Lupus Awareness Month :: The Impact of Lupus in America

The following infographic only lists the impact of lupus in America, but it at least gives an idea of the scale of this disease:

{PS - Don't forget to get in on my Lupus Awareness Month giveaway. You can find it here.}

Lupus Awareness Month :: POP (Put On Purple)

Do you know what you are wearing tomorrow?

I do!

No, I don't generally plan my outfits a day in advance. (In fact, what I wear on a daily basis probably doesn't even qualify for such a lofty term as "outfit".)

But tomorrow is special:

Put on purple tomorrow for lupus awareness. {And don't forget to tell people why you are wearing purple.}

Have a great day!

{PS - Don't forget to get in on my Lupus Awareness Month giveaway. You can find it here.}

Lupus Awareness Month :: Take Action

Would you like to take part in spreading awareness about lupus?

Thanks for spreading the word!

{PS - Don't forget to get in on my Lupus Awareness Month giveaway. You can find it here.}

Lupus Awareness Month :: GIVEAWAY

To help get awareness out there about lupus I've decided to host a giveaway for Lupus Awareness Month.

Here's what you can win:

Prize package includes:

• My 'All About Hope' stamp set from Unity Stamp Company
• A spool (240 yards!) of The Twinery's Mandarin baker's twine
• A spool (240 yards!) of The Twinery's Lilac baker's twine

The Details:
To enter:

• Leave a comment on this blog post. That's it!

If you would like additional chances to win you can do so in one (or all) of the following ways:

• Follow this blog. {Please let me know you are a follower by leaving an additional comment.} 
• "Like" InkBlotsbyTRD on Facebook. {Please let me know you are a follower by leaving an additional comment.}
• Share about this giveaway on your own blog, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, or anywhere else. {Please let me know where you've shared by leaving one additional comment.}

Blog comments for the giveaway will close Friday, June 6th @ 11:59pm (Eastern) and the winner will be announced Tuesday, June 10th here on my blog.
Please remember to check back to see if you've won.
{The winner will have 48 hours to contact me with their information.}

{Due to shipping costs, giveaways are available to US mailing addresses only.}

If you'd like to learn more about lupus, be sure to check out the Lupus Foundation of America's website.

And if you haven't ordered my 'All About Hope' stamp set yet, please do. (If you win it then you'll have an extra to share with a friend!) You can find it here.
This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with: Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, The Twinery, and/or Unity Stamp Company. 

Lupus Awareness Month :: Signs & Symptoms

I can't believe it is already May!

And you know what that means...Lupus Awareness Month.

I am hoping to share a little bit about lupus and spread awareness throughout the month of May, and figured I would start by sharing the signs and symptoms of lupus. 

{Infographic from lupus.org}

Keep checking back for more lupus information and be sure to check back next Tuesday for a giveaway!

Have a great day!

Book Review :: Inflammation Nation by Floyd Chilton

Inflammation Nation by Floyd Chilton - Find it on Amazon

I was able to read/skim this book in about an hour. While there is some helpful information in it, the end result of the actual "diet" portion of the plan was nothing groundbreaking, in my opinion. I have been having autoimmune/inflammatory issues for over a year now and have done quite a bit of research and although his initial approach from the scientific side is different, the end result was really nothing new. I was all excited to see his amazing diet tips after reading about his research (which was interesting)...only to find out that I already eat within the parameters of his "breakthrough diet" and still have inflammatory issues.

Yes, more people need to watch what they eat. Yes, eat more healthy veggies. Yes, stay away from foods not made from whole grains. Yes, we need to stay away from high sugar foods. Unless you eat things like chitterlings, pork liver, beef brain, fried everything, white flour everything, cakes, cookies, and no veggies...and if you watch at all what you eat, you may be pretty close to his "breakthough diet" already.

I felt more like the book should have been about wild salmon versus farmed salmon since that seems to be the bulk of his main argument. I do think it is important to note the difference, but again...you can find that out on the internet.

There are a few important pieces of information I believe were pointed out in this book:
-All fish is not created equal. Some fish can cause serious pain and inflammation and some will help you. (You can see his findings about specific fish in a concise list in Chapter 15...pages 172-175.)
-Egg yolk can pose a serious inflammation risk.
-Do not take a GLA supplement without having EPA (in supplement or food form)...it can cause serious harm.

I did find it interesting that he includes some of the major inflammatory foods (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, and citrus) on his "foods to eat often" lists. Personally, I have seen a direct link between these foods and my pain levels and therefore have decided to avoid them, as much as I love them. I would be curious to see more information on why he does not see these as inflammatory foods when they are some of the most common that will pop up in a Google search about inflammatory foods.

I recommend borrowing this book from your library. First, look at the indexes (unless you are very curious about scientific things) from page 165 through 175, maybe make a few lists of what to buy or avoid, and then take it right back to the library for someone else to borrow.


{Review originally published on 12/12/2008.}

WINNER {Lupus Awareness Month Giveaway}

Thanks to all who entered my recent giveaway...and a very special thanks to each of you who are followers of this blog.

marg0006

Congratulations!

marg0006: please send me an e-mail with your US mailing address so I can get your prize package out to you.
{You can find my e-mail address in my blog header or on my Blogger profile.}

{Winner will have 48 hours to contact me with their information.}

If you didn't win - stay tuned! Looks like it is almost time for a 600 follower giveaway!

Book Review :: The Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book by Jessica Black

<<<Looking for my Lupus Awareness Month GIVEAWAY?>>>

<<<Click here.>>>

Since it is Lupus Awareness Month, I figured I would re-publish a couple reviews of books (originally posted on another blog of mine) that have really helped me out in my lupus journey - here is one of those reviews:

The Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book by Jessica Black - Find it on Amazon

I checked this book out from our local library recently and really enjoyed it. I liked the informational part of the book...not too in depth and not too sparse, either. The recipe section was great inspiration, even if you never use the specific recipes (although they do look good). It just gives you an idea of how you can modify foods and recipes to fit a new way of eating. The tips in the recipe section are great!

The author is a Naturopathic doctor in Oregon, and because of this she is not just trying to push medicine to help in anti-inflammatory living like so many books about inflammation that are written by medical doctors - she focuses on foods to eat and foods to avoid.

I was able to contact the author and ask a few questions. Here they are and the answers she gave:

Question:
"Tomatoes and potatoes are omitted in your diet plan, but what about peppers and eggplant that are also from the nightshade family [and also paprika (you explain on p 58 that it is part of the nightshade family)]? Is there a reason you chose to include these in your diet while omitting only tomatoes and potatoes? From my reading I have seen most folks say to avoid the entire nightshade family."

Answer:
"I only included eggplant and peppers as a way to not have the diet be too strict. This diet is a mere suggestion for "most" people but for most of my patients, I fine tune the diet for them. If someone was having arthritis problems, then I might have them avoid all nightshades. But for someone who seems to be fine with some foods and their main concern is hormone issues and depression, they may be able to eat nightshade vegetables."

Question:
"What are your thoughts on Grapeseed (not rapeseed) oil? I currently use this as my main oil for cooking or baking and haven't heard much about it compared to olive oil."

Answer:
"I love grapeseed oil - it is made from vitis vinifera. We use Vitis vinifera as a remedy and I know it is high in resveratrol which helps in cholesterol conversion. It is also high in many antioxidants including proanthocyanidins and also has linolenic acid. Also has a high smoke point so great for cooking with. I wrote this book a few years ago when I was not using grape seed oil."

{Review originally published on 2/18/2009.}

Book Review :: The Lupus Book (4th Edition) by Daniel Wallace

<<<Looking for my Lupus Awareness Month GIVEAWAY?>>>

<<<Click here.>>>

Since it is Lupus Awareness Month, I figured I would re-publish a couple reviews of books (originally posted on another blog of mine) that have really helped me out in my lupus journey - here is one of those reviews:

The Lupus Book (4th Edition) by Daniel Wallace - Find it on Amazon

This book is very informative and helpful. I like that you can get into the technical side as much as you want with the wonderful information provided, or you can use this as a handy reference tool and a well put together overview of lupus. I have not been diagnosed with lupus, but for the past year have been going through some of the signs and symptoms and am just in "medical limbo" until I can get a specific diagnosis. Since lupus is one of the diseases my symptoms and blood work are pointing toward, I asked my library to purchase this book and borrowed it from there. If I do get diagnosed with lupus, I plan to buy this book as it is very informative and definitely worth owning.

I like that this is written by a doctor who cares for lupus patients and not only used medical research but his own knowledge from his personal practice experience. It can get very technical...but you can also easily skim those technical sections. The writer not only discusses things that are common in lupus, but also specific problems that may arise down the road, and I think this is a great reference point for anyone with lupus who may find their disease progressing in one of those directions.

This is a very well done and up to date book. Excellent reference.

{Review originally published on 12/12/2008.}

Lupus Awareness Month {GIVEAWAY}

I think it's time for a GIVEAWAY!

To help get awareness out there about lupus I've decided to host a giveaway for Lupus Awareness Month.

Here's what you can win:

Prize package includes:

• My 'All About Hope' stamp set from Unity Stamp Company
• A spool (240 yards!) of The Twinery's Mandarin baker's twine
• A spool (240 yards!) of The Twinery's Lilac baker's twine

The Details:
To enter:

• Leave a comment on this blog post. That's it!

If you would like additional chances to win you can do so in one (or all) of the following ways:

• Follow this blog. {Please let me know you are a follower by leaving an additional comment.} 
• Share about this giveaway on your own blog, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, or anywhere else. {Please let me know where you've shared by leaving one additional comment.}

Blog comments for the giveaway will close Friday, May 31st @ 11:59pm (Eastern) and the winner will be announced Tuesday, June 4th here on my blog.
Please remember to check back to see if you've won.
{The winner will have 48 hours to contact me with their information.}

{Due to shipping costs, giveaways are available to US mailing addresses only.}

If you'd like to learn more about lupus, be sure to check out the Lupus Foundation of America's website.

And if you haven't ordered my 'All About Hope' stamp set yet, please do. (If you win it then you'll have an extra to share with a friend!) You can find it here. It's currently on sale for only $10! (Sale ends May 16th.)

May is Lupus Awareness Month

Yep - it's Lupus Awareness Month.

Stay tuned for plenty of purple, a great giveaway (!), and more.

If you'd like to learn more about lupus, be sure to check out the Lupus Foundation of America's website.

And if you haven't ordered my 'All About Hope' stamp set yet, please do. You can find it here.
(And it's currently on sale for only $10!)

Some announcements...

May is Lupus Awareness Month.
If you aren't familiar with lupus I recommend that you go to the Lupus Foundation of America's website and read about it.

Purple and orange are the colors associated with lupus awareness, and I would love to see purple and orange projects all over the blogosphere. If you create a project using purple and orange, leave a link here in the comments...I'd love to check it out!



And now for the winners of my giveaway...

Winner #1 (winner of one of the prize packs):


Winner #2 (winner of one of the prize packs):


Winner #3 (winner of the May/June issue of Paper Crafts Magazine):


Congrats to the winners!

Send your US mailing address to: InkBlotsbyTRD{at}gmail{dot}com and I'll get your goodies out to you!

Thanks everyone for playing along - it's been fun!