I have heard that sugar, beef, white flour and milk are trigger foods for PsA. Has anyone out there tested eliminating these foods with success? We went gluten free for awhile, but did not notice a significant difference in joint pain and swelling. Eliminating these four foods would be fairly difficult - but if it has helped others out there - might be worth a try?
There has been some studies on food triggers that increase inflamation, but each individual is different. One has to be devoted to food change and make it an everyday habit. Going for a little while is not going to show anything, it could take months to see if these foods are an aggravator.
Sugar is one of the first foods the reports talk about so eliminating that one would mean you would be eliminating white flour. I personally started the Dr. Gott's No Sugar/No Flour diet last year, to loose weight because I was looking awlful, then I was dx with this disease in August of this year. I have lost close to 70 lbs which will help my joints anyway. My overall health should benefit though.
For me, I went to a doctor who drew blood and administered a food sensitivity test. When I got it back I was amazed on all the foods my body is sensitive too. That is one way to see for sure if these foods are an issue with you. As of right now, I am off all medicines for I am fighting an ear infection that came about from sinus drainage. With this being the case, I am being extra careful in what is going in my mouth since I am not on anything to help the inflamation. I am managing ok.
Good luck with what every you decide but remember nothing is a quick fix!
Stopped eating flour about 4 months ago ( it irritates my stomach, plus had been be told from an alternative dr that wheat flour can be a big factor in this condition )( Not that my specialist agreed when I asked him… Then again when do they ever!!) I still have a lot of pain however, I do feel somewhat more together… If that makes sense. I figured it was worth a try. Our bodies are not simple machines, if something goes wrong we shouldn’t just fix the one thing, the entire body needs to be looked at … Mind, diet, allergies etc etc… Anyway I say play around try things out. Hope things work out for you!
Another thing one has to remember about going gluten free is that meds and vitamins need to be gluten free as well.
I have wondered too, esp with the dairy products, I did test Milk alone, I stopped drinking it for 6 weeks, I did this two different times, my stomach stopped having that bloated feeling (I also have acid reflux) but the arthritis had only minimal changes, another time my flares stopped for quite some time, so I found one time it seemed to work and another it did not. So not sure but I hear from so many to STOP all dairy. and when you do you will notice a huge difference, I know someone who did this and had arthritis as bad as mine and honestly is off all meds right now. So who knows what your body compared to what someone else's will work. I wish there was an answer. :) I guess I should do it again and do it for a longer period of time, it's difficult to never have milk or dairy. I love most dairy.
A naturopath that I know suggested I do an ALCAT test or an Immunolabs test. It is a blood test that shows if you have any food intolerances that could be triggers.