Last year I wrote a post about living with Sjogren’s Syndrome, which is an autoimmune disease characterized mainly by symptoms of dry eyes and dry mouth. Of course, there can be many more progressive complications than that, but those are typically the first signs.

My symptoms first started when I moved to Las Vegas about 9 years ago, and maybe it was just coincidental that the dry desert air + dry mouth/eyes, but also probably not.

Since that post, I have relocated to South Carolina where my mom lives, and the humidity certainly helps keep my skin feel happier, and there is less stress here and that also helps in a HUGE way. (I will get to that in a sec!)

I would imagine that the majority of people think that I only live by natural remedies since I’ve shared so many natural wellness tips over the years, and while I am totally in love with natural remedies, I do in fact also believe in science, my doctors, and the medical community, so there are certainly times that I choose to go the conventional route. I don’t think anything in life should be an absolute. Life is about being flexible and intuitive about your body and choices.

So now that the cats out of the bag, this post is a bit of a round up of the things I do / have been doing lately to feel better, and while many are natural, many are conventional.

Which leads me into the all ways that I cope / deal / live / thrive with this invisible illness, Sjogren’s Syndrome.

First up is is stress management.

I find that stress is one of the biggest culprits for Sjogren’s flares. (If you are reading this you prob know what a flare is, but it’s when all of the sudden you have a wave of symptoms arise out of the seemingly clear blue)

When I am overly stressed, it feels like the symptoms flare up and multiply.

Chronic stress is one of the most dangerous things on the planet. The more chronic stress you have the more the stress wrecks havoc on your immune system. Years ago, people believed that the immune system and the rest of the body worked independently, now people know differently. We know allllll is connected now.

“Chronic stress may also enhance the risk for developing autoimmune disease, in which the immune system produces antibodies that attack healthy cells. In addition, individuals with autoimmune disease also appear to have more difficulty down-regulating immune responses after exposure to stressors.” (source)

One of the biggest ways I lowered my stress was to cut out the people who were stressors. I recommend doing whatever you can to keep calm in your corner, and setting loving, strong boundaries is a great way to do that.

Secondly, I started meditating. Quieting your mind is medicine.

I use the Waking Up App, and I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s the real deal. It’s deep. I love it because there is no fluff.

If you want a “fluffier meditation,” try the Calm App. Their daily calm guided meditation is really nice. I really enjoy this app too. I actually listen to one of their sleep stories every night.

The best thing you can do for your body and your body’s cells is to get calm and meditate. Even just 5-10 minutes a day; it’ll be so helpful.

Juicing & Liquids

I was recently reading Joel Fuhrman MD’s book Fasting and Eating For Health, and in one chapter he speaks specifically on autoimmune conditions and how he has been able to reverse many autoimmune diseases via juicing. He recommends 2 (very) green juices daily, and has many great recipes in his books. I do this often, but not every day, although I am moving in that direction. (If you are on the east coast and don’t want to juice yourself I highly recommend order juices from Cold Off The Press – my faves are Master Green, SS Green, & Hydra Green).

And also check out my fave, easy green juice here. What you want to aim for in healing green juice is LOTS of dark leafy greens & not much fruit (or zero fruit) – choose lower sugar fruits like pears or green apple, and also remember that when sweetening greens that even cucumber & lemon sweeten without lots of sugar.

I recommend checking out his book asap, and of course also speak to your medical doctor, as changing anything major in your diet, and especially a fast must be medically supervised.

Moving onto more liquids, let’s talk green tea & h20.

Next to water, green tea is one of the healthiest beverages. It has major antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds all of which are great for punching Sjogren’s in the face.

“It reduces your risk of heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, and other conditions. Many of its benefits are due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, especially a substance called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). EGCG inhibits inflammation by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine production and damage to the fatty acids in your cells.” (source)

I am obsessed with drinking as much tea as possible. I prefer loose leaf tea, BUT I don’t always have time for that. My favorite bagged tea is Jasmine Green by Numi. It’s mild, sweet, and you can’t fuck it up. (other green teas you can fuck up by adding water that is too hot or leaving the bag in too long. This one is pretty fool-proof and tastes really nice. Also, Numi is a non-toxic brand.)

And for water to keep my hydration levels at an optimum level, my secret weapon Is naturally flavored electrolytes. They taste SO good, the Lavender Lemonade and the Jade Lemon Berry from YL are my faves.

Anti-inflammatory diet

I find that the cleaner I eat, the better my symptoms feel. I think we can all agree by now that Michael Pollan’s quote “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” is one to live by.

Eating lots of plant based foods IS a huge part of an anti-inflammatory diet, which is a focus on whole vegs & fruits + healthy fats (nuts, seeds, avocado) + lots of fiber (yay) + moderate amounts of organic meat (if u choose to eat meats) + herbs / spices (ginger, turmeric, etc).

It’s pretty awesome that the official Sjogren’s Foundation website actually recommends an anti-inflammatory diet.

Here is a short article on anti-inflammatory foods from Harvard.

Eyes

My eyes are annoyingly dry…a lot. It’s quite frustrating, but something that I’ve learned to handle (and I’m also grateful because it could be worse). As soon as I wake up, I use eye drops otherwise I’ll have a very hard-to-see sandy situation happening.

Which brings us to the first very conventional remedy I use for Sjogren’s Syndrome – Refresh Optive Preservative-Free Eye Drops. I can’t live without them, and I happily use them, especially since they are preservative-free.

Another thing is a heated eye mask. There are a couple that I like. This one & this one. This REALLY helps – especially mid-day if my eyes just feel super tired and I can’t seem to get the “scratchiness” to go away. It also feels amazing right before bed.

Lips

Even more so than my eyes, are the lips. THE LIPS ARE ALWAYS DRY. OMG.

I basically have every type of lip balm, and I keep MULTIPLES on me at all times.

Here is another conventional curveball for ya: AQUAPHOR. I have yet to find a product better than Aquaphor. Sometimes I think I’ve found something better, and then I end up back to Aquaphor. For this, I’d actually prefer to use something more natural, but I am still testing this category!

Side note: If you have Sjogren’s and ever get cracks in the corners of your mouth for no reason, try Neosporin. That’s the only thing that works for me, and mostly I think because of the viscosity of Neosporin, it actually stays on the mouth long enough to heal it. (Aquaphor doesn’t work for me on cracked corners)

Recently I am also using pure Vitamin E oil. Since it has a thicker consistency than let’s say jojoba oil, it works better for me. I also really love that it’s only 1 ingredient and completely non-toxic. During the day this has been really nice.

Mouth

I read online that ginger was good for dry mouth. I tried it and I really like this remedy. I personally don’t see lasting results from it, but certainly temporary results. Also ginger is an anti-inflammatory food, and full of all the good things a body needs, so it’s a HUGE YES anyway for a healthy lifestyle.

You simply take a slice of ginger (about an inch worth), toss it in a mug, and pour boiling water over it for 5-10 mins. Voila; ginger herbal tea. It’s surprisingly not spicy, and a very calming night time (or anytime) beverage.

Next level of ginger root tea would be my anti-flu tea; I highly recommend drinking this often. So powerful and so flavorful.

People who have Sjogren’s have a higher probability of having cavities and dental issues. This is because saliva actually contains minerals that naturally fight off bacteria in the mouth (my dentist told me this!), and since Sjogren’s ppl have less saliva, they typically have more bacteria in the mouth that breakdowns enamel and can cause more cavities over time. SO HEALTHY ORAL HYGIENE IS IMPERATIVE.

So 3 things I do – Fluoride, Cacao, Tongue Scrape.

Oh yes, I am very pro-fluoride. For the people who need it, I think it can be absolutely essential. This may come as a surprise to some people who follow me for all the natural remedies. Again, I am NOT black and white; I am flexible with my thoughts, decisions, and choices, and I choose what I believe is best for me at the time given the education I receive and data I collect. I am natural in many ways, but not when it comes to my toothpaste. I may alter this in the future when my teeth are in a “like new” condition.

I have a prescription toothpaste that actually builds back the enamel. Since my enamel in areas needs to be built back, the fluoride, in my case, is extremely beneficial. (Alex on the other hand doesn’t use fluoride because he doesn’t have anything he needs to rebuild)

I’ve also read in many places that raw cacao is awesome for mouth health, so how fab is that?! Chocolate for heathy oral hygeine… yes.

OK so not like Chocolate Hershey kisses, but real, raw chocolate; Cacao.

“Cacao beans contain tannins, polyphenols and flavonoids which are all strong antioxidants that benefit your mouth and teeth. Polyphenols limit the effects of bacteria by neutralizing the microorganisms that cause bad breath and prevent infections in your gums while battling tooth decay.” (source & source)

I keep a little container of cacao nibs in my bag + I add them to smoothies + I add them to home made trail mix.

Tongue scraping is SO important for a healthy mouth.

Like I mentioned earlier, Sjogren’s ppl can have some interesting oral situations… none of us want the funk going on in our mouth. It’s gross and uncomfortable.

Tongues are actually quite gross, and they can harbor so much bacteria, that is UNLESS they are scraped. You can tell how healthy you are by looking at your tongue. I have found this to be true in a MAJOR way. I always know that I’m getting off track if my tongue is starting to act funky.

This is the tongue scraper I use and it comes with a holder so it stays clean, and also handy to travel with. (also 50K+ 5 star reviews on Amazon)

Previously this year I had to do a round of oral thrush mouthwash from my MD, and it helped. Unless it gets really bad I can typically keep it under control by myself. I do this by listening to my body, checking my tongue daily, scraping my tongue, not drinking too many sugary drinks (including wine), and by drinking lots of probiotics daily.

Oral Thrush is VERY common in Sjogren’s ppl. I didn’t have any challenges with that really until this year, and I can pinpoint it back to the moment where I had a flare up with it paired with an immensely stressful situation where I also was emotionally eating crappy. It makes sense; everything is connected.

Since then I have been working on creating a healthier, happier oral environment. In the morning I like to do oil-pulling with orange & copaiba essential oil.

Copaiba is something I really believe in for oral care (and overall wellness!) as it is known to be healthy for the gums & teeth. When used daily, it may reduce mouth sores, cavities, and infections! (source) The other essential oil I use for oral care is Cinnamon. Studies show that Cinnamon may be a natural anticandidal agent. I personally use Thieves Mouthwash (which contains cinnamon) because it’s easier for me to use than mixing my own cinnamon + coconut oil mouthwash blend again (since I already do the coconut oil-pulling in the morning, I really don’t want to make another concoction). If you have another kind of cinnamon you love, you may want to try it yourself! Or grab yourself a bottle of Thieves; I think it’s pretty much a miracle in a bottle.

ONE MORE THING. To loop back to Green tea real quick – green tea is also helpful for the salivary glands!

Energy Levels

So typically with Sjogren’s you can have major bouts of fatigue. I personally am not sure if I can correlate my tiredness to Sjogren’s or if it’s being a mom and entrepreneur ha. But either way, maintaining energy level (physically & mentally) is something that I am highly interested in, and I nerd out over.

There are SO many reasons one could be tired or lethargic – anything from not enough hours of sleep at night, to your circadian rhythm being off, to poor food choices, to stress, or even to another underlying health condition. So like anything else you want to talk to your MD if this is progressively getting out of hand.

Other than getting a full 7-9 hours sleep… because I’m not going into that in this post, but you can read more about getting great sleep HERE.

The BEST thing I’ve found to perk up my energy levels if I’m in a slump is GINSENG.

OH MY GOD, GINSENG. Personally, it’s is perfect for my system. My body responds so well to it.

Ginseng is a root (kinda looks like ginger) that in many people can improve energy and focus.

I’ve tried 100% ginseng shots, but they don’t have as much of an effect on me as my absolute FAVORITE product for ginseng on the planet… Ningxia Nitros. The reason that (for me anyway!) they work better than plain ginseng is because they are a blend of ingredients for energy & focus.

In addition to ginseng, Nitros have a little caffeine (40 mg from green tea) + bioenergy Ribose. Ribose helps create adenosine triphosphate a.k.a the main energy currency of your body! Also it contains 100% of you daily b12 requirements, and b12 is an energizing vitamin. (source) Lots of energy happening in one tiny, yet gentle shot. OH AND it tastes good.

For non-supplements in the department of boosting energy, I swear by my chi swing. SWEAR BY IT.

It’s this nifty lil gadget that you pop your feet into and it swings your feet back and forth. It helps with circulation, and back/leg pain, but ai simply use it as a mid-day revitalizing boost. I lay a soft blanket on the ground, warm up my eye mask, grab my Bose headphones, lay down and pop ankles into the chi swing for 20 mins and have a mini meditation.

It’s the best, and my body feel completely revitalized. Lastly, I have a nitro and some water and I’m usually well on my way to be out of a fatigue flare (or a sleepy mom flare).

Skin

I’ve noticed that I have to rotate my skin care from time to time, and certainly with the change of seasons. I took Accutane twice in my early 20’s and I think it really made my skin dryer than perhaps it would be now if I hadn’t taken it, but honestly, it cleared up my skin so well, I’m ok with dealing with the consequences now.

That being said, here are some products I love for moisturizing the face and body.

First of all, I sleep with a fabulous Humidifier. I love the mist blowing all over me. It’s divine. Definitely helps the skin and nose to not be as dry. (I like this one because you don’t have to change it so often)

Olive Gold is an incredible oil. It’s made from olive oil (which btw is one of the best oils for aging skin), and some other miracle stuff. My bf’s mom told me about this stuff years ago, and it’s one of those “heal all” kind of products. I don’t know how it works, but I fucking love this stuff. I use it on my face, body, lips, literally everywhere.

Egyptian Gold Cream is another holy cream. It’s all purpose & all natural, and you can rub it all over ya. What I have discovered about creams and oils is that you just have to be a guinea pig; try different products until you hopefully find one that rocks your socks. I think you’ll enjoy this one, and it was over 10k 5 star reviews, so seems like a fan fave.

Cerave Night Facial Cream is an incredibly moisturizing facial cream. It says night cream, but I use it day & night, my face loves the moisture. I always steer clear of skincare brands that aren’t in the vegan/cruelty-free category, but when I was having a major flare earlier this year, my gf who is a medical esthetitian begged me to try this Cerave cream. Nothing, I mean NOTHING else was working and my face was so uncomfortable, and this actually did help tremendously. Even though it’s not my typical recommendation, if you’re having severe dry skin on the face, I may suggest trying this.

Baraka Dry Nose Drops are phenomenal if you ever have a dry nose.

Esophagus

I was having some mild esophagus issues earlier this, which again I can connect to a highly stressful situation.

For esophagus issues I personally use AlkaLime & I removed triggering foods from my diet.

I finally came to the conclusion that raw red onion, although amazingly healthy just simply does not pair well w/my body. I guess it’s heartburn?? I really don’t know, but it just doesn’t settle well, and when I finally decided to stop eating it, I felt so much better. I also removed raw bell peppers and cumin.

And now if for some reason I have an uncomfortable sensation in my esophagus, I take AlkaLime (which is essentially a natural PH balancer for your tummy) and I find that those uncomfortable sensations subside really fast.

Joints

I don’t have any joint pain from Sjogren’s, but to take preventative measures I take turmeric daily. Studies show that turmeric may be helpful in alleviating pain (and is also an anti-inflammatory)! Read more about the powers of turmeric here.

Turmeric Tip… your body absorbs turmeric best when paired with black pepper. It’s not always easy to find black pepper in raw juice (and doesn’t really make sense from a juice biz perspective, but certainly in your supplements look for products that have black pepper as an ingredient).

I like the Truvani Turmeric Supplement (her products are amazing and her ingredients are psycho-level clean!)

Love Cold Off The Press Turmeric juice shots (love these and it’s paired w/pineapple)

YL Turmeric Mango Rose drink is lovely in the evening; it supports the body’s natural response to inflammation, immune response, joint health, & mobility. (obsessed)

YL Spiced Turmeric Herbal Tea is DIVINE. It’s so delicious, AND it contains peppercorn, which as mentioned above is a huge yes for boosting absorption.

Moon Juice Cosmic Gold is a super chic and powerful turmeric product and a clean, plant-based brand as well.

Lastly, YL’s CBD rub is phenomenal. It’s a muscle rub, but I swear it just helps everything feel better. I use it when my joints are overworked on my right hand from applying hair extensions all day. The essential oils in this products are so powerful. It’s def a must-have.

Since my post on turmeric from years ago, there are so many new and incredible turmeric products available now! Very exciting.

I really hope this is helpful. Please share with a friend who would find this helpful. Love you & sending you all the healing vibes, Ashley.