Roy Keane's daughter, Caragh Keane, has recounted her challenging battle with lupus, crediting her father's "brilliant sense of humour" and a diet consisting of free-from superfoods as having supported her through the toughest times. The 29 year old from Manchester was diagnosed with the incurable autoimmune condition in 2021, at the age of 25.

She suffered joint pain, alopecia, and painful blisters on her skin before the diagnosis. The extreme fatigue and intense pain disrupted her life to the extent that she had to give up on her dream of becoming a teacher, and faced the prospect of lifelong immunosuppressants and potential chemotherapy.

Caragh admitted grappling with self-blame post-diagnosis and fearing her "life was over", but emphasised the steadfast support from her mother Theresa and father Roy, saying: "I wouldn't be here without them."

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At one point feeling trapped with "no way out", she found solace in changing her diet, focusing on anti-inflammatory and gut-friendly foods— a switch which she credits with improving her symptoms significantly. This positive shift led her to establish Superkeen Foods, her own brand aimed at helping others with lupus in their healing process.

Her company has since won awards for its cereal and products, which are gluten-free, nut-free, milk-free, egg-free, 100% natural, and align with the autoimmune protocol.

Speaking to PA Real Life, Caragh shared: "When I was diagnosed, I mourned the person I had been and the person I felt I should have been."

However, she now reflects on her experience with gratitude for leading her to where she is today, concluding, "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 lupus can include joint and muscle pain, extreme tiredness and rashes. For Caragh, signs of the chronic autoimmune disease started with painful blisters on her hands, followed by severe fatigue and hair loss.

The tiredness was so extreme that she had to pull over while driving to take a nap one time and she fell asleep during a hair appointment, leaving her feeling "absolutely mortified". "The fatigue was unbearable, but you just power on," she said.

After finishing her teacher training, Caragh started experiencing severe joint pain, to the point where she could not turn the steering wheel in her car. She went for a job interview at her "dream school at the time", but during the mock lesson she led, Caragh said she could barely move due to the pain and burst into tears afterwards.

She was offered the primary school teaching role but said she had to turn it down because she was too "poorly". "After that, I was essentially bed-bound for a month-and-a-half, and then my blisters spread across my chest and face and my alopecia was really severe," she said.

"I had been experiencing fatigue and memory loss for about six months, but you just plow through, thinking, 'Well, nothing's that extreme, I'll just get on with it'."

When Caragh was immobilised by physical pain that led to fainting spells, she sought further medical advice and underwent blood tests. These tests confirmed her lupus diagnosis in 2021, and with doctors informing her that she would be reliant on immunosuppressants for life, she found herself questioning, "What is my life going to look like? " Caragh shared her struggle, saying, "Since your immune system is essentially attacking itself, you feel like you only have yourself to blame, which is horrible."

She also reflected on her internal dialogue: "You think, 'Why is my own body attacking itself? What have I done to cause this? '" During her lowest moments, she admitted, "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 "relief" and "inner peace" However, it was ultimately her family's support that proved most beneficial.

Her mother's unwavering reassurance, "you're going to get better, your body can heal itself", and her father's "brilliant sense of humour" and passion were instrumental in lifting her spirits. Caragh expressed gratitude towards her parents: "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 ,y 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 has been inspired to turn her experience into something positive and has begun researching ways to alleviate her symptoms.

This propulsion towards anti-inflammatory, unprocessed and gut-friendly food led to her experimenting with her own recipes, such as bone broth and loaded sweet potatoes topped with avocados, chicken, and "hearty vegetables". The impact was soon noticeable as Caragh recounted: "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. I started noticing my hair growing back and all my blisters started fading on my face."

"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'."

Spurred by her own recovery, Caragh contemplated developing her own products to assist others in their health journeys. Thus, Superkeen came to fruition.

With its impending launch this month via both physical stores and online, anticipation is high for its availability at esteemed retailers including Whole Foods, Planet Organic, and later Selfridges. Caragh has expressed feeling "grateful" for the encouraging feedback she's garnered.

It's important to note that while NHS guidance recognises the necessity of medication in managing lupus, it also highlights the importance of a healthy, balanced diet, complete with vitamin D and calcium, as part of symptom management. Currently, Caragh manages her lupus through her diet and shares how she is the "happiest (she's) ever been".

Caragh, the founder of a burgeoning food brand, emphasised inclusivity in her approach: "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," she said. "Everyone's on their health journey and I'm along with them."

For more information, Caragh encourages checking out @superkeenfoods on Instagram or visiting superkeenfoods.com..