ANEESHA RAI SHARES HER BATTLES WITH HASHIMOTO’S & PCOS DISEASE. AFTER SPENDING YEARS RESEARCHING ON HORMONE BALANCE, S Touted as ‘the one to watch’ and ‘the up-and-coming breakout star’ by PopDust, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Emirates Woman and Cosmopolitan Middle East, music sensation Nouri’s extraordinary story is one of empowerment and inspiration, emerging from her challenging experiences to blossoming into a global music star. Yogalife talks to her about her journey that she attributes to positive thinking. HE FINALLY FOUND THE CURE: A PLANT-BASED DIET AIDED BY SUPERFOODS.
was in college then, struggling with tw o jobs and trying to keep my scholarship back in 2010. But no matter what I did, I couldn’t control the eons of weight that I had gained in addition to how depressed I was feeling. There I was, in the middle of Midwestern U.S., without any real family for miles and without any emotional support. And then one day, I missed my period. I marched right to the doctor’s office, who did a series of tests & diagnosed me with hypothyroidism thanks to ‘Hashimoto’s disease’. I had never heard of this disease before, it wasn’t until at least 5 to 6 years later that I understood that the disease was not due to the lack of iodine in my body, but it was an auto-immune condition. The way the doctors describe it, is that your body starts to attack the thyroid gland, thus inhibiting function, leading to either hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. It was not curable, and I had no clue what to do about. I tried multiple diets, workouts and researched a lot online and reached a whole new level of cluelessness. Nothing I did seemed to work. The weight kept piling on, I kept losing a lot of hair, my skin was brittle, and I was suffering from bouts of depression. It was only then when I discovered several online blogs written by women with the same condition & how they could manage the symptoms. It was only then I realized I was not alone. I cleaned up my eating habits by quitting fried food, alcohol & sugar and managed to get off the meds for 2 years. I was put back on the pill after my healthy eating habits deteriorated. I was working in Malaysia then and I ate out every day. I do not recall one meal that I cooked at home when I lived there. Since then, a lot has changed in terms
of resources available to manage the condition. By 2015, the literature and discussion around Hashimoto’s has been relatively brought to the forefront, with an auto immune diet protocol (AIP) diet being prescribed to help manage the symptoms.
“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” (Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist).
This is one of my favorite quotes from ‘The Alchemist’ and something I live by. I was born in a Syrian refugee camp to Kurdish parents who fled civil war following the bombing of their home. So, right from the time I was born, I’ve had to defy the odds. My family were granted refugee status in New Zealand when I was 3 and from that age, I spent almost every day plastered to the television watching music videos by Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera and trying to mimic their singing voices and dance moves.
So, you could say I’ve known for a long time that I wanted to be an international recording artist. It was just a matter of when I was going to make it happen. By that I mean, when I was finally going to drop everything and leave the life, I knew behind in New Zealand to make my dream a reality. That time came in 2016 when I sent a cover of Rihanna’s ‘Close To You’ to Grammy-Award winning producer, Brian Kennedy (who produced the track) on Instagram. Brian told me that If I was serious about singing, I needed to come to LA, which is exactly what I did.
After saving up some money I landed in LA with only my suitcase and my dreams. I didn’t have any family or friends in LA when I first got here. I connected with multiple people in the industry through Instagram and networking at events. I believe in the law of attraction and that positive thoughts bring positive experiences into someone’s life. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I was asked to lend my vocals for a song which was to be used in the Paramount Pictures film, ‘Daddy’s Home 2’. Next thing, I was performing the US National Anthem for an NBA game at the Staples Center. The funny thing is that I stayed across the road from the Staples Center when I was 17 and told myself “I’m going to perform there one day”, and I’ve performed the US National Anthem twice there since.
Not only was I meeting all the right people and getting opportunities I could only dream of, when my debut single ‘Where Do We Go From Here’ dropped, it earned chart success in New Zealand and on Anghami, which is the largest streaming service in the Middle East. Even though I didn’t have a budget for the music video, I had this vision for it and was going to make sure I executed it. I ended up finding the male lead for the video on a modelling website and contacted him through Instagram. It turned out that he had the exact car I dreamed of for the video. Everything literally just fell into place.
That doesn’t mean things always go my way, but I do not let the bad stuff affect me. The day before we were meant to shoot the music video, the director called to say he couldn’t do it. I told my team that I was going to shoot the music video regardless and asked my photographer friends if they could come along and help me shoot it, and we got it done. It’s your response to negative events that determines the outcome. Plus, I’m not worried about setbacks because everything happens for a reason and I know God has big things in store for me. Every time I do come across a roadblock though or things don’t go according to plan, I always say “don’t worry, this is all part of the Grammy speech”.
was in college then, struggling with tw o jobs and trying to keep my scholarship back in 2010. But no matter what I did, I couldn’t control the eons of weight that I had gained in addition to how depressed I was feeling. There I was, in the middle of Midwestern U.S., without any real family for miles and without any emotional support. And then one day, I missed my period. I marched right to the doctor’s office, who did a series of tests & diagnosed me with hypothyroidism thanks to ‘Hashimoto’s disease’. I had never heard of this disease before, it wasn’t until at least 5 to 6 years later that I understood that the disease was not due to the lack of iodine in my body, but it was an auto-immune condition. The way the doctors describe it, is that your body starts to attack the thyroid gland, thus inhibiting function, leading to either hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. It was not curable, and I had no clue what to do about. I tried multiple diets, workouts and researched a lot online and reached a whole new level of cluelessness. Nothing I did seemed to work. The weight kept piling on, I kept losing a lot of hair, my skin was brittle, and I was suffering from bouts of depression. It was only then when I discovered several online blogs written by women with the same condition & how they could manage the symptoms. It was only then I realized I was not alone. I cleaned up my eating habits by quitting fried food, alcohol & sugar and managed to get off the meds for 2 years. I was put back on the pill after my healthy eating habits deteriorated. I was working in Malaysia then and I ate out every day. I do not recall one meal that I cooked at home when I lived there. Since then, a lot has changed in terms
of resources available to manage the condition. By 2015, the literature and discussion around Hashimoto’s has been relatively brought to the forefront, with an auto immune diet protocol (AIP) diet being prescribed to help manage the symptoms.
It was an extremely difficult diet to do, as it involved getting rid of all processed food, soy, dairy, gluten, grains, legumes, alcohol, nightshades, & nuts for 3 months with slow reintroductions. It also included drinking a lot of bone broth to heal the gut. I found the entire thing too difficult to grasp and get a hold of, even though I spent a lot of time researching and trying recipes. I discarded the diet, seeing no real results on the scale and a lack of resolve to go through with it. My social life had taken a toll and as most people know- most social outings involve eating meals outside. I then decided to go see a celebrity nutritionist, who put me on a gluten, dairy, soy and legume free diet along with a sea of supplements, ranging from Omega 3 to selenium & zinc. At this point, I was beginning to see and understand that most modern-day health problems are truly born in the gut. It made me question all types of processed food. This helped me for a while, until after 3 months when my weight began to plateau.
This was when again, I missed my period. On visiting the gynecologist, we did a scan and it was clear I had polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). The symptoms that I faced included painful & delayed periods, masculine hair growth, hair loss, insulin resistance and weight gain. PCOS affects 8 out of 10 women from South East Asia. It causes fertility issues with most women, which is why it’s treated as a taboo. On discovering this, I decided to start the UAE’s first PCOS support group on Facebook called UAE PCOS Warriors. The group has now grown to 300+ members, and I spend a lot of time even now, looking into various alternative methods other than the conventional pills I flat out refused to take. With this newfound information, I went back to my nutritionist and she put me on a fat-first diet. It made no change to my weight loss efforts and I started to have major digestive issues. My body could not digest the large amounts of fat. The diet overall began to affect me negatively, I started to live for cheat days. Food was on my mind all the time, and I was addicted to what the next cheat meal would be, planning a whole week in advance. In the end, I let go of that nutritionist because we didn’t see eye to eye on her methods. I gained all the weight I had lost and lost all the hope that I had. A few months later, a friend introduced me to a new nutritionist called Priyanka Chopra. She and some of my other friends had seen great results with her and she assured me that I would see changes starting day one, with the possibility of reversing both Hashimoto’s & PCOS. I was very weary, tired and skeptical at that point, but then I thought…what more had I got to lose, right?
Turns out, there was a lot I was missing, even though I was very well-read on both Hashimoto’s & PCOS. Based on the information I gave her, including my recent medical reports and intolerance tests, Priyanka introduced me to a whole new world of eating through whole foods and a plant-based diet aided by superfoods. After the first week of prescribing to
the diet, I lost almost 3.5 kgs. This was done without any supplements or protein shakes, only whole foods. That week I threw out all my supplements & protein powders. It was strangely liberating and empowering to do that. I knew this would work. 7 months down the line, I was 24 kgs down and feeling brilliant! I managed to reverse my PCOS in the process and my Hashimoto’s symptoms were almost non-existent. I finally feel I have a control over my symptoms and what to do if things go awry…this sense of empowerment and truly getting to know my body has been truly transformative for me. I still fight with body dysmorphia, but I am so happy to know that I know the right food to eat for my body, which made such a big difference. For that, I’m eternally grateful. It took me 8 years of researching, experimenting & discussing various diets and it feels wonderful to finally be in charge of my health.
BANANA BREAD
INGREDIENTS
• 2 overripe bananas, mashed
• 2 cups oats flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or a little vanilla bean
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar
DIRECTIONS
• Preheat oven to 170°C
• Mix all dry ingredients.
• Add apple cider vinegar to coconut milk & stir. Then add the rest of the wet ingredients.
• Mix in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
• Pour on to a standard loaf pan (approx 9”x5”)
• Bake for 40 minutes or until it clears the clean knife test.
Recipe by Aneesha
ANEESHA is the founder of Om Nom Nirvana
(www.omnomnirvana.com), a Dubai-based blog dedicated to living your best life, with a healthy dose of food, wellness & travel. She often writes about dealing with Hashimoto’s & PCOS and is dedicated to helping fellow sufferers alleviate & reverse their symptoms from both a nutritional & mental wellness perspective. She also loves research, which is why you will find her meal planning often and looking for fun ways to incorporate healthy ingredients in non-conventional ways that make them gut friendly. If you don’t find her doing that, she’s probably finding her next travel escape and then jotting it all down in a blog post to make everyone’s travel planning a little easier. During the day, Aneesha is a full-time Editor in Dubai, focusing on writing about luxury real estate, but she hopes to write for herself someday, when she gathers the courage. She is currently undergoing her Yoga Teacher Training certification in Dubai.