Elle Russ chats with Seamus Mullen, an award-winning New York chef, restaurateur and cookbook author about his struggles with Rheumatoid Arthritis and his journey to complete healing through FOOD.  An avid cyclist who raced competitively in his twenties, he was diagnosed in 2007 with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that forced him to rethink his relationship with food, and led to his first cookbook Hero Food, published in 2012. His second book Real Food Heals was released in 2017.  Through food, exercise and lifestyle changes, Seamus was able to successfully turn his health around. For 7 years now, Seamus has been off all RA medication and has no RA markers on his blood results!     Seamus opened his first solo restaurant Tertulia in Manhattan in 2011, which was awarded two stars from The New York Times and was a finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant. In 2013, he opened El Colmado a Spanish tapas and wine bar at Gotham West Market, a food hall in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. His latest venture is fast-casual concept Whitley Bird & Greens.  After cooking throughout Spain, New York, and San Francisco, Seamus first rose to national prominence in 2006 with Boqueria, one of the first critically acclaimed and highly successful Spanish restaurants in New York. In 2009, he was one of three finalists on the Food Network’s “The Next Iron Chef.” He can often be seen as a featured judge on the popular Food Network series “Chopped” and “Beat Bobby Flay,” and is a frequent guest on programs such as The Today Show, The Martha Stewart Show and CBS This Morning.   SELECTED LINKS Instagram, Facebook, Twitter: @seamusmullen  Website: www.seamusmullen.com