'Clean' eating for arthritis/inflammation?

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  • upgetupgetup
    upgetupgetup Posts: 749 Member
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    Lol, I went for my last tomato & rye sandwich, great to come back to great replies!
    fatty fish like sardines, salmon, flax seed- make sure it's ground or it will pass through
    all good for being anit inflammatory

    i'm not sure if it would help at all, but i swear when ate greens more often
    spinach, kale or whatever you like,
    seems to really help if I have heartburn or having it less often
    greens are loaded with healthy nutrients and if you love tomatoes you're
    probably already eating them, since they pair so well together.

    a cinnamon and honey mask is great for my acne
    both possibly anti inflammatory, anti bacterial
    plus you smell awesome after :)

    Katy_trail, I definitely love smelling awesome! Ah good, fatty fish! I do like those, sardines & herring especially (mmmm smoked herring on toast oh noes, not on toast) but don't have them anywhere near enough. Yup, like greens :) Thanks!

    I'll check out that blog, too :)
  • upgetupgetup
    upgetupgetup Posts: 749 Member
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    no problem. really what I've ended up doing is simple - breakfast is bacon and eggs typically, with fruit/nuts/etc, lunch is a big *kitten* salad that's kind of my favorite meal of the day because I can mix it up daily. A salad can have as many or as few calories as you want, as much protein or fat as you want, it's lowish carb and gluten free. win win. Dinner is usually meat/chicken/fish and veggies or rice. and I munch on fruit and nuts throughout the day with a shake thrown in for good measure.

    who said gluten free was tough! :P

    I would, however, caution against splurging for gluten free versions of things that usually have wheat in them like pasta/bread/etc - just because they're typically heavily processed, and have lots of wacky ingredients. Better to just have your rye bread every now and again, but just make it an occasional treat, and see how you feel when you've been GF for a while compared to when you aren't.

    Good luck!

    This is really useful, Coach, thank you - so helpful to see what a daily plan might look like. I could do that, I think! At least there's rice :)

    Re the breads, etc - I agree, I'm not usually into faux foods, more for aesthetic reasons than anything else. I like the idea of having my bit of rye :)

    Thanks again :)
  • katy_trail
    katy_trail Posts: 1,992 Member
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    you can still do toast, just do that flax bread or other versions in the links.
    I'm sure she's got some gluten free energy bars in there too for when you're on the go.
  • upgetupgetup
    upgetupgetup Posts: 749 Member
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    I looked up some info on that last year when I got serious about this cause of my knee issues. Here's the list I came up with from different sources:
    Anti-Inflammatory Foods

    Turmeric
    Wild caught salmon
    Shiitake mushrooms
    Green tea
    blueberries
    extra virgin olive oil
    broccoli
    ginger
    cinnamon
    garlic
    curry
    fish
    fish oil
    walnuts
    steel-cut oats
    berries
    spinach
    oranges
    brown rice
    avocados

    http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02995/Dr-Weil-Anti-Inflammatory-Food-Pyramid.html

    Thank you for sharing! Will have a read :)
  • upgetupgetup
    upgetupgetup Posts: 749 Member
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    you can still do toast, just do that flax bread or other versions in the links.
    I'm sure she's got some gluten free energy bars in there too for when you're on the go.

    Nice! Will look into it. For sure, the on-the-go thing is where things get hairy sometimes, isn't it? merci again :)
  • SocialRopes
    SocialRopes Posts: 51 Member
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    BUMP
  • AnitaHeady
    AnitaHeady Posts: 7
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    Thank you everyone who gave suggestions for 'clean' eatting and a gluten free diet. I am suffereing terribly with my hands right now, no pain meds help. It took me forever to type this due to my joints being so swollen and painful...sigh...will definetly try the gluten free and pray it helps somewhat.
  • TheDevastator
    TheDevastator Posts: 1,626 Member
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    Cruciferous vergetables like brussel sprouts, kale and cauliflower are anti-inflammatory. So are onions.
  • TheDevastator
    TheDevastator Posts: 1,626 Member
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    Thank you everyone who gave suggestions for 'clean' eatting and a gluten free diet. I am suffereing terribly with my hands right now, no pain meds help. It took me forever to type this due to my joints being so swollen and painful...sigh...will definetly try the gluten free and pray it helps somewhat.
    You might want to take vitamins to help your arthritis. I would recommend taking a b-100 complex every day. B-6 is especially helpful according to this study:

    http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v64/n9/full/ejcn2010107a.html

    A large dose of vitamin B6 supplementation (100 mg/day) suppressed pro-inflammatory cytokines (that is, IL-6 and TNF-α) in patients with RA.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/479184-vitamin-b6-arthritis/
  • Lupercalia
    Lupercalia Posts: 1,857 Member
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    Have an allergy test, for sure. What causes inflammation in you isn't necessarily the same as it is for me. I have a gluten sensitivity and am allergic to most dairy. I am lactose intolerant as well. Then there are a few other foods that bother me. I also can't have much sugar because I'm insulin resistant.

    Removing all those things from my diet really helped greatly with my osteoarthritis symptoms and a number of tendon/ligament issues I was having mysteriously vanished as well. A bunch of other stuff improved greatly too, but you asked about arthritis/inflammation so I'll leave it at that.
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
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    for everyone with arthritis, I recommend looking into the work of Dr. Jonathan Wright - who wrote the book "Why Stomach Acid is Good For You"

    The book mainly focuses on reflux, but has chapters dealing with anything from asthma to RA (rheumatoid arthritis)

    His theory (and it's backed up by years of clinical practice) is that low stomach acid causes a huge number of issues in our bodies, because our food isn't getting digested properly, and thus we're not absorbing the nutrients we think we are. Really fascinating stuff, and following his guidelines cured me of my larynx inflammation issues.

    http://www.arthritistrust.org/Articles/Jonathan Wright Natural Treatment for Arthritis.pdf

    Also, shameless plug, but bone broth is incredible for helping with arthritis and joint pain. I just wrote a blog post about it and how you can make it at home.

    http://teamreddy.blogspot.com/2013/04/whats-deal-with-bone-broth-and-how-do-i.html
  • realmilk4me
    realmilk4me Posts: 22 Member
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    Gluten causes a lot of problems. If you still want to eat the grain, try soaking them. Soaked grains and then made into sourdough decrease the gluten content as well.

    Like CoachReddy said, bone broth is great too! I'm having some today at lunch.
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
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    Gluten causes a lot of problems. If you still want to eat the grain, try soaking them. Soaked grains and then made into sourdough decrease the gluten content as well.

    Like CoachReddy said, bone broth is great too! I'm having some today at lunch.

    I gotta make me some more today!
  • rmchapman4
    rmchapman4 Posts: 152 Member
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    BUMP for later....
  • HarleighzMom
    HarleighzMom Posts: 29 Member
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    I have been pretty successful lately with almost no inflammation by reducing my omega-6 intake (red meat, certain oils including my beloved sesame oil) and sugar. I've replace the red meat with fish and the sugars with citrus and nuts.
  • realmilk4me
    realmilk4me Posts: 22 Member
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    I have been pretty successful lately with almost no inflammation by reducing my omega-6 intake (red meat, certain oils including my beloved sesame oil) and sugar. I've replace the red meat with fish and the sugars with citrus and nuts.

    Did you cut regular grocery store red meat? Grass fed meat has a 1:1 ratio of omega 3 and 6. Love eating fish!
  • Sebidian
    Sebidian Posts: 199 Member
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    I would recommend reading Dr. Sears "The Anti-Inflammation Zone". I have followed the program for 6 months, diet and supplements, and have found it manages my inflammation very well. I lost weight as a side benefit without feeling deprived. The plan balances your fats, carbs, and protein, in smaller meals and snacks, to reduce the stress on your body. It also adds important supplements.
  • Defren
    Defren Posts: 216 Member
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    Wheat/grains/gluten/carbs I was wheelchair bound, I'm not anymore. I couldn't get shoes on my ankles were so swollen and anything apart from the biggest baggiest trousers wouldn't go over my knees. I now wear heels and skinny jeans - honestly. Cut out the items I have mentioned, you will be a different person.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    Which foods are linked with either increasing or decreasing inflammation? I'm prepared to try something new for a couple of months to see if it might help with some inflammation issues.

    Have heard cutting dairy and carbs may help. I love my yogurt & cottage cheese, and bread makes life easier in a million ways, but I'd consider trying, if there was a shot it could help.

    Depends. I'm 33, back when I was 31 I had some bad arthritis in my right knee, along with systematic inflammation. Doctor prescribed a bunch of ****. I told him to go soak his head.

    I read about the primal fad that talked about cutting out grains to reduce chances of inflammation. So for a year I removed grains completely. My knee problems and other joint problems cleared up completely. My migraines stopped. My headaches stopped. My allergies stopped.

    Excellent right? Well, bread is a tough thing to lose. So I'm back to eating bread, albeit in significantly smaller quantities, and the achiness is back sometimes, always correlated to wheat intake. So I know how to manage it, how to stop it, and how to cause it. Meaning it's on me to handle it how I want. I know the trade off now between having that slice of pizza, or ignoring it.


    Try removing grains and see. If that doesn't work, remove dairy. Then add back.
  • golfinlynn
    golfinlynn Posts: 2
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    Eating a whole foods, plant-based diet will reduce inflammation. That means, no meat, fish, eggs, dairy, stay away from added oils, etc. There are a number of books you can read, and cookbooks with recipes that are simple to follow. Two online sources are: nutritionfacts.org, where Dr. Michael Greger summarizes nutrition research that is being done, and drmcdougall.com also has a monthly newsletter that you may subscribe to and his book "The Starch Solution" describes how a starch focused diet with the addition of fruits and vegetables can set you on the path of good health and nutrition. The specific reference to inflammation may be found here: http://nutritionfacts.org/topics/inflammation/

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