Heirloom Radishes With Sweet Lemon Butter

I have iritis again!  Can you believe it?  It has only been around 4 weeks since I have been off of my eye drops.  In the last 4 weeks I have gotten used to wearing contacts again and enjoying how much easier it is to workout without having glasses sliding down your face.  I also loved that I could wear any pair of sunglasses I wanted, not just my prescription pair.  Not to mention, it has been so fun to be able to wear makeup again, especially winged liner.  As they say, things could always be much worse and for many others it is.  Right now I am just trying to stay focused on healing.  I was ready for a new challenge anyway!

I really want to figure this iritis thing out.  Why does my iritis keep flaring while my ankylosing spondylitis symptoms seem to be pretty well under control?  How is it that I went for 3 years before I got iritis for the second time and now I have had it ongoing since last Sept?  I keep researching, yet I have not found anything solid or any major success stories so I’m going to have to keep trying things and figure this one out on my own or with the help of one of my practitioners.  Currently I am on a macular support supplement my naturopathic Dr. prescribed.  I’m not sure it has made much of a difference given I am flaring again.  My eye Dr. thinks potentially this flare is due to the gastrointestinal bug I brought back with me from my recent trip to India.  I ended up having to take Cipro (an antibiotic) to get better.  He said even the smallest thing that triggers my immune system can set things off.  My acupuncturist told me that in Chinese medicine the liver controls the iris.  A flare is considered heat/fire in the liver so she is going to work on calming my liver.  I’m also thinking of trying some Chinese herbs to see if they make a difference.  Who knows!  All I know is that I just want to go longer than a few weeks flare free.

I feel my iritis is taking away from my daily life and is in control of me vs. me being in control of it.  I hate that feeling.  It’s hard to not let it control everything you do because it’s with you 24-7.  I even made the very hard decision to talk with my manager at work about not traveling for at least the next year.  I was supposed to be going back overseas in November but I just don’t feel I can risk it.  It’s hard for me to ask for things but I know I need to make myself number one right now.  Traveling is just too risky for me and I know it.  It’s imperative that I get this under control and I truly believe I will figure it out.  At least I hope!

All right, lets get on to the recipe.  I have loved radishes with grass-fed butter for a long, long time.  They are an easy appetizer and make a beautiful presentation.  This is just like the classic but a bit more refreshing for summer.  I feel I tolerate grass-fed butter from time to time as long as I follow pretty close to the autoimmune protocol the remainder of the time.  Some feel a little bit of grass-fed butter is ok if you eat Paleo.  I tend to agree especially if you only indulge once in awhile.  If you don’t tolerate grass fed butter you can substitute ghee.  I hope you love these Heirloom Radishes With Sweet Lemon Butter as much as do.  Enjoy!