When Helen Johnston was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis in her 30s, she had no idea it would end up changing the course of her life and career. The 59-year-old former magazine editor was determined to take control of her health and spent three years retraining to become a registered nutritionist.
Now, she has launched a health food company offering “superblends” of seeds and herbs that can be sprinkled on to sweet and savoury dishes. Helen believes that improving her diet and eating more nutrient-dense foods have played a role in helping her live well with her condition. She said: “I'm very fortunate that I haven't needed the medication for about two years.
“But I know it's won’t be the same for everyone and there is so much else surrounding it in terms of dealing with stress, understanding the benefits of exercise, positive thinking, having a purpose, all those things.”
Helen, of north London, was cycling to work when she first noticed pain in her hands and feet. “I didn't understand it,” she said. “I was healthy, full of energy. It was just was something completely out of the blue.” The pain was worse in the mornings, sometimes coming and going throughout the day.
Helen eventually saw a rheumatologist. She said: “I was given this bombshell diagnosis of an autoimmune condition, psoriatic arthritis. I was in total disbelief. I can remember bursting into tears and the slightly unsympathetic doctor saying, ‘What's the matter?’ I was in my mid-30s. I had a two-year-old son and it just felt like total devastation.”
Arthritis: Doctor gives advice on best foods to help ease pain
Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic autoimmune and inflammatory condition that causes joint pain, swelling and stiffness. Other symptoms can include feeling drained of energy and changes in the nails. Sometimes the pain feels like a systemic ache, Helen explained. “There's a dull ache through your whole body. It's like flu, that's the best way to describe it I think.”
Helen started taking a combination of two drugs, sulfasalazine and methotrexate, along with painkillers. She came off the drugs to have IVF and found her symptoms disappeared while she was pregnant. She added: “Once I had given birth, they all came flooding back.”
She began having weekly infections of biologic drugs that block proteins involved in inflammatory processes. The medication was “like a miracle drug for me”, Helen said, but she felt the drugs were “masking the symptoms, not getting to the root cause”.
She added: “I just did not want to be medicated, I was desperate to find a way of helping myself. That's what led me on this journey of discovery, trying to find a way to become symptom-free and medication-free.” No diet can cure psoriatic arthritis but certain foods are thought to help reduce pain and inflammation, including nuts, olive oil and whole grains.
Helen stopped eating gluten and reduced her alcohol and sugar intake. With the support of her rheumatologist, she tried to reduce her reliance on the medications but found the pain always returned after around three months.
She then spent three years training to become a registered nutritionist, which opened her eyes to more areas where her diet could be improved. “One of the easiest changes I made to start with was my breakfast.
"Instead of grabbing a piece of toast or a bowl of sugary cereal, I started by making sure I was building it right. Some really good protein like Greek yogurt, and then lots of berries which are packed with polyphenols, antioxidants, then this wonderful array of nuts and seeds and botanical herbs."
As her knowledge of nutrition grew, Helen discovered the “incredible properties of seeds and botanical herbs”. She began experimenting with growing seeds on her family farm in Norfolk and decided she wanted to make it easier for other people to incorporate nutrient-dense foods into their diets — whether or not they have arthritis. Around 96% of adults in the UK do not meet the recommended daily dietary fibre intake of 30g.
Helen founded the Norfolk-based health food brand SUCSEED, which offers mixes of nutritious seeds and botanical herbs optimised for immunity, energy, focus or gut health. The blends are designed to be sprinkled on top of sweet or savoury dishes including yoghurt, soup, smoothies, salads and pasta.
She said: “I work with other nutritionists, with herbalists, and everybody to try and just support people in getting this extra nutrient-dense food in their diet. Whatever they're eating, you can sprinkle some of these seeds and herbs on, so you're getting over 10 plants per sprinkle. We should all be aiming for 30 plants a week to give our gut the diversity it needs. So that's just a really easy way of topping it up.”
Although Helen has now been managing her condition without medication for two years, she stressed that there is no magic bullet and other factors are likely to have played a role. She added: “I wish I could say that having a daily dose of seeds, botanical herbs in the form of SUCSEED was the answer to everything. But of course, it's just one part of all the other things that I've done.”