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jlsch

Elimination Diet

jlsch
9 years ago

Have any of you ever done this and have recommendations? I have recently started to have signs of what could be rheumatoid arthritis and I'm a bit concerned. I have pain and stiffness in the joints of my hands, and pain in my wrist. I know it can be difficult to diagnosis in the early stages, but this has been going on now for about 3 weeks. So, I'm thinking about trying either an anti-inflamatory diet or an elimination diet to see if that might not help manage this. Just curious if anyone has experience with this.

Comments (8)

  • gail618
    9 years ago

    I've never tried an elimination diet but I am trying to incorporate things into my diet that are considered anti-inflammatory. I had an episode this past summer where all of the joints in both hands and feet were very tender. I thought for sure I must have RH. The doctor ran blood tests, and I tested negative for RH. After about six weeks, the pain gradually went away. But I have also heard RH is hard to diagnose so I'm not so sure how reliable this test he did is. I have stopped using sugar in my coffee and am using honey, from my brother's bees, which I love, and is an anti-inflammatory. I am also throwing turmeric into anything I can, and am going to try turmeric tea tonight. Sounds interesting, and very good for lots of health issues. Have you been to the doctor? My doctor thought for sure I had a vitamin D deficiency, which causes joint pain. I knew I didn't because I spent a lot of time outdoors. I am just starting to learn about which foods cause inflammation and it's very interesting.

  • jlsch
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for your feedback Gail. I haven't been in to my doctor as I keep hoping it will subside. I had just been in for an annual in late November but they didn't do any blood work. I should probably go in just to ensure this isn't lymes. I just came from the library where I was trying to find information on an elimination diet as I think it would be a good thing to do regardless, and couldn't find anything on it.

  • glenda_al
    9 years ago

    I take turmeric, and ginger capsules daily. Seems to help me.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago

    I did do an elimination diet...or a cleanse...where we worked our way up to eliminating all sorts of things so fundamentally I was eating poultry, fish, eggs and vegetables. I gradually added back stuff and found the only thing that really troubled me was soy.

    RA is tough to deal with and diets have been shown to be helpful, at least in the short term. You might also look into Chinese medicine/acupuncture. And you might also start including meditation and/or yoga as the relaxation response is very powerful for soothing the inflammation and calming the immune system.

    You might look into the JJ Virgin diet as an elimination diet...it eliminates the foods most likely to cause a reaction.

  • Boopadaboo
    9 years ago

    I have a friend that hs RA that does feel better following Dr McDougall.

    Here is a link that might be useful: elimination - Dr McDougall

  • jlsch
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks again for your thoughts! I need to get in and look at the tumeric/ginger capsules as I had read that as well. I also really appreciate the potential benefits from yoga/relaxation/alternative medicine and need to look into those as well. I just quickly jumped on the Dr. McDougall website and will have to go back and explore further. It looks like it has some precise guidelines which is what I need!

  • gail618
    9 years ago

    Whoops. I don't know why I was calling it "RH".... Restoration Hardware!

  • katrina_ellen
    9 years ago

    My mom, sister and two brothers have RA. One of my brothers has really changed his diet and he is doing better than the others. I have an inflammatory condition and when I found out about it I took everything out of my diet that is inflammatory - sugar, wheat and dairy. It has helped. Consider getting tested for food allergies/sensitivities as well. My daughter's knees hurt her all the time and she had a blood test done and found she was allergic to dairy, eggs and some other foods as well. She cut them out of her diet and after her knees have hurt everyday for a year now, they stopped hurting now and she also has no more migrane headaches. Theres a lot of books out there on inflammation that could help. Hope this helps.