\n<\/p>\n
I panicked one day when I saw an ad from the supplement company Solaray that read \u201cFood is not enough.\u201d My doctors had told me to eliminate most vitamins, and to get all of my nutrients from food instead. I visited Solaray\u2019s website and discovered the tagline refers to research showing that most Americans are not getting enough vital nutrients like calcium, vitamin D, iron, and folate. However, many of the studies they reference speak more to the imbalance of the American diet and the foods people eat, rather than a lack of nutrients in healthy foods.<\/p>\n
Health is nuanced, and that message gets lost in today\u2019s headline-happy world. Complex topics are reduced to rage-baiting headlines, then content creators make short clips that paraphrase them. The result can be a misleading game of telephone. And when you\u2019re living through an illness\u2014and will do anything to feel better or get healthier\u2014you\u2019re vulnerable to the advice that so many strangers are more than happy to give you online. The Internet empowers people to feel entitled to dole out medical guidance but, as Lesse points out, a one-size-fits-all approach rarely works for anyone. \u201cOne supplement that might<\/em> be good for you might not be good for somebody else,\u201d she says. \u201cI think back to a lot of the supplements I was taking before I was diagnosed and I probably should\u2019ve been speaking with [a doctor] about that.\u201d [Allure<\/em> recommends consulting with your doctor before taking any supplements.]<\/p>\n The prevalence of Internet \u201cexperts\u201d can lead to some uncomfortable conversations. \u201cIn the last few years I have really noticed the rise in a narrative about autoimmune diseases in particular\u2014that they affect women significantly more because women bear the weight of care, trauma, selflessness etc.,\u201d shares Erika. \u201cMy boss sent me a clip of [Canadian doctor and trauma expert] Gabor Mate speaking about this, and now I can tell she thinks my disease is a result of past traumas and burdens in my life. The narrative that something happened to me or I did something to cause the disease is wrong, and wholly unhelpful for me personally.\u201d<\/p>\n Post-diagnosis, the author keeps things simple: daily exercise, good sleep (without mouth tape or sleep apps), and a diet of mostly whole foods.<\/p>\n <\/span>Courtesy of Sue Williamson<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n There also isn\u2019t a clear definition of what wellness is in today’s world. It\u2019s everything and everywhere\u2014and it\u2019s nothing at all. \u201cBefore I was diagnosed with M.S., I thought of wellness as the spa,\u201d says Erica Lieurke, the founder of the Monarch Los Angeles hair salon, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2017. Lieurke used to particularly enjoy a sauna session as part of her self-care, but M.S. is triggered by heat so she can\u2019t visit them anymore. \u201cI feel excluded from spas in general now,\u201d she says. \u201cI can’t do massages because the left side of my body is numb. Even acupuncture isn’t pleasurable for me because I have so much neuropathy.\u201d<\/p>\n People experiencing illness can have limited options for health reasons, but they\u2019re also denied services that they want and need. I\u2019ve experienced this firsthand: My surgeon recommended lymphatic drainage to help reduce swelling from my lymph node removal\u2014and provided me with a doctors\u2019 note for the massage therapist\u2014but the moment I mentioned my diagnosis, I was rejected by three spas: \u201cNo, we can\u2019t treat you.\u201d \u201cNo, you can\u2019t use our products.\u201d \u201cNo, our service isn\u2019t for you.\u201d I left confused.<\/p>\n Lesse experienced a similar situation when her doctor suggested she get a massage to relieve stress. She booked an appointment and noted her diagnosis on the intake form, but when she settled into the treatment room her therapist informed her she couldn\u2019t stay. \u201cI was like, \u2018Wait, what? My back is in pain and I’m so stressed out. I just want to relax,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cI explained that my doctor gave me approval to get a massage, but the therapist told me that she couldn\u2019t do it because she didn\u2019t want to spread my cancer. I left crying and cried probably more than I did my entire treatment period. I felt so unseen and disrespected and just misunderstood.\u201d There is no scientific evidence that massage spreads cancer, and many oncologists recommend massages to help patients relax. Still, cancer patients regularly report being turned away.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I panicked one day when I saw an ad from the supplement company Solaray that read \u201cFood is not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beauty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/veefind.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/veefind.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/veefind.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veefind.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veefind.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/veefind.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veefind.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/veefind.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veefind.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veefind.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}