Someone I know who feels diet etc can help our conditions suggested I watch this program!
I'm not sure if anyone else has blogged about it, or watched it (I keep meaning to but seem to miss it - will catch up on Channel 4 player), but interestingly, when you look at their website (link below) in their discussion on RA they do agree that there is no evidence that diet can 'cure' RA! They feel that from some surveys it's possible that some types of foods such as oily fish, and the mediterranean diet may help pain and some symptoms (although feel this has not been investigated enough to make any claims).....
So far there have been 2 episodes, neither having RA discussed, but will keep watching and see what they have to say about it!
Has anyone watched any episodes? any thoughts? Here's the link to their website discussion on RA...
Haven't heard of it but will blog it and look out for it.
Hi Heather - going to watch it later on tonight but OH watched it and said it was really interesting and he noted my current diet is spot on! I've gone from obesity to simply being overweight in the past 9 months.
Now I'm not one of these health freaks but this woman came by the other day - as I said on Marnie's thread - and announced that my inflammatory arthritis was probably all down to nuts. I have been eating quite a lot of nuts recently, almonds especially, and when I told her this she rolled her eyes and said "classic - quit nuts and it may well make your painful joints disappear!".
I asked my GP what he thought about this today and he said he thought there might well be something in her argument. He explained that nuts are full of uric acid and they certainly make gout patients suffer so he thought there was also quite a strong likelihood that nuts would make people with diseases such as RA significantly worse. He told me to try it and see so I am now back on dairy products for the calcium and right off nuts!
Will let you know if all the pain disappears as this woman suggested it might - I see the rheumy in 11 days so a bit of time to experiment at least. Just thought this might be of interest to you all as well? TT
Thanks Tilda! I'm not a huge eater of nuts (actually used to be earlier this year, but just went off them after a while), but let us know how you get on in the next few days with cutting them out!
I had read your other post too about this woman - I suppose like the meds etc different things can affect different people, but didn't sound like you had a great experience with her!
I didn't see the program but I am a strong believe that food affects RA. I Have found White Bread, Certain diary products (Yogurts, Cream Cheese, Milk, eggs) and Beef affect my RA. By cutting these out of my diet I have gone from having a flare up every week to not having one in the last 6 months. I think different foods affect different people but I would suggest you do a trial and see how you get on. I use to pop pain killers like no ones business and now I can't remember the last time I had to take one for my RA.
I take ginger capsules morning and night to which are good for inflamation.
I also take calcium tablets as I don't have alot ion my diet.
Hope this helps.
Beverley
Interesting that you have found diet affects your symptoms so much. Are you taking medicines as well? My GP said that calcium tablets weren't nearly as effective as getting calcium from foods i.e almonds, dark veg, dairy products etc because they aren't absorved as readily but someone told me that calcium enriched soya milk is a very good alternative to cow's milk.
I have to say I haven't noticed any food in particular either making my symptoms feel better or worse, so can't say that diet has had a big impact on RA for me. When I was first diagnosed (well in between symptoms first starting and diagnosis), I decided I'd like to try and see how much I could do to help 'naturally' before I was prescribed the meds. I did all the cutting out of nightshade family, red meat, wheat, dairy etc etc, ate loads of oily fish, and at that time, while on no meds no day was better or worse for me! I have recently given up dairy entirely (always only had limited and usually have soya milk instead of cow's milk in coffees etc) in support of my son who had to give it up for a while, and my joints have actually been worse, however I also changed meds at the same time, and feel the change is more due to meds than the lack of dairy!
I had wanted to resort to diet as much as possible, partcularly as I was a firm believer that it aggravated my sons excema, so had seen how diet could help with that. However then I was diagnosed with lupus too, and looking at diet to help that meant cutting out even more foods! As Tilda says it's better to get various vitamins and minerals naturally, and I felt I was cutting out too much for my own good.
However maybe I am wrong and my diet overall does and has helped as I haven't been hit by as severe symptoms as others, and do eat quite a healthy diet. so maybe things would be worse if I didn't!
Will watch the show and see what they have to say about it!
I've just watched it and it was fascinating! Unfortunately I'm about to go to London for a funeral tomorrow and rushing about at the same time as trying to pack, help youngest son with a discursive essay for English and get the dog out for last toileting as OH is on a nightshift so concentration was poor but wanted to watch it while i have a computer and it's still on iplayer.
I had terrible eczema as a child and all the way through three pregnancies - but it's all gone away now? Must be a hormonal thing I believe - my 19 year old son gets spells of it and got so bad that it turned to blood poisoning last year (he's a student) but now he's clear again. We tried everything food wise with him when he was a kid and nothing got rid of the eczema - which usually got worse when he was stressed by a nasty teacher or a test.
I'm exactly the same as you Hetherp in terms of trying my very hardest to help self through diet and exercise and weightloss (was obese now just overweight) so that I can look the rheumy in the eye a week on Thursday and know that I've done everything I can do to try and halt the progress of this inflammatory arthritis/ RA prior to medication.
Well I say that but I've had a steroid injection in early summer and just come off 2 weeks of Prednisolone?! But I only took those so I could move about again which seems quite reasonable?!).
Tonight everything is hurtling back to pain city and I've only been off Pred for a day. And being nut free hasn't made a bean of difference yet. But as you say perhaps if I'd still be 14 and a half stone and still been eating far too much including gluten, sugar, red wine and caffeine and still not been doing gentle yoga, jogging on the nintendo 2ii with thick pile carpet when I can - and lots of tai chi and dog walking things would be so much worse?
So I'll stick to my healthy balanced low fat high anti-oxidants, anti inflam diet and let the rest get knocked back with steroids from time to time, and take DMARDs whatever comes my way - bring it on please!! (that's the pain speaking tonight).
Not sure how I'll get through the next few days going all the way to London and going from pillar to post (sisters and friends) each night but once the funeral's over I can come home and collapse in a puddle on Saturday. And got my stash of emergency Pred, splints plus rice cakes and sachets of porridge to keep me going and sure I'll find lots of lovely anti-oxidants in the big smog- wish me luck!
Tilda xx
Hi
Just to let you know NRAS were approached some time ago to recruit people living with RA to participate in this Channel 4 programme and they had planned to cover RA in one of the episodes but despite putting some people forward for consideration this was the response from one of the producers of the programme. . " Unfortunately we didn’t find a suitable contributor with RA. However, if there is another series of The Food Hospital commissioned after this one, it is definitely a condition that we would like to cover". If anyone would like to participate in a future programme do let me know via volunteers@nras.org.uk and we can keep you on record for future reference.
690,000 people in the UK live with RA but it's accessing them is the tricky thing. NRAS were only able to people via our network of NRAS members (to join NRAS visit nras.org.uk) and I did actually put the request up here on HU. It is opportunities like this that can really help change the public perception of what RA is and that it is NOT an older person's disease! This is why we so strongly encourage people to engage with organisations like NRAS so as to avail of these opportunities and be a strong patient voice to represent everyone living with this disease. If you'd like to be consider for their next series please email volunteers@nras.org.uk with your contact details.
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