7 Day Lupus Diet Meal Plan (PDF & Menu)

Diet can help play a big role in managing lupus, an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation and immune system dysfunction.

While diet alone cannot cure lupus, making dietary changes can help reduce symptoms and minimize inflammation.

By incorporating anti-inflammatory foods, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants within a balanced diet, individuals with lupus can help alleviate symptoms associated with lupus.

This article provides a comprehensive overview of following a diet when taking Saxenda, including a sample 7-day plan featuring daily meals and a corresponding shopping list.

You can jump straight into the 7 day pdf of the plan here.

View 7 Day Lupus Diet Plan PDF

Contents show

What is Lupus?

Lupus, or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues and organs.

It can affect various parts of the body, including the skin, joints, kidneys, heart, and lungs. Lupus is characterized by periods of flare-ups and remission, with symptoms ranging from mild to severe and varying from person to person.

Common symptoms include fatigue, joint pain, skin rashes, fever, and inflammation. It requires ongoing medical management and treatment.

However, diet can help manage the symptoms of lupus as well as other health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.

How Diet Can Help Lupus

A lot of the benefits of eating a good, healthy diet come in the form of losing and maintaining a healthy weight. Some of the specific benefits include:

Reduced Inflammation: Excess weight, especially visceral fat (fat around the organs), contributes to inflammation in the body. By eating a healthy diet and losing weight, you can reduce inflammation levels, potentially helping symptoms of lupus and reducing risk of flares.
Better Joint Health: Joint pain is common in those with lupus, particularly the small joints. Carrying excess weight puts additional stress on the joints, exasberating any symptoms. By losing and maintaining a healthy weight, you can reduce the strain on joints and reduce discomfort.
Better Cardiovascular Health: Cardiovascular disease is the biggest cause of death of people suffering with SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus). Being overweight or obese compounds this risk, as it contributes to risk factors such as hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes. Losing weight can help reduce the risk of these and improve cardiovascular health.
Overall Well-Being: Dealing with lupus everyday can take a toll 0n your mental health. Losing weight and eating a healthy diet can enhance mood and reduce stress, particularly if it is accompanied by physical activity, which releases endorphins.

Foods to Eat for Lupus

These are the type of foods you want to eat to help with lupus:

Fruits and Vegetables: These are high in vitamins, minerals and fiber. Fiber in particular is important if you need to lose weight as it helps you feel fuller with fewer calories, helping you to lose weight naturally.
Whole Grains: These are high in fiber and other vitamins. Studies find that eating whole grains are associated with a number of health benefits, including a reduced risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and inflammation.
Lean Proteins: Choose lean protein sources like poultry, fish, legumes (such as beans and lentils), and tofu. Sufficient protein is essential in order to maintain muscle mass. Having sufficient muscle is important in keeping your base metabolism high, helping you expend more calories and helping weight loss.
Fatty Fish: Include fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s have anti-inflammatory properties that may help manage lupus symptoms.
Beans and Legumes: These are great sources of plant-based protein. They can help improve blood pressure and cholesterol. Since they are high in protein and fiber, they also keep you more fuller for longer, helping you naturally lose weight.
Nuts and Seeds: Although nuts and seeds do contain a lot of calories, many studies find that they can actually help weight loss. They can also help lower cholesterol and triglycerides.
Low-Fat Dairy: Choose low-fat dairy products or dairy alternatives fortified with calcium and vitamin D. These nutrients are important for bone health, especially as lupus and some medications can increase the risk of osteoporosis.
Healthy Fats: Incorporate healthy fats like olive oil, avocados, nuts (such as almonds, walnuts), and seeds (such as flaxseeds and chia seeds). These fats provide essential fatty acids and can help reduce inflammation.

Foods to Limit for Lupus

These are the sorts of foods to limit on the whole.

It’s fine to have an occasional treat, but these are the types of foods that will encourage weight gain and increase the risk of health factors when consumed in high quantities.

Added sugar: Sweets, table sugar, sugary drinks and many others
Refined grains: White bread, pasta made with refined wheat, etc.
Trans fats: Found in margarine and various processed foods.
Refined Oils: Soybean oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil and others.
Highly processed foods & meats: fried chicken, potato chips and more

Why Choose a Mediterranean Diet For Lupus

The Mediterranean diet is one of the best to follow for people with lupus. It contains all the foods above and is one of the most researched and recommended diets to follow.

Many credible organisations suggest following a Mediterranean diet. These include:

It is a well-researched diet with many studies showing its effectiveness for a range of health markers. Some of the studies are linked below:

Lower risk of cardiovascular events, coronary heart disease, (1, 2)
Lower risk of coronary heart disease (3, 4)
Lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes (5)
Lower risk of breast cancer (6)
Lower risk of obesity (7)
Better cognitive function (8)

It is also a great diet to follow for weight loss. The Mediterranean diet has been ranked as the best diet according to the U.S. News & World Report.

In particular, it comes out on top when it comes to its healthiness and easiness to follow. This makes it a perfect diet to follow if you want to lose weight healthily and sustainably, meaning you keep the weight off long-term.

How to Follow a Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet pyramid below gives a good visual indication of what foods to prioritize.

At the bottom are common staple foods that are to be consumed in large amounts and more frequently. Portion sizes and frequency decline as you go up the pyramid.

The pyramid intentionally does not specify recommended weights of foods or calories. It is only meant to provide an overall look at healthy food choices and their relative proportions.

It does this because good health has been attributed to variations within the overall dietary pattern. The more variety you get within the specified relative allowances per category – the better.

7 Day Mediterranean Lupus Diet

Sample Menu

In the meal plan are recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Mon	Blueberry Blues Porridge	Greek Salad	Haddock Risotto
Tues	Basil & Spinach Scramble	Falafel Wraps	Eggplant & Lentil Bake
Wed	Tomato & Watermelon Salad	Carrot, Orange & Avocado Salad	Mediterranean Chicken, Quinoa & Greek Salad
Thurs	Blueberry Blues Porridge	Mixed Bean Salad	Grilled Vegetables with Bean Mash
Fri	Basil & Spinach Scramble	Panzanella Salad	Salmon & Chickpea Salad
Sat	Tomato & Watermelon Salad	Spiced Carrot & Lentil Soup	Chicken Gyros
Sun	Blueberry Blues Porridge	Moroccan Chickpea Soup	Spicy Mediterranean Beet Salad

Snacks are recommended between meal times. Some good snacks include:

A handful of nuts or seeds
A piece of fruit
Carrots or baby carrots
Berries or grapes

Day 1: Monday

Breakfast: Breakfast Blues Porridge

Nutrition

Calories – 347
Protein – 15g
Carbs – 42g
Fat – 15g

Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients (for 2 people)

½ cup (50g) porridge oats
⅚ cup (200ml) milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp Greek yogurt
⅛ cup (25g) chia seeds
¾ cup (150g) blueberries
⅓ cup (25g) flaked almonds

Instructions

Mix the porridge oats, milk, vanilla extract, Greek yogurt and chia seeds in a bowl and soak for one minute. Once the oats have softened, add some of the blueberries.
Place the mixture into two bowls and add any remaining berries and almonds.

Lunch: Greek Salad