Am fed up, an old friend has just sent me article about how olive oil can helpRA. Maybe it can a bit but something tells me that if it really worked we wouldn't be on biologics etc. It'd be nice to be understood sometimes.
And now I suppose I'll have to compose a tactful reply to this friend who has lost touch
I know Cathie, you think how sweet of them and how daft at the same time. I'm sure they mean well xxx
I personally think you should go with the "parsley" suggestion from the posts yesterday, tee hee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ask your friend for the research evidence for her suggestion especially the random control trial ones as your expert rheumatologist will not accept anything less.
Honestly you have to laugh otherwise you would cry.
Being where I've been in the last couple of years has taught me the difference between true friends and people like this who haven't tried to keep in touch.
All these remedies I wonder why we're still suffering!
All these quack remedies if they worked we would all be well wouldn't we darling,do these people think we like being like this or like taking all these poisons just to feel a modicum of well,well they need to think again. Though it is thoughtful of her to think of you even if it is misguided.xxxxxx
Yes along with the parsley quote if you don't laugh you would cry xxx
Lovely on salad 😄 Or maybe we're meant to oil our joints 😉
With my sister its turmeric, aloe vera etc - anything but conventional medicine. She's not caught on to olive oil. Yet.....
I know that they do it out of kindness but I am with you, please just don't! Don't tell me about great Aunt Flossie who had a bad knee, Don't tell me that exercising will cure me, Don't tell me that removing certain foods will cure me, Don't tell me that I should see a naturopath,don't tell me that I am a fool for taking drugs pushed by big pharma, don't tell me that if I just ignored it and thought happy thoughts I will feel better, don't tell me that if I took antidepressants I will be cured as it is all in my head, just don't!
What is the most ridiculous thing that has been suggested to you? Let's turn this around and have a bit of fun
Thanks my friends. If only
Let's go for a jog on the beach , from a fitness instructor on holiday who could cure me! I asked my hubby if I should try,he laughed his head off then then remembered I can't walk with crutches lol. Power of suggestion lol !!!!
"Stand on your head for twenty minutes a day"! If this 'friend' of mine thought that this would reduce the inflammation in my feet and knees, where did she think it would end up, I wonder. In my head?! I can't remember if it was the same person who suggested that I slid down the banisters.
Perhaps the most irresponsible suggestion came from myself. Looking back on it, I think I must have been high on steroids when I seriously considered getting a scooter ( like the childrens' ones). The man in the shop had a dilemma; should he make a sale or should he protect this batty old woman from herself! Fortunately, he did the latter.
Friends mean well. I suppose we have to see this as an opportunity to educate them.
j X
Hmmm... A scooter.... Yessssss! 
Sounds like a good idea to me! What d'you mean, you think the steroids are interfering with my judgement?!
A scooter will see me through until they FINALLY invent the hover board I was promised back in the '80s!! 
Diet is known to be a major factor in the inflammatory process. I have seen other similar articles from the respectable sources (not from companies selling "special diet"). People do get worried if their friends / family members are on "toxic drugs" (biologics) for RA and they probably wanted to be helpful? The thing is, many of us do not want to be told what to eat and what not to eat.. "we eat what we enjoy.." I also think the cold & damp climate is also a big factor in inflammation. So no matter how much you are on a good anti-inflammatory diet, the cold and damp climate would cancel good things out. Can you also stop eating cheese or any dairy? No, I wouldn't myself. It's harder to take away all of these "offensive" factors as it's unrealistic to do so. However, it would be far more useful if Rheumatology offers far more "non-toxic" drugs like this beneficial compound, to see if it helps besides biologics lessening the toxic burden on our body. Not sure how many gallons of olive oil we need to take to have enough oleocanthal? 
Molecular mechanisms of inflammation. Anti-inflammatory benefits of virgin olive oil and the phenolic compound oleocanthal.
Hmmm.
Olive oil will go beautifully with suzannedale's parsley and the turmeric so many people recommend... We can make a lovely salad dressing But on a green salad only, please, since tomatoes and peppers are apparently inflammatory!
How about a pesto?
There are so many things I struggle to do. Eating cakes, cheese and things remains one thing I can do.
Certainly olive oil is a better choice than other more commonly used oils used in the UK because the fats that are in olive oil the body uses to produce prostacyclin, a powerful anti-inflammatory substance. So there's some truth in what your friend says, it can help towards reducing inflammation but you'd have to drink a heck of a lot of it which wouldn't be overly good for your joints & certainly not your bad knee, because you'd be running to the loo regularly! 
Oh & save virgin oil for salads, no point using it in cooking, any other good olive oil will do, second pressed is fine for cooking with.
Should've mentioned too, buy to your budget but check you only buy olive oil that's been mechanically extracted not chemically!
My Italian friend told me the cheap olive oil in Lidl is produced near her Italian home and is thought to be the best in Italy. So buy from Lidl.
I'll remember that, thanks. We're due to go there as we're nearly out of mint tea & theirs isn't bad. Running low on oil, It is a problem now my h isn't going over to Spain regularly.
We always buy organic- blow the cost!!!
Actually the husband parents farmed in those days the difference between class a spring onions, and potatoes and lettuces all grew together on the same fields just the colour of the elastic bands he was supplied with varied. Personally I've never seen a true organic farm and I would not eat meat from one.
I think its a lifestyle choice rather than a taste one. Now off to scoff my tea, its gluten free pasta and my tomato sauce from last summer, with capers, garlic (home grown too) and lots of full fat cheese yum, lol x
Hi cathie, my dear friend has just suggested I have lost weight and got lung problems because I'm being poisoned by carbon monoxide,no problems with boiler, was checked out and serviced a few weeks ago.i said," no Bev, it's the RA and bronchiestatis"me thinks to much dr google!! Another bizarre remedy was soaking my feet in a ginger bath,I was so desperate I tried it, just ended up smelling like an Indian take away,haha.
I think soaking your feat in equal parts of ginger, olive oil and parsley is the correct recipe for a cure....lol....
Cathie , when I read your post I felt your sadness and I too got annoyed. .. Then I started to laugh at the responses from people who know how absurd these "miracle cures" are.
Take care and I hope you are painfree
Sue
I'm not too bad since steroid jag on Wednesday but it'll be back. You're right I think the lack of understanding is what hurts. I've learned things that surprised me about friendship since I've been housebound.
I hate being housebound too. It's a beautiful sunny day here 15 celsius and my garden is calling me. I am sitting in the sun, but I really want to garden. Oh well maybe tomorrow.
Take care
Sue
Thanks. It's kind of mixed and rather murky here but we drove into the country to see some snowdrops
Isn't it wonderful how eating ideas that could 'cure' us never seem to interest the NHS when it could save swllions over a few years. Perhaps its because they don't work although some sort of placebo effect is always worth considering. But I was diagnosed with Celiac a couple of years ago and do wonder if its true that wheat is an inflammatory factor.
I must add to be tested you must be eating it so would never advocate cutting out such a major food group with getting medical advice.
Not sure about wheat being a general inflammatory factor - I am also coeliac, and although wheat does trigger the coeliac response (in a person with a susceptible autoimmune system) I don't believe wheat necessarily triggers other autoimmune or inflammatory conditions. I've been gluten free for a lot of years now, and since being on a totally wheat (and gluten) free diet I have had two other autoimmune inflammatory disorders raise their ugly heads, so I definitely can't blame wheat for those.
That's interesting I hope you can keep the inflammatory triggers to a minimum
I don't think nor did I infer it could stop any auto immune disorder merely that it may be an inflammatory factor. An auto immune disease is believed to be triggered by the bodies own immune responses obviously not food. But I do think (and I dislike promotions about wonder food or Aloe Vera juice curing it, or special diets) just that as in some foods making IBS worse it may be that more research is needed to see if some foods do indeed have a therapeutic effect. I also have Hashimoto, Pernicious Anemia and have been hospitalised for unprovoked PE's and a DVT also thought to be RA related although no one seems to know why the risk of such conditions is higher in RA people.
RA is just one bit of the puzzle that forms all the diseases grouped together as auto immune. PS To make it worse just been told its destroyed my saliva glands, and that is horrid. The spray does not taste good and people think its an angina pump and the joke is my heart is just fine and dandy the only bit of me that is lol xxx
I suppose you could tell her you took her advice and took regular doses of olive oil. Didn't do a thing for your RA but it sure cured the constipation. 😉
It is true that research is less likely to be carried out into dietary factors, not only because the drug companies fund the majority of medical research, but also because it is extremely hard to carry out high-quality research in this field, because people tend not to like changing their diet, and/or aren't honest about what they really eat, and intake can't be controlled without locking them up, which isn't ethical!
Anyway, I ran an evidence search this evening, using the official NHS Library and the medical database called Medline, and 164 articles show up if you search for 'diet' + 'rheumatoid'. Overall, they show that the evidence is pretty weak, because there aren't many studies and their quality isn't so good, but there is limited evidence that some dietary changes might make difference. I've listed a few here (see my NOTES at the end of each one). If there's a way to upload docs to HU, can someone please let me know, and I'll upload the full search results....
Title:Dietary interventions for rheumatoid arthritis.
Citation:The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, no. 1, p. CD006400., 1469-493X (2009)
Author(s):Hagen, Kåre Birger,Byfuglien, Marte Gjeitung,Falzon, Louise,Olsen, Sissel Urke,Smedslund, Geir
Abstract:The question of what potential benefits and harms are associated with certain dietary regimes used in rheumatoid arthritis is an important one for many patients and health care providers. To assess the effectiveness and safety of dietary interventions in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL)(The Cochrane Library, issue 1 2008), MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, CINAHL and reference lists of relevant articles (up to January 2008), and contacted authors of included articles. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled clinical trials (CCTs) where the effectiveness of dietary manipulation was evaluated. Dietary supplement studies (including fish oil supplements) were not included. Two authors independently selected trials for inclusion, assessed the internal validity of included trials and extracted data. Investigators were contacted to obtain missing information. Fourteen RCTs and one CCT, with a total of 837 patients, were included. Due to heterogeneity of interventions and outcomes, baseline imbalance and inadequate data reporting, no overall effects were calculated. A single trial with a moderate risk of bias found that fasting, followed by 13 months on a vegetarian diet, may reduce pain (mean difference (MD) on a 0 to 10 scale -1.89, 95% confidence interval (CI) -3.62 to -0.16), but not physical function or morning stiffness immediately after intervention. Another single trial with a moderate risk of bias found that a 12-week Cretan Mediterranean diet may reduce pain (MD on a 0 to 100 scale -14.00, 95% CI -23.6 to -4.37), but not physical function or morning stiffness immediately after intervention. Two trials compared a 4-week elemental diet with an ordinary diet and reported no significant differences in pain, function or stiffness. Due to inadequate data reporting, the effects of vegan and elimination diets are uncertain. When comparing any dietary manipulation with an ordinary diet we found a significantly higher total drop-out of 10% (risk difference (RD) 0.10, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.18), higher treatment-related drop-out of 5% (RD 0.05, 95% CI -0.03 to 0.14) and a significantly higher weight loss (weighted mean difference -3.23, 95% CI -4.79 to -1.67 kg) in the diet groups compared to the control groups. The effects of dietary manipulation, including vegetarian, Mediterranean, elemental and elimination diets, on rheumatoid arthritis are still uncertain due to the included studies being small, single trials with moderate to high risk of bias. Higher drop-out rates and weight loss in the groups with dietary manipulation indicate that potential adverse effects should not be ignored.
--> NOTES: this research reviewed all the other high quality research available into diet and RA. It notes that there isn't much of it, and some of it is poor quality, and the numbers of people participating are small, so it's hard to draw conclusions.
Title:Diet and rheumatoid arthritis: a review of the literature.
Citation:Seminars in arthritis and rheumatism, vol. 35, no. 2, p. 77-94, 0049-0172 (October 2005)
Author(s):Stamp, Lisa K,James, Michael J,Cleland, Leslie G
Abstract:Rheumatoid arthritis is a common inflammatory condition. A large number of patients seek alternative or complementary therapies of which diet is an important component. This article reviews the evidence for diet in rheumatoid arthritis along with the associated concept of oral tolerization. References were taken from Medline from 1966 to September 2004. The keywords, rheumatoid arthritis, diet, n-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and oral tolerization, were used. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) indicate that dietary supplementation with n-3 fatty acids provides modest symptomatic benefit in groups of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Epidemiological studies and RCTs show cardiovascular benefits in the broader population and patients with ischemic heart disease. A number of mechanisms through which n-3 fats may reduce inflammation have been identified. In a small number of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, other dietary manipulation such as fasting, vegan, and elimination diets may have some benefit. However, many of these diets are impractical or difficult to sustain long term. Dietary manipulation provides a means by which patients can a regain a sense of control over their disease. Dietary n-3 supplementation is practical and can be easily achieved with encapsulated or, less expensively, bottled fish oil.
--> NOTES: this study reviews all the evidence available. It shows there IS evidence that diet makes a difference, but concludes that most dietary changes aren't popular.
Title:Is rheumatoid arthritis a disease that starts in the intestine? A pilot study comparing an elemental diet with oral prednisolone.
Citation:Postgraduate medical journal, vol. 83, no. 976, p. 128-131, 1469-0756 (February 2007)
Author(s):Podas, Thrasyvoulos,Nightingale, Jeremy M D,Oldham, Roger,Roy, S,Sheehan, Nicholas J,Mayberry, John F
Abstract:This pilot study aimed to determine if an elemental diet could be used to treat patients with active rheumatoid arthritis and to compare its effect to that of oral prednisolone. Thirty patients with active rheumatoid arthritis were randomly allocated to 2 weeks of treatment with an elemental diet (n = 21) or oral prednisolone 15 mg/day (n = 9). Assessments of duration of early morning stiffness (EMS), pain on a 10 cm visual analog scale (VAS), the Ritchie articular index (RAI), swollen joint score, the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire, global patient and physician assessment, body weight, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and haemoglobin, were made at 0, 2, 4 and 6 weeks. All clinical parameters improved in both groups (p<0.05) except the swollen joint score in the elemental diet group. An improvement of greater than 20% in EMS, VAS and RAI occurred in 72% of the elemental diet group and 78% of the prednisolone group. ESR, CRP and haemoglobin improved in the steroid group only (p<0.05). An elemental diet for 2 weeks resulted in a clinical improvement in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis, and was as effective as a course of oral prednisolone 15 mg daily in improving subjective clinical parameters. This study supports the concept that rheumatoid arthritis may be a reaction to a food antigen(s) and that the disease process starts within the intestine.
--> NOTES: an elemental diet is an artificial liquid feeding regime, so not a way you can live, but this study seems to show diet IS important.
Title:A vegan diet free of gluten improves the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis: the effects on arthritis correlate with a reduction in antibodies to food antigens.
Citation:Rheumatology (Oxford, England), vol. 40, no. 10, p. 1175-1179, 1462-0324 (October 2001)
Author(s):Hafström, I,Ringertz, B,Spångberg, A,von Zweigbergk, L,Brannemark, S,Nylander, I,Rönnelid, J,Laasonen, L,Klareskog, L
Abstract:Whether food intake can modify the course of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an issue of continued scientific and public interest. However, data from controlled clinical trials are sparse. We thus decided to study the clinical effects of a vegan diet free of gluten in RA and to quantify the levels of antibodies to key food antigens not present in the vegan diet. Sixty-six patients with active RA were randomized to either a vegan diet free of gluten (38 patients) or a well-balanced non-vegan diet (28 patients) for 1 yr. All patients were instructed and followed-up in the same manner. They were analysed at baseline and after 3, 6 and 12 months, according to the response criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). Furthermore, levels of antibodies against gliadin and beta-lactoglobulin were assessed and radiographs of the hands and feet were performed. Twenty-two patients in the vegan group and 25 patients in the non-vegan diet group completed 9 months or more on the diet regimens. Of these diet completers, 40.5% (nine patients) in the vegan group fulfilled the ACR20 improvement criteria compared with 4% (one patient) in the non-vegan group. Corresponding figures for the intention to treat populations were 34.3 and 3.8%, respectively. The immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody levels against gliadin and beta-lactoglobulin decreased in the responder subgroup in the vegan diet-treated patients, but not in the other analysed groups. No retardation of radiological destruction was apparent in any of the groups. The data provide evidence that dietary modification may be of clinical benefit for certain RA patients, and that this benefit may be related to a reduction in immunoreactivity to food antigens eliminated by the change in diet.
--> NOTES: this small study shows that a vegan diet maybe does make a difference, and suggests that that's because it avoid foods that trigger immune system reactions.
57. Title:Sugar-sweetened soda consumption and risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis in women.
Citation:The American journal of clinical nutrition, vol. 100, no. 3, p. 959-967, 1938-3207 (September 2014)
Author(s):Hu, Yang,Costenbader, Karen H,Gao, Xiang,Al-Daabil, May,Sparks, Jeffrey A,Solomon, Daniel H,Hu, Frank B,Karlson, Elizabeth W,Lu, Bing
Abstract:Sugar-sweetened soda consumption is consistently associated with an increased risk of several chronic inflammatory diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Whether it plays a role in the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a common autoimmune inflammatory disease, remains unclear. The aim was to evaluate the association between sugar-sweetened soda consumption and risk of RA in US women. We prospectively followed 79,570 women from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS; 1980-2008) and 107,330 women from the NHS II (1991-2009). Information on sugar-sweetened soda consumption (including regular cola, caffeine-free cola, and other sugar-sweetened carbonated soda) was obtained from a validated food-frequency questionnaire at baseline and approximately every 4 y during follow-up. Incident RA cases were validated by medical record review. Time-varying Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to calculate HRs after adjustment for confounders. Results from both cohorts were pooled by an inverse-variance-weighted, fixed-effects model. During 3,381,268 person-years of follow-up, 857 incident cases of RA were documented in the 2 cohorts. In the multivariable pooled analyses, we found that women who consumed ≥1 serving of sugar-sweetened soda/d had a 63% (HR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.15, 2.30; P-trend = 0.004) increased risk of developing seropositive RA compared with those who consumed no sugar-sweetened soda or who consumed <1 serving/mo. When we restricted analyses to those with later RA onset (after age 55 y) in the NHS, the association appeared to be stronger (HR: 2.64; 95% CI: 1.56, 4.46; P-trend < 0.0001). No significant association was found for sugar-sweetened soda and seronegative RA. Diet soda consumption was not significantly associated with risk of RA in the 2 cohorts. Regular consumption of sugar-sweetened soda, but not diet soda, is associated with increased risk of seropositive RA in women, independent of other dietary and lifestyle factors. © 2014 American Society for Nutrition.
--> NOTES: this study shows that drinking sugary drinks seems to increase the risk of sero-positive RA
79. Title:Association of obesity with worse disease severity in rheumatoid arthritis as well as with comorbidities: a long-term followup from disease onset.
Citation:Arthritis care & research, vol. 65, no. 1, p. 78-87, 2151-4658 (January 2013)
Author(s):Ajeganova, Sofia,Andersson, Maria L,Hafström, Ingiäld,BARFOT Study Group
Abstract:To determine the association of obesity, defined as a body mass index (BMI) ≥30 or ≥28 kg/m(2) or by waist circumference (WC), with disease activity and severity, as well as its relationship to comorbidities in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study population comprised 1,596 patients with early RA (mean ± SD age 55.6 ± 14.6 years, 67.8% women) who had been included in the Better Anti-Rheumatic Farmacotherapy observational study from 1992-2006. In 2010, data on lifestyle factors and comorbidities were collected through a postal questionnaire, answered by 1,391 patients. Clinical outcomes were the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints, sustained remission, physical function (Health Assessment Questionnaire [HAQ]), and pain and global health assessed on a visual analog scale, as well as predefined comorbidities. After a mean ± SD of 9.5 ± 3.7 years, the mean ± SD BMI had increased from 25.4 ± 4.2 to 26.0 ± 4.5 kg/m(2) (P = 0.000). The prevalence of BMI ≥30 kg/m(2) was 12.9% at baseline and 15.8% at followup. In multivariable regression, BMI and obesity, defined as a BMI ≥30 or ≥28 kg/m(2) , at both inclusion and the time of the survey were independently associated with higher disease activity, fewer patients in sustained remission, higher HAQ score, more pain, and worse general health. Also, BMI and obesity independently conferred to higher odds for being diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and chronic pulmonary disease. Further, BMI and WC were independently associated with angina pectoris/acute myocardial infarction/coronary revascularization. In contrast, none of the examined obesity variables was associated with the prevalence of stroke or transient ischemic attack. Lifestyle changes during the observational period, such as quitting smoking or diet change, had no impact on the outcomes. Obesity was associated with worse RA disease outcomes and a higher prevalence of comorbidities. Body measurements are recommended to improve prediction of the disease course. Copyright © 2013 by the American College of Rheumatology.
--> NOTES: being overweight seems to make RA worse and increase your risk of other problems.
These are interesting, but as you say inconclusive. When my treatments were withdrawn and I lost a lot of mobility I decided I should reduce the amount I eat. Normal for me diet but smaller portions. I lost weight, quite a lot even when on steroids.
I don't drink much and certainly not sweet drinks like fruit juice or sodas. I suppose I've eliminated what I can and that must help a bit.
But for me it has to be in the realm of what's possible.
Personally, I found Popeye more helpful!!
Trust me I'm a dr took part in some interesting research with a scientist from Glasgow. The scientist has developed a urine test which can identify heart damage before it manifests itself as apparent disease of the heart. People were divided into groups, urine test performed prior to starting procedures to get baseline result. They were then given cold oils 20mls a day of rapeseed oil, olive oil and sunflower oil . Two weeks later after taking oils daily their urine was tested again identifying whether their hearts had improved(I think it's a specific protein which is elevated when heart disease is present). Result was rapeseed and sunflower oil really made no difference but the olive oil group their levels had reduced significantly. The olive oil doesn't have to be virgin oil but try to buy bottles not stored in the light as this degrades it. More research is being done. No it's not a cure but RA patients are more prone to heart disease I for one love the stuff and now try to get my 20mls a day unadulterated.
I think you do have to be careful there are a lots of quacks and people trying to part you from your money. So be picky and do the research not everything is rubbish or wrong.
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