I'm unsure why you think this, as a lot of posts re diet. I personally don't believe diet and that includes Paddison, GF (and I'm Celioc anyway) makes any difference to RA and if it did the nhs would be giving us all diet advice and saving a fortune on expensive medications. But I do think that being a healthy weight and being as active as possible does help. I also think that it is imperative to understand that it can sound very patronising to imply that by taking medication (which has proved over many years to be effective, and give people a good quality of life) is somehow less worthy that any natural remedies.

This post bothers me as RA untreated has many factors that may be hidden. And of course whilst its up to the individual to take whatever route of treatment that they choose, be that natural or conventional it is wrong to say that this forum is baised. I'm just wondering what natural remedies can actually have any impact on a disease caused by antibodies.

I don’t agree that this forum is all about using meds, there have been many posts discussing various ‘diets’ or eliminating/adding certain foods etc. If you use the search box you can find them there 😊

I’m glad that you can control your pain with just paracetamol and lemon grass and ginger tea but that would not touch my pain (believe me I’ve tried many natural remedies and alternative medicine) I believe I would be permanently bedridden by now if I hadn’t taken the meds offered to me (As it is I have extensive damage to my joints with naturally fused bones and permanently dislocated toes through joint damage) This was even whilst taking meds. I and I’m sure many others would love to be off the meds but at the moment that is not a possibility sadly but I am very happy for those that are able to do that. One day maybe. I live in hope.

I’m sure others will come along to talk about food soon. I couldn’t see your other post, only one about gout so I couldn’t see what you had written before.

In the months I've been on this forum I've read many, many different thoughts on treating RA. There are many posts regarding diet. My hypothesis about diet is it probably plays a fairly significant role in whether a person develops RA and the progression and severity of the disease. I just discovered only 1 soda (cola is worst) a day increases a woman's risk of RA by more than 50%. Having said that, while diet and exercise are important, RA is a serious disease and diet plays a role in RA as it does in every disease (i.e. cancer, diabetes, heart disease, even mental illness). Medications all come with risks and potential side effects. Each individual must weigh out whether or not to take meds. They are proven to work, they can lead to remission, and for some are the only option for any quality of life. The other thing to consider is RA doesn't just affect joints. Internal organs can be impacted. I was unaware of that until joining this forum. Then I researched. So you may choose to go the natural way. Or you may choose medication. You'll find people posting about both. RA is different for every person. Some would be housebound without meds. Others can push through with diet and natural remedies and function well. Not symptom free, but well. It's a very individualized decision. Right now Western medicine advocates early and aggressive treatment. Current evidence shows that this approach can be effective at achieving a long lasting remission. So, it's all up to the individual. I'm not yet sure what I have. I only know I'm seronegative for everything and I have some kind of inflammatory arthritis that continues to worsen. I have a healthy diet, take supplements, go to acupuncture, etc. I've taken Naproxen when its been really bad, but its tough on my gut and caused tinnitus. Other pain meds don't do much for me if the pain is really bad. I do know in my case diet and supplements help a great deal, but it still keeps getting worse. Currently, I'm trying to figure out whether I'll jump on the med train right away should I get a definitive diagnosis. Either choice is scary. I think posting about healthy eating as you did is great and we can all benefit from that forum whether on meds or not. This forum, however, is not more about using medication in every aspect. I don't even know what that means. There's a pretty standard protocol, with several different drugs. Steroids help symptoms and immunosuppressants, the older kind, and biologics, which are newer that are second line if the others don't work. Immunosuppressants are the drugs that impact the disease process. I feel like meway-lady, in that your post comes off as patronizing.

I thought I’d weigh in on this given my background As a natural health practitioner before I become very ill from my Ra. I love and am well versed in natural remedies and believe they have a place but I also know from experience and education that they are limited. If only they treated my Ra I wouldn’t be so sick today. They are what they say... complimentary. Unfortunately science and experience shows that natural remedies are in most cases unable to reverse or control the underlying causes of the disease. Perhaps in early stages? But as for me teaching about them, educating others about them and using them daily for me never prevented, delayed, improved or helped my Ra. It continues to progress. I use medications prescribed by my Rheumatologist and I use natural remedies cautiously and carefully to compliment my treatments recognizing their potential contraindications, benefits, risks and limitations. I do believe in eating well, the very best for me and not a special diet and I use a few natural remedies that are safe but mostly they help with some of the symptoms rather than the cause. I think that we all need to find what works for us. If we want to go natural or not. That being said, I’m sure we all want to control the disease so we can gain a measure of our lives back. This seems only possible for most of us through the use of disease modifying medications.

The thing to recognise is that inflammatory arthritis comes in a huge range of varieties. Not only are there over 50 separate diseases under that general heading, but each of the diseases varies in speed, severity and how much of your body it affects. At it's worst this disease can rapidly and very painfully cause severe damage to your joints, your organs, your skin, and your eyes and doesn't respond to any drugs at all. At it's best it causes occasional swelling and localised pain that is eased by simple anti-inflammatories. It takes time, sometimes many years, for each of us to work out what our disease is like.

In all cases living well will help you. Even if it doesn't directly tackle the disease process it can improve your general health, reduce your risks of other diseases that are more common with RA, and make you feel better. To me it's not just diet; but not smoking, controlling your weight, taking daily exercise, sleeping properly and doing what you can to reduce stress in your life.

I am on a lot of drugs, and I have virtually no side effects. I put this down to living well, and particularly eating well to support a good metabolism. So no processed foods at all, and I avoid high fat and high sugar foods where I can. Lots of fish, fruit and veg and not much meat - but if I suddenly want a steak I'll have one! I don't bother with supplements and spend the money on better quality food. It works for me.

I did take a food allergy test which indicated a reaction to wheat, egg yolks and oats. Stopping eating these foods did seem to help with remission.

Be very careful spurning RA drugs...it’s no good feeling good then down the line you end up needing surgery on damaged joints.By all means eat healthily, don’t smoke & watch your weight. I’m 20 years post diagnosis ......have no seriously damaged joints & although some RA meds have been very unpleasant I am glad I took the advice of my rheumatologist & took them.

I do eat healthily, but within reason........I have honestly never found any particular food group has any effect on my RA.

Great to know there are others looking for alternative options. Trying my best to stay off any medication. The ones I’ve tried so far had side effects worse than the problem they tried to solve. Sulfasalazine didn’t agree nor did prednisone. Mtx is next on the list. So far it’s a no from me. Check out dr John Bergman on you tube for more on a non medication approach.

I have reversed my symptoms entirely with diet. It has taken a lot of sacrifice but I feel amazing and it has been worth it. Progressive/incurable disease? Not true!!

If you have been officially diagnosed with RA it really is a good idea to keep in touch with, & listen to, your rheumatologist’s advice.

If you have a rheumatology nurse do have a talk with her- she will know the exact situation and will explain your prognosis if you don’t taking the medication your doctor advises.

Damaged joints don’t spring back - they hopefully just don’t get any worse if the right meds are taken.

I had a great life pre RA. I take biologics to continue with my great life. I really don’t want to make sacrifices to come off the meds to change it. The meds work, I have a great social life, mostly with friends visiting fabulous restaurants. Without the meds and IF following a strict diet worked, I’d be a hermit and as miserable as hell. Not for me!

The great thing about a forum, everyone can share their experiences with RA, no one is biase, just keen to learn how others manage their RA. I for one am interested in your experiences with natural remedies, likewise I am interested in the various medical treatments, thanks for sharing your opinion.

I purposefully didn't mention the plan or the person by name because I mentioned it once before on here and it was met by A LOT of very defensive comments. I say each to their own. If the drugs work for you, great! If you want to try something different, there are other means which also work wonders. My reluctance to take Humira was because I suspected, with time, I would just have to take more and more of it leaving myself with no immune system and vulnerable to infection / other illnesses. The diet program is extreme in its first few months and intense and takes monumental sacrifice, but it's getting easier every week that goes by as my diet is expanding simultaneously... Anyway, I'm not trying to convert anyone. I just feel sorry for people that have no understanding or awareness of the actual cause of their terrible symptoms. Inflammation is a tap that can be switched off. Good luck to you all!

I would agree with you that diet is an important factor in the maintenance of good health and fighting illness, the adage that we are what we eat is not too far from the truth. I saw an answer to your post saying that if diet was the answer the NHS would be bombarding us with information on diet and nutrition. If only that were true. Apart from dedicated dieticians and nutritionists most doctors would openly admit that their knowledge is at best sketchy. Diabetes is a great example of this. For years we were bombarded with dietary information, The wrong information. Now that sufficient, reputable studies are being done the NHS has been forced to tear up the old advice book and start again. Much of the traditional information made absolutely no sense to me. I am not sure how many studies have been done on RA and nutrition but there is some evidence emerging that a largely plant based diet, high in fibre can help, oily fish are also good. Also there was a study in the USA which showed that people with RA are often deficient in Selenium, however they did not show any cause and effect. There are also foods which have shown evidence of inflamatory compounds. overly charred fried and grilled foods spring to mind, there goes this summers barby. I have recently started to keep a diary to see if there are foods that cause my situation to improve or deteriorate. I am quite careful about what I eat anyway as I have Type 1 Diabetes and some gastric problems. Having said all this I won't be giving up my medication until there is far more research done and the NHS drastically improves it's dietary and nutrition advice for those with Chronic illnesses.

Thanks for that, I'll have a look there.