I've read a few places that changes in diet can help and even cure symptoms in some cases. Has anyone tried this and had success (or failure)? I am thinking about trying it out, but didn't know what all needs cut out. If anyone has feedback, or even recipes to share for the "go away PsA" diet :) and would like to share, please post here!
I did some research and found this book, which I ordered. Some people with PsA reviewed it and said it worked for them. Worth a try at this point for sure.
My rheumotolgist "prescribed" The Omega Diet. I haven't tried it in full yet, but have made some small changes.
http://www.amazon.com/Omega-Diet-Lifesaving-Nutritional-Program/dp/0060930233
I've looked through medical journal databases and haven't found a great deal on specific diets helping arthritis, aside from the cases of people identifying a food allergy through an elimination diet. Neal Barnard (maybe you know him from the reverse diabetes infomercials) did a study showing a small group of rheumatoid sufferers reported improvements after four weeks of a very low-fat vegan diet. However, that's ONE study and there was no control. Also, who knows what those people were eating or doing before the study--potentially they ate total crap beforehand which is never good. Other studies note that people anecdotally report feeling better by avoiding dairy and/or gluten grains, possibly because of an undiagnosed allergy or intolerance (those are the two most common food allergies in America, due to the fact they are eaten at nearly every meal--you're more likely to develop an allergy to a staple food). A careful elimination diet could be useful if you think that's an issue--I've tried it and didn't notice anything for myself.
Personally, I've noticed that there are "true believers" around for all kinds of diets. Aside from more-or-less following mainstream suggestions like those of the Mayoclinic or USDA Myplate, I'm pretty skeptical of people suggesting diet and arthritis are very closely connected. I'm especially skeptical of people suggesting "modern" food or "processed" foods are the problem. For example, I know in archaeology we have skeletons from over 7000 years ago that showed people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (Native Americans). At the time, their diet was all-natural and "organic," contained no dairy products or domesticated cereal crops, and DID contain a wide variety of nutrient-dense plants, meats, fish etc. Yet they still suffered as terribly as "modern" people do from that mysterious autoimmune disease.
Anti-inflammatory foods. I did this 5 and half months ago. I cut out starchy foods and threw the MTX in the bin (start with the foods for a month first - watch your blood test results). If you google anti inflammatory foods there's a pretty comprehensive list. It's an easy diet, not much messing around. I rarely need pain killers now, the MTX wore off in the first two months I'd say (detoxed myself to hell) and I've taken two anti-inflam tablets (Arcoxia) in the last 5 and half months. Still have a little pain but that's coming from the damage to the joint - the inflammation is, I would say, 80% better than before. I also take anti-inflam supplements: liquorice, immuno-calm, omega 3 and several others. We're all different, may not work so well for you - might work better! It has to be tried. Good luck.
i decided to start with eliminating nightshade plants. i thought it would be easier than gluten, or sugar/dairy.. but i didn't realize how much i eat them! this is day two.... saturday was MTX night.. i had mashed potatoes with dinner saturday and woke up in a lot of pain yesterday. had no nightshades last night and woke up with less pain today. not sure if it's the meds or if not consuming any nightshades really will help. we shall see. they suggest 3 months without them. it will be hard-- i eat a lot of spicy food. and i love spaghetti sauce. and i didn't realize how many things have paprika in them. but if it leaves me pain free, it'll be worth it. what confused me is that hot peppers are in the nightshade group that you are supposed to avoid, but if you look at inflammation factor numbers, hot peppers are supposed to help the most with inflammation. odd. i will steer clear for a while from all nightshades.. if it does help, i may slowly introduce just the hot peppers to see if the pain stays away..
Hi,
I have eliminated gluten from my diet and it has helped some, but it has not cured anything.