Re: Introduction/Elimination Diet

September 9, 2008

Can you share more info about this or tell us where it can be found online?

Where are you located?

*~ Kami ~*

Re: [ ] Introduction

As far as natural remedies, I've been researching the role of diet and the

immune system on Rheumatoid Arthritis and have found that a lot of what we eat

can set off flares and inflammation. It can also help to control pain and

inflammation. I met a UK doctor online yesterday who's been suffering from RA

for many years. She told me she's treating it with diet only since she cannot

tolerate any of the meds. She says she's healthier now than she was before.

I've been following an Elimination Diet that I found on the internet the past

few days and I can tell you that when I cheat, my body lets me know immediately.

For example, yesterday I had oatmeal cooked with raisins and cinnamon for

breakfast. No sugar, no milk, no coffee for breakfast. For lunch and dinner I

steamed some brown rice with vegetables,onions, garlic and a little low-sodium

chicken boullion. I felt pretty good all day and evening. Then late last night I

gave in (I'm trying to quit smoking also) and had some chocolate frosted

brownies that I made from a box for the family the other day. Within five

minutes the pain in my legs and feet became excruciating again. I'm really

starting to believe that diet has a lot to do with it. Today I steamed some

brown rice again with some frozen stir-fry vegees, some Chinese five-spice

powder, some pears from the tree in the back yard, a handful of raisins. I added

some thawed and browned deer meat that my daughter got from hunting last year

with some garlic and onion and added it to the rice. Again, I felt pretty good

again today, even though I've been in major pain for the past couple weeks

straight. And no brownies tonight either!!!

The reason I'm throwing together such weird concoctions is because I can't

afford to go food shopping. Haven't been able to for a couple weeks now, so I

can assure you that I am not one of those people who can afford to buy organic

foods at the health store. I can't even afford to buy toilet paper right now.

Also, fish oil is great for RA, it calms my pain down within an hour whenever

I take it. Bromelain from pineapples is also good for pain and inflammation.

There are many more like ginger, and turmeric. Hope this helps.

.

September 9, 2008

First read this: (it looks like it ends after the first page, but there are

actually a couple pages to it.)

http://www.thorne.com/media/Rheumatoid Arthritis.pdf

I have read TONS of other literature that says basically the same thing: diet

CAN play a LARGE role in Rheumatoid Arthritis. There is another Y!A group that I

belong to where a couple of the people claim they have put their RA into

complete remission just by using food and nutrition. I have read this elsewhere

on the net. (I spend my days researching this stuff since I got laid off from my

job last year.)

From what I understand, you can be intollerant of or allergic to a food or

foods, and it can cause your body to react to it. This reaction can cause your

immune system to react and set off a flare up of RA symptoms. It can also cause

something else called a " leaky gut syndrome " which can play major havoc on your

body in terms of causing and exasperating disease.

There are different types of diets you can use to try to find out which foods

you may be reacting to, another example is a Rotation Diet. There is also a diet

called the Few Foods Diet or a Rare Food Diet where you are only allowed two or

three foods, say, lamb and pears and maybe rice (which usually don't cause

problems), but I think that type of diet would be way too hard for me to stick

to. I think a Rotation Diet would take too long and would make it hard to figure

out exactly what you may be reacting to. This Elimination Diet I found (by

accident) looks like it covers most offending foods at once, however, I am going

to restrict it even more by eliminating a couple more things that I read may be

troublesome. These items contain " salicylates " and are found in such things as

Almonds, Apples, Apricots, Aspirin, Berries, Broccoli, Cherries, All Citrus,

Cloves, Coffee, Cucumbers, Currants, Eggplant, Grapes, Nectarines, Oil of

wintergreen, Oranges, Peaches, Peppers (bell & chilli), Pickles, Plums,

Potatoes, Prunes, Raisins, Rose hips, Tangelos, Tangerines, Tea, Tomatoes.

Remember, you don't have to cut these foods out permanently, only until you test

them one at a time.

Here's how an Elimination Diet works:

For 2 to 6 weeks, eliminate all suspect foods and focus diet on fresh fruits,

vegetables, yams, animal protein (fish, poultry, lamb), and nonglutenous grains

(rice, buckwheat). This part is important: It is best to eliminate any food or

beverage that is craved in excess or eaten often because such items frequently

cause various medical or emotional problems. Whatever you love the most is most

likely to affect you. (Unfortunately)

After 2 to 6 weeks of maintaining a strict elimination diet, there should be

relief from symptoms. Weight may also be lost. (That's a big PLUS for me

especially since you can eat as much as you want on this diet and I have over a

hundred pounds to lose!) Now begin the challenge. One at a time, start adding

foods back into your diet waiting a couple days in between each one. Look for

symptoms from that food. Here's a list of just some of the possible symptoms:

headache (brief or prolonged), nauseau, stomachache, sharp abdominal pain, sore

throat, stuffy nose, runny nose, itchy nose or eyes, skin rash or itching,

facial flushing, red ears, sleepiness, insomnia, fatugue, apathy, irritability,

depression , anxiety, excitability, aching or twitching muscles, there are

others such as a raise in heartbeat, innability to concentrate, etc.

I'm starting to notice these reactions when I eat now. It's amazing how I've

ignored all these symptoms all my life, but I'm starting to pay attention to

them now and I'm taking note.

These symptoms tell you that you are intollerant of that food and could be

causing reactions in your immune system by eating it.

Use a notebook to keep track of foods eaten and symptoms. Continue this process

until the problematic foods are determined. In most cases, reactions occur

within 48 hours. Rarely do symptoms appear several days or weeks later.

When you " challenge " a new food, try to eat quite a bit of it (don't gorge

yourself, of course) for a couple days to see if there are indeed any reactions

to it. If there are no reactions, move on to the next food to challenge.

There are many types of Elimination Diets out there, I found this one by

accident here:

http://www.functionalmedicine.org/content_management/files/ifm_Comp_Elim_Diet_09\

1503.pdf

It seems to be the most comprehensive. I also found an updated version of the

same diet here:

http://www.functionalmedicine.org/webinar/August7th/EliminationDiet.pdf

But it is not as strict as the first one so I am not using this second one.

Eventually, I want to get on what is called a Raw Foods diet. But I know it will

take some doing.

http://rawlivingfoods.typepad.com/1/arthritis/index.html

http://www.health101.org/art_studies.htm#2

http://www.spiritofhealing.com/articles/html/Rheumatoid Arthritis2.html

Hope this helps, and I hope to hear from anyone else who may be interested in

trying this.

PS: I live in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio