There are no packaged or pre-made foods for sure. You have to make everything yourself - but it is worth it. Fresh is best :)
I used to make frozen foods like chicken strips, and canned soup - but can't do that anymore. Now I make everything from scratch - but the important thing to note is that I CAN - I feel strong and healthy enough to stand in my kitchen for more than 10 minutes at a time. Sunday I cook - I make a soup every week, and a couple of meals to reheat after work for the family. I went from going to bed at 4pm after grocery shopping on Sundays to staying up and cooking!! I got part of my life back and my family loves it.
Hope this helps and if you need any recipes - let me know.
Gelita said:
I went to a Naturalist also. With the list he gave me to avoid, there is NOTHING sold at any store that I can consume. Right now, I eliminated the worse evils, and kept the lesser, otherwise I'd be institutionalized for not eating. I have eliminated gluten entirely. It makes my body crash.
I think there is nothing funnier than the grass/grain beef question. But only from the stand point grass fed beef is selling for higher $$$$ than "finished" in the stores. And then there are the folks buying from the ranch for even more $$$$, Its selling at auction for $125.00/CWT (its all grass fed coming from the ranch) go in with some friends and neighbors if need be. If you want hamburger buys a"canner" they are in the $40/CWT. There are local processors who will pick the cow up from the auction slaughter and hang (for the hide) and cut and wrap and all you see or get is the "meat" The processors will even got to auction for you if you don't want to get up close and personal with your meat.
There are some great buys out there right now. Producers are taking their spring steers to market early because of the draught. They are several hundred # lighter as a result.
However its unlikley that grain fed is any different than grass fed..... other than it will taste better becaise of the fat. Buy Bison if you want healthy....... (its all organic)
People choose grass fed over grain because they see this happy little cow in a great big field like in the California milk commercials, and it’s not like that at all. Though my cattle are mostly grass fed we did have to do some grain this year due to the drought but there isn’t much difference in meat. One isn’t more “organic” then the other. Thankfully I don’t buy meat in the store we raise our own cattle and chickens. Now that is the beef we eat and buying from a rancher at auction you will get a great lean beef that tends to have just enough fat to keep it tender with out a chunk of fat on the side.
But you gotta like short ribs if you buy at auction....... Uncle Don in one of his more lucid moments sold his calves early this year thinking the hay would be where the profit was.. He guessed that one right.
My brother’s love it when I set the smoker up! Ribs and beef brisket! Thankfully beef doesn’t trigger me. I find anything home grown is better on the system. Hay is where the money is, in Oklahoma it’s going for $325 for alfalfa. The Counties were offering farmers the ditches to bale this year to save the cost of mowing and to help the farmers out.
I hate to admit it but I went for an electric when we had to replace our last hard wood smoker and the taste has been soo much better! just wet a few wood chips and toss them in every hour or so, not having to watch the temperature, no flares either. Meat stays moist too.
Hi, I saw a naturopath and had food allergy/sensitivity testing done. I was a chicken and could not imagine how to handle the strict elimination diet, the PsA, the pain, the CA and the kids. It cost me a chunk of money but well worth it. I and milk protein do not agree, as well as, eggs, cranberries, pecans and leaf lettuce. Yes you just read leaf lettuce. Weird but since I am trying at all times ( sometimes I slip up) to avoid these it has been better. If I do slip within 24-48 hrs my joints and skin are worse, not to mention my gut. My son has eczema and I had him tested too. He is gluten intolerant and eggs as well. Since almost completely ridding his diet of gluten and eggs his skin has been better and apparently his attention span in school. Came up when teacher asked at parent teacher interviews what was different at home. I have done some research and it seems that if you are sensitive to a food and suffer from inflammatory condition diet can affect the amount and length of flares. If you are not sensitive to foods cutting them out will not. Makes sense. Finding out if you have sensitivities/allergies seemed worth it to me. Cost+++ and a little blood sample have helped my son and myself. Going dairy/egg/assorted foods free and gluten free for him has not been easy but even where I live , way up north in the artic I have been able to do it. I suggest testing first before cutting foods out as cost of gluten/dairy etc free is not easy. No point in paying $9 a loaf of bread if you do not have too. I do really, really miss cheddar cheese but do not miss having to take all the narcotics for pain. I have cut the as need pain meds ( including Tylenol!) to only needing them in the last few days before my Remicade infusion. I huge win for me. I hate taking the pain meds so I would gladly miss my beloved hot cheddar cheese sandwich for not needing to take morphine all the time. By the way if anyone knows if any company would mail vegan cheese, please let me know. I have had it in southern Canada and it was not bad, better than not having it at all, but sadly no one would ship it to me and our two grocery stores are lacking at times for regular stuff let alone specialty foods. All I want for Christmas is to make a dairy-free, gluten-free lasagna that does not taste like____!
Hi, I saw a naturopath and had food allergy/sensitivity testing done. I was a chicken and could not imagine how to handle the strict elimination diet, the PsA, the pain, the CA and the kids. It cost me a chunk of money but well worth it. I and milk protein do not agree, as well as, eggs, cranberries, pecans and leaf lettuce. Yes you just read leaf lettuce. Weird but since I am trying at all times ( sometimes I slip up) to avoid these it has been better. If I do slip within 24-48 hrs my joints and skin are worse, not to mention my gut. My son has eczema and I had him tested too. He is gluten intolerant and eggs as well. Since almost completely ridding his diet of gluten and eggs his skin has been better and apparently his attention span in school. Came up when teacher asked at parent teacher interviews what was different at home. I have done some research and it seems that if you are sensitive to a food and suffer from inflammatory condition diet can affect the amount and length of flares. If you are not sensitive to foods cutting them out will not. Makes sense. Finding out if you have sensitivities/allergies seemed worth it to me. Cost+++ and a little blood sample have helped my son and myself. Going dairy/egg/assorted foods free and gluten free for him has not been easy but even where I live , way up north in the artic I have been able to do it. I suggest testing first before cutting foods out as cost of gluten/dairy etc free is not easy. No point in paying $9 a loaf of bread if you do not have too. I do really, really miss cheddar cheese but do not miss having to take all the narcotics for pain. I have cut the as need pain meds ( including Tylenol!) to only needing them in the last few days before my Remicade infusion. I huge win for me. I hate taking the pain meds so I would gladly miss my beloved hot cheddar cheese sandwich for not needing to take morphine all the time. By the way if anyone knows if any company would mail vegan cheese, please let me know. I have had it in southern Canada and it was not bad, better than not having it at all, but sadly no one would ship it to me and our two grocery stores are lacking at times for regular stuff let alone specialty foods. All I want for Christmas is to make a dairy-free, gluten-free lasagna that does not taste like____!
I am trying to control inflammations too and take less Methotrexate.
I have been on a gluten free diet for a month now. It has not been as hard as I thought since the stores are so much better at labeling than they were 10 years ago. I have had a few slip ups though...black licorice has gluten in it. I bought a bag at a gift shop that did not have ingrediants listed on it. Later at the grocery store I read the label on a bag and there it was! Darn.
Recently I said "heck with it" and ate two cookies delibertly, wow, I felt sick to my stomach after.
I have felt better since being GF. The true test to see if it is really helping with inflammations is for me to go for a 2 mile brisk walk, swinging my arms, and see if I get costochondritis. Been scared to try it out, as it is so painful, but if I do the walk and don't get costochondritis then I know for sure being GF is helping.
I have read about steering clear of nightshades, but not sure if I am ready for that.
I really believe, after doing this since April - that it is not 1 food or another specifically. We shouldn't choose one and eliminate it based on others reactions. We need to find which foods - and there are many that can be the cause of your inflammation - are the guilty ones and work from there. If I had eliminated only gluten I would still be a crippled mess - it is a smaller reaction than peppers or potatoes or dairy FOR ME.
There are blood tests to determine your sensitivities but that can be expensive. Or you can visit a naturopath or nutritionist who will put you on an elimination diet - there you cut everything out and add them one at a time waiting to see if it bothers you. This method is very hard - the list of foods to eliminate is very long and most people I know give up - but it works if you have the will power. That is how I did it and I found out that dairy, red meat, gluten, potatoes, peppers, oranges, pimento, chocolate etc are bad for me. I have to cook most food myself but I feel better, also lost 20 pounds without exercise (nice bonus). I have had 1 bad flare that lasted 3 weeks since April and the only aches and pains in between were caused when I would try a new food from the eliminated list and the aches never lasted more than 2 days.
Point of all my blubbering - it is most likely not "just" gluten or dairy for anyone - and especially for those who have only seen small results - go the extra steps to find out what else triggers you - get it all and feel the best you can!
I really believe, after doing this since April - that it is not 1 food or another specifically. We shouldn't choose one and eliminate it based on others reactions. We need to find which foods - and there are many that can be the cause of your inflammation - are the guilty ones and work from there. If I had eliminated only gluten I would still be a crippled mess - it is a smaller reaction than peppers or potatoes or dairy FOR ME.
There are blood tests to determine your sensitivities but that can be expensive. Or you can visit a naturopath or nutritionist who will put you on an elimination diet - there you cut everything out and add them one at a time waiting to see if it bothers you. This method is very hard - the list of foods to eliminate is very long and most people I know give up - but it works if you have the will power. That is how I did it and I found out that dairy, red meat, gluten, potatoes, peppers, oranges, pimento, chocolate etc are bad for me. I have to cook most food myself but I feel better, also lost 20 pounds without exercise (nice bonus). I have had 1 bad flare that lasted 3 weeks since April and the only aches and pains in between were caused when I would try a new food from the eliminated list and the aches never lasted more than 2 days.
Point of all my blubbering - it is most likely not "just" gluten or dairy for anyone - and especially for those who have only seen small results - go the extra steps to find out what else triggers you - get it all and feel the best you can!
Well said! I am a believer that diet plays a big part on our condition and others. We just have to find the right mix. We are all different with a common disease. Like they said we are what we eat...if we eat better we will feel and be better. :) Thanks for the possitive attitudes about this matter. :)
It is even cheaper to log what you eat and the body reactions to eliminate allergens. I had the blood test done and a positive side is that it rates the allergens from 1 to 4 as levels of intolerance. You know that some foods you are highly allergic to avoid, but others you can eat seldomly.
Nic.Pat said:
I really believe, after doing this since April - that it is not 1 food or another specifically. We shouldn't choose one and eliminate it based on others reactions. We need to find which foods - and there are many that can be the cause of your inflammation - are the guilty ones and work from there. If I had eliminated only gluten I would still be a crippled mess - it is a smaller reaction than peppers or potatoes or dairy FOR ME.
There are blood tests to determine your sensitivities but that can be expensive. Or you can visit a naturopath or nutritionist who will put you on an elimination diet - there you cut everything out and add them one at a time waiting to see if it bothers you. This method is very hard - the list of foods to eliminate is very long and most people I know give up - but it works if you have the will power. That is how I did it and I found out that dairy, red meat, gluten, potatoes, peppers, oranges, pimento, chocolate etc are bad for me. I have to cook most food myself but I feel better, also lost 20 pounds without exercise (nice bonus). I have had 1 bad flare that lasted 3 weeks since April and the only aches and pains in between were caused when I would try a new food from the eliminated list and the aches never lasted more than 2 days.
Point of all my blubbering - it is most likely not "just" gluten or dairy for anyone - and especially for those who have only seen small results - go the extra steps to find out what else triggers you - get it all and feel the best you can!
I agree, intolerance can be acaused by many different foods. I'm currently trying this elimination diet, since doing just gluten and dairy didn't work for me completely. it gives clear indications on what to eliminate and how to introduce ingredients one by one, back into your diet.
It's a long list of things to eliminate, I know. I've been doing it for about 2 weeks now, together with turmeric and omega 3 pills as recommended by a naturopath. I still don't see a great improvement, but I do feel a bit better. And anyway, the diet apparently doesn't fully work until about 6 weeks. It is hard at times, but i'm ready to try anything to avoid taking meds.
I hope it works for some of you!
Daniel
Nic.Pat said:
I really believe, after doing this since April - that it is not 1 food or another specifically. We shouldn't choose one and eliminate it based on others reactions. We need to find which foods - and there are many that can be the cause of your inflammation - are the guilty ones and work from there. If I had eliminated only gluten I would still be a crippled mess - it is a smaller reaction than peppers or potatoes or dairy FOR ME.
There are blood tests to determine your sensitivities but that can be expensive. Or you can visit a naturopath or nutritionist who will put you on an elimination diet - there you cut everything out and add them one at a time waiting to see if it bothers you. This method is very hard - the list of foods to eliminate is very long and most people I know give up - but it works if you have the will power. That is how I did it and I found out that dairy, red meat, gluten, potatoes, peppers, oranges, pimento, chocolate etc are bad for me. I have to cook most food myself but I feel better, also lost 20 pounds without exercise (nice bonus). I have had 1 bad flare that lasted 3 weeks since April and the only aches and pains in between were caused when I would try a new food from the eliminated list and the aches never lasted more than 2 days.
Point of all my blubbering - it is most likely not "just" gluten or dairy for anyone - and especially for those who have only seen small results - go the extra steps to find out what else triggers you - get it all and feel the best you can!
Since I joined this group in early August I’ve read many times about GF diet and although I didn’t think there would be any benefit for me I thought …why not give it a try!
I’ve cut down on all carbs and cut out wheat completely for 6 weeks now. The last 2 MTX days haven’t resulted in the usual complete exhaustion I experience. That could have been me getting more used to the meds so I had a homemade chapati with lunch (I was cooking an Indian meal) on Wednesday …spent all afternoon on the sofa feeling exhausted and tired and grumpy the next day.
Had a fantastic weekend away with friends and although I had more carbs than normal no wheat, until breakfast yesterday… Again same result, exhausted! yes, I’d had a wild weekend with the girls (NOT! back at base by 8.30pm) but I do think wheat makes my fatigue worse.
I will continue to experiment with my diet as I am rapidly becoming a believer
Keep it up - I know it is hard. The bread cravings and potatoes were the hardest for me and I found that my snacking went out of this world for the first few weeks - but settled when the withdrawls dissipated. Find something that you love and remember that it is worth it to feel better. The website www.glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.ca has terrific recipes that don't make you feel deprived! The pumpkin pie was the best.
Nicole
Daniel76 said:
I agree, intolerance can be acaused by many different foods. I'm currently trying this elimination diet, since doing just gluten and dairy didn't work for me completely. it gives clear indications on what to eliminate and how to introduce ingredients one by one, back into your diet.
It's a long list of things to eliminate, I know. I've been doing it for about 2 weeks now, together with turmeric and omega 3 pills as recommended by a naturopath. I still don't see a great improvement, but I do feel a bit better. And anyway, the diet apparently doesn't fully work until about 6 weeks. It is hard at times, but i'm ready to try anything to avoid taking meds.
I hope it works for some of you!
Daniel
Nic.Pat said:
I really believe, after doing this since April - that it is not 1 food or another specifically. We shouldn't choose one and eliminate it based on others reactions. We need to find which foods - and there are many that can be the cause of your inflammation - are the guilty ones and work from there. If I had eliminated only gluten I would still be a crippled mess - it is a smaller reaction than peppers or potatoes or dairy FOR ME.
There are blood tests to determine your sensitivities but that can be expensive. Or you can visit a naturopath or nutritionist who will put you on an elimination diet - there you cut everything out and add them one at a time waiting to see if it bothers you. This method is very hard - the list of foods to eliminate is very long and most people I know give up - but it works if you have the will power. That is how I did it and I found out that dairy, red meat, gluten, potatoes, peppers, oranges, pimento, chocolate etc are bad for me. I have to cook most food myself but I feel better, also lost 20 pounds without exercise (nice bonus). I have had 1 bad flare that lasted 3 weeks since April and the only aches and pains in between were caused when I would try a new food from the eliminated list and the aches never lasted more than 2 days.
Point of all my blubbering - it is most likely not "just" gluten or dairy for anyone - and especially for those who have only seen small results - go the extra steps to find out what else triggers you - get it all and feel the best you can!
That is what I did and I really am a beliver! I do agree that it may not be for all but just like we treat our PsA with different meds and doses diet plays a similar reaction to our bodies. Keep it up! You will find that you might magically loose a few lbs too! I was excited about that! :)
Louise Hoy said:
Since I joined this group in early August I've read many times about GF diet and although I didn't think there would be any benefit for me I thought ........why not give it a try! I've cut down on all carbs and cut out wheat completely for 6 weeks now. The last 2 MTX days haven't resulted in the usual complete exhaustion I experience. That could have been me getting more used to the meds so I had a homemade chapati with lunch (I was cooking an Indian meal) on Wednesday .........spent all afternoon on the sofa feeling exhausted and tired and grumpy the next day. Had a fantastic weekend away with friends and although I had more carbs than normal no wheat, until breakfast yesterday......... Again same result, exhausted! yes, I'd had a wild weekend with the girls (NOT! back at base by 8.30pm) but I do think wheat makes my fatigue worse. I will continue to experiment with my diet as I am rapidly becoming a believer :)
