Has anyone ever been told not to have certain foods like blue cheese when they are taking DMARDS or on Prednisolone? Hubby bought blue cheese and I love it but I saw online I'm not supposed to eat it. I'm on sulfasalazine and pred.
Off limit foods?: Has anyone ever been told not to have... - NRAS
Off limit foods?
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Haz58
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No never been told anything about foods on any of my meds.
Hi not entirely sure of current recommendations for the dmard tablets and foods to avoid. I was told about no unpasteurised cheeses, soft cheeses and steer clear of pate which I can’t stand anyhow, when I first went onto a biologic over 10 years ago. Also raw eggs in things like home made mayo or Caesar dressing aren’t recommended for the immunocompromised, and the idea of raw egg makes me queasy anyhow, but I do still have Brie and Camembert.
When my French friend couriered a large box of a dozen cheeses from Paris I had to secretly reject a couple as I knew two were very “raw” cheeses and a bit risky. (They arrived in a speedy refrigerated courier van (must have cost her a small fortune!) I only like one blue cheese as they tend to make my fillings taste like mega metal and I only tend to eat it at Christmas tbh. That’s M&S Blacksticks Blue. So I sometimes partake in a little Brie and Camembert and occasionally a bit of Blacksticks Blue. I’d ask your nurse if it is OK as you’re not on a biologic. 🧀🧀🧀🥖
what a shame, I’d have snaffled them all up!
Me too!!
I’d have cheese, crackers and some grapes over a dessert any day. 😋
😁😋 LOL there were just two I didn’t eat but the others were gorgeous. Yum. One of the loveliest gifts ever received. Lasted for ages.
And me, I love blue cheese.
I’m not usually a fan if it but I love the M&S Blacksticks Blue.
😱 Neonkittie17. You’re the only other person that I’ve ever heard say that blue cheese affects their fillings. It’s like eating a lump of tin foil. I’m glad it’s not just me. My husband loves Stilton and is always saying I should taste it again. My teeth ache even thinking about it. 🫣🤢 xx
LOL 😝 it’s a horrid sensation, when the wires go on your fillings, isn’t it?! 😳😬 Makes mine jangle. The Blacksticks Blue doesn't do that to me though. xx
No I’ve never been told to avoid certain foods for any of the drugs I’ve been on.
Me neither….Recently there have been articles saying smoked salmon & other smoked fish should be avoided……. if you remember it was discussed here, but nothing seemed to follow on with hoards succumbing to anything.
I think the answer is if you think a drug you are on might preclude certain foods … ask your Rheumy nurse….. and you will probably get one of those. “What are you talking about “looks!
Yes soft cheeses have gained a reputation…but I have never heard of a particular case where someone has been harmed. It’s probably a “cover my back” excuse
I know my Rheumatologist says….. eat what do you fancy!
No, never been told that - I presumed that it was only with medications like biologicals that there might be a problem.
I love my blue cheese and pate 😋
Yes I believe that it is only when on biologics they tell you this as I wasn't told when on Sulpha and Mtx.
it's mtx and biologics that they recommend you don't eat certain foods. It's the same advice that's given to pregnant women. This is what it states in my mtx booklet, I was also told not to eat raw eggs and undercooked beef.
Advice on foods.
Was just going to reply it was mtx that I was told not to eat certain foods x
I wasn't told not to eat certain foods when on biologics. This is the first I've heard of it.
Thanks everyone! 😊 Blue cheese it is for me then 👏👏👏
I also recall a no to bean sprouts being mentioned.
things like bean sprouts are much more risky than well made cheeses! Always rinse extremely well because of e.coli!
I agree. Yes that’s what my nurse said re beqnsprouts not being washed properly being more risk than soft cheeses. (I’d not be bothered if I never ate another beansprout! They taste very bitter to me.) Everything fruit/salad/veg gets washed/rubbed/rinsed before I cook/use it. Not to do with Covid as I’ve always rinsed everything well (except mushrooms which get a wipe. )
i live in France and eat unpasteurised cheese, raw egss, pâtés and blue cheeses without any concerns - as long as it’s fresh and from a reputable supplier. And I am on a biologic and MTX. My rheumatologist is not concerned as feels risks are far smaller than many other things. The last big outbreak of salmonella (or maybe it was e.coli I forget) here was traced back to cucumbers!
But I do take great care over food hygiene, so won’t eat from buffets, or any shop where I think their food handling and storage doesn’t look good.
Sulpha has no issues attached to it as far as I know.
Wow cucumbers! Not heard that before.
From the BMJ: “An outbreak of severe bloody diarrhoea and potentially lethal kidney failure from infection with enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) in Germany has been traced to fresh cucumbers grown in Spain, and possibly to other raw vegetables”
So to me food handling and hygiene and washing vegetables is more important than avoiding blue cheese!
Gosh, you’d think a cucumber was the least offensive thing re e-coli! I’m a big washer of most things. All fruit veg and salad and never buy bags of supposed washed salad. I grow my own lettuces/salad items. I don’t wash raw meat though but know people who wash raw chicken and beef. Cooking those properly at the correct temp will kill any bacteria and washing them is likely to spread more bacteria. Also it’s how you store it in your fridge and defrost it.
I had 8 cases of food poisoning, 4 of them severe, in the first 20 months of taking sulfasalazine just before Covid came along (no one else was affected by the food; since Covid I have prepared my own), that my GP put down to immunosuppression by the drug. I have been searching in vain for any other information about this but am very desperate to find some just incase you might know where to look!
How amazingly unlucky! I’ve read research papers that sulphasalazine does diminish B cells, but if you have an otherwise ok’ish immune system then that shouldn’t be too limiting.
All of this is so individual!
I do try to make sure my gut health is as good as it can be and in 8 years of triple therapy of MTX, sulpha and hydroxy I disn’t have so much as a stomach upset. Since starting on biologics I’ve had two viral infections. 1 food borne as my partner got norovirus from oysters and gave it to me, and who know about the other.
So I don’t really worry to much - but if I was in your position I probably would! Do you try to eat a wide range of natural foods?
Thank you so much for replying.
I have, I believe, a fairly balanced diet mostly prepared from 'scratch' and plenty of fruit/veg, and have had no food poisoning since shielding - mainly due to Rituximab, which I started after the food problems but have now stopped. But I am still being very cautious due to a report I came across on this site: creakyjoints.org/living-wit.... The link in the Creaky Joints article to The Lancet Rheumatology is well worth following.
It would seem that the sulfa reduces the production of Type 1 Interferon, produced I believe by T cells and is used by the immune system to protect against virus, bacteria, fungi and parasites. My Rheumy department have not known any one else have food poisoning problems and I have asked before on this site if any one has but with no takers!
I'm sorry to hear about the infections, especially the novo virus which I've heard is not unlike food poisoning, and that from oysters (not that you seem to indulge!) can be quite nasty (also campylobacter?).
As you say, it is all so individual, including the reactions to the medication.
interesting article, but also curious that seemed to be relating to lupus patients. Is there something about lupus as a disease that enhances this vulnerability I wonder?
We just each have to make our choice, and do the best we can.
The advice I was given was to practise "good food hygiene" and be cautious with things like cured meats and unpasteurised cheese (basically any animal products that aren't heat-treated/cooked) - it's roughly the same advice given to pregnant women because there's an increased risk of things like salmonella in these foods. There's no inherent risk due to the medication, it's just it would be worse for you if you were unlucky.
I don't pay too much attention to it but I do use this as an excuse to refuse raw oysters at family Christmases 😁 as I only like the cooked oysters Rockefeller we have (is oysters at Christmas a normal tradition or just us?). It's a good thing because one year the whole family came down with food poisoning except me.
Thank you rmros. Good job you didn't partake!
I’ve never been told to avoid any food. I regularly eat cured meat, unpasteurised cheeses, pate and raw egg in things like soft meringue and mousse. Like helixhelix I’d be more concerned about food storage and handling.
I wasn’t given advice when I was on dmards, both MTX and Azathioprine. However when a biologic was added, I was advised to follow a pregnancy type diet. Here’s a screenshot of the leaflet I was given.
Diet
Oh dear - I just googled the question and if you took notice of the list of foods to avoid you would probably starve!!!!! so I just enjoy what I eat when I want to eat it (healthy most of the time but with the occasional fall from grace)
To be honest, I am on biologics, MTX, Pred and others, and I eat what I want including homemade kimchi and sauerkraut that ferments on my kitchen bench for days at a time. My GP, who is a traditional GP as well as a Functional Nutritional Medicine GP has advised me to perform safe food stewardship as mentioned above, rather than avoiding certain foods. The advice of avoiding buffets, washing produce well, paying attention to food spoilage and overall being attentive seems like a reasonable strategy for myself. I do avoid raw eggs, as over the years I have become ill after eating them, but this is a personal choice.
Some suggestion that grapefruit and its juice may inhibit absorption of the drugs. Perhaps worth asking about……not a terrible loss from your diet vs cheese!
Yes I can't have grapefruit with some meds I'm on. Cheese always wins 🤗
I don’t exclude any food groups from my diet which includes unpasteurised milk that I make kefir from, soft/blue cheese, pate, sushi etc. But I am very careful about food hygiene. Not advocating this approach for everyone but my consultant has said everything within reason …. he even found a way for me to safely have a yellow fever (live) vaccination before travelling to rain forest, which others had said was not possible for someone with my condition.
There was a study/ survey some time back about aging populations globally and diet. The conclusion seemed to be ‘don’t be British’ 😂. All things in moderation is the best. Eat natural foods whenever possible. Try and avoid processed foods/ gluten, but cheats are allowed…
I have until very recently drunk unpasteurised milk nearly straight out of the cow. I made cheese with it and still make my own cheese. I eat raw eggs from my own chickens, make my own paté, and basically prepare or cook all food from scratch. I agree with CripLady; eat food, mostly vegetables, in as close to its natural state as possible.
Hi Has58. I’m about to start biologics (if they ever arrive) and have been told not to eat any unpasteurised cheese, drink unpasteurised milk, make sure salads are well washed and eggs are cooked well. I think the same goes with meat as there’s a risk of E-coli. I was certainly never told this for any DMARDS. 🙂
I can’t eat nightshade vegetables or I’m in agony all night - no tomatoes (so very difficult when I go to an Italian restaurant, my kids’ favourite!), no peppers and no aubergine. Luckily I can eat potatoes with no ill effect. If I try to introduce even a tiny bit of tomato I’m awake the full night in intense pain in my joints.
just to add I’ve been on dmards and until a couple of years ago pred for 30 + years and never avoided any foods nor been told to and am rarely ill 🤷🏻♀️
I’m on a biological injection I can’t have goats cheese brie certain pâtés medium rare meat 🥩 eg beef steak 🥩 can bring on a infection that’s y
I am on infliximab infusions and MTX. Caught food poisoning campylobacter from chicken when I had a meal in a restaurant. It was terrible and bowel has never returned to normal or as normal as it ever does with IBS. So, I am extremely wary of everything now.
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