Anyone Else: Sugar = Inflammation? Sciatica flare-up after holiday eating...
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80CATS
Posts: 26 Member
Quick background: I have been suffering on and off with sciatica for YEARS, and I recently began regular Physical Therapy, ice/heat, massage, better posture habits, eating lower cals to lose some excess weight (slow going LOL), etc.
I have been experiencing some impressive relief over the last few weeks.
Coincidentally (or perhaps, NOT coincidentally), I have been eating very healthfully during this same time period: homemade meals with lean proteins, whole grains, fresh fruit/veg, etc...
Yesterday being 4th of July, I ate some "treat" foods at a BBQ, specifically: fatty vegan "cream" dips, chips, ice cream, cake, etc. THEN: I WOKE UP THIS MORNING AND MY SCIATICA WAS HORRIBLE--SO FLARED UP AND I CAN JUST FEEL THE INFLAMMATION IN MY JOINTS--I feel achy, puffy, tired, etc.
I have PCOS, osteo arthritis at age 35, a strong family history of diabetes / insulin resistance, etc plus ALL those other obesity-related goodies in our family history, WHICH IS A LARGE PART OF WHY I AM HERE, WORKING TO TURN THIS AROUND!
TL; DR
Does anyone else with chronic pain / joint issues / inflammation notice that eating SUGAR leads to a flare up?
Would I be well-advised to eliminate sugar?
I have been experiencing some impressive relief over the last few weeks.
Coincidentally (or perhaps, NOT coincidentally), I have been eating very healthfully during this same time period: homemade meals with lean proteins, whole grains, fresh fruit/veg, etc...
Yesterday being 4th of July, I ate some "treat" foods at a BBQ, specifically: fatty vegan "cream" dips, chips, ice cream, cake, etc. THEN: I WOKE UP THIS MORNING AND MY SCIATICA WAS HORRIBLE--SO FLARED UP AND I CAN JUST FEEL THE INFLAMMATION IN MY JOINTS--I feel achy, puffy, tired, etc.
I have PCOS, osteo arthritis at age 35, a strong family history of diabetes / insulin resistance, etc plus ALL those other obesity-related goodies in our family history, WHICH IS A LARGE PART OF WHY I AM HERE, WORKING TO TURN THIS AROUND!
TL; DR
Does anyone else with chronic pain / joint issues / inflammation notice that eating SUGAR leads to a flare up?
Would I be well-advised to eliminate sugar?
3
Replies
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I don't have issues with inflammation, so feel free to take this with a grain of salt. But I noticed you listed the foods you ate as "fatty" but then asked if sugar caused the flare up. Is there a reason you assumed it was the sugar and not the excessive fat?
Regardless, there's no harm in reducing added sugar, If you want to try that and see what happens. But it sounds like you might have been eating lower fat as well as lower added sugar over the last few weeks as well.
Regardless, make sure you continue to be in a calorie deficit, because regardless of how you eat, that's what will get the extra weight loss. Best of luck in figuring out if any dietary changes can help with your inflammation - I know that can be a confusing process :drinker:6 -
I have inflammation from osteoarthritis and also suffer from chronic headaches, idiopathic edema, joint pain and gout.
Since I've started eating a plant based diet with eggs, fish and dairy, the only pain or symptoms lately have been the headaches but there are fewer of them.
I stopped eating gumdrops and no longer feel the need for that type of food anymore. Feels great to not need it.3 -
I don't have issues with inflammation, so feel free to take this with a grain of salt. But I noticed you listed the foods you ate as "fatty" but then asked if sugar caused the flare up. Is there a reason you assumed it was the sugar and not the excessive fat?
hey hey, thanks for the reply! I do eat a fair amount of fat in my diet regularly (olive oil, some butter, nuts, etc etc)...I guess the reason I described the vegan cream dip as "fatty" is because if I wrote "vegan dip", readers might just think "oh, that's healthy, probably like hummus or something", which it wasn't LOL.
the main difference between how i ate yesterday and how i normally eat when "on point" was higher sugar items...though I guess chips are fatty too, so your point is an interesting one...0 -
OP is probably focusing on sugar because sugar has *anecdotally* been linked to inflammation. Whether it is accurate or scientific or not idk, but I do hear it a lot that sugar triggers inflammation - I haven't heard the same about fat. I also have an inflammatory illness which I would like to experiment with dietary changes but god damn giving up sugar is hard!4
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I don't have issues with inflammation, so feel free to take this with a grain of salt. But I noticed you listed the foods you ate as "fatty" but then asked if sugar caused the flare up. Is there a reason you assumed it was the sugar and not the excessive fat?
hey hey, thanks for the reply! I do eat a fair amount of fat in my diet regularly (olive oil, some butter, nuts, etc etc)...I guess the reason I described the vegan cream dip as "fatty" is because if I wrote "vegan dip", readers might just think "oh, that's healthy, probably like hummus or something", which it wasn't LOL.
the main difference between how i ate yesterday and how i normally eat when "on point" was higher sugar items...though I guess chips are fatty too, so your point is an interesting one...
Got it
From the outside looking in at discussions here in the past, it seems to me that triggers for inflammation and auto-immune diseases are unfortunately all over the map, in other words different things set off different conditions in different people. I see sugar mentioned a lot, but I'm not sure if that's because sugar is the current trendy "bad thing" or if there is a connection. Hopefully you'll get more first person responses! 3 -
I have inflammation from osteoarthritis and also suffer from chronic headaches, idiopathic edema, joint pain and gout.
Since I've started eating a plant based diet with eggs, fish and dairy, the only pain or symptoms lately have been the headaches but there are fewer of them.
I stopped eating gumdrops and no longer feel the need for that type of food anymore. Feels great to not need it.
How wonderful that you are finding relief -- makes sense! Vegan plus egg/fish/dairy is something I find very yummy and doable: there were I few years when I was vegan and FISH was the ONLY food I missed; go figure LOL!
Within your plan (vegan = those proteins), do you notice any relationship/response to sugar, refined grains, gluten, etc)? IE: within your plate-based foundation, if you had a day of dairy or non dairy ice cream, or were to eat gumdrops now, or have white/gluten bread, do you/would you experience a flare of inflammation?
Thanks!0 -
OP is probably focusing on sugar because sugar has *anecdotally* been linked to inflammation. Whether it is accurate or scientific or not idk, but I do hear it a lot that sugar triggers inflammation - I haven't heard the same about fat. I also have an inflammatory illness which I would like to experiment with dietary changes but god damn giving up sugar is hard!
you are right: the sugar thing is SOOO hard! I know that in the past when i have eliminated it, i eventually stop wanting or craving it...but lately I'm all about making SUSTAINABLE long-term changes that I can continue indefinitely so that I can maintain once i real goal....BUT: do i really want to NEVER have ice cream again? maybe instead i try to have it rarely, or have a smaller amount, or have a lower sugar version, etc?
I want to balance my health with also being able to be a normal member of the human race--not that any of us "food people" can ever be `100% "normal"---fat or thin, we will always have to think about, and pay attention to our intakes. Im finally accepting that.1 -
I can't say whether I would have a flare-up if I indulged. The thing is, my desire for those foods is gone. I'm really happy with what I'm eating. I'm eating foods that I love.
That's what makes this lifestyle sustainable for me. That's the key. 😉1 -
Carbs in most forms are triggers for me. Breads, sugar, potatoes, pastas, chips, etc. I do not know why, but I have been doing a lot better pain and inflammation-wise by limiting all of those things. I ate a bunch of carb heavy things this past weekend (cook out and breakfast buffet) and a flare hit me Sunday night and is just now starting to relieve.2
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Go back to what you mentioned was giving you impressive relief! Once that feels stable start testing things one by one.
Start adding this slowly one at a time. Pay specific attention to your body and how ur reacts to the different foods when you add them in. Obviously your sciatic pain and inflammation, but also sleep, skin appearance, workout intensity, energy levels, and whatever else has value to you.
You create a mental list of the way things make you feel and how you react to certain things and you can make informed decisions. You likely won’t know EXACTLY what is causing the issues but you can narrow it down and continue to adjust. Things you tolerate now may differ from what you can tolerate 10 years from now3 -
mho, you were moving around more, maybe not standing up straight. and now you sciatica is bothering you. sugar or fats are not bad foods. there are no bad foods unless it's spoiled.
there is very little scientific evidence that certain foods cause inflammation.5 -
Fruit (which is high sugar) is supposed to be good for inflammatory (non inflammatory), but sugar in other forms have been linked to it. Sat fat is also linked to it, although other fats like olive oil are supposed to be non inflammatory.
Here's one link that's similar to what I've seen elsewhere: https://creakyjoints.org/diet-exercise/anti-inflammatory-foods-for-arthritis/?gclid=CjwKCAjw6vvoBRBtEiwAZq-T1e_ETGA-Tp1GC4f2PGPECKaQKszcwpdWY0w6VTZS7qPaJ51d0g03JxoC0YgQAvD_BwE1 -
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR RESPONSES--some great strategies and considerations to think about here--love my MFP community 1
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Personally, I feel like I have more joint discomfort (from osteoarthritis, torn meniscus) when I over-eat in any way that leads to water retention (thus a little swelling) . . usually means when I've consumed more sodium/carbs than usual. But I haven't done any disciplined n =1 experiments. (Very frequently, those days may also have more sugar and fats than usual, so it's murky.)
YMMV, obviously.
I also wonder, a bit, whether issues can arise just from giving our body something materially different from what it's become adapted to. (We do see folks here reporting various problems when converting all of a sudden to a "healthy" diet, and I think there's reasonable evidence that there are often temporary consequences from certain specific big changes, even "healthy" ones, like suddenly eating much more dietary fiber, or either entirely dropping or newly adding meat/fish/animal foods. Key word is "temporary", in this context, i.e., I'm not talking about allergies, but rather adaptations. How widely that might apply is unclear, obviously.)
But I don't have proof, only anecdote and speculation.5 -
I feel worse all around when I eat unhealthy foods or a lot of sugar. Really makes me wonder why I do it in the first place! 🙄 I definitely experience inflammation though and that can cause plenty of problems.2
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OP is probably focusing on sugar because sugar has *anecdotally* been linked to inflammation. Whether it is accurate or scientific or not idk, but I do hear it a lot that sugar triggers inflammation - I haven't heard the same about fat. I also have an inflammatory illness which I would like to experiment with dietary changes but god damn giving up sugar is hard!
you are right: the sugar thing is SOOO hard! I know that in the past when i have eliminated it, i eventually stop wanting or craving it...but lately I'm all about making SUSTAINABLE long-term changes that I can continue indefinitely so that I can maintain once i real goal....BUT: do i really want to NEVER have ice cream again? maybe instead i try to have it rarely, or have a smaller amount, or have a lower sugar version, etc?
I want to balance my health with also being able to be a normal member of the human race--not that any of us "food people" can ever be `100% "normal"---fat or thin, we will always have to think about, and pay attention to our intakes. Im finally accepting that.
Well I am that odd person that would be quite happy to never have ice cream again. I really don't care for it and can't remember the last time I ate it.
But I know what you mean. Sugar in my tea, wine and chocolate are tough for me. I lasted like 3 days into my "dry july" healthy eating/drinking challenge. lol1
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