What foods should I avoid with RA

[Dazza72]

I was advised to cut down/out red meat, spicy food and tomatoes etc pretty much everything I enjoy eating. Has anybody go any surgestions for foods that can help with RA or anything anybody has had to cut out that helps

[Rosie_rabbit]

I've not been advised to cut anything out at all. Was it your consultant that advised this?

Personally I've always believed in trying to avoid anything to excess, although I find chocolate especially tricky, and all things in moderation. However if that's what you've been advised by a specialist then they're are the people that know.

I understand that some people can have trigger foods, but thought they were individual. I've not noticed anything causing me a real problem. Perhaps ask for a bit more advice from your rheumy nurse. Rx

[Dazza72 in reply to Rosie_rabbit]

Hi Rosie , I was advised to cut down on spicey food and only eat red meat on the rare occasion and tomatoes because of the acid in them but I have tried and found that tomatoes don't make any difference but red meat does have an effect on me. Spicey food I have prob once a month but if it's too spicey then I get a flare. It was the specialist that advised me. Dx

[Hidden]

Who advised you to do this Dazza? For myself I gave up wheat when the RA started. I am not celiac but it has improved my digestion a great deal. I eat very little dairy produce but lots of nuts, seeds, apples, and homemade soups are my staple in the day time. I have never tried to cut out spicy food, meat or tomatoes because I enjoy them too much. But my RA is very quiet these days and I don't feel the need to eliminate anything else. Each of us has different tolerances and I think it's a good idea to experiment if you have the time and motivation. But on the whole a balanced, very wholesome diet can't take you far wrong I feel. Tilda x

[allanah]

I haven't been told to cut out any foods. nRAS do a good section on RA and diet on their main page. Xx

[magglen]

i wish there was more research into RA and diet. It seems long down the list in the medical world. I have read things like avoiding tomatoes but have to say I have not noticed a difference in giving up different foods so now I don't bother. It is hard enough having RA so why give up foods one enjoys if they don't seem to make one worse?

[Tuttlebees]

I remember watching a channel 4 food doctor programme with a young RA sufferer and she was put on a diet rich in oily fish, nuts like walnuts and almonds and food cooked with cayenne turmeric and ginger. Seemingly it did help reduce her inflammatory markers.

[oldtimer]

i think it depends on the person - some people seem to have food intolerances which when the foods are avoided their health is better, but the evidence for specific foods in the RA is only anecdotal.

There is information on the nras site - have a look.

Personally, I've tried over the years various exclusions (one at a time for at least eight weeks) and the only thing that has helped me has been not eating meat which I don't like much anyway. But even having become vegetarian, I still get flares - just not after eating meat!

A warning - it's very easy to end up eating a poor and unbalanced diet because flares come so unexpectedly and may be unrelated to what you have eaten!

[Hidden in reply to oldtimer]

I do love your photo it reflects my body when reading through the posts and questions.

[emmaf in reply to oldtimer]

Hi, according to the book called Diet and Arthritis by Dr Gail Darlington, a very sensible approach and not out to make money i thing who has done research over 10 years ago in the proper fashion I believe (although I don't think you can do 'clinical trials' with food as the person can see it and be influenced ) and the results for about a third of her patients are radically improved using her version of an elimination diet. Not sure why the medical industry doesn't do more to develop her findings. Maybe there is no money to be found in mere diet change? I tried her elimination diet and the stiffness and pain in my hands, bad phlemy lungs and overall fatigue has pretty much vanished. I am at an early stage but stiff suffered over a year or more and was on medication which was no good but for now I don't need anything. All best Emma

[pineapple_head]

I would not advise you to cut on spices because they are very good natural anti-inflammatories. Turmeric, Red Cayenne and Ginger are particularly good. Onions and garlics are excellent for your immune systems.

I am intolerant to soya so I won't touch this at all costs. If weren' intolerant, I would only have fresh soya beans and would avoid soya milk and soya yogourts because these are highly processed and are made with GM soya.

[dbestdeb]

I was told that sugar feeds inflammation and that I should cut down on carbohydrates.

[Daniela-NRAS]

Hi everyone,

Dr Dorothy J Pattison PhD RD has written an excellent article on Diet and Rheumatoid Arthritis and can be found on our website here:

nras.org.uk/about_rheumatoi...

I hope you find it helpful!

Thanks,

Daniela

NRAS Media & Communications Officer

[Karen77]

I feel better since cutting out grains (my father is Celiac and Wheat Belly and Grain Brain have also convinced me they're not necessary/beneficial to our diets). I also notice that eating too much sugar or dairy can also have an impact, so I try to moderate those. I eat lots of fresh food and feel much better eating meat. I'm currently trying out the paleo diet auto immune protocol, which is basically an elimination diet to try to figure out if there are other sensitivities. Tomatoes and peppers (i.e. cayenne, paprika, etc) are part of the nightshade family (including white potatoes and eggplant/aubergines) which are considered to be inflammatory foods.

You can make yourself crazy with this - trust me - but I think the best bet would be to eat real food, and save refined sugar for occasional treats.

[sandraw21]

When my RA was very active I tried cutting out apples, citrus and dairy (milk, butter etc) I did have success, my flare ups definitely reduced. I cut it all out and then tried something with apple in and OMG fairly quickly I was in bed. Apples were out, Same with citrus and milk.

I kept them out of my diet until I got pregnant when I thought, the baby needs all the goodness from them so I started them again, and had no problems since.

I do have the occasional flare up now but it is very rare.

[joo10]

I was told to give up refined sugar as sugar is an inflammatory .... no change as yet but ive only done it for 4 weeks, will perservere for a few more weeks but it is really really hard!!

[abannister]

I was told to cut down on beef and pork, any acidic fruit.

Will try and find my list and get back to you

[emmaf]

Yes, try a brilliant book called Diet and Arthritis by Gail Darlington. She is a consultant Rheumatologist in UK and treats early stage RA patients with an elimination diet and says about a third of her patients improve hugely. Radically improved my symptoms. Everyone is different and could be intolerant to different foods but the only way to know is to do this strict elimination diet. If you do only one of this kind of thing, do her one. It's not as hard as you might think and hell, if your in pain you'll try anything. Also massively help IB but she doesn't mention this. She also reviews lots of other diets out there so pretty good book. Annoyed that consultants don't recommend reading her book. Good luck Emma

amazon.co.uk/Diet-Arthritis...