Diet Challenge

[Guest guest]

Hello fellow RAites:

I have been following with interest the thread on diet and what people think does and does not help their condition. Seeing as how it is a brand new year and we are all interested in bettering our health, I would like to suggest a diet challenge to those of you who are interested. It would be our own little study on this site, comprising of however many people are interested with no real scientific basis. But I think this is the perfect place to try new things that might help ourselves and also receive some support while trying to change our lifestyle to improve our health.

So far I think I have heard that sugar, carbohydrates, and caffeine have all been implicated in the possible worsening of symptoms. What I propose is a gradual step by step elimination of these products from our diet. Nothing too drastic to begin with (I don't think I could give up coffee right now!!), but rather a slow, methodical approach where we give up one thing at a time. It doesn't to be the same item for each of us, and perhaps could be as simple as giving up a certain kind of sugar first. It's up to each person to decide. We do this for a week, report back in, and then maybe go on to eliminate something else.

I guess this is basically the "Elimination Diet" that Dr. Weil suggests. The good part is that after a few weeks, you can actually put stuff back in. That way, if you flare, you can make a real connection between what goes in your mouth and your symptoms. ly, I've never been able to stay off anything for long enough to make that connection. What I'm really looking for here is some support and other people to try this with. ly, I'm tired of not being able to walk without a cane in the morning and while I'm willing to try about anything to get my mobility back, I need help from people who suffer from the same disease that I do.

Any takers?

gloria