Diet and autoimmune - What do you think?

[Mamamia21]

I have been sent two websites that suggest a change in diet could help. I would be interested if you had seen these and to hear what you all think...

amymyersmd.com/article/eat-...

everydayhealth.com/rheumato...

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I'm sure everyone would LIKE to eat organic foods but the reality is it is pretty well impossible to eat purely organic - water drains from nearby higher ground into ground where organic products are being grown. It is also extremely expensive - I pay double for a few products where I do buy organic. Many processed products that claim to be organic cannot be purely organic, many ingredients simply aren't available from organic sources.

OTOH, here in Italy many insecticides are banned - even some that the EU allow - and the vast majority of the vegetables in the local supermarket are grown here. I tend to work on the assumption that after the best part of 70 years eating non-organic products it may well be a bit late to worry about it!

This is a very balanced article - even if it does come from the BBC!!!

bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide...

[Mamamia21 in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks for taking the time to reply and sharing the article. I will read with interest.

[Queenfisher]

I had PMR for about 5 yrs, and have now been symptom free and off steroids for about 18 months. While I was “ in the thick of it” with PMR and struggling with all the usual symptoms, like a lot of people I tried just about anything I could to alleviate my symptoms and speed recovery. The turning point for me was when I changed my diet. I went gluten free and dairy free and within about a week noticed a difference. I also bought organic as much as I could. I actually went a little further and took all night shades out of my diet, so no tomatoes or peppers. This was the hardest part as I was a great lover of Italian food! However, it was not that difficult to adapt and find substitutes. Although it might not be the case for everyone, for me this was a huge turning point.

I continue with these food choices still. I bought a bread machine and it is very easy to make delicious gluten free bread. I have coconut milk instead of cows milk and buy fresh organic vegetables and fruits, and free range meats as much as possible. Here in the U.S. a lot of the large grocery chains have increasing choices in organic produce, so prices are becoming more competitive. I would urge anyone thinking about this to at least give it a try - I am so pleased I did.

My best to all of you currently on your journey to recovery.

[Mamamia21 in reply to Queenfisher]

How interesting! I did do a 'remove all' from my diet last year and slowly added things back in, however, I can't say that it made a difference to me at all. I already knew that dark green veg doesn't agree with me and also found out that almonds are a problem but apart from that there was no difference to my ongoing pain.

It might be worth giving it another go removing gluten again. I need to be careful with dairy as I also have Oestorperosis and need that for my bones...

[bussell in reply to Mamamia21]

The problem with all this is that different conditions seem to call for different dietary requirements. I have osteoporosis - so dairy products recommended. Also have bronchiectasis and chronic sinus problems - so dairy products distinctly not recommended! PMR throws up a whole lot more issues. Definitely I feel keeping off dairy helps me and I take daily Adcal to make up. Gluten is an area I know nothing about.

But we are all different and in the end have to decide on our priorities. Love to know how you resolve this!

[Judyliz in reply to Queenfisher]

Would you be so kind as to give me your bread machine recipe for gluten free bread. We have used a bread machine for about 15 years and my husband makes a delicious loaf every other day. Our daughter in law has a strict gluten free diet but sadly all but one of the gluten free attempts have been a complete disaster. We would love to be able to give her a freshly cooked loaf of bread when they next come to stay. Many thanks.

[Queenfisher in reply to Judyliz]

Will be happy to post the recipe a little

later on today. We are off to get my husband’s Covid vaccine right now, so busy but happy day! There is also a gluten free bread mix you can buy direct from manufacturer or through Amazon, which is terrific and what I started out with. They probably do not want me to post the name on the forum here, so will message that to you also.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Queenfisher]

Of course you can ...

[Queenfisher in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you- I am a bit out of touch with the forum.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Judyliz]

Remember you will have to clean every last scrap of ordinary flour out of the mechanism - and it isn;t always easy

[Bcol in reply to Judyliz]

Hi, butting in here. I have a Panasonic SD2511 bread maker, which is brilliant and which has a number of gluten free and sour dough recipes. You can download manual and the recipes from the link below.

manualslib.com/manual/11057...

[Queenfisher in reply to Bcol]

Thank you for butting in, I had forgotten there are GF recipes in the manuals. My bread machine is also Panasonic. I was very dubious about the whole thing the to start with. I bought a Bob’s Red Mill “GF Wonderful Homemade Bread Mix” added it and the liquid into the machine and turned it on. Two hours later opened it up to find a perfectly baked loaf of bread. Must admit I giggled like a school girl - it was a “where did that come from?” moment and I was hooked on the machine. Clean up is very easy, just rinse out the bread pan, so no hassle. I have since experimented with the mix adding a banana and dried fruit to the mix to make a delicious fruit/ breakfast bread.

[Hidden]

Human mankind is very good is polluting their own food chain.. But keep in mind that plants themselves also produce chemicals to defend themselves from being eaten. Those natural pesticides are even increased when the plant is under attack, which might be the case if we don’t spray pesticides on them. Those natural defends chemicals can screw up you body pretty nasty when you eat not seasonal the whole year through. And often those super vegies we overdue make it worse (oxaltes, pectins, gluten,....)

[Mamamia21 in reply to Hidden]

This is really interesting. I will have to read up about this myself. Do you have any links worth sharing?

[Queenfisher in reply to Mamamia21]

Unfortunately I do not have any links. I just did a great deal of research at the time and pulling all the threads together it made sense for me to give it a try.

[Hidden in reply to Mamamia21]

Google Sally K. NORTON, she crashed as Long term vegan and is a nutritionist herself. Specialised in oxalates.

[Mazxstitch]

I was told that cutting gluten and lactose from my diet would lessen my pain caused by PMR. That was December 2019. It has worked well for me. I am not so strict now and can have some pasta or a biscuit now and again.

[Queenfisher in reply to Mazxstitch]

So pleased to hear you had success! Not everything works for everyone, but we don’t know until we try. All the best.

[AtopicGuy]

I tried a rigorous, medically approved, exclusion diet two years ago. I was looking for any food that might be aggravating my atopy (eczema, asthma, allergies) or auto-immune (PMR and possible vasculitis) symptoms. It took many months to complete the phases, but nothing made any detectable difference. I had previously spent four years trialling different shampoos, shower gels, washing powders, etc. and avoided cleaning products for a while, all to no effect. So all my allergens seem to be environmental: house dust, mould spores, grass and tree pollen, feathers and fur.

[Flutterbies57]

I do believe diet makes a huge difference, but finding the right diet for ourselves is the difficult part. I have been mostly dairy free for 40 years. I limited gluten for about 20 years, but had to go go totally gluten free about 2 years ago. That has made a massive

difference to my my digestive system, but no different to my aches, pains and PMR (yet). I was once told by a Health person, that diet change must be long term , and that it can take up to three years to make a huge change. He achieved it himself, and his crippling arthritis eventually settled. Sadly I have to admit, I am my own worst enemy, and do not stick tomost diets. For 8 years we have eaten mostly organic foods. We have a lifestyle block, free range chickens, fruit trees, own vegetable garden, a few sheep, and a cow. We swap our organic sheep meat, with neighbours for their organic beef and pork. And we get fresh fish. My husband is very healthy. I thought my health would improve, but I still have PMR , Osteo and other painful joint problems. I want to seriously do the alkaline diet. We have a friend who is living proof that a strict alkaline diet makes a huge improvement in shrinking cancer growths (within 6 weeks). Her husband also took on the diet and with in 6 weeks he said he felt like he was 16 again not 60. 10 years later they still do bouts of alkaline diet. I do hope you find something which works for you.