Elimination Diet and RA

[Guest guest]

When I started having RA symptoms, it was clearly due to Leaky Gut Syndrome.

That had been caused by GIARDIA. Suggest you seek out information on both of

those things...I had the GIARDIA, undiagnosed, for just about a year when the RA

symptoms started. I followed some online advice about getting rid of parasites

by eating RAW cloves of garlic (3 cloves per day, soak in oil & balsmic vinegar

to make more palatable.). After 3 days, major herxeimer response. YAY! After 5

days, started burning too much, so I stopped. The Giardia had done quite a bit

of damage to my intestines (as discovered 2 yrs later when I had a colonoscopy)

so I have had to take LOTS of probiotics to re-line the gut. That being said,

when my RA first started and before I went on the Antibiotic Protocol (wonderful

wonderful...am symptom free on minimal drugs) I also started figuring out that

some foods caused a greater reaction - hence, flares - than others. I kept a

list, sort of experimenting on myself. I could tell roughly within 2 hours if a

food was bothersome. My problems came from tomatoes, bell peppers, PORK, popcorn

(but not cooked corn), peanuts, peanut butter, sunflower seeds, eggs, and a few

others that I do not remember right now. Avoiding trigger foods definitely

lessened the flares, but did NOT stop the overall joint swelling and pain. So, I

recommend that when you are fighting the disease and the disease is ACTIVE, pay

close attention to your food intake. Also, would not hurt to make sure you do

not have parasites causing a leaky gut! (Several dr. visits and lab tests all

came back with " gee, we think you are allergic to dairy products " which seems to

be a catch-all diagnosis for anyone who has intestinal difficulties.) Good

luck! And please please please try MINOCYCLINE as your treatment. I am in my 5th

year of RA and have been totally and completely ASYMPTOMATIC (in remission) for

over a year now. Read my story. - regards, tishylu