Has anyone discovered foods that cause the RA to flare ? I can't eat raw tomatoes as they cause me to flare. I'm wondering if there are other foods I should avoid.
Thank you for any information.
I think you would end up eating nothing if you avoided everything that other people say aggravates their RA as we are all different. I don't think any food or food group causes my flares. I eat quite healthily and I enjoy my diet so I don't want to start excluding things from it.
you can find a list on line of foods to avoid with R/A
TOMATOES POTATOES ARE THE ONLY TWO I CAN THINK OF
Hi
ive been eliminating some foods over a period of time. The ones that really made the pain or the RA flare up more were
all dairy products
vinegar
caffeine
gluten
i have now been three months without these. The hardest was my coffee in the morning , i tried almond milk and was horrid. I just drink peppermint and also pukka three ginger tea which also helped with the pain. It did take 6-8 weeks before the pain lessened. I hope this helps you. I believe diet can be a large part of keeping the RA low but it takes a tremendous amount of adjustment. My diet is mainly fruit, vegetables,fish, goats cheese, rice and gluten free oats.
Thank you Helen for the info. I've tried some of them but will try some more.
Thank you tiswas.
So far the only thing that really bothers me is tomatoes (fresh)....cooked are ok and I do love the fresh ones but have to stay away from them or pay the consequences.
yes tomatoes are very bad
If tomatoes bother you, then maybe avoid others in the nightshade group, peppers and aubergines I think. I love toms and eat them evry day practically, but eve when I avoided them for a while I noticed no difference, so still eat them, although I do wonder about food. I hae noticed that whenai stop eating bread, wheat that does make a difference!
Do you mind me asking what medication you are taking, as well as the diet you are following? Or are you controlling your RA just by your diet?
Hi im on predisenole steroids at the momment and diet and exercise. Once ive had predisenole for a month i need to then discuss further with RA consultant. Hoping to just have diet to control the flare ups
I avoid nightshades - potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, chillis, aubergines.
Also, dairy, gluten, all grains and legumes. Gluten is the worst and I think it could be the cause of RA as it's eaten 3 times a day or more by many of us.
It sounds like a lot but you get used to it after a while and now I'm nearly completely symptom free (very mild symptoms from time to time, like a day of sore fingers if I overdo it a bit).
I exercise but not too much or I get sore. It's important to keep moving as it lubricates the joints, but not if you're in a flare-up, that would agravate things.
Good luck with finding a way...
Look up Nightshades. They are foods to not eat if you have RA. Like regular potatoes, eggplant, pepper, anything made of peppers, chili pepper, etc. Tomatoes, even cooked and a bunch of others. Hope this helps!!
Hi I too found tomatoes which are part of the nightshade food give me flare ups. I also avoid oranges, refined sugars, coffee as they give me flare ups. I have been in remission for nearly 10 months without having sugar in my system until the other day when I ate a homebake biscuit that had little sugar but unfortuately had a flare up in my right hand. Had to start up my prednisone to control the pain and flare up. I was diagnose with RA in July 2014 starting off with both shoulders, left and right hands before I went on 10mg of methotrexate. I was fortunate to recognise that sugar is deadly and avoided it completely and managed to get into remission within 3 months.
I'm in serious trouble then! I love tomatoes (good for the heart) endless expresso coffee (keeps me awake!!) And eat countless fruit including Oranges. Help!!
after 6 months on the diet I came off all meds (half expecting immediate flare-up) and have been symptom free for almost 6 months apart from the occasional twinge if I get stressed or tired.
Same here, to be honest, I have tomatoes galore - cooked, uncooked - and probably follow a 'Mediterranean Diet' . This had worked for me until my RA diagnosis when I was 55. My doctor said it was unlikely to be RA because I was 'too old' but blood tests proved him wrong, unfortunately.
People might not like to hear this, but I am going after the best medication available to control my RA. I've never had medication for anything regularly before. I don't want to start excluding various things from my diet and priority for me is to keep on working ( quite demanding, physical job) for a few more years then I can see how it goes. Definitely not going to stop having coffee!!
Could anyone tell me what is the nightshade group and what does a potato, an aubergine and a tomato have in common, that makes them something to potentially avoid. By the way this is a genuine question, I just don't understand. I hardly ever eat potatoes, but I am armenian and we eat aubergines a lot! I was really healthy until my mid fifties until this RA diagnosis. I can't relate it to diet, I can only relate the onset to massive stress in my case.
Thanks!
Hi Anne,
Forgive me for a copy paste job but this explains it quite well.
"what do potatoes, paprika, and eggplant all have in common? If you said “delicious,” you aren’t far off, but there’s a more important similarity as well: these three plants (as well as tomatoes and all varieties of peppers) belong to the nightshade family. While the vast majority of people have no problems with nightshades, they can cause serious problems for anyone struggling with an autoimmune disease, as well as some people who simply have a digestive sensitivity to them.
The best evidence for the health risks of nightshades is connected with arthritis and joint pain, especially the autoimmune disease of rheumatoid arthritis."
Turns out that this family of vegetables are inflammatory and that's what we must avoid to get well. Many people avoid oranges too and I've found this helpful for myself.