Rheumatoid arthritis

[Ravkaur]

Is it possible to reverse RA with diet? Inflammation on my knees is very bad. I m on 10 mg steroids. If any body has reversed ra plseae help. Age 50. Thank you

[medway-lady]

Another post re diet, are these for real ? as I do wonder as it may be yet another lead in to the Padison stuff. I'm sorry if that offends anyone but they seem to crop up regulary usually with an unfamilar user name. So my answer is, if you think something will work it just might do but would the NHS spend millions on medications if it was that simple. So don't take this stuff that costs £10k+ a year, that will prevent joint damage and fatigue, not to mention ILD perhaps and blood clots ! just go away and keep to this diet. However weight may clearly be an issue for some and of course eating does affect that along with exercise.

I'm a sceptic and favour common sense and advice from my very good RA consultant and nurse over any diet 'cure' as RA is an auto immune condition and as such is incurable it can only be managed becuase its the bodies own defence system in hyperdrive that is the problem.

Sorry again if this offends.

[Lyneal in reply to medway-lady]

I have been on methotrexate injections fir quite a while, before that methotrexate tablets but felt so sick and had headaches. Injections so much better. But am sure if a duet helped RA our consultants would use duet instead if drugs. rA is auto immune so therefore incurable, by all means try diet but be careful.

[Wobblyone in reply to medway-lady]

Thank you medway-lady for saying what I was thinking. x

[Nettac]

I think part of the problem is that for many people the drugs either don't work, cause awful side effects, or make things worse.

When I was first diagnosed, I thought, thank God everything will be better now. It hasn't been, and that's frustrating...and painful. I guess there are many folks out there who have been through the same thing. I guess it's only natural to want to find something that will help.

I think the answer to your question is that it helps some people, and not others. A bit like drug treatment really!

I am in no way knocking medication by the way. I keep trying everything I'm given and hope for the best. I am a bit disheartened though, be lying if I said other wise.

So I exercise as much as I am able, try to lose weight, and watch what I eat. It's sensible to help oneself. Really I'd like to eat a whole victoria sandwich and say to hell with it! But that would be stupid.

Any nasty, long term illness can leave a person feeling vulnerable. It's the lack of control I hate. So anything that will give me a little control back is good for the soul. This includes listening to, and asking questions of rheumatologist ( they don't know everything!) Researching, and taking appropriate meds, alongside anything else I feel useful.

I avoid certain foods, and enjoy a sage, honey and ginger tea. Sage has taken over my front garden, so it's thrown in everything. I find the smell very soothing.

[Hidden]

This is totally my own take on RA (and other similar autoimmune diseases) so please feel free to take it with a pinch of salt. I consider myself a fairly educated patient, I'm not a health care professional.

Rheumatoid Arthritis cannot be cured or reversed. It can only be managed and there are medications that can be prescribed but I've always known them to have a caveat; "this may reduce your disease, not cure it". I've been lucky that I eventually found medication to manage it, although it's caused quite serious issues and I'm back at square one. Apart from medication, there are other things we can do to manage it but it's trial and error. In the same way that methotrexate might work for me but not for you, non-medication is the same. Keeping a healthy and normal weight, having a good diet, exercising as much as possible are all things that may help manage symptoms.

Diet is a contentious issue. I will always respectfully disagree with anyone who has states they cured or "reversed" their RA diet. There is no cure but if anyone has found it, please let the big wigs know because it's a huge deal. If diet helps your symptoms and slows or stops disease progression, then that's great. I'm happy to discuss diet as long as it's not pushed down my throat. I wouldn't criticise someone for not taking a certain medication and I hope nobody wouldn't criticise me for not trailing a certain diet.

Living with RA is a pain in the backside and we all need to stand together and hopefully, find something that makes it manageable so that we can live our lives to the best of our abilities. It's the common goal for most us; being as healthy as possible.

[Wyaatch]

Hi there, often RA comes with many gut issues so the more we keep our gut happy--the better--many have swallowed pills not kind to our gut--there are many good diet for RA books out there and many good books on decreasing inflammation which we all have--sugar, wheat, milk and beef often give flares--but for some even fruit like apples or pears do--most RA docs do not study nutrition--that is not their thing--so younoften can work with an ND or just trial and error. I'm eliminating wheat for a trial now as it's a major suspect for leaky gut syndrome, inflammation and other issues. I think knowing what foods make us feel better and worse is key--my RA doc even told me once he had one patient who fasted and took protein shakes for one month--he got better--so in response to my diet question my RA doc said you are welcome to try! Good question !

[Hidden]

While some people find certain foods aggrevate their RA more than others it is very individual so in short there is no one diet that works for everyone. To date there is no evidence that diet alone can control RA. It sounds though as if you are not on disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), steroids alone are not recognised treatment for RA. Please do give the NRAS helpline a call on 0800 2987650 if you'd like further information on RA treatment. or visit nras.org.uk

We're here to help.

[Ravkaur]

Thank u so much

[Andrew12]

Are you kidding? Let me reiterate at present there is NO cure RA!!

[Simba1992]

You might be interested to read what a well known scientist has to say on the subject.

raypeat.com/articles/articl...

[Simba1992 in reply to Simba1992]

For those who really want to dig deep.

raypeatforum.com/community/...

[Nettac]

Is there really any need for the hostility? This person may be nothing to do with any program, and has simply come for advise!

This is a support and info site isn't it? As far as I can see they asked a simple question. Hardly a a resounding welcome!

[AgedCrone]

In 18 years of having RA I have never come across a clinically qualified person who supports any special diet.

I have been told smoking, being overweight & drinking too much alcohol are not advised.

I'm sure most of us here already know these three NoNo's !

I eat what I like, I don't know any food that makes my RA worse, if I did I'd stop eating it.

Bottom line, I think common sense is the best attribute we can rely on as far as diet is concerned!

[Paulajolo]

Since having RA I have had to change my diet because I have had tummy problems. Probably because of medication. There is no cure diet won't help but it can make you feel better. I cannot eat certain foods especially anything processed. Diet has also kept my weight down. I just east sensibly no junk food that can cause inflammation to flare up.