Has anyone done much research and have experience with anti-inflammatory diets?
It seems that the pain and discomfort I read about in this forum do not match my symptoms. I deal with tightness and pain, which I believe is inflammation, in my chest. My rheumatologist says it is inflammation of the cartilage. It seems much better if I do not drink coffee. (I miss my little cup of java.) Orange juice and tomatoes also seem to cause inflammation. Anyone got any thoughts?
Hi
I have seen a dietician and told that while I'm on steroids to reduce all caffeine. So all my drinks are caffeine free. Also as you said too many tomato based foods are not good. I made the choice to become a vegetarian but also eat fish. I don't miss meat at all. The other foods to be careful with are snacky foods, cakes, biscuits and high sugar foods.As well as my GCA I have fibromyalgia and arthritis and really feel that my diet has helped. Hope this helps.
Wendy
I try and cut out simple carbs and also gluten. I also eat a lot of pineapple. I did try some gluten free bread from M&S, it was disgusting, slightly better toasted but not much. I am also told that beetroot is good. Lots of veg, friends give me the labours of their allotments and gardens which is nice.
I have never found diet makes much difference. I was gluten-free when the PMR first started - I'm allergic to somehting in wheat, not gluten in fact but to eat wheat-free in the UK you have to be gluten-free. I tried no tomatoes and other nightshades and it made little difference.
MrsO uses turmeric amongst other things and eats oily fish at least 3 times a week - and notices a difference if she misses out. I'm sure she'll be along and tell you her rules.
I do eat very little carbohydrate - absolutely no processed foods and the easiest way to do that is don't buy anything in a package! I cook everything from scratch - but I do live in Italy where the offering of ready-made meals is quite restricted.
Ptolemy - bought gluten-free bread in the UK is disgusting but it is possible to make your own which is far better. There are even breadmakers that will do a gluten-free programme. I decided bread wasn't worth it. Toasted polenta is a good substitute by the way. I also happily eat oatcakes (Nairns even do gluten-free ones)
I am glad it is not just me who thinks UK gluten free bread is disgusting. Probably easier not to bother in my case too! I feel that a good diet is actually beneficial to anyone even if they do not have PMR. I try never to buy any foods that have those traffic light things on the packaging. In fact I try to go to farm shops that sell things in brown paper bags. I can smell out simple carbs at one hundred yards now. My friends are also becoming very knowledgable, perhaps to keep me quiet!
Hello,
I've been gluten-free for 25 years now, and definitely notice if by mistake I eat something with flour in it. However, we're lucky I guess as we have a couple of pretty decent g/f breads to choose from here in the U.S. I also enjoy making g/f scones and pancakes with g/f flour mixes.
I was 8 years ago tested for food allergies and had few of those, then my homeopathic physician last year sent a blood sample of mine to a lab in Florida (I'm in the U.S.) and they tested for sensitivities, rather than allergies. Quite a different result. Testing indicated out of 200 foods, I had severe sensitvity to 24 foods, moderate sensitivity to 18 including turmeric, and mild sensitivity to 36 foods. It was a huge adjustment to work with, but I have managed for a year, and now am trying the mild foods again to see if they cause a reaction.
I too miss caffeine! And with homeopathy, I am not allowed to have any coffee as it messes with the homeopathy. Try to drink plenty of filtered water and fresh fruits and veggies, organic if possible. Don't know how it is in Britain, but in the U.S. the regular food is so contaminated with pesticides, and then we have GMO to worry about.
Bottom line: I consider what I eat to be very important to how I feel. Thanks for bringing this up.
Carolyn, the following are anti inflammatory foods I found when researching, a diet I stuck to throughout my PMR/GCA days:
Oily fish (sardines, mackerel, salmon, trout) three times a week, beetroot, avocado, garlic and turmeric. I stopped eating all processed meat, and reduced refined carbs including white potatoes (substituted with sweet potatoes) - these foods turn to sugar in our bodies and could add to the risk of steroid-induced diabetes. I stopped drinking coffee except on a very rare occasion when I would treat myself to a cappucino - coffee, like sugar, places stress on the adrenal glands and these can be suppressed by the high dose steroids. I included lots of asparagus, garlic, fennel and melon, known for their diuretic action (steroids can cause fluid retention). The best news of all: dark chocolate is anti-inflammatory (flavenoids)! As Eileen mentioned, I definitely noticed a difference in my pain levels if I veered off the the diet, particularly the oily fish.
My understanding is it's the acidic foods you want to avoid and instead lean towards alkaline foods. Most of the no-nos mentioned in this thread so far are acidic foods, and processed foods are the most acidic of all I gather (coffee too!).
You can buy little test strips that tell you how alkaline/acidic your saliva and/or urine is.
As an RA and PMR sufferer, I also was never affected by avoiding the nightshade trio of vegies: tomatoes, potatoes and bell peppers. I later discovered results of not eating them are best for those who have osteoarthritis but make no difference to rheumatoid arthritis.
Light, I learned very many years ago that it was important to lean towards alkaline foods rather than those that were considered to be acidic. I had come across a book called Food Combining for Health by Doris Grant on the Hay System that was introduced in the 1930's. The foreword in the book was wirtten by the famous actor, Sir John Mills, who had followed the Hay Diet since being invalided out of the army in 1942 due to to what he described as a "man-sized duodenal ulcer". After 3 months in hospital there was no improvement.....until he tried the Hay Diet, and six weeks later said he never looked back. He ends his foreword stating that very many years later and "really fit, he could still do up a jacket he had made in 1938, and we all know that he still filmed and lived to a ripe old age.
The book can bring up a few surprises on its list of acid-forming foods.
It was when I learned that lemons, although acidic, turn alkali in the body, and since then I have always started my day with a few squeezes of fresh lemon in warm water. Whereas I suffered severe bowel changes when prescribed the usual PPIs alongside the steroids which had to be stopped abruptly, I never suffered any such bowel/ esophagus/gastric problems throughout my years on steroids.
There is no scientific or medical reason to suggest the "alkaline body" is any healthier. The body has a different pH depending on which part of the body you are looking at. The mouth has a fairly neutral/alkaline pH (if it were acid your teeth would disintegrate) and food digestion starts there but the stomach is very acidic in order to continue digestion - without an acid environment you cannot absorb certain essential substances, including calcium for bone building. As you travel further down the gut the pH changes from area to area to do different things.
The blood and, as a result, all the tissues remains at a relatively narrow pH range because outside this range the body becomes seriously ill, whether it is too acidic or tooo alkaline. Breathing also plays a role in this and what you eat can't influence what pH most of the body is. The saliva and what you have just eaten influences the mouth, the urine is finished with and its pH simply reflects what is being got rid of via the kidneys. If it is alkaline it just reflects that that is due to substances which are in excess or no longer needed.
Of course - the sites that support these diets usually have an underlying agenda: to sell books, cookery books, "special" food and supplements. They line someone's pocket at your expense. It is, of course, your business how you spend your money. But it is far from necessary - if leaving something out makes you feel better or worse that's fine. But moderation in all things.
It's true, there is a very narrow middle area for when both alkaline and acidic are healthy, and the body needs to be some of both.
And yes, I do understand that diffferent testing areas will reveal different degrees of acidity.
But my understanding is that much of the food people eat today lean over far too much into the acidic zone, which most people are unaware of.
The pH testing strips reveal where your body may be. Just follow the instructions!
I agree, Mrs O, many foods leave surpising results and lemons is one of the most obvious. That start of the day with a squeeze of lemon in warm water is a good one (not quite sure why i replaced it with green tea – probably wanted something hot)
Thanks for the reminder!
Never knew John Mills had prefaced a book about it. I just remember him in films when I was a kiddie!