rhumatoid arthritis diet

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gamble01
gamble01 Posts: 10 Member
in Food and Nutrition
does anyone know of a diet that is specifically for people with RA?

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  • anglyn1
    anglyn1 Posts: 1,802 Member
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    I've been researching that myself lately. There hasn't been a lot of studies on diets and RA and the ones they've done are pretty inconclusive. From what I've read our best bet is a lot of fruits and veggies and fish for Omega-3's.

    http://www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/arthritis-diet/anti-inflammatory/rheumatoid-arthritis-diet.php
  • audreyjlucas
    audreyjlucas Posts: 5 Member
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    Hey all,
    As a nurse newly diagnosed with RA, I decided to give the diet a chance. My pain was so bad I would really have tried anything other than medications.I know, odd as I am employed to hand out those lovely pharmaceuticals. It has been my experience that anything Narcotic just causes more issues, however I am not opposed to Non steroidal Anti- inflammatory meds.I do take those during flares.
    I cut out all processed foods, all starchy carbs, all sugars. This was no small feat for this pasta loving Italian! The good news was my flare sub sided. Then like most who love food, I cheated and had pizza with that wonderful yeast filled crust. In 2 days I had a terrible flare with a pain scale of 8. I since have stuck with it. I swear by the diet....it works for me. I think everyone has a different reaction to foods. You have to figure out what sparks your flare up. I found the foods I craved were the most harmful to me. French fries, sugar, ketchup, vinegar ( I craved dill pickles) bread, white potatoes.....all send me into a painful flare.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    I have autoimmune problems that present with arthralgias, along with arthritis (not RA). To help with that, I went low carb and added high fat; I'm actually very LCHF and am usually in ketosis.

    After the first week I had a flare up of symptoms, while my body adjusted, but it was pretty mild and only lasted a couple of weeks. Now, I feel much better, have more energy, am clearer headed, and my arhritis pain is lessening quit a bit.

    Sugars are known to be inflammatory foods for those with autoimmune problems, and I am of the opinion that the more you can limit those, the better. I am at the far end of the spectrum, but I usually have 20-40g of carbs in a day, and my sugar intake rarely exceeds 10g.

    Good luck! :)
  • svirds
    svirds Posts: 57 Member
    edited July 2015
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    I follow an anti inflammatory diet most of the time and have virtually no pain. I do use ibuprofen on rare occasion now (used to take it all the time). Use the googles - there is a lot of info out there - I like Dr Weil's approach. I eat very close to his food pyramid for anti inflammatory eating. I also became much more active - running, biking, swimming, etc. Arthritis needs to move, although the pain would sometimes have us believe otherwise. The more active I am, the better I feel. If I'm not, I feel more of the pain.
  • rwhyte12
    rwhyte12 Posts: 203 Member
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    My friend is trying the RA removing gluten from your diet. He's already a vegetarian and arguably he mostly lives off protein powder. He says this has eased some of his symptoms but it would be hard to say by looking at him.
    Check out the Mediteranean diet. It is a cure all for a lot of diseases.
  • gamble01
    gamble01 Posts: 10 Member
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    calories? You I am.
  • gamble01
    gamble01 Posts: 10 Member
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    svirds wrote: »
    I follow an anti inflammatory diet most of the time and have virtually no pain. I do use ibuprofen on rare occasion now (used to take it all the time). Use the googles - there is a lot of info out there - I like Dr Weil's approach. I eat very close to his food pyramid for anti inflammatory eating. I also became much more active - running, biking, swimming, etc. Arthritis needs to move, although the pain would sometimes have us believe otherwise. The more active I am, the better I feel. If I'm not, I feel more
  • gamble01
    gamble01 Posts: 10 Member
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    Thank you. Thank God you can still do the exercise you speak ok.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
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    There have been some interesting studies (though mostly mice) on RA and diet, especially as it pertains to the human Microbiome. From what I'm reading, nearly all the research believes there's some sort of dysbiosis going on (digestive disfunction) in RA. This one study found that L Casei could be particularly important.

    My wife suffers from it. Going a lot more plant based (Mediterranean Diet) has helped a lot.

    https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-019-0719-1
  • sammidelvecchio
    sammidelvecchio Posts: 791 Member
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    Check out the Mediterranean diet
  • nicolesnutrition
    nicolesnutrition Posts: 8 Member
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    Have you also asked your doctor about any anti-inflammatory support supplements?
  • emmabrookes1
    emmabrookes1 Posts: 67 Member
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    Check out the Mediteranean diet. It is a cure all for a lot of diseases.
    It has proven anti-inflammatory effects that have been shown to lengthen life, but this does not constitute a "cure for a lot of diseases".

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