From eatingwell.com
Read more about Nitika Chopra’s perspective in this exclusive interview
Psoriasis is a chronic condition that can cause inflammation in the body due to immune system dysfunction. It can present itself in different forms, from plaque psoriasis impacting the texture of the skin to psoriatic arthritis causing discomfort in your joints, tendons and ligaments.
Chronic illness advocate, founder of the organization Chronicon and podcast host Nitika Chopra has been managing plaque psoriasis since childhood.
“I was diagnosed with psoriasis when I was 10 years old, and it was definitely a time in my life where it was really unexpected,” Chopra said in an interview with EatingWell. “It was challenging because it sort of grew from one small spot on my arm to covering basically 98 percent of my body within a year. It was a time where I was really young and wanted to just be playing with friends carefree, and my health really made that super challenging.”
In this exclusive interview, Chopra talked about her personal experience with psoriasis, from food swaps and her protein-packed eating pattern to what she wished she knew when she was initially diagnosed. Here’s what she had to say about her chronic condition—plus her recent partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb to help spread the word about psoriasis.
EatingWell: Since being diagnosed with psoriasis, what are some swaps that you have made in your eating pattern or lifestyle that have helped manage your condition?
Chopra: In terms of food, it’s really interesting to talk about because I remember that I loved junk food as a kid and really enjoyed my sweets. I never really thought about food in a greater sense; I just had these cravings and loved certain sweets. But as I’ve gotten older, one of the gifts of dealing with my body and having these different conditions is that it made me so much more aware of what I put into my body. Everything from stress management to taking care of my overall well being, ultimately making me feel better in general. I switched out the candy bars for a good dark chocolate, which is really nice—I think it’s important to have chocolate as often as you want to, but having a low-sugar dark chocolate instead has been really good for me. I’m drinking an oat milk latte that I make in the morning with stevia. I love that. Having less dairy, I don’t really have gluten, things like that that I just find make me feel better overall.
EatingWell: Could you walk us through what you eat in a day?
Chopra: I’m big on protein, I just think it’s so important, especially for women as we get older. I always start my day with a protein shake with oat milk and usually a workout or movement of some kind. After that, lunch is usually a Mediterranean-style or Greek salad for balance with delicious lettuce, some good cheese in there with some chicken. For dinner, it depends on what I’m feeling that day. It’s usually a protein-packed meal like salmon—I love to make salmon with a side of kale and some rice to make a little rice bowl. For snacks, I definitely gravitate towards a Luna bar or a protein bar. I have walnuts—I really like walnuts—and I’ll have a protein shake for a snack in the middle of the day because a lot of times when I’m feeling really hungry, I need something more sustaining.
EatingWell: What are some misconceptions about psoriasis that you want to debunk?
Chopra: I get so many messages from people that are dealing with their self-esteem as they’re navigating their psoriasis. Most of the time the messages are along the lines of, “Nobody in my family understands” or “I’m the only one” or “I have a supportive partner, but I’m really self conscious.” I wish people knew that emotional side of psoriasis, that’s something I definitely dealt with growing up. It really impacted my self-esteem, and it was that constant push-pull of people thinking, “It’s just a skin disease, why are you having a hard time concentrating at school? Why are you having a hard time making friends?” It doesn’t really add up to most people, but that’s because they don’t realize it’s so much more than that.
That’s a huge reason why I’m so excited about this partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb and their Clear Understanding campaign because it is exactly that: we’re allowing people to have a clearer understanding of what psoriasis really is about. If somebody is struggling with it and they feel really isolated and really alone, they can go to the website Clear-Understanding.com and see that there’s this whole group of people that gets exactly what they’re going through.
EatingWell: Since being diagnosed at age 10, what’s something that you wish you knew then that you know now?
Chopra: Overtime, I have learned to have a lot of empathy for other people and what they’re going through. It’s so cliche, but I have learned that things are not always what they seem, and that’s something that I had to learn during the process of dealing with my psoriasis. It was something that I didn’t know would be such a gift. Going through it, I was upset, disappointed, frustrated and all of those things, but after a while, I thought, people are judging me because of how I look, and they have no idea who I am. They’re just seeing this person with this thing on their body, and they’re not trying to get to know who I really am. So I started to look at this as an opportunity. As a human being, it’s so natural to make a quick judgment, but I started to stop and think, “What if that person is grumpy because they have a really bad headache?” or “What if that person has an attitude because they’re going through a breakup?” I really started to look at the person on a much deeper level which I’m really proud of and relieved by because it makes life a lot more beautiful.
EatingWell: What’s something you personally do to try to keep your immune system strong and your skin healthy during cold & flu season?
Chopra: I honestly think one of the greatest things that I have done for myself and my health is to have really strong boundaries. I don’t know if people think of those two things as being really linked together, but I have to say no a lot when people invite me to something and there’s going to be a lot of people there, or there’s going to be people I don’t know and I don’t know where they’ve been. I wear my mask everywhere where there’s more than one person that I don’t know. That’s something I’ve been doing to keep myself really safe. I also think that the basics really work: making sure I get enough sleep, making sure I move my body enough, keeping myself active in a healthy way. And watching the foods I eat—although I still have cravings for junk food from time to time! But giving myself permission to take care of myself through my food is a really wonderful thing.
EatingWell: What does “eating well” mean to you?
Chopra: To me, it means checking in with myself and really honouring what I’m sensing I need at that moment. Not really trying to follow something that’s so strict because that can also get really intense, but being honest about what I want. Maybe I think I want the candy bar, but really I need some vegetables or something that’s more nourishing. That’s what eating well means to me.
https://www.eatingwell.com/chronic-illness-advocate-opens-up-about-psoriasis-8351157
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