Hey everybody - I've been reading a lot about RA, and the diet issue keeps cropping up (like how certain foods can increase inflammation) and now I don't know what to eat!! It appears that EVERYTHING we eat is on a list of "don'ts" somewhere! Have many of you noticed a connection between your symptoms and what you eat? I know Rana follows a pretty strict diet and has had good luck with it. What about the rest of you? I don't even know where to begin, it's all so complicated. Whenever I have a particularly painful day I think, "Oh good grief, what did I eat?" I'm afraid to eat anything anymore! Just hook me up to IV fluids and forget about eating!! The Rheumatologist doesn't say much about it, and I've noticed that most medical doctors don't really get too concerned about diet & nutrition; it's all about meds for them. However, I'm not ready to abandon traditional medicine and go totally with alternative remedies or holistic health or whatever... I'd love to hear what you "veterans" have discovered, if anything, about the diet/symptom connection. I'm so frustrated. I have this bizarre urge to run away, but my body would go with me, and that's what I'm wanting to get away from!
I have been dealing with this for 20 years now. For me, it makes
no difference what I eat and what I don't eat. I tried the usual
cut out nightshade palnts (it's not like I eat many anyway), I never
eat much red meat either. I am not a milk drinker at all so I get
my calcium from other sources like cheese and yougurt. I just
have never noticed a difference, or I might try to explore this
further. But, then again, I also have no willpower to avoid foods
I know I shouldn't eat just from a bad for you standpoint. I
don't go overboard but I do indulge. Hi SandyJ, Rana here. I know you're mainly asking your question from verteran RAer's and I've only had RA for about 2 years, but I would like to respond if it's O.K., just to keep the dialogue going. Here's a sampling of what I eat for meals/snacks: Breakfast oatmeal or oat bran (sometimes with nuts) with one of the following milks: rice, soy/rice blend, almond. coconut OR eggs with raw veggies OR scrambled eggs with cooked veggies and herb tea. Mid-morning snack nuts or rice cake with butter(ghee) or a nut butter or raw veggies Lunch leftovers from night-before dinner OR one of my thawed-out homemade soups (split-pea;acorn squash;turkey & zuchinni;chicken & broccoli;lentil & spinach) OR tunafish or egg salad with my homemade mayo AND raw veggies or salad AND buttered(ghee) rice cake Mid-afternoon snack apple or applesauce or pear OR buttered popcorn, sometimes raw veggies Dinner some sort of protein: veggie omlet, turkey, chicken,veal, or fish with steamed vegetable, sometimes also rice or a non-wheat pasta or sweet potato For me, it helps if I at least avoid: dairy, wheat, all forms of sugar, yeast foods like vinegar, alcohol, cheese, and I go easy on fruits and other grains. I lilberally use sea salt, garlic, onions, vinegar-free mayo and salad dressings, lemon, and olive oil for seasoning. Near my table, I keep a small notebook to write down what I eat so I can always go back to see what I've eaten and also so I can remember to rotate foods. The only beverages I drink are herb tea, diluted no-sugar fruit juice and lots of water The hardest time is when we eat out - I just choose carefully and make requests As I've reported previously, I take: no-iron multi; MSM; extra C; extra Calcium; Cod Liver Oil. Don't think I don't cheat every so often, because I do. I just try to keep it down to a minimum. The best results I have is when I don't cheat. When I first started this diet, I went to the market and started to cry. I felt I didn't know what to get. Now, after a year of doing this, I have the routine down, and also know how to doordinate cooking other foods my husband eats. After awhile, the diet becomes easier and automatic. The motivation to "not hurt" helps extremely. If I cheat too much - I begin to experience swelling/pain. Every time. To me, there is a strong correlation. Please don't feel that I am trying to force this diet on everyone. I can only report that over time, and with much diet/RA reading, and with much experimenting this food intake seems to work for ME. Anyone can use this info to attempt to try their own experimenting. Best of luck to all! Your inflammatory arthritis colleague, Rana
Sandy, It might help to keep a log of what you eat AND a log of your pain levels. You might start to see patterns that could help you figure out if you have foods that trigger a flare. I think it's highly individual, myself. Thanks for sharing your info, Rana. It doesn't sound to me as if you're trying to push anything, just sharing what works for you! zzoi Good morning, I have had arthritis since 1981. Like Wayney I have never noticed particular foods either helping or hurting my arthritis. I try to maintain a healthy diet. If a particular diet makes you feel better, then do it. If its harmful to you, you'll find out soon enough. We get blood tests often enough they should pick up any potential problems. 6Xmum, Wow, sounds like you've got an excellent diet going there. If you don't mind the suggestion, you said you have daily stomach problems; you might find taking a daily probiotic very helpful. That's like lactobacillis - it provides the right kind of intestinal flora so your system runs right. I have been taking one of these capsules a day for the past few months, and have yet to have any stomach problems, when I used to have them quite a bit! Good luck, Rana
As for running away from our bodies...wouldn't that be nice for a
change. I've threatened before but hubby just ;aughs at me.
Wayney
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