Dr. Brooke Golder, who reversed her lupus and has remained symptom-free for over a decade, gives insight on which foods to eat to help your body naturally fight off and recover from infection.

Long before vegan was a popular hashtag and a global pandemic was something only dreamt up by movie producers, Dr. Brooke Goldner was quietly overcoming her 12-year battle with Systemic Lupus Nephritis.

While completing her medical residency at Harbor-UCLA, she met her future husband, who suggested she try a vegan lifestyle before their wedding. She changed her diet, and not only did she see her lupus symptoms dissipate over time, but she also saw her energy levels increase exponentially. Goldner’s symptoms eventually disappeared altogether; she tested negative for lupus and was able to stop taking medication.

Since then, Golder has become an advocate for living a healthy lifestyle by using food as medicine. She created the Hyper-nourishing Nutrition Protocol for Lupus Reversal and is the author of three bestselling books.

With the onset of COVID-19, immune-boosting products have been brought to the forefront. The internet is now teeming with remedies that claim to miraculously prevent you from catching the disease. All this has made Goldner’s guidelines for a healthy lifestyle more crucial than ever, and they are easy to follow.

Goldner’s virus-fighting recommendations can be found in the produce aisle of your local grocery store. Along with adequate sleep and exercise, Goldner recommends a diet full of dark, leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables. She suggests spinach, kale, cabbage, and broccoli – all the foods that people tend to push off their plate should be the centerpiece of their meals, especially in their raw form. “They have so many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that your cells use to keep your body healthy and fight off infections.”

Anti-inflammatory foods full of Omega-3 fatty acids are also at the top of Goldner’s list when it comes to helping your body stay healthy. According to Goldner, chia and flax seeds are excellent for clearing out inflammatory responses in the body. They are what she recommends to all her patients who are trying to reverse autoimmune diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.

Also, you may not want to hear it, but your mom is right – you need to drink more water. As low-tech as this natural remedy is, Goldner advocates for large amounts of water to aid your body in removing toxins and anti-inflammatory responses. She likens dehydration to trying to run your car without oil in it and encourages everyone to drink more than the recommended amounts of water. “Most people are severely dehydrated, and one of the symptoms of that is not being able to heal from infections,” she says. “If you are sick, you want to drink at least 96 oz per day, and if you are over 120 pounds, up to a gallon per day to make sure you heal as quickly as possible.”

COVID-19 has helped make everyone aware of the necessity for healthier habits in all aspects of their lives. But as Goldner has shown in her bestselling books, in her private practice, and personal life, incorporating hyper-nourishing foods is more than a trend; it is a lifestyle shift that we will benefit from long after the global pandemic.

Dr. Goldner now helps heal thousands across the nation.

You can learn more about Dr. Goldner at www.goodbyelupus.com or follow her at @goodbyelupus.