Plant based diet

[Villagelife]

I've just been watching an ER Dr on utube who has lupus, she is talking about the benefits of a plant based diet. Has anyone out there tried a plant based diet?

[Hidden]

Hi

I looked in to it but seemed really difficult.i followed medical medium and incorporating some of his stuff. So like celery juice and more green smoothies and cut back on gluten and diary as well. Im actually doing strictly from tomorrow.

Is the one you looked at dr brooke i think her name is?

[Villagelife in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your response. Her name is Dr Chris Miller she is in America. I think it would be difficult to stick to and I guess what works for some doesn't work for others.

[Hidden in reply to Villagelife]

Yes your right but incorpriating it in your everyday life will help i think as they say its all what we eat and all begins in the gut so adding kale, spinach, fruits, chia seeds, flaxseeds etc etc will help

Ive researched alot to be honest and not spent money on anything just go by what medical medium puts on his page and he puts a great explanation aswell so you know why your doing it and when you read that it makes you want to do it more. Its all about cleaning the liver and gut.

Ive cut out sugar and take outs and fizzy drinks and ive noticed a difference and i was only diagnosed 5 weeks ago.

Give it a go nothing to loose.

I do endless research on foods etc

[Villagelife in reply to Hidden]

I eat lots of the above, I also have homemade kefir, potato starch which is good for the gut microbiome, inulin & physillium husks. I should have really good gut microbiome😂. I eat lots of nuts, white fish & oily fish, some red & white meat. I do eat dairy. I dont really have sugar. My carbs come mainly from oats. I do have alcohol at the weekend, mostly red wine. I'll google medical medium 😊. Its definitely a learning curve.

[Ingrid1234 in reply to Villagelife]

Try the plant-based website set up by U.K. docs:

plantbasedhealthprofessiona...

[2InspireU in reply to Villagelife]

Hi Villagelife, I highly recommend becoming vegan - switching is not difficult at all, it's the best thing you can do for your body. Ditching eggs and dairy is crucial.I was vegetarian, I was still tired, with other symptoms persisting and some getting worse. It was only after becoming vegan there was a great improvement in my blood tests and in how I felt.What worked for me best though, was following a 28-day-cleanse by Medical Medium, which I'm continuing and going to continue (I now added 1 cooked meal a day) until I've gotten rid of the bacteria and virus causing the symptoms, ie - fully heal. This is the best I've felt in years and if I could shout about it from the rooftops, I would! 😄

Can't quite believe how a lot of people do not believe in the healing power of plants -food provided for us by nature. They are not only not helping themselves, but by negating it, they are stopping the ones trying to find their way to healing too.

[Villagelife in reply to 2InspireU]

Thank you for your inspiration 😊. Im so glad it worked for you. I need to get my head around it all and start taking steps. I'll check out medical medium. Take care, stay well.

[Hidden]

I have fish and chicken occasionlly red meat. We still have to live right already putting up with a lot. Lol

Whats kefir?

I research on here to there is lots of people who post postive stuff about diets so learn from that to.

I miss wine 😥 also miss coffee.

I have soya milk and coconut milk and as my carbd brown rice and gluten free bread.

Then 2 litres of water a day.

[Villagelife in reply to Hidden]

Kefir is a probiotic fermented milk, you can buy pasteurised kefir in shops. I bought some kefir grains offline and use milk to feed it, then every couple of days I strain the kefir grains and drink the live probiotics. Once you have the grains, they keep growing & producing the kefir drink. If you google kefir grains you might find it easier to understand than my explanation lol. I have oat milk and almond milk, I do have full fat milk as well. I try to drink at least 1.5 litres of water, I do drink coffee. Im in early days yet at least I think I am. I've only had one real flare that I'm aware of & that led to blood tests which were abnormal and suggest lupus. I have had other symptoms which I've researched & came to conclusions of various things such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis but it wasn't until recently when my bloodwork & the GP pointed to lupus that I really believed that I had an autoimmune disease.

[Hidden in reply to Villagelife]

Il look in to it. Thanks

Im only 5 weeks in to but i thought i need to help myself so started madly researching and changing things.

Struggling to get my head around it still. I just want to feeo better 😣

[Villagelife in reply to Hidden]

I wish you well on your journey and hope you start to feel well very soon. Give it time. It might be worth trying not to change to much at once and try to pace yourself in learning about nutrition that is beneficial to you. There is so much information out there that it can be confusing and trying to do or absorb too much at once might become stressful & undo benefits. Hope that makes sense. Take care, stay strong, positive and hopeful 😘

[Hidden in reply to Villagelife]

Thank you. You to xxx

[Ingrid1234]

Try this informative website for plant based diets.It was put together by a group of U.K. doctors:

plantbasedhealthprofessiona...

And these are the signed up health professionals:

plantbasedhealthprofessiona...

Xx

[Villagelife in reply to Ingrid1234]

Thank you 😊 I'll check it out.

[SalishMaeve]

I haven't tried 100% plant based but my pain levels are better when I eat a mostly veg diet.

[Villagelife in reply to SalishMaeve]

Thank you😊

[miccika1]

I was on plant based diet when i got lupus so it didnt help me. :).

[_bunty_ in reply to miccika1]

You can’t “get” lupus; it’s already embedded in your DNA. So whatever diet you were on when you were diagnosed it had nothing to do with diets.

[_bunty_]

When I got diagnosed with lupus In 2016 I read a book about how best to combat lupus symptoms- it encouraged becoming vegan. It is not hard at all; I’ve had way fewer flares as a result and most days I feel strong and well. I have rare days when I feel very tired out but I haven’t had a serious flare for years and it happened before I went vegan. I would encourage it. Sometimes a slip and have a vegan takeaway or ready meal (most times actually!) but I feel better and healthier as a person as a result.

Good luck! It is not hard at all transitioning into being vegan and I cannot understand why some people are saying that. But I never judge other people’s diets! I was a very hard core meat eater before. I loved everything - kidneys, black pudding, all meat tbh - but I don’t really miss it at all. Plus better for the environment and of course for animals!

[_bunty_ in reply to _bunty_]

NB Sorry my response was a bit toffee nosed- I was just trying to encourage you! But I hope you feel better soon; baby steps will help; mainly I think dairy is one of the worst things for your body but god knows I’m not a doctor and have no idea what I’m talking about! But I’m just saying what happened to me; how I felt the difference and my family noticed my energy was way up after becoming vegan. Maybe start with eating more vegetables and maybe swapping to alternative milk for starters? Oat milk is lush!

Luckily I live on a farm so we’re spoilt for choice for vegetables. It will make you feel more energised for sure.

Good luck if you want to try but either way eating healthy is the main thing. (I’ve ballooned during lockdown so I can’t instruct anyone else!)

Mainly be kind to yourself xxx

[Villagelife in reply to _bunty_]

Thank you for the response, I do eat loads of vege & salad. It must be great living on a farm with so many good vegetables around you. I have oat milk and almond and really like it. I plan to research and try things out.

[StarLight75]

I have just recently started to change to a plant based diet still experimenting with recipes etc from YouTube but I’m already starting to feel better so I’m hopeful of this new way eating

[Villagelife in reply to StarLight75]

Glad you are feeling better, hope really works for you. You have nothing to lose but hopefully lots to gain😊

[CecilyParsley]

I tried being vegan but struggled badly without eggs and cheese. I have switched to KoKo milk for two years now and my gut thanks me for it. I am vegetarian so I do have eggs, cream occasionally in ice cream and desserts and of course cheese. I really tried hard to like the faux cheese and spent a lot of money on it but other than the cream cheese ( which I really cannot taste the difference) I have not found one I actually find edible. I have tried faux chicken which was rank 🤢 so now I just eat veg and fruit which I did anyway . I do use Quorn mince for chilli and cottage pies.

[Villagelife in reply to CecilyParsley]

I'm going to change things slowly and see how it goes. Thank you for your response.

[Whippet_lady]

Not for me I'm afraid. I can't eat soya mince/chunks etc pretending to be meat, or quorn, both make me really ill. Too many plant only days makes me ill. I have enough to think about without adding constant diarrhoea to the list! I'm not an 'alpha meat-eater', I like to think I'm sensible, and I do eat quite a bit of fish. I don't think there is any one diet that suits everyone. If it was that easy all the rheumys would be giving us a diet sheet on diagnosis. You just have to try and see what works best for you.

[Villagelife in reply to Whippet_lady]

I agree that what works for one doesn't work for another, it has to be a doable desicion.

[BelgiumK]

I've had MCTD with primary disease being Lupus for 25 years. I have tried every eating plan/diet to reduce inflammation, including keto, low carb, vegetarian and vegan. I have found very little correlation as flares have happened when I'm eating healthily and when I am eating more of a traditional Western diet. That being said, limiting processed sugar and consuming more vitamin-rich foods can only help.

[Villagelife in reply to BelgiumK]

Hopefully I will find something that works for me.

[Villagelife]

Thank you , I've found lots of interesting information of John Hopkins site, I'll check the diet out along with the pub med. . Where would we be without technology.

[Ingrid1234]

“…Yes, you can 'get' lupus as its cause is viral or bacterial, unless you 'inherit' the pathogen…”====

No, lupus is NOT an infectious disease caused by microbes/microorganisms although it can be triggered by a virus eg the Epstein-Barr virus responsible for causing glandular fever (mononucleosis).

It can even be triggered by uv light and other factors but lupus is not infectious or contagious.

Have a read of all the info pamphlets here on this website.

[miccika1 in reply to Ingrid1234]

You do GET lupus not as an infections disease but a combination of your DNA AND environmental triggers such as viruses bacteria, uv damage, silica exposure, particular drugs, etc. My mom has a similar set of genes with predisposition to lupus but never developed anything...

[Onesmallstep1969]

Plant-based eating has lowered my IgG to normal levels and declining. It works for me. No dairy, eggs, meat or fish. Of all these, dairy and meat are especially destructive to my immune system. Now, I don't think about the foods I can't have. I only think about how good I feel.

[Villagelife in reply to Onesmallstep1969]

Glad it worked for you. Im sure I will eventually get there by changing little by little.

[Ingrid1234]

You said,

“…The main cause is viral or bacterial, or both. ..”

=====

Really? 🤔 Cause of lupus?

Are you saying lupus can be transmitted by a bacterium or virus??

What species of bacterium or virus causes lupus?🤔

Perhaps you are referring to this research?

lupusresearch.org/bacteria-...

“…Patients with lupus produce immune system proteins known as antibodies that attack their own DNA. Dr. Silverman and his team found that these antibodies also target Ruminococcus gnavus. They also determined that the intestines of patients with lupus were leakier, which could allow bacteria or fragments of them to escape into the body. Once that has occurred, the immune system may respond by producing antibodies that mistake the patient’s own DNA for molecules made by the bacteria. These antibodies would then attack organs such as the kidneys...”

[msporridge]

Hi there, for me no to a purely plant based diet based on my own experience. I was veggie with vegan spells and mainly wholefood, homecooked food, for 40 years. Unfortunately that didn't stop my MCTD from developing. It got to the point where I was worried I would be housebound, I totally desperate, started introducing fish into my diet and then organic, high welfare meat, organ meats & bone broth, organic eggs and diary my body just couldn't get enough of it to start with. I now have it in smaller quantities and that feels right. I used to make my own sourdough but not since going gluten free, will take a go at that sometime soon. I make my own, water kefir, milk kefir, kombucha and sauerkraut, all a bit when I've got the energy, but its not too difficult. I buy mostly organic, which is expensive so I have a limited range of stuff I can afford and get a veg box delivery. I've tried lots of dietary intervention, low carb was good but beyond my brain power at the moment haha. I'd say in my experience most of them gave good results for about 6 weeks then didn't really maintain the improvement, which is interesting', but not helpful long run. For me sugar and processed foods, gluten (sadly, love bread) and alcohol are the things that really flare up my symptoms. So I exclude these pretty much 100%. Good luck, be interesting to hear how you get on

[Villagelife in reply to msporridge]

Hi there thank you for a Very interesting post. I need to wait and see how things progress for me as my symptoms are settled. So far I've only had one real flare that I'm aware of although I suspect somethings that I noticed in the winter may have been related to lupus, I had been moaning for several weeks that my face was always a bright burning red, it seemed related to changes in temperature, going out in the cold and coming into the warmth. It wasn't until I developed ulcerrating chilblains and a rash on my hands that I went to the Gp which resulted in abnormal blood tests and my GP saying lupus is highly likely. Idont want to make any changes right now but I'm learning what works for people. I've never tried water kefir, I'll google it. I've made sauerkraut before I really like it. We have several Polish shops locally and they sell live Kapusta which is the same as sauerkraut. I've never tried kombucha, I've looked at it but it looks complicated. I do eat healthy foods mostly, lots of oily & white fish, lots of vege, some fruit mainly berries, some dried fruit, lots of different nuts and seeds including nut butters, I do eat some lean beef, chicken, turkey and dairy products, oat milk, almond milk, homemade yogurt, my main source of carbs are rolled oats or barley, I have 95% chocolate now and then, I drink red wine at the weekend , I drink instant coffee, I use maca powder, mushroom powders, curcumin powder, ginger and cinnamon not daily though.

[msporridge in reply to Villagelife]

Kombucha is super simple and only needs attention every 5-10 days depending on weather/heat etc. It sounds like you have a basically healthy diet, I know it can be tricky to work out triggers. You do take a lot of additions (from your last sentence ) one thing I've found for me is that I have to be careful with some superfood type things as they boost the immune response and mine is on overdrive anyway, for instance I have to be very sparing with garlic. But everyone is different and there isn't a lot of research I've seen (if anyone has some please post links) about how these type of things impact folk with auto immune dysfunctions. I have read for example that fermented foods can spark a flare in some people, not the case for me but a gradual introduction might benefit some and monitor reactions. Red wine I've found I can no longer tolerate in general but have found some organic non sulphites ones that are not so bad for me. Kapusta sounds interesting, will keep an eye out for it.

[Villagelife in reply to msporridge]

I have read that some superfoods aren't good as they boost the immune system these include echinachea, elderberry, spirulina, chlorella, alfalfa and as you said garlic. Other articles I've read suggest that ginger & cinnamon reduce inflammation and that some mushroom powders, curcumin and maca act as immune modulators. I dont know how correct the information is, but like you said you do have to be careful. I did read about kombucha causing problems in some people but haven't read anything like that about other fermented products. There is alot of contradictory information out there as well.