RENEW Functional Insights

The sugar advice I disagree with.

One piece of advice I hear all the time is:

🚫 “Just cut out all sugar.”

As a board-certified nurse practitioner living with Rheumatoid Arthritis, I don’t think it’s that simple.

Here’s why:

🍓 1. Not all sugar is the same.

Fruit, dairy, and other whole foods naturally contain sugar—but they also provide fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients your body needs.

The goal isn’t to fear every gram of sugar.

It’s to build meals around nourishing foods.

🍪 2. Restriction often backfires.

I’ve seen so many women swing between being “perfect” all week…

…and then feeling like they’ve failed after one dessert.

That cycle of restriction and overeating doesn’t help your relationship with food or make healthy habits easier to maintain.

🥦 3. Focus on what you’re adding, not just what you’re taking away.

Instead of obsessing over eliminating every source of sugar, ask yourself:

✔ Did I eat enough protein?

✔ Did I get enough fiber?

✔ Did I include whole foods today?

Fiber is especially important because it helps support a healthy gut microbiome, and your gut plays an important role in your overall health and inflammation.

For me, sustainable habits have always beaten extreme rules.

Because the best nutrition plan isn’t the most restrictive one.

It’s the one you can actually stick with.

Follow for more evidence-based tips on reducing inflammation and living well with RA. 🤍

Your ambition isn’t the problem.

One thing I’ve noticed about the high-achieving women I work with who have Rheumatoid Arthritis…

They’re incredibly good at pushing through.

They push through the fatigue.

They push through the pain.

They push through the stress.

Because that’s what they’ve always done.

They’ve built successful careers by being dependable, driven, and resilient.

But here’s what no one tells you…

The same mindset that helped you succeed at work can become the very thing that’s keeping your body stuck.

As a board-certified nurse practitioner living with RA, I’ve learned that your body doesn’t care about your to-do list.

It responds to how well you support it.

The women who make the biggest progress aren’t the ones who work harder.

They’re the ones who learn when to push—and when to recover.

That’s not weakness.

That’s strategy.

I don’t want you to stop being ambitious.

I want you to redefine what success looks like.

Because real success isn’t getting everything done while silently suffering.

It’s building a career, enjoying your life, and supporting your body at the same time.

That’s the kind of life I want for every woman I work with.

If this sounds like you, comment RA.