Anti inflammatory diets

[SWinNorfolk]

Hi everyone, hope you’re all doing ok, been a while since I’ve been on here, feel like I’ve been riding one flare up after another. I think food is one of my big triggers and thinking about trying an anti inflammatory diet, maybe not one of the extreme ones, but trying elements. Has anyone else done this or can recommend anything in particular? Sending love in lockdown to you all

[Tiggywoos]

Hi SwinNorfolk

Sorry to hear about your flares 😟.

I had severe endometriosis diagnosed in my thirties and had lots of surgery so since then have avoided “red” inflammatory foods . No tomatoes , red peppers , chillis , avoid histamine producing foods like aged cheese and ironically blueberries. Dairy free and GF too which is much easier than it sounds .

It’s very much a personal thing and of course I’m not a DR . I get days when I think why do i bother but my OH always reminds me maybe I’d be worse if I didn’t try .

A massive No No for me though is garlic . I flare badly .

I expect some of the lovely ladies and genes on here will have lots of good tips ☺️.

Take care and maybe just try making some small changes to see if they help you xx

[SWinNorfolk in reply to Tiggywoos]

Thank you for replying to me, hope you’re not suffering too much at the moment. I can’t have gluten, garlic, onion, peppers, and too much citric acid or they trigger a flare I think. I don’t have masses of dairy, but love cheese and chocolate so that’s hard for me to cut out.

I’m sure I’ll find a way to adjust my diet and still find ways to have alternative treats!

Thanks so much xxx

[Tiggywoos in reply to SWinNorfolk]

So nice of you to reply .. face is rubbish today and I always beat myself up thinking where do I go wrong and I should eat more vegetables . If only it was that simple !

Gosh sounds like you’re really on it already ⭐️. I love chocolate and I think I would be even more miserable without it ! Seem to be ok with cheese 🧀 providing it’s not the aged smelly type !

I sense your frustration and trust me I feel it too 😔.

I make flapjacks with GF oats and dairy free spread but sometimes you just need a chocolate mini egg 😋.

Be kind to yourself as you already sound like you try hard... but would love to hear if you or anyone use good simple receipe books . I find Barbara Cousins “cooking without “ have tasty easy receipes.

Take care xx

[Hidden]

Hi SwinNorfolk

I had the same issues flare after flare which caused really bad stomach pains had colonoscopy before first lockdown was told no issues. I've have SLE and Fibromyalgia diagnosed in 2015.

I was on and off with GF and DairyFree until I went fully both free my stomach pains gave gone havent had a lupus flare since April-May. Still get really bad migraines if I eat the wrong food 🙊 other than that it's all good. Pizza is my downfall.

Diet change is a big thing. No Gps or rhuemys helped me. I did it of my own back. It would have been good to aleast have someone to guide you professionally.

Theres so much related to diet and Garlic is a definite NO NO for me too!!

Hope you find what's best for you.. take care hope you feel better soon 🙂

[SWinNorfolk in reply to Hidden]

Hi, thanks for replying.

Wow, I’ve had such similar issues and investigations. I had my gallbladder removed due to pain in 2013 then colonoscopy’s and scans after the op, because the surgeon didn’t believe the gallbladder and stones had been causing me all the pain, the tests took my nowhere and they put it down to IBS. I’ve since had multiple gastric pain attacks without IBS symptoms, every few months until I was diagnosed with SLE in Sept last year (after 12 years of various SLE symptoms, biopsies and tests) and have been monitoring what I eat.

I still get migraines too, but seem a bit better since taking pizotifen daily. Hoping I don’t have to take that forever though.

Will continue to avoid to eat the things I know hurt me and start to think about cutting out sugar and all dairy next I think. If I have the will power!

Thanks for sharing, helps to know there are others out there with similar issues.

You take care too 😊

[DJK99]

Hi there - I have had an "anti inflammatory" type, very simple/clean diet since I was a child (with a few blips in between as you might imagine when younger). I'm now nearly 58 and know that if `I waiver from the foods I know I need (greenery/colourful veg, fruit, fish, wholegrains etc) and eat things such as white bread, highly spicy food, fast food with additives etc, then I get reactions. I always eat organic etc if there is an option available which there generally is more and more these days. One of the worst things those with autoimmune can eat (I have read on relevant sites) is garlic, as this boosts the immune system into overdrive and frankly I feel utterly awful after eating it ie in a flare. I used to love roast potatoes with roast garlic and couldn't understand why I felt like I'd been poisoned and utterly exhausted the next day.. then I read about garlic being a no-no and stopped eating it/feeling like that! Also I used to eat TONS of alfalfa sprouts in a home made wholemeal sandwich each day at work - with... humous, which is full of garlic - and I had the extra garlic version of the organic brand I loved. Alfalfa sprouts are THE worst thing to eat if you have Lupus apparently as they also boost the immune system hugely and also cause inflammation via the L-canavanine. My inflammation came on hugely in the months I was eating that combination with hand lesions and exhaustion etc etc. Here is the info on both from Johns Hopkins site from this article :hopkinslupus.org/lupus-info...

(3) Garlic

Scientists believe that three substancs in garlic—allicin, ajoene, and thiosulfinates—rev-up your immune system by enhancing the activity of white blood cells, particularly macrophages and lymphocytes. Scientists also believe that the sulfur components of garlic help to prevent and suppress cancer in the body. For this reason, garlic is often used as a supplement to combat colds and infections. Unfortunately, the enhancement of immune response is counterproductive in people with autoimmune disease such as lupus, because their immune system is already overactive. As a result, people with lupus and lupus-like signs should avoid cooking with garlic and adding it to food. Of course, a tiny amount of the herb will not harm you, but try to consciously avoid purchasing and preparing foods with garlic.

(4) Alfalfa Sprouts

Alfalfa sprouts contain an amino acid called L-canavanine that can increase inflammation in people with lupus by stimulating the immune system. As a result, people with lupus and similar autoimmune conditions should avoid alfalfa sprouts completely.

I also cannot eat tomatoes and nuts as they have arginine in them and bring on cold and not cold sores and probably all sorts of other inflammation. I also follow the FODMAP diet as I have been diagnosed (albeit on the phone in lockdown) with IBS and this has helped quite a bit - especially no longer eating broccoli(ouch!). Sugar (in all it's forms such as honey) is also a complete no no as highly inflammatory, which I am sure you know. One thing I always bang on about it staying hydrated with sips of water all day to the point of 2litres... and limiting caffeine to morning only. Basically, it's a discipline and if we know things are going to bring on inflammation and we still eat/drink them then it's a decision we've made and can only expect the potential downsides ;).

Anyway - I hope some of that helps and I wish you all the best in finding how you can hugely change your health, energy levels and overall quality of life up to a point with a simple, highly nutritious diet along your medication. Oh and also, I take vitamins but you have to be careful as some of them don't work well with things such as methotrexate for instance as Vitamin B Complex has folic acid in it so you can't take it on the same day as your methotrexate etc etc. In the end, as we all know, it's always best to discuss with your clinicians...but I think they ALL agree that a healthy diet, within limits, is the way to go! All the best to you Dx

[SWinNorfolk in reply to DJK99]

Thank you this is all really helpful and supportive, will take it all on board when I start to adjust my diet. 💜

[CBW54]

Hello,

I haven’t had a chance to investigate yet but a friend of mine, who has MS and managed to keep it at bay through diet, recommended the following two books:

- medical medium by Anthony William. She says it is great on diet for autoimmune conditions and understanding the emotional side of the illness

- the Whals protocol by Terry Whals. This looks at how auto-immune disease operates in our body system.

She swears by raw black kale from these readings and a diet rich in raw food. Of course these are pointers and you will probably need to experiment. Everything I have read so far highlights that there is no Lupus diet, which I guess reflects that we all present so differently.

I hope this helps.

Take good care.

[SWinNorfolk in reply to CBW54]

Thank you this is all really helpful, I agree that we’re all so different when it come to Lupus so it’s going to be trial and error but a healthy diet seems to be the key thing while eliminating trigger foods. 💜

[CBW54 in reply to SWinNorfolk]

That is the conclusion I came too as well. Let us know how you get on if you try anything: it is always helpful to hear other people’s experience. 🙂

[GrandMAptm]

Hi,I have been following the AIP (Autoimmune Protocol) Diet for 5 months now. Unfortunately, I still have the painful symptoms associated with my diagnosis of Chilblain Lupus (Sept 2020). I am still continuing with the diet in hopes that it will help my condition. After getting through the elimination of gluten, pseudo grains, dairy, eggs, nuts, nightshades, alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, sugar (still allowed honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar), which was quite hard, now I no longer have cravings for those foods. My hubby and I really enjoy the AIP recipes we have been trying from many of the AIP-friendly websites. And hubby can always get something else when he is out and about. On the other hand, I am mostly homebound, due to the painful symptoms affecting my feet, legs, hips, and back/shoulder blade joints.

If you want to read about AIP in detail, I would recommend Sarah Ballantyne's book “The Paleo Approach.” She also has a website: thepaleomom.com

Other websites that have been extremely helpful to me (with blogs, podcasts, recipes, success stories, e-books) are:

Mickey Trescott & Angie Alt's: autoimmunewellness.com

Elaine Laird's Phoenix Helix: phoenixhelix.com/media/

Then there are many, many AIP-friendly friendly websites for recipe ideas. Here are a few of my favorites:

Michelle Hoovers: unboundwellness.com

Wendi's: wendisaipkitchen.com

Kate Jay's: healingfamilyeats.com/about/

Joanna Frankham: joannafrankham.com/recipes/

There is also a 6-week course online with coaches and other participants to help you work through all the eliminations. It is Angie Alt's SAD to AIP in SIX course and can be found her:

sadtoaip.com

Best of luck to you on your journey. It will be interesting to hear what happens. It seems that many people have really been helped with dietary changes.