCT oil, Key Collagen, and Key Osteo Plus. That gives me extra energy and helps my bladder and bowels perform more normal. I'm a tea drinker, so I put a scoop of the Key Collagen in my tea every day.

I take 10,000 units of vitamin D3, maintaining a vitamin D level of 80 to 85, which is the level that the neurologist wants it to be at. I take DHA, which is a special omega-3 fat that is wonderful for the myelin sheath around the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. So it is very important for people like me with MS.

GLA is another fatty acid that helps my bladder control. Bifido Balance is my go to probiotic to promote a healthy gut, and magnesium. Going paleo also helps the gut heal because gluten and sugars damage your gut lining. We adjust my supplements during my visits according to how I am doing and any other issues I may have.

We continue working on finding the magic that will increase the length of time between visits to the bathroom. Advantage, which is a grapefruit seed extract drops, helps extend a half hour up to an hour more between visits to the bathroom. I do maybe ten drops or so in water several times per day. In the winter, I heat water to drink warm liquid.

Another benefit from eating real food and my supplements is that when I get up about three to four times during the night to go to the bathroom, I fall back to sleep immediately. I get eight hours of sleep. Weak bladder is something that is not talked about. If this is one of your issues, ask a nutritionist at NWW.

I have the app. I exit on my phone, so when I am traveling on the freeways, I can look ahead and find the next restroom stop; reduces the stress of how long until the relief.

LEAH: Mm hmm. Absolutely. Those are great, great little tidbits. This journey for you has not been without its fair share of stressors, especially with your husband passing away. So life happens, stresses happen, vacations come and go. What do you do to stay on track?

Linda’s tips for staying on track

I suggest that you start with a journal, your journey. Record what you ate. And those good meals, how you felt. Record how you felt when you got off track. Your hip hurt, thinking was foggy, stress was harder to handle.

I have repeated several times certain statements that keep me on track. Feed my mitochondria what it needs for energy to be stored in my cells. Sugar and gluten cause inflammation, and inflammation causes autoimmune diseases. Real food I can cook in batches that will give me the necessary tools for a healthy body. If you get off track, you can look at your journal and see the positive results you have recorded and the negative results of not eating the healthy way.

Just get back on the health train and continue on to your destination of a healthy lifestyle. Each time the train stops at a point in its travel, it will start up again to continue on its travel. You just hop back on. The train travels the same track each day and you can do the same. Make it the real food track.

LEAH: Yes, I love that analogy with the train tracks. Those are all such really great tips. And it sounds like, kind of going back to some of the supplements that you mentioned, the, you know, you have a foundation of some core supplements that are just kind of the steady, the things that are always there, and then some others may ebb and flow into the mix, just depending on what's going on at that point.

So, you know, as we're as we're rounding out our show today, there's been so many great little tidbits, so many nuggets of information that you've dropped for us today. But do you have any other specific words of wisdom or encouragement for our listeners; especially those out there who just they may be staring down the barrel of MS or another autoimmune disease. And this message also goes out to those people, but also, you know, for the partners, the loved ones, the friends, the caregivers, the people who are standing by their side at the same time.

LINDA: Well, was it scary starting on this journey without following the medical doctor's recommendations of taking disease modifying drugs? Yes. But I had learned enough to know I was on the right path. Why am I doing this style of eating and the other health care that I do? I have seen an improvement in my mobility with my natural health care. Eating real food is a major part of my natural health care. In addition to chiropractic, acupuncture, massage therapy, essential oils, and my supplements.

If you participate in any of these additional natural health care, continue doing so. However, most important is the real food. Don't forget that gluten, sugar, processed foods, and processed oils cause inflammation, and inflammation causes autoimmune diseases and lesions. Lesions and autoimmune diseases cause reduced health and lifestyle.

Improving your eating style is one easy thing to do to ward off an autoimmune disease or improve the one you have. People always think I do not need to do this religiously. Dealing with an autoimmune disease does require you to do this religiously. I do stray from my usual eating plan probably once a meal one week.

I do stray from my usual eating plan probably once a week on one meal. However, my next meals are right back on track. I am 73 years old. I can thread a needle. I'm an avid quilter. I can walk and climb stairs, not fast, but I can. I do not want to jeopardize that part of my life. Listen to your body. You are with it 24/7.

Do not assume that that ache or pain is a medical issue or aging issue. Look at what you are eating, what you bring home from the grocery store. Gluten or sugar and lack of vegetables could be causing the ache and pains you are experiencing. Do not put yourself on the path to an autoimmune disease. Again, listen to your body. You're with it 24/7.

LEAH: Yes. What a great quote to kind of end the show with. And Linda, I just want to thank you so much for taking the time to share your amazing journey with us today. And I've even been telling a few of my clients to be on the lookout for this particular episode once it airs, because I think they will find your story and just the information that you've shared very inspiring, very actionable.

So hopefully I've been teasing it enough to some of my clients out there, and thank you all, all of our listeners out there for tuning in today and being part of our real food message. It's a simple yet powerful message that eating real food is life changing. So make it a great day.