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Calgary woman taps into the power of food to save her life

It’s been called the disease with many faces, due to its difficulty in being detected. The Lupus Canada website indicates that the disease affects over 1 in 1000 Canadians, and can cause chronic joint pain, fatigue, skin rash, kidney failure and more.

Though sometimes fatal, Delia Einboden, 50, tells her story of coping happily with lupus.

Losing her older sister to lupus at 25 and then being diagnosed with the disease herself a year later, the disease has affected all aspects of her life.

Working in real estate, the high-stress environment didn’t help her.

“I think I had 13 miscarriages all together. I was on a walking IV, and I was on tons of antibiotics… I think I had 21 different infections over the course of a year,” Einboden said.

When she was 38, Einboden finally had two twins through assisted fertility, or IVF. Four years later, she gave birth to her last son, Lynden. While all three were in school, her lupus was out of control. She relied heavily on medication, and was bed-ridden for months.

Something had to give.        Einboden proudly displays her healthy eating habits to keep her lupus at bay. 
Photo by: Dara Defreitas

“I remember laying in my bed upstairs, and I thought to myself, ‘You know what? I got to live or I have got to die.’ And I remember repeating that over and over, ‘I have got to either live or just die….I have to get out of bed and I have to do something different,’” she said.

Einboden immediately felt better after buying a gym membership and getting off of her medication. However, following a strict and unhealthy diet while taking up bodybuilding, Einboden’s lupus flared up again.

“I had IBS [irritable-bowel syndrome] and my hair fell out in handfuls, and that’s when I knew the power of food,” Einboden said.

Einboden discovered a nutritionist who changed her life and kick-started her new career. Not only does she teach healthy eating habits to clients, but to her three children and husband as well.

“It’s hard to eat healthy, but I know it’s good for me, and that my mom does it for a good reason,” Einboden’s 12-year-old daughter, Mackenzie said.

“It’s not easy to see the other junk that kids eat at school sometimes, but that’s okay,” Mackenzie added.

Delia Einboden teaches her daughter Mackenzie the value of eating properly.
Photo by: Dara Defreitas

Einboden said she owes it to proper nutrition for keeping her lupus at bay and being able to manage it much better.

“I think the biggest thing I feel is that I have control,” Einboden said.

“I have more control than I thought I had. I was hopeless and helpless that day I laid in bed, and today I’m not hopeless or helpless.”

Einboden plans to continue teaching nutrition to large groups and will soon be working on a program for senior citizens called, “The healthy living challenge.”

Learn more about Einboden by visiting BodyMind Nutrition.

ddefreitas@cjournal.ca

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