Some time ago, after being on my anti-rheumatoid arthritis diet for around twelve months and being completely free from any symptoms, I decided to carry out an experiment to confirm the efficacy of my RA diet-cure.
In the back of my mind I always had the nagging doubt that maybe my recovery was a fluke or had been brought about by some other unrelated factors.
In order to be sure that my diet was working, I decided to suspend it and deliberately try to make myself ill again, and develop the full range of rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. Then, once RA was re-established, I would return to my diet-cure and see if I could repeat my original recovery back to full health.
Prior to starting my diet, I’d had RA for about twenty five years and I was aware of a number of foods that would trigger symptoms almost immediately (within half an hour of eating). These included meals like; fish & chips, pizza, eggs on toast, cheese on toast and any packaged or highly processed meals like vegetarian pies and sausages for example.
Also, specific food items such as; vinegar (including the much vaunted cider vinegar), butter, garlic, lemon juice and many others. Worst of all was anything fried or roasted, or anything containing chemically hydrogenated fat or trans-fats.
I had learned about these RA food triggers from very painful experience.
I began by eating some of my favourite foods and meals from the past, healthy stuff by normal standards, for example; goats’ milk yogurt with chopped bananas, beans on wholemeal toast, baked spuds with goats’ cheese (never actually tried lama cheese though!) and sweetcorn – and most of these foods were organic too.
The ‘More Good News’ Bit
I had expected to become ill within a few hours or perhaps a day and was very surprised when a few days later, I was still perfectly well. I couldn’t understand it, normally by this time I would have expected the backs of my wrists to have developed a sharp stabbing pain, my left knee should have become warm at least, and I should be feeling tired and fairly rough.
I decided to try some of the more aggressive food items to see if I could get things started, I wasn’t looking forward to the outcome but I had to get my experiment going somehow.
I began to eat fried eggs on toast, fried mushrooms and tomatoes, home-made soups with garlic, onions and lemon juice, I ate lots of toast with butter on (actually more like slices of butter with toast on!), I made vegetarian sausage butty’s (full of chemically hydrogenated fat) with tomato ketchup on and I even ate some highly processed ‘foods’ like chocolate, fizzy drinks, cakes and crisps… Still nothing happened, I was still fine and had no symptoms; even after several weeks.
I continued like this for around four months (I had never had a period of health even remotely close to this in over twenty five years) until eventually, finally, I developed my first symptom; a ‘twinge’ in my left knee and it also became a little warm. At last, I thought, I can begin my experiment…
Alas no, not yet, it took me a further two months to develop a set of symptoms which resembled my previous condition, prior to my original diet period. I couldn’t believe it, why had it taken so long to trigger my rheumatoid arthritis?
Having developed a full set of symptoms, I waited until the inflammation in my left knee had reached the point where I would normally begin considering direct treatment (with a corticosteroid injection), then I restarted my diet-cure. At this point I began to lose my confidence again, I became afraid that things would just get worse and my diet wouldn’t work a second time, or maybe I wouldn’t be able to stick to it this time having enjoyed a normal diet for so long.
Three months later, I was well again! (n.b. I also neglected my blog over that period and didn’t begin to post again until fairly recently.)
First of all the temperature in my left knee began to decrease, slowly. Then the pain in my wrists and fingers decreased. Then my neck became free from the burning, pressure-like pain. Getting out of bed became a little easier each day. My shoulders and even my jaw, froze for a few days (good grief it hurt!) then released themselves with a wonderful sensation of relief… Finally, the inflammation in my left knee began to reduce and it began to straighten until it became almost normal again.
I was fairly shaken by this whole process, not nice, I would rather have gone to the dentist every day for a month to have fillings, I think ;-) However, my experiment was successful and it gave me more confidence in my diet-cure.
Conclusions from My RA experiment
1) It appears that having been on my diet-cure for so long (about eighteen months), I had either developed some immunity to the effects of the foods which previously triggered my rheumatoid arthritis, or some repair/healing process had taken place which made those foods less able to affect me.
Either way, the good news is that my diet had additional benefits beyond removing all the symptoms of RA, benefits which may eventually allow me to enjoy normal foods again, permanently. For example, I have already confirmed that I can eat whatever I wish for one day out of a week, without triggering any RA symptoms, as long as I remain on my diet for the other six days.
2) My RA diet-cure really does work, having confirmed it twice I am now confident that my diet removes the causes of rheumatoid arthritis in my own case. I am now trying to extend the range of items in my diet, and eventually I hope to identify the actual causative item or items. I will of course continue to post my results here.
“Surprise!” photo (modified with my caption) taken by Mary is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Azalea says
Hello,
Do you take medications? if yes which ones?
Or just do healthy diet? is it enough?
I got a ra 2 years ago and I am on metha almost a year ago and I am vegetarian. I do not have much pains now but I would love to get rid of the medication. Please advice me.
Thanks
Azalea
Brian Darby says
Hi Azalea, thanks for your comment.
I’m taking antibiotics as I’m trying the Antibiotic Protocol for Rheumatoid Arthritis. I don’t take any other medications. I’m following the diet and lifestyle which I describe in my article here How to Avoid Rheumatoid Arthritis and Many Other Chronic Diseases.
Being vegetarian should help a lot. I can’t give medical advice but I would suggest reading more about the Antibiotic Protocol and also about ‘leaky gut’. Also, make sure that you don’t have any teeth/gum infections as these have been linked to RA and other health problems.
Hope that helps a little.
Maryanne says
Hey how do I see your RA diet. I’m in so much pain. Thanks
Brian Darby says
Hi Maryanne,
Thanks for commenting, sorry for my late reply.
I’m so sorry to hear about your pain, you can find my RA diet here Curing Rheumatoid Arthritis – Removing the Causes, this worked well for me at the time and I hope it will be helpful for you too. I’ll be updating this soon to include some improvements that I’ve learned over the last few years.
Lyn says
I feel very low as the medical profession have got no where over the past few years with discovering why I have intermitant pain in my stomach which has been called IBS. Now I have developed aching in the body and an agonising right knee which is making it difficult to walk. I realise I must have inflammation in my body but am confused looking at all he conflicting advice around foods to eat and those to avoid. I really don’t know where to turn at the moment? Any advice welcome.
Brian Darby says
Hi Lyn, thanks for your comment.
I understand how you feel. The fact that you have intermittent stomach pain coupled with pain in your right knee suggests that you may need to look at your diet. I can’t give medical advice of course, but I can suggest a few things based on my own experience. Gut problems often lead to inflammation in various parts of the body. I would look closely at your diet, try to get tested for parasites, and try to get a leaky gut test. My post here Lifestyle and Nutritional Principles For the Avoidance of Chronic Disease may be helpful.
Regarding conflicting advice; I completely agree with you. However, there are some basic principles which are usually helpful. Remove all junk food, eat only whole foods with plenty of plant-based foods, eat pre and probiotic foods; legumes (unless intolerant), vegetables, low-sugar fruits, and fermented foods such as sauerkraut, miso, tempeh etc. Don’t drink liquids when eating, wait 30 mins to an hour before and after.
Hope that helps a little :-) Research, experiment, and I’m sure you will resolve your health issues.
Cathleen says
I really enjoyed reading this… it truly gave me hope. I was just dx over a week ago and new to all of this… I wondered if you had labs after healing and if it indicated little or no RA?
Brian Darby says
Hi Cathleen,
Thanks for your kind comment, I really appreciate it. I’m sorry for my late reply, I’d be interested to hear how you are getting on now. Yes my CRP and RF returned to normal at the time, several years ago, but over the last year or so I became very ill again for reasons which I explained in this post A Cure For Rheumatoid Arthritis – How Much Do You Really Want It?.
I sincerely hope that you are recovering from your RA, take good care of yourself.
Michelle says
Hi Brian,
I wonder what your feelings are on maintaining an alkaline diet as it cuts out all the nasty acid related foods which trigger RA and OA symptoms.
I see in one of your reply’s you say that you don’t take any vinegars and that includes cider vinegar. I used to take a drink with cider vinegar and lemon and honey which is something that many many sites say is really helpful in arthritis. However I found that (cider) vinegar was exasperating my symptoms and this was confusing to me. So now I stay away from it – I never use any other type of vinegars or sauces or preservative based food flavours. I have not been diagnosed with RA although the ‘specialist’ I saw about my current problems with a prolapsed disc said ‘oh everyone has arthritis’!! as if to brush me off.
Really?..I have lost faith in the medical profession as I have realised over the last 2 years of health issues (triggered by an ecoli infection and stress) that I know my own body best. When I have seen specialist after specialist and suggested that the food I eat aggravates my joints (only the ones I have damaged through accidents etc) they look at me as if I am mad and say that’s not the case. I know for a fact that when I get dehydrated my pain kicks in big time and I have to resort to taking paracetamol. I cannot take anti inflams as my gut is ‘delicate’ and I get gastritis which I now have under control. I take a really good pro biotic several times a week. I have been dairy free for many years and I am currently trying to cut out wheat as much as possible. Sugar is a killer I am trying to cut that out too although I admit I am an addict for sweet things I try to stick to things without syrup and all its relatives. The other thing to avoid at all costs is yeast. I know that the gut is helped by fermenting type foods however we have to be careful of certain types of yeast as it does affect the joints. Read up about it.
The other interesting factor in all of this whole body health is to look at histamine and what that does to the body. If someone has a compromised/leaky gut then histamine levels can be raised and the body cannot deal with this. High levels of histamine affects all of our bodily functions and really adds to any existing allergies around food etc., One way of helping this is by taking magnesium which has been shown to be lacking in the gut of many people who suffer from allergy/auto immune related illnesses.
Thanks for your blog. I sometimes think I am going around in circles and feel frustrated by the ‘mystery’ of my symptoms – according to my doc and the specialists I’ve seen.
I am currently seeing two specialists one for my disc and another for my left knee which has a cyst and cartilage damage. My left hand is also dodgy. Even the fact that I have to see two separate specialists says it all! In this country we have issues with looking at whole body health and the ‘root’ of our illnesses.
I plan on seeing a holistic practitioner and a dietician who specialises in whole body health.
Brian Darby says
Hi Michelle, thanks for your informative and helpful comment.
Yes, an alkaline diet is helpful with rheumatoid arthritis and by its nature it usually eliminates a lot of typical trigger foods or intolerances at the same time as you say. Yes, all types of vinegar are a problem for me too, ACV is so often talked about for treating RA, OA and joint pain in general but it never helped me. Raw vinegar does have some probiotic benefits but that’s not helpful if it also triggers pain or inflammation.
I understand your comments regarding your specialists/doctors and I have experienced the same reactions. Even though food = life, it’s difficult to find a doctor who will accept it has any bearing on disease or even health for that matter, apart from some references to high cholesterol and blood pressure (which are symptoms of the whole SAD or Western diet and not saturated fat as such).
I’m glad you were able to find your main causes; e-coli and stress but as you say there is also a big relationship between sugar, yeast, gluten and rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation and joint/spine pain in general. In terms of sugar, you could try xylitol for a while, it tastes the same as sugar but has some benefits regarding pathogenic bacteria and also yeast control, and is less damaging than sugar in other ways.
It’s great to see that you are taking care of your gut Michelle (wheat and dairy free etc.) and you are correct of course that fermented foods are excellent for the gut but do contain some yeasts. However, if they are prepared correctly the yeasts are usually beneficial and help to crowd out candida for example. Candida being the worst offender in terms of leaky gut and joint pain. Also, the quantity and variety of friendly bacteria is usually greater in living fermented foods than in probiotic supplements (which are still very useful).
Again you make a very good point regarding histamine and magnesium, yes histamine is yet another issue which needs to be thought about, particularly with inflammatory disease (including allergies and intolerances). Vitamin C is also very important in balancing histamine.
Thanks Michelle, I appreciate that. Yes, I have often gone around in circles myself over the last thirty-five years or so :-) All I can say is; believe in yourself, keep learning and stay focussed on your progress, you are obviously very knowledgeable and you will resolve your problems if you persevere.
Treating or caring for the whole body is essential, you can’t cure chronic disease any other way. I hope you find a good holistic health practitioner. It is ironic that you have to see two separate specialists :-)
I’m sure you will cure your problems and I look forward to updates from you if and when you have time. Thank you for raising many useful points that will be of interest to other readers, take good care.