Carbs and Pain...is there a connection?

Options
245

Replies

  • agdyl
    agdyl Posts: 246 Member
    Options
    I was wondering if anyone knows of a connectionbetween carb intake and increased pain. I have a considerable amount of pain all the time, mostly joints...knees, hips, ankles, and such. I have been cutting back on carbs, with yesterday being very low and I felt pretty good all day and slept pain free last night. I do get fairly regular exercise by pushing through the pain but am tired of living on ibuprofin & tylenol....it is so bad for a body. Help please!!:cry:

    I discovered the same thing a few months ago. I stopped eating gluten and my joint pain went away. I've had 5 knee surgeries from sports injuries and my doctors all said my pain was just normal, I have arthritis, deal with it or take pain killers all the time. Ugh.

    I had been totally grain free for a while but then had a few days where I ate something with gluten and my knees swelled up visibly and all the pain came back in my knees and hips. Cut the gluten out again and it's gone in a few days.

    Needless to say, I'm off the gluten permanently now. I had no idea that it would cause joint inflammation - I figured that if I was sensitive to gluten it would give me gastro-intestinal symptoms, which I've never had. But it can affect you in different ways.

    Right now I'm in the middle of an anti-inflammatory diet where we cut out most potential allergens/things that would cause sensitivities and I'm adding things back one at a time to see what else bothers me. So far just gluten and quinoa (which just makes me bloat).

    Anyway, for me it's not the carbs - I can eat boatloads of veggies and even a good amount of fruit - it's grains/gluten that cause the joint pain.
  • michellechawner
    michellechawner Posts: 892
    Options
    It depends... people say because I have a pain disorder (Fibromyalgia) I should have no sugar and no carbs... ha! I've done low carb and no processed sugar and I felt the same -

    please check with a doctor. Test for celiacs (gluten allergy). I just had mine done and am negative.

    ETA: Also if it's only in the joints get you AN titer tested - it may be rhumatory arthritis, or some sort of arthritis. Just an idea, if you're going to get blood work done anyways!
  • BikerGirlElaine
    BikerGirlElaine Posts: 1,631 Member
    Options
    Over the last 9-10 years, I have learned that msg, sugars, and gluten increase my experience of pain. Sugar is an inflammatory agent so it would stand to reason that it would exacerbate any arthritis that you may have.

    But I still eat lots of carbs! I would not advocate cutting all carbs out. Try taking out one thing at a time so that you can ID the real culrpit(s)
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    Options
    Have you talked to your doctor about this?

    That's what I was thinking.

    The problem is that most doctors will try to prescribe something She should look for a naturopath or a doctor who specializes in functional medicine

    Dafuq?
  • WalkingMermaid_
    WalkingMermaid_ Posts: 205 Member
    Options
    Have you been tested for celiac disease? I am celiac, and my body reacted in horrible ways to gluten (which is in most processed carbs) once I eradicated gluten the joint pain and fatigue vanished. I now eat a lot of complex carbs and never suffer with the previous issues I had when I ate processed carbs.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,985 Member
    Options
    It depends... people say because I have a pain disorder (Fibromyalgia) I should have no sugar and no carbs... ha! I've done low carb and no processed sugar and I felt the same -

    please check with a doctor. Test for celiacs (gluten allergy). I just had mine done and am negative.

    ETA: Also if it's only in the joints get you AN titer tested - it may be rhumatory arthritis, or some sort of arthritis. Just an idea, if you're going to get blood work done anyways!

    Just because you do not have an allergy to gluten, does not mean you would not benefit from trying gluten free. What have you got to lose? Gluten isn't a necessary nutritional source.
  • agdyl
    agdyl Posts: 246 Member
    Options
    I'm all for going to the doctor if you can't figure out the joint pain and think you have an injury or something that needs to be treated.... but if you can change your diet and the pain goes away... what do you need the doctor for exactly?

    Every time I go to the regular doctor/ortho for my joints they just tell me to take more pain killers to control inflammation. Which in turn, destroys my stomach and then I just have stomach pain instead of joint pain. Gee thanks. When I complained about that I was offered more medicine to control the stomach pain. No one ever suggested that I could benefit from changing my diet.
  • ApocalypticFae
    ApocalypticFae Posts: 217 Member
    Options
    I second all the posts that suggest that it's likely a certain category of carbs, with gluten being most likely. But it could also be white flour, processed sugars, anything really.
  • bethfartman
    bethfartman Posts: 363 Member
    Options
    Have you thought about what you ate in lieu of carbs when you felt better? Like more veggies? Perhaps it was the increase in whatever else you were eating that helped with the inflammation as well. I find that the more greens I eat, the less pain I'm in. Just food for thought.
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    Options
    I just did a carb load and my body hurts every muscle hurts so there is some truth to it. I have been under 100 grams of carbs for a long time and ate about 300 grams yesturday with an extra 1000 calories,
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Options
    @GaleHawkins and several others in the low carb group would say their lives have improved tremendously due to the reduction in pain and inflammation that they found with low carb eating.
  • fatfudgery
    fatfudgery Posts: 449 Member
    Options
    I've been bulking for a few months and have found that the more carbs I eat, the less injuries and pain I get.

    Of course, everyone is different. I know it's the exact opposite for some people (@arditarose where you at?)
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    Options
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    @GaleHawkins and several others in the low carb group would say their lives have improved tremendously due to the reduction in pain and inflammation that they found with low carb eating.

    Gale also has autoimmune diseases so I don't know if that applies to the general population.
  • Hamsibian
    Hamsibian Posts: 1,388 Member
    edited September 2016
    Options
    I did a carb load last week, and it was healthy carbs like cassava and sweet potato. No gluten and I didn't stray from my diet otherwise, but I still paid the price. It was horrible; I will never do that again. I do feel so much better eating low carb.

    Honestly, you don't need a doctor to tell you that you are feeling better - you know your body better than anyone. I have been dealing with Crohn's for 13 years now, and it wasn't until about 3 years ago that I started doing my own research. Doctors have limited experience with nutrition, so I can't count on them in that regard. I have seen dieticians as well, but it was not until I started doing acupuncture with a TCM doctor that I started feeling my best. She laid out a very specific plan for low carb, cooked unprocessed foods. I still see doctors regularly and take meds, but diet is definitely what has made a huge difference for me. You do what you feel is right , and be your own advocate!
  • the3dwizard
    the3dwizard Posts: 39 Member
    Options
    My wife use to have pain her hands, use to bother her daily. Even bought a hot wax bath to put her hands to try and get some relief. She had her lap band removed and had to go on a liquid diet before and after and her pain went away! Traced it down to gluten, couple of slices of regular pizza and her hands hurt the next day.

    It may be carbs or a specific source, you don't know until you try changing what you eat.
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
    Options
    Correlation doesn’t imply causation. Just because two things occur together does not mean that one caused the other, even if it seems to make sense.
  • MariahMichaels
    MariahMichaels Posts: 48 Member
    Options
    I've been reducing my carbs for 6 months now, but since January I've been dealing with swelling in my knee. My physical therapist thinks an area under my knee cap keeps getting irritated. Anyways, I started taking curcumin at a high dose for 4 weeks and my swelling has went down greatly. This was recommended to me by my naturopathic doctor, she also has a background in endocrinology. After 4 weeks my dose decreased to half, making it a maintenance dose. It has worked wonders for my swelling, please do some research on curcumin before taking it as it can interact with some types of medicine. I do recommend trying low carb or at least staying away from processed foods.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Options
    40346d1374446638-job-offer-zombie_thread.jpg
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Options
    For me, yes. Carbs cause pain. Certain carbs cause me more pain since I am a celiac (it's actually the protein in the carby food) so I avoid grains.

    Keeping carbs low helps me with some pain like migraines, stomach aches and autoimmune arhralgias. It has done less for my hip and knee arthritis but there is a small improvement.

Categories