Hi everyone,
Does anyone have any suggestions for a good anti inflammatory diet? There are so many out there and I am just getting confused by the information. Plus some of them kind of contradict each other a bit.
Hi Angie…You are right about conflicting information and I preface this with what I always say….talk to your doctor because what is good for one may not be good for another. The way my rheumy explained it to me was that while some people can't take red meat, others are more than fine with it, etc etc. However, what appears to be the main culprits for most people are sugar, dairy and wheat. (not to say you have to go gluten free, etc). They are big contributors to inflammation.
Personally I am not good sticking to a highly restrictive diet but I tend to lean towards a Mediterranean style overall, minus the seafood plus the red meat, and it works well for me. Changes like using almond milk and staying away from highly processed food made a big difference. Does it stop the flair up completely? No. But does it help me feel better in general for longer periods of time? Definitely. To a certain extent it seems to be a little bit of figuring out what works for you. I would make the suggestion to take your time adapting to changes that you do make, which will help you figure it out. I hope this helps and doesn't add to the confusion. :)
What Enjoylife says is dead on. A healthy diet can only help. If someone makes a huge diet change, they will almost always fail. Small changes and checking their effect and then moving to the next works.
Thanks guys,
This is the hardest of all the changes for me. I’m getting to a point where I am terrified of food because I just have no idea what is effecting me. Is there anyone out there who has some control over their symptoms? I could really use a “light at the end of the tunnel” story right now
It may not be food. The best light of the tunel story I can give you is to make part of your Mantra the phrase ***t happens or if that doesn't work, bad things happen to good people. Whats going to eat you up is guilt, and you may not even think of it in terms of guilt. The simple fact is part of your body is broke (we can even name some of the genes) The next thing is YOU didn't break it, you were born that way, or something happened you had no control over ***t happens. I have see more people destroy their lives and their recovery looking for something to blame (usually themselves) for their disease. There are plenty of quacks out there (usually called alternative practitioners) willing to help yopu believe that. its something you ate, something that made you sick, something you didn't eat, something that you exposed yourself to. and on goes the list. They all have something to help you fix what ever it is YOU did to cause this terrible thing. it may be a book, a diet, a bottle of magic potions, equipment, treatments. But it is all based on fixing what ever it is that someone did wrong. Non of them will tell you ***t happens. YOU DIDN'T DO IT.
I don't want to be depressing but you have SS, it will not go away and you did NOTHING to cause it. What you can do is take control of your life and destiny and quick whatever is stealing that from you square in the a**. Your life is now you sitting on a three legged stool. A three legged stool can not stand without all three legs. Leg one is healthy living this is primarily diet, but can include supplements and complementary treatments. But frankly IF you are eating right you don't need supplements unless something is broken in which case there is evidence and a prescription. If you smoke NOTHING will help your SS, if you are overweight the battle will be huge. Leg two is exercise. Everyday without fail. Fatigue is either a glandular issue that is helped by exercise or an inflammation issue that is also controlled by exercise. Being tired is just that, being tired. Its caused by poor health and lack of exercise. Leg three is MEDICAL treatment. There are medications to help with SS, but more importantly as each persons disease is different, we treat the person symptom by symptom not by disease.
You handle each issue as they come up, a piece at a time. ***T happens and you did not cause it. You have a broken immune system YOU did not break it. Eating GLUTEN did not break it (otherwise every person who eats gluten would have a broken immune system)
Three simple steps none of which are easy. Thats why we take baby steps. We leave the self appointed experts out of it. Diet is really not difficult. There are only two broad groups of food that cause inflammation issues.Eliminating them may or may not help. Your inflammation is caused by broken Interleukin 6 not food. ***t happens. Eliminating OTHER sources of inflammation help a few. Those two food groups are complex carbs and night shades. Start with night shades If giving up egg plant, tomatoes etc helps. You have bingo. Now figure out which ones. Complex carbs are next. Again simple, Good ol fashioned Atkins will do it the easiest. If you feel better sort it out is it sugar, is seeds of grass, fruits you add them back in and take them out as you feel. No need to figure out what is Gluten free etc etc. Gluten is one of many carbs. If neither one of these groups is the cause, you can get creative. I know for certain that raw oysters will send me into a flare quicker than anything I don't eat them. Of course I don't eat them anyway because I hate sleeping in the garage. You can keep a diary. It helps some not all. My granddaughter was convinced BBQ sent her. Turns out it was homemade mayonnaise.
You can and will gain contol of YOU and your disease if that is your choice. It requires hard work, doing things you don't want to, when you don't want to, pain and all of that. EXACTLY the same things successful people do.
Thanks TJ. A lot of that is stuff I need to remind myself about too.
Angie the light isn't at the end of the tunnel. Its about the light you carry with you. I think for me its the constant process of accepting a new norm. I do fine for a while then a bad flair hits. I do what I can, get back on track when I fall off (because I don't like how I feel if I don't) and make sure I really enjoy the times I feel good and make the most of them. I guess that would be the success…..there are good moments and I truly appreciate them. Keep in touch too. Having support from people that get it can help all of us too.
I enjoyed reading these comments as I was just diagnosed this week and my husband insists that I need to go on an anti-inflammatory diet, giving me the guilt trip already about what I eat. The rheumatologist said diet wouldn't make a difference and I don't believe that either. I will do some research and at the least start eliminating sugar. I also have back issues so even walking for exercise is a problem, but I am determined to keep taking walks, no matter how slowly I have to walk to not be in pain. My husband doesn't know what to think. We've been married almost 4 years after each losing our spouse to cancer. He wanted a healthy wife, someone to walk with and go hiking. I feel like I'm failing him now. Well, I've gotten way off topic of diet but thank you to anyone who reads this or has any comments.
Teddy's mom…. please remember that you didn't do anything to cause this so you aren't failing your husband. I can see where you would feel the weight given the circumstances but its an unnecessary weight to carry. No one wishes for or plans this. Its now about finding a new norm. Please read back to the earlier comments. Changing the diet too quickly isn't good for you and will leave you not knowing which foods work and don't work for you. It needs to be done one food at a time and then giving time to see how you feel before the next change. I can see where your husband is freaking out a little but he is going to have to learn to adjust too.
I heard an awesome analogy the other day….Life is going to throw you curveballs. Its about learning to hit them. New diagnosis is tough but give yourselves time to adjust to it and figure out what it really means to you. Keep walking, maybe look into chair yoga and other exercises that have been modified for bad backs and people with our issues. Vent when needed!
EnjoyLife said:
Teddy's mom…. please remember that you didn't do anything to cause this so you aren't failing your husband. I can see where you would feel the weight given the circumstances but its an unnecessary weight to carry. No one wishes for or plans this. Its now about finding a new norm. Please read back to the earlier comments. Changing the diet too quickly isn't good for you and will leave you not knowing which foods work and don't work for you. It needs to be done one food at a time and then giving time to see how you feel before the next change. I can see where your husband is freaking out a little but he is going to have to learn to adjust too.
I heard an awesome analogy the other day….Life is going to throw you curveballs. Its about learning to hit them. New diagnosis is tough but give yourselves time to adjust to it and figure out what it really means to you. Keep walking, maybe look into chair yoga and other exercises that have been modified for bad backs and people with our issues. Vent when needed!
Thank you so much for your encouragement and support! Brought tears to my eyes. This is all overwhelming! Thank God we just moved to a ranch, downsizing from 4,000 square feet to 1,600. Some nights at the old house I felt like I was crawling up the stairs to get to the bedroom - glad to be done with that! Before we moved I had been job hunting for about a year with no success - now thinking it's a blessing because I wake up feeling miserable. Is it too early to think about disability? I've heard that's a hard process. I'm so glad I found this site! Thanks EnjoyLife! I love your positive attitude. I'm normally a positive person, but yes, this is a curveball. Love that analogy!
:) I need the reminders too.
Most rhuemys will say that anti-inflammatory diets don’t work, they will also tell you that alternative therapies don’t work. This is simply because our “western medicine” doctors promote prescriptions for everything because that’s what they are taught to do. I am a firm believer that we have to advocate for ourselves, and if you feel that you want to try something else, then go for it. I have done everything the rhuemy’s have said since I was diagnosed 4 years ago, and have either had a reaction to the prescriptions, or they have side effects I am not willing to live with, or they just haven’t worked. The rheumy’s just want to push the next drug on their list. I realize they are trying to help, but it is frustrating to spend a ton of money on prescriptions and blood work and always get the same result…not has changed.
I am now trying more natural things, but I am still on prednisone also, a very low dose, that works for my parotid gland swelling. I also take pilocarpine, which is for the dry mouth, and have had success with that and I use restasis for the dry eye. When I say things haven’t worked, I am talking about the med’s that are for trying to get the inflammation under control.
Anyway, I am a firm believer in self-advocating and trying to educate myself as much as possible. If you do try alternative methods, give it time, nothing works over night, and hopefully your rhuemy will be there for you through this journey, no matter what course of treatment(s) you choose.