Rheumatoid Arthritis

[lui]

I have been eating a plant based diet for about 20 days now. I have a question regarding rheumatoid arthritis. I have not noticed a decrease in the symptoms that I experience. Has anyone out there with RA found it beneficial and/or necessary to eliminated wheat, soy, oats and corn from their diet. I was thinking that maybe I need to eliminate these foods.

[healthyvegan]

my sister in law is doing great, it was mainly the dairy, but her whole life has changed, she's a runner now, from hardly being able to walk. She's allergic to soy, that's the only thing, but just upsets her tummy.

[rogermoore]

Much of my private practice is working with autoimmune diseases. Corn is on the list of foods not recommended for rheumatoid arthritis. It most cases within 3 - 6 weeks of eating McDougall style and with mindfulness stress reduction and hypnosis people are reporting significant results.

My own experience is that I have gone from the swelling and soreness caused by RA to being symptom free.

let us know how you progress.

[ninamercedes]

I have had RA for years and I notice corn gives me pain and swelling. I am not sure about soy, I rarely eat it so I haven't figured that one out.
I'm pretty sure wheat affects me negatively, so I just have a little bit.
Oats do not seem to bother me and I love them with pure maple syrup, YUM!

Are you taking any traditional meds for your RA? Are your labs bad?
Take care!

[lui]

Thank you healthyvegan, Roger Moore, and ninamercedes for your good information. I had blood tests done on 1/30/13 and my results showed my total cholesterol - 224; LDL- 144; non HDL- 163; Vitamin D- 31; ANA Screen, IFA Positive; ANA Pattern- homogenous; ANA Titer - 1:160 and Rheumatoid Factor 42. I'm following the McDougall eating plan to lower my cholesterol and to help with my joints. The main pain is on my right middle finger that has been swollen at the knuckle for over a year and is painful. I had an x-ray done on this finger about a year ago and was diagnosed with osteoarthritis. I am not taking RA meds. My primary doctor said that I might have RA, but I still have to see a specialist.

[Pat]

Don't see the RA doc! He/she will tell you that your diet cannot affect the disease. The prescription will be heavy duty drugs for the rest of your life.

My husband stopped the drugs and joined me on this WOE. Dr. McDougall advised the standard diet, then giving up wheat if necessary. After a few weeks he was symptom free and now eats all grains freely.

If your problem is not RA you won't see such quick, dramatic results but you will improve. Just give it time.

[John McDougall]

Here is some general information that may be of help with various kinds of autoimmune diseases. Benefits for arthritis usually begin to appear within 4 to 7 days of strict adherence to the diet. Sometimes it takes as long as 4 months for complete benefits to be appreciated. Fortunately, the best treatment and often the cure for rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory-types of arthritis is a healthy diet followed strictly. You should begin by reading my Hot Topics on arthritis, inflammatory arthritis: http://drmcdougall.com/med_hot_arthritis.html.
Also read and watch the associated Star McDougallers found at the bottom of that page.
The article, “Diet: Only Hope for Arthritis,” is the best scientific argument for why the McDougall Diet should be the first and best approach for most people with inflammatory arthritis.
My Diet and MS video (free from my homepage) is a good review on the cause and treatment of autoimmune diseases.
I usually recommend that my patients, when they first start, follow the basic McDougall Diet without wheat or soy. A few people will have to follow a stricter elimination diet to get results. See: http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougal ... pudiet.htm.
People on medication must keep contact with their private doctors. As they improve with the diet then their doctors should be recommending reduction and elimination of medications. Many people are able to stop all medications and live pain and arthritis free. The program is essentially cost and risk free.

John McDougall, MD

[lui]

Thank you Dr. McDougall and Pat for your informative advice which I will follow. I am grateful.

[ninamercedes]

Lui,

You will do SOOO much better avoiding traditional RA meds. I have tried so many of them and one of them was working but then I had an allergic reation to it and had to be rushed to the ER.

Our body can heal RA , no doubt, we jut need to give it nutrients fruits and veggies and not eat harmful processed stuff called"food".

[Happy Veggie]

Hi Lui!

I was diagnosed with RA at 18 years old.

I went the traditional route of Dr.s and medications and was still in pain.

In 2005 I had a sever reaction to one of my RA medications and ended up in the hospital for 3 weeks as I was in liver and kidney failure.

I was so very ill they were considering putting me on the list for a liver transplant. The liver biopsy revealed it was an allergic reaction to my meds.

The liver specialist told me I was to never again take any NSAIDS, sulfa meds, or anything derived from aspirin. Very troubling news for someone who used these meds to function.

I prayed and through a series of events the Lord led me to Dr. McDougall's website. I had already been a vegetarian for 12 years, so I eliminated dairy and became fully plant based.

It seriously changed my life physically. I went from being a walker to a runner. I no longer wake each day in pain. Physically, I have never felt better. I have run many 5, ks, 15 ks, 1/2 marathons, and this past October I ran the Marine Corps Marathon.

Never in my 20's could I have imagined that in my 40's I would be doing these things and that I could live a pain free life.

I encourage you to try it and stick with it even when it's hard. I no longer look at junk food as a reward but a punishment for what it does to my body.

Be blessed!

[lui]

Thank you Happy Veggie for your encouraging words based on your experience. I too, have prayed and been led by my Lord Jesus to Dr. McDougall's program. In addition to eating the McDougall way, I have now eliminated wheat, soy, nut milks, and corn for a week now. I'm ruling out allergies to these foods. I have not seen an RA specialist and have not taken any RA meds. Sometimes I need pain meds for neck tension and occasional headaches. I usually take tylenol or advil. What would you recommend for pain.

[joy808]

Last year, at 50 years old, I was diagnosed with RA. My rheumy started me on Plaquenil and Meloxicam. I also went on a detox, eating only vegetables and fruits for a month for one month and lost 25lbs. I'd like to get started with Dr. McDougall's diet because I'm still experiencing pain in my joints, although it's not as severe as it was a couple of months ago. Reading all your posts have encouraged me greatly and I'll definitely read up on the diet and start it as soon as possible. I am not giving up!

My goal is to get off these two medications and be pain free. Thank you Lord for bringing me to this discussion board!

[israelIma]

About 1.5 years ago, a rheumatologist was investigating whether I have rheumatoid arthritis or OA. My blood work is confusing, but xrays show lots of deterioration and ANA is high. He put me on Salazopyrin, but I developed kidney problems and he told me to stop the the medication. When the kidney infection resolved he told me to start taking it again. I developed respiratory problems and another kidney infection. So, he prescribed Cohicine and Plaquenil. I was ready to take them, but my family doctor said "these are not innocent drugs," and advised that I wait. Over this past year, I have had periods of a lot of pain. I take aspirin when it is bad, but generally I just live with the pain.

Reading this thread has convinced me to try McDougall again in a serious way. I've done the diet for short periods, but always relapse into eating dairy and using olive oil. WIsh me luck!

[ninamercedes]

I have been doing so much better, almost every nodule I had (4 of them are gone). I had nodules on my wrists and elbow, they kept shrinking as I just ate fruits and vegetables exclusively. I would eat a few other foods but just a little bit here and there.


The thing that turned my RA around was juicing only for one week, I didn't know it would help that much or I would have done it years ago. It REALLY made a huge difference for me, the pain lessened ALOT and my body looks so much better.

Watch "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead " on Netflix or hulu.com for free, it makes so much sense we are sick and need to heal from the inside out !

[Burgess]

Lui, pain mostly in one joint plus occasional neck and head pain would make me wonder if there might be an additional problem: posture.

I too had arthritis type pains, in every joint. I got rid of most of that by following a particular subset of the McDougall Program diet. Here is what I eat, but keep in mind that my case (see second link in my signature) is unusual: http://anti-itisdiet.blogspot.com/2010/ ... i-eat.html

Correcting my posture got rid of the remaining joint pains. All this happened very slowly, a matter of months (mostly because I did not understand what I was doing as well as I do now).

To solve the posture component, I did this: http://anti-itisdiet.blogspot.com/2007/ ... erapy.html