LAFAYETTE, La. — In the spring of 2022, Joshua LeBreton noticed something off about his then two-year-old daughter, Julia.
“We noticed we had a lymph," says Joshua LeBreton. "One morning it was really subtle. I called the doctor they were saying she could’ve slept on it wrong and to watch her and that it was nothing.”
However, Julia’s limp became more pronounced, and she struggled to move. After numerous tests, consultations with specialists, and an MRI, the family got a diagnosis—Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA).
According to the Arthritis Foundation, JIA is a chronic inflammatory condition causing joint pain, swelling, and stiffness.
“I wanted to do right by my daughter, I wanted her to feel better and get better," LeBreton tells KATC. "We got into a lot of healthy fat foods, avocados, nuts, and seeds. Carbohydrates that are potent in soluble fiber."
He began researching anti-inflammatory foods, including grass-fed beef, pasture-raised eggs, cooked leafy greens, and berries. Hopeful that a change in diet would help his daughter live pain-free, he noticed an immediate improvement.
"All of her blood markers were getting better, and her labs were starting to improve," Joshua said.
In 2024, with her doctor's permission, Julia was able to discontinue her JIA medication.
"It felt like a weight was lifted off us," Joshua shared.
To understand more about this lifestyle change, we spoke with Dr. Anita Dhanrajani, Julia’s pediatric rheumatologist.
"There is a lot of information out there about diet and autoimmune diseases, and as a physician, not all information that we read on Google is appropriate or accurate. Diet does play a role with some specific autoimmune diseases, but not for all of the diseases. It’s not a one-size-fits-all.”
She tells KATC that diet could play a major factor in helping improve conditions such as Julia's, but she always advises speaking with a professional.
"A healthy, balanced, nutritious diet is really important for any growing child with or without an autoimmune disease. So, I think restricting certain food types in a growing child with an autoimmune disease is not recommend for the treatment of a disease," Dr. Dhanrajani said. "So I think it's important that when families choose to make lifestyle changes for their children, they seek their physician's guidance, because some diseases will actually benefit from eliminating certain types of food, but some may not.”
For Joshua and his family, incorporating anti-inflammatory foods has been key. Now six, Julia is in non-medicated remission from her JIA.
"To know this helped her feel her best—it turned our household around. We’ve all been healthier for it," Joshua says.
Inspired by their journey, Joshua authored a book entitled "So Our Kid is Sick, Now What?: An Anecdotal Evidence Guide."
The book offers advice on lifestyle changes, covering topics from improving sleep to addressing gut health, and even highlights hidden inflammation triggers like tap water and ultra-processed foods. Click here for the Amazon link.