Diet

[Twinks80]

Is anyone following any particular diet that is helping suppress your pain and inflammation with RA? I was following a Ketogenic diet for a couple of months then switched back to WW and I'm in more pain and having anxiety more than ever. I feel like the Keto diet helped with the pain and inflammation. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[helixhelix]

If you put keywords like diet, or Paleo diet etc in the search box toward top right of your screen you should get lots of posts on the subject. It's a hot topic!

[lornaisobel]

I dont know what the Keto diet is but Im trying to get onto eating as prescibed in the Medical Medium diet by

Anthony William. Im slowly replacing my food stocks with what he recommends - I have met some one face to face who has been on his 'diet for nearly 2 years and her health has improved 100%

I do have the odd slip - ice cream !! but I am really trying to not eat the foods he says prevents one from healing. Im not sure Im really convinced but it wont hurt me to try - I hope to have eliminated all the foods he recommends avoiding over the next few weeks.

One can but try xx

[stbernhard]

I wish you good luck. It's not something I believe in. A varied sensible intake of calories containg lots of fruit & veg etc does the trick for me. Hope you find something that works for you.

[andyswarbs]

helixhelix is right. Put the word "diet" and you should come up with plenty of reading. There are those that strongly advocate diet, those that think one diet works and another does not. And there are those who seem to think it is wrong to talk diet because it leads to false hopes.

[Lragan]

Diet wise I found that tomatos, eggplant,and peppers were considered night shade vegetables and to avoid them because they are natural inflammatories. I cut out tomatoes and any foods containing tomatoes. It was hard since many things I like have tomato paste in them. I did feel better and my inflammation did go down. I also added avocados, dark greens, and lots of vegetables, and almonds to my diet. I'm thankful I love vegetables. I don't like fruit so that's been hard. I do cheat from time and I do notice more inflammation when I do especially with sweets. I think each person is different and how their bodies react to foods. I know that stress is awful for us and changing our diet may not make a big impact, but it's worth trying.

I happen to be under a great deal of stress from my job as they are trying to get rid of me once FMLA was approved through HR. Every day is a struggle for me which has made my RA worse as well as my blood work come back as abnormal. We don't know if the second medication is working or not due to the high levels of stress that I'm under. I inject methotrexate once a week and take sulfasalasine twice a day. I'm on the highest dose for both.

Good luck and try a new diet and see if it works.

Lisa

[Richgirl in reply to Lragan]

Hi Largan, it's to bad how stress can effect our health. It's very sad that u have to deal with that at work. To bad u can't just leave your job. But I understand that could be more stress too. Where's the humanity here? I wish u so many blessings. Thank Goodness we all have each other's support & understanding & help on this blog. I just want to also let u know that u are stronger then u sometimes feel. I felt it in your words. Things will get better.🤗

[Lragan in reply to Richgirl]

Thank you so much for your encouraging words! My moto has been wake up, one step at a time, one day at a time. I honestly can't do more than that. If we didn't rely on my check to pay the rent and our health insurance I would quit.

Thank you again,

Lisa

[Richgirl in reply to Lragan]

yes it's so hard for me to make ends meet too. I'm on disability now & barely have enough. I wish I really was a richgirl. Anyway I went to my doctor & got the cat scan report. It said mild interstitial septal associated with COPD. He said I don't have pulmonary Fibrosis. He gave me a inhaler & I see him in 4 months. I asked if I should have a biopsy to be sure. He said there was nothing to biopsy. He thinks I'm doing well. But that I did not do good on the pulmonary function test. So I hope I'll be ok. I tried to ask as many questions as I could but I have a hard time to understand medical stuff. So that's my update for now. Blessing to you.😅

[Richgirl]

It sounds like u we're doing pretty good on the Ketogenic diet. But boy do I know how hard it is not to want some comfort food. I learned that on every diet u try u still have to weed out the foods that may flare u up. I too have severe RA. I suffered so long not knowing anyway to stop the pain. I'm in a wheelchair right now because of my right knee. Finally out of desperation I started keeping a diary of everything I ate & how my body would feel after eating different things. It took awhile to figure out what my body did NOT like. Plus everyone is different. What might not be good for me, may be ok for someone else. So writing it down really helped me. I feel so much better! I can't eat dairy, gluten, sugars some grains & some other things if there processed. No GMOs. I can't have coffee. Salty foods hurt me. Basically I try & stay on a very clean organic diet. I eat grass feed meats. Veggies & some fruits. You just have to really tune in to how your body feels after u eat something. Unfortunately going out to dinner there r hidden things in the foods that u can't control so u have to be very careful at what u order. I try & stay away from sauces & foods that have lots of different ingredients. I'm starting to learn how to make a lot of different things that will taste good but won't hurt me. Also Turmeric is a natural spice said to be a wonderful thing to fight inflammation. U can buy it in capsules & sprinkle the spice on your food. See if u can look up this Dr on the net. Dr. John Bergman DC. He teaches people how to become healthy on natural foods & juicing. There's also a man by the name of Doug Kaufman that has a program called "Know The Cause" both these men are on the net. They have videos that u can watch on the net. I feel that by doing all of this has made me feel impowered over my health. I do let my doctors know everything that I'm doing. Very inspirational!! I can't get enough. I hope these suggestions help u. Best of health to you🍁

[Richgirl]

Hi I'm not real sure but I sent u a page hoping to be of some help. It's out there some where. By mistake I didn't get it sent to your blog. It's at a different area on here. I talked a bit about what I find to help. Hope u feel better. Sunrise

[EmmaS-NRAS NRAS]

Welcome to the site 19northside2,

Just to clarify, you mention your son has Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). This is an inflammatory arthritis affecting the spine and is indeed more common in those under 40 however it isn't a juvenile form of RA. There's lots of really helpful information on the NASS website (the charity that supports people with AS) for more information. nass.co.uk/

JIA (Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis) is an inflammatory arthritis which is diagnosed for children under 16. Again you can find more information on NRAS's JIA service here: jia.org.uk/ or on the JIA HealthUnlocked site - healthunlocked.com/jia

Hope that helps,

Emma

[Richgirl]

Hi 19northside2, I am on one med for the RA. "Hydroxychlor" plus pain meds Ibuprofen & Tramadol as needed. The reason I'm not on much RA meds is because of in my past history of having breast cancer & a lung infection called MAC, to many meds could cause those things to come back. Even though there gone now. But yes the diet is helping a great deal. The two natural health teachers that I use for reference are Dr John Bergman DC who has several health videos on the net that u can always watch. Then Doug Kaufman does a TV program called "Know The Cause". But u can find him on the net as well. There's not one way of eating that works for everyone. U always have to ween out the foods that make your body hurt. But the things they teach u are all very healthy foods. It's not even a diet. It's just a very healthy clean way to eat. I think I forgot to mention in my blogs that I also make myself healthy green drinks. Dr John Bergman teaches how to to do this. It's very simple to do. Of course u always run things past your doctor & keep him informed as to what your doing. I can't imagine a doctor not supporting a very healthy way to eat. But open communication with your doctor is important. Who knows, maybe we can help the doctors to help other people through natural foods too. This is all just a way to eat very healthy giving your body a chance to feel better. A great doctor is also important. I hope this helps you & I hope your son gets to feeling great. Richgirl😊

[Katie6221]

I have found that foods rich in Vitamin C that are also not highly acidic, like parsley and pineapple, greatly help my pain! I mix parsley (1/4 to 1/2 a cup depending on my level of pain) into a salad, or drink a small cup of pineapple juice (fresh cold-pressed, expensive I know, but worth it) and within an hour my pain is as close as it can be to gone!

[Katie6221]

Also, the diet that richgirl follows is nearly identical to my own. I would recommend that each individual do their own research on anti inflammatory foods and start on a course of experimentation! Juicing is a great way to get nutrients, but simply increasing your intake of healthy fats, plant proteins, raw fibers and nuts while decreasing (or eliminating) dairy, red meat, highly processed foods and complex glutens is the short version. This diet across the board does generally help reduce pain and inflammation, and even if you don't see results immediately, you'll feel light and rejuvenated and your body will thank you in the end

[Richgirl in reply to Katie6221]

Hi Katie6221, That's sounds so great! I haven't tried the pineapple drink. I'm gona do that too. It's so nice to find help on this line. Also there may be a lot of people out there that didn't know about the power of clean eating. I wish u many blessings. Richgirl

[Richgirl]

Hello twinks, yes I'm on a elimination diet. Not one diet fits everyone because everyone's body reacts differently to different foods. So I started a diary writing down everything I ate & how I felt after I ate it. It takes some time but it's so worth it. I was in so much pain before, that I would cry ever single day. I also have severe RA. I can't eat dairy, wheat, sugars (including some fruits) night shade veggies. Processed foods. I drink green teas $ water. No coffee. But keep in mind every body is different. You have to listen to your body $ right down everything. Organic eggs as well. No GMOs. I eat organic only & grass fed meats & free range only. I eat tons of veggies, plus I juice. I don't eat packaged foods & if I go out to eat I am very careful. Ordering things that I know what's on it or in it. There's lots of help out there on the net on juicing & healthy eating. Look up Dr John Bergman & watch his videos. I try to watch at least one video a day as it keeps me motivated. I feel so much better!!! I'm taking a lot less pain killers. If I go off of my diet even a little, the pain comes right back. I went to the RA doc last month & she said my inflamation numbers were down to normal. I'm not in remission yet, I say yet cause that's what I'm aiming for. But I'm feeling better & better each day. It was hard at first because I wanted that comfort food but I'm learning how to eat differently & everytine I want something that I know will bring the pain back, I think about the pain I use to be in. I sure hope this helps to motivate u too. Blessings to you & your family. Richgirl🌻

[Katie6221]

I'm sure fresh pineapple will work just fine! The only disadvantage is that you will have to eat much more fresh pineapple to equal the same effect as the juice.

Maybe this would be easiest to convert and measure in weight? I just did a quick search, and a cup of pineapple juice (the size that I typically drink is between 8-12 oz) is usually equivalent to between 3/4 - 1 lb of fresh pineapple. Of course, each pineapple is different than the next (some are juicier than others), so you might need to do a little adjusting to get the amount just right, but this is the best way that I can think of to convert this amount!

Since it may be difficult (and expensive depending on the season) to eat a whole pound of pineapple, I would recommend either splitting this amount up into smaller servings and maybe enjoy them as snacks throughout the day (similar to the way that herbal teas are used to heal--small doses at regular intervals). This would certainly help reduce inflammation, even if immediate relief isn't noticeable right away.

Another option would be to have only half of what I recommend of the pineapple, along with another vitamin-C rich food, such as parsley (the taste is difficult to get used to, but it's the most powerful pain killer I have found), papaya or pomegranate.

If you have a blender and are interested in a smoothie recipe that I created for myself that successfully masks the taste of parsley, I'd be happy to share it with you as well! If you have any more questions or anything of the sort, please don't hesitate to send me a direct message.

Best of luck!

[Simba1992]

Yes keto diet does decrease inflammation so does the AIP and the Paddison. It seemes to be a good idea to be on an anti inflammatory diet even if you are on meds. I have been able to control my RA quite well so far just with AIP, LDN and supplements, no meds so far.