im really split about diet.
when i was firsted dxd 8 years ago i asked my rheumy if i should change my diet and he just laughed and said no, "what a load of rubbish"! at the time i thought i was dealing with a dinosaur and ignored him and changed my diet. now 8 years later, im much more likely to agree with "the old dinosaur!"
the reason for this is that our whole family is wheat, dairy and egg free, we are mainly vegetarian, but with a little chicken and fish, eat loads of fruit and veg every day, and we never, ever, eat anything with additives, and our diet is really healthy, everything is home made.
as im flaring and not doing too well, i have to think that diet hasnt done very much.
THOUGH i have to think that if healthy people need a healthy diet, then anyone with a chronic illness like RA needs a healthy diet even more??????? just wondered what others on the board thought.
anna
a healthy diet is important for overall health but unless you have shown a particular sensitivity to a food I don't think there is any need for a special "arthritis" dietAnna- I agree, I have tried changing my diet and the only thing that has had any degree of difference has been eliminating tomato's.I havent felt better or worse adding or removing anything else. My rheumy said that diet really doesnt make RA better.
I don't think its going to make a huge difference for most people but eating healthy is definitely just plain old good for us!
i still flare, but not as often, and i seem to have far more good days on a celiac/dairy free diet, than before
i dont think diet cures RA, however it definitely stops aggravating leaky gut syndrome and candida, which has been proven as one of the causes of RA
[QUOTE=triatha-mom] Anna....we are gluten free in our house also. My
husband has Celiac disease and it was easier for everyone to just follow
it.I don't know that it has done a tremendous amount of good either. But
I am lucky in that my meds work very well for me and I feel good 9 times
out of 10. I think maintaining a healthy weight is most important.Jen
[/QUOTE]
I agree with you about maintaining a healthy weight. Obese people can
have very elevated inflammatory markers so it is hard to tell if the
inflammation is from the arthritis or obesity. Google tumor necrosis
factor. Once the weight comes off, some of the problems are eliminated.
I would be curious to know how many people on this board are obese.I think that overall diet and good fitness is important. I'm not sure about the food allergies and sensitivies contributing to autoimmune or other illnesses, haven't really studied that. However, I do think that being thin and fit is very important no matter if you have RA, OA or any other illness. Being overweight affects your body significantly. I have a client who is significantly overweight and has OA in her knees. I believe that whatever treatment she uses to deal with the pain of OA, it's really not going to make much difference if she continues to carry 300 lbs of weight on her knees every day. I think a lot of people don't want to believe that having a healthy diet and staying fit are that important to their disease b/c they don't want to change (or believe that they CAN'T change b/c of meds, fatigue, etc). I had to stop myself after gaining 30 lbs and realize what I was doing to myself. I put down the crap food and quit feeling bad for myself that I couldn't exercise like I could, and found something I COULD do (swim, cut out the crap food, etc). It's not easy, but I don't want to die before my time due to not taking care of my body the best that I can. Sorry if this reply didn't exactly address the food sensitivity/gluten free/wheat free stuff that it may have been started for.
Hi all, the only thing I found that affected my RA was the nightshade family of vegs. Tomatoes, bell peppers which I love. Dang. I ate them one summer, as my doc doesn't think they are to blame, etc.....so I believed him! I wanted to eat them. But, I had the worst flare....so who knows??? I don't eat tomatoes, bellpeppers or potatoes. Also, egg plant which I never at anyway. It was hard giving up these foods but I did.
Lynda