Roy Keane’s daughter has bravely shared her intense struggle with lupus, crediting her father’s “brilliant sense of humour” and a diet rich in free-from superfoods for helping her during her “darkest times”. Caragh Keane, 29, based in Manchester, was diagnosed with lupus, an untreatable ailment wherein the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy parts of the body, back in 2021 at age 25.
This came after she began suffering from joint pain, alopecia, and painful blisters on her face and body. The debilitating fatigue and “severe stabbing pain” led to her declining her dream job as a teacher, and doctors informed her that she would have to be on immunosuppressive drugs indefinitely and may even require chemotherapy.
Reflecting on this period, Caragh admitted she blamed herself for her diagnosis and feared her “life was over”, but praised her parents Theresa and Roy as her bedrock, saying: “I wouldn’t be here without them.”
Feeling trapped with “no way out”, everything changed when Caragh modified her diet to include anti-inflammatory and gut-friendly foods. She found her symptoms significantly improved, and this prompted her to launch her own brand—Superkeen Foods.
With award-winning cereals and products that are gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free, entirely natural and suitable for those on an autoimmune protocol, Caragh aims to support others with lupus on their paths to wellness.
Caragh said: “When I was diagnosed, I mourned the person I had been and the person I felt I should have been. But when I look at it now, it’s obviously led me on this journey and I’m grateful for the good moments.
“With the main overarching aim of being inclusive and knowing you’re not alone, I hope that I can help people. Everyone’s on their own journey, but we’re all in it together.”
Symptoms of this chronic autoimmune disease often include joint and muscle pain, profound tiredness and skin rashes. For Caragh, the onset of lupus was marked by painful blisters on her hands, which preceded overwhelming fatigue and hair loss.
The exhaustion was so severe that she once had to stop her car to nap, and another time, she fell asleep during a hair appointment, an occurrence she recounted with embarrassment: “absolutely mortified”. “The fatigue was unbearable, but you just power on,” she said.
Following her teacher training, Caragh began experiencing intense joint pain, to the point of being unable to turn her car’s steering wheel. She described attending a job interview at her “dream school at the time”, where, despite trying to lead a mock lesson, found herself almost immobilised by pain, culminating in tears.
Offered the role, she lamentably had to decline due to her poor health. Her condition worsened, leaving her mostly bedridden for a month-and-a-half as the blisters spread to her chest and face, while her alopecia became increasingly severe. Caragh mentioned having suffered from fatigue and memory loss for about six months.
Despite these signs, she endeavoured to carry on with normal life, convincing herself: “I had been experiencing fatigue and memory loss for about six months, but you just plough through, thinking, ‘Well, nothing’s that extreme, I’ll just get on with it’.”
When Caragh was incapacitated by physical pain that kept her bedridden and caused fainting spells, she sought additional medical advice and underwent blood tests. These tests led to her being officially diagnosed with lupus in 2021.
Faced with the prospect of a lifetime on immunosuppressants, Caragh found herself questioning, “What is my life going to look like?” She shared her feelings, saying: “Since your immune system is essentially attacking itself, you feel like you only have yourself to blame, which is horrible.
“You think, ‘Why is my own body attacking itself? What have I done to cause this?’ In the darkest times, I thought, ‘There’s no way out of this’.”
Convinced her “life was over”, Caragh turned to meditation in search of some “relief” and “inner peace”. However, it was ultimately her family’s support that proved most beneficial.
Her mother provided constant reassurance, telling her, “you’re going to get better, your body can heal itself”, while her father’s “brilliant sense of humour” and zest for life helped to buoy her spirits. Caragh expressed gratitude for her parents’ beliefs and support: “My mum very much believes in the power of your body being able to heal itself… and even when I have flare-ups with my health, she helps put things back into perspective,” and “My dad is incredible as well. He’s the best person for advice and I think he’s helped me so much. I feel really lucky to have them.”
With their encouragement, Caragh felt inspired to turn her experience into something positive and began exploring ways to alleviate her symptoms. Her journey towards combating inflammation led her to explore anti-inflammatory, unprocessed, and gut-friendly foods. Experimenting with her own culinary creations, she found that dishes like bone broth and loaded sweet potatoes topped with avocados, chicken, and “hearty vegetables” began to make a difference.
“I started eating real whole foods, so I focused on good meat, fish and healthy fats, veggies and fruits, gut-healing foods like bone broth and fermented food, and supplements,” Caragh explained, noting the positive changes she experienced. “I started noticing my hair growing back and all my blisters started fading on my face.”
The relief from joint pain came after a few months, prompting a revelation: “My joint pain subsided after a few months and then I remember thinking, ‘There are lots of people out there suffering that don’t know the healing properties of food’.”
This insight spurred Caragh to develop her own range of products aimed at helping others “reset and heal (themselves)”, which culminated in the launch of Superkeen. Available this month in stores and online, the line is set to appear on shelves at Whole Foods, Planet Organic, and later in Selfridges, earning Caragh widespread appreciation for her initiative.
While NHS guidance underscores the significance of medicines in managing lupus, it simultaneously advocates for a healthy, balanced diet enriched with vitamin D and calcium to aid symptom control. Caragh now manages her lupus primarily through diet, declaring herself the “happiest (she’s) ever been”.
“Not one size fits all, but the bigger picture is to have a brand where everyone feels that they can reach for it, no one has ingredient anxiety and they feel positive,” Caragh explained. “Everyone’s on their health journey and I’m along with them.”
To discover more about this inclusive approach to eating, check out @superkeenfoods on Instagram or browse through their offerings at superkeenfoods.com.