Low-carb and joint pain

[Guest guest]

I'm getting ready to re-start my Atkins diet, and although I know

it's going to be tough I'm actually looking forward to one very

specific side effect. I'm also wondering if anyone else has noticed

this. . .

I've got fairly significant arthritis, tendinitis, and joint pain (at

my weight now, this is no surprise to anyone). However, whenever I

did Atkins before, I noticed that if I kept to a strictly low-carb

diet, and cut out all the processed grain products and most of the

processed foods in general, my joint pain really went down. A LOT!

I tried for a long time to find out whether this was a known side

effect of low-carb diets, and found out that while a lot of folks

reported a decrease in aches and pains when they went low-carb, NO

ONE could give me a mechanism why it would work. Not my PCP, not my

nutritionist, not my physical therapist - no one!

However, I'm a librarian. I did some research. And I eventually ran

across some articles and reports that talked about the relationship

of the Omega-3's and Omega-6's to inflammation. Seems that Omega-6's

may be good for lowering cholesterol, but they actually contribute to

raising levels of inflammation in the body. They have a particularly

inflammatory effect on the neuromuscular system. And,

coincidentally, they're present in fairly high levels in trans-fats -

which of course are present in fairly high levels in most processed

baked goods - which you totally cut out on a low-carb diet.

Omega-3's, on the other hand, have an ANTI-inflammatory effect on the

neuromuscular system. . . so by cutting out one, and increasing the

other, I got a significant reduction in joint pain at the same time

as I lost weight.

(I know nobody asked, but I'm trying to talk myself back into doing

what I know I should.)

Cathy C.