What Foods Should Be Avoided When Having Connective Tissue Disease?

Connective tissue diseases refer to a class of illnesses that occur when the body's connective tissues are affected. Common examples of these diseases include lupus erythematosus, vasculitis, and Sjogren's syndrome. In addition to timely medical treatment, patients with connective tissue diseases should also pay attention to proper nursing care in their daily lives, especially in terms of diet.

So, what foods should patients with connective tissue diseases avoid? The following are some dietary restrictions for patients with these diseases:

1. Greasy and Spicy Foods: Patients with connective tissue diseases may experience digestive system issues such as vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, and poor appetite. Coupled with long-term use of hormones, which may lead to or exacerbate peptic ulcer and abnormal elevation of blood lipids, greasy and spicy foods are not easy to digest, can irritate the gastrointestinal tract and worsen the condition, and may cause further abnormal elevation of blood lipids.

2. Coffee and Cola: As people age, hormone secretion decreases, and bone density decreases. Long-term use of hormones can accelerate bone loss. Coffee and cola contain caffeine, which can increase the concentration of calcium in urine, prevent the absorption of calcium by the stomach, and increase calcium loss.

3. Smoked and Grilled Foods: These foods contain certain carcinogenic substances due to incomplete combustion of fuel during the smoking and grilling process, which can contaminate the food with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs are chemical substances with carcinogenic effects, and foods such as ham belong to this category. Additionally, these foods are often high in salt, which can exacerbate hypertension in patients with connective tissue diseases, so it is advisable to avoid them.

4. Sweet Foods: Excessive consumption of sweets can raise blood sugar levels, stimulate gastric juice secretion, and damage the gastric mucosa over time, leading to gastritis and gastric ulcers. Since patients with connective tissue diseases often need to take hormones for a long time, this can increase the risk of side effects such as gastric ulcers and high blood sugar. These conditions can interact and worsen the patient's condition, even leading to gastric bleeding.