Curing Rheumatoid Arthritis – Removing the Causes
Over the three and a half plus decades in which I’ve had rheumatoid arthritis, the severity of my symptoms has varied greatly day by day, even hour by hour. Stress, weather, sleep, exercise all had an impact but I eventually discovered that my diet was the most powerful symptom-determining factor.
I had a low-level tooth/gum infection throughout this time which gradually became worse in more recent years to the point where it became a critical health issue and I had to get it treated. I had a course of powerful antibiotics which significantly reduced the infection and I later had the tooth removed and the socket cleaned. I now believe that this tooth infection set the stage for the development of my rheumatoid arthritis by releasing pathogenic bacteria over a long period of time and compromising my immune system. The combination of dietary triggers (via leaky gut) and the bacterial infection from the tooth caused and promoted my RA.
I came to realise many years ago that when I stopped eating (apart from filtered water) all my symptoms would reduce then disappear. Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, I could only maintain this for a few days at a time. It was very ironic that eating (essential for survival) was actually killing me.
So, I began to experiment with my diet and spent many many years trying to isolate and identify the particular foods that were causing my symptoms (at this stage I wasn’t taking the tooth infection seriously). I subsequently read dozens of books on this specific subject, all very interesting but most of them contradictory.
Unfortunately, although I tried hundreds of times over a thirty odd year period I could never produce a diet that worked and still allowed me to be healthy. Drinking water and breathing fresh air just wasn’t enough :-)
I did manage to identify a number of foods (and food substances) which were particularly devastating to me, and I was very optimistic each time that removing these from my diet would cure my illness. Alas, no… I realised that there had to be some thing (or things) causing a reaction that I was eating all the time, no matter which diet variation I tried.
The problem was (still is) that in the real world I had to earn a living, run my company, take care of hundreds of things every day, every week… It was almost impossible to stick to any kind of test diet without drifting off slightly or becoming discouraged and giving up.
Whenever the stress increased, the accuracy of my dietary experiments would decrease. After working fourteen hours on my computer or on-site, it was difficult to avoid drinking a coffee or making a quick snack that wasn’t quite within my test limitations ;-)
The problem is, in my experience with rheumatoid arthritis, it doesn’t matter how healthy you are, how good your diet is, or how old you are, if you eat the wrong thing you become ill.
Ultimately I did develop a diet which effectively cured my rheumatoid arthritis for a period of several years, eventually however, my tooth infection gradually became worse and my diet was no longer enough to maintain remission. At this point I sought treatment for the infection and later had the tooth removed, but due to the infection and the antibiotic treatment I received, as well as mistakes made by several doctors; my RA became even more aggressive and destructive than before.
Since then I’ve been trying to recover for the second time and reach the point where I’m in remission again or effectively cured. This time around it’s been much more difficult and I’ve had to do a tremendous amount of work and research to achieve modest results for myself (so far). The reason I’m writing this is because I feel certain that the knowledge I’ve gained through this process will help fellow rheumatoid arthritis sufferers to reduce their symptoms, halt the progression of their disease, and hopefully in many cases reverse it. I know for myself, if I’d had this knowledge just five years ago I could have maintained my cure and stayed in remission, and avoided all of the subsequent suffering and wasted time. I’d be extremely happy if I could help even one other person to avoid my current situation.
At this point I’m going to update this page to reflect my current (as of 2018) diet and lifestyle which is based on everything I’ve learned and experienced since I originally wrote the content for this page. I’ll leave my original, earlier conclusions and RA diet cure below towards the end of this page. It was effective at the time and may be helpful for those who don’t want to adopt a fully whole food plant-based diet.
My Whole Food Plant-Based Anti-Rheumatoid Arthritis Diet (2018)
I now eat a whole food plant-based diet because prior to adopting this diet I wasn’t making any progress with my RA. My current diet is made up from the following whole food groups.
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Legumes
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Grains
- Fungii
I don’t eat any processed foods, fast foods, packaged foods, snack foods, cafe or restaurant foods or alcohol. I don’t eat anything with an ingredients list.
I don’t eat any added processed oils or fats.
I don’t eat any meat, dairy or any other animal products.
I’ve minimised my added salt intake to a maximum of 1.5 g per day, often I don’t have any added salt.
Likewise, I’ve minimised my added sugar intake to 5 g per day or less.
Currently, I take only two supplements; B12 and an algae derived DHA.
I drink plenty of filtered water.
I try to obtain around twenty minutes of sunshine each day when possible in order to obtain my D hormones.
I try to sleep seven hours each night starting before midnight when possible.
I aim to do at least forty-five minutes of cardiovascular exercise each day.
The summary above represents the base of my current anti-rheumatoid arthritis lifestyle and I’ve highlighted the most important components of it. It’s not an easy lifestyle to adopt but it is very simple, and based on current knowledge it’s by far the most health promoting and disease preventing lifestyle, not just in terms of rheumatoid arthritis but for all other chronic diseases.
To treat my rheumatoid arthritis I’m combining the above lifestyle with the identification and elimination of RA triggers. As I mentioned earlier it’s important to have a health promoting lifestyle as a base but for the treatment of RA it’s extremely important to remove inflammatory triggers.
For the majority of rheumatoid arthritis sufferers the most common inflammatory triggers are usually; dairy products, gluten-containing grains, nightshade vegetables, corn, trans-fats, saturated fat (especially animal fat), any highly processed so-called foods, cigarettes, alcohol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (speak with your medical practitioner before changing any medication), and citrus fruits. Regardless of specific triggers which vary from person to person, I believe in all cases of RA that dairy products should be removed from the diet immediately.
I’ve found that the best approach is to start with a very simple starch-based meal and eat that for a week and see if RA symptoms improve. The starch-based meal should be as simple as possible for example rice and broccoli with a little added sea salt, or buckwheat and Brussels sprouts with some added sea salt :-) as long as you obtain enough calories from the starch base and include some greens then this should form a safe starting point for the identification of food-based RA triggers. If symptoms calm down after eating this simple meal for about a week then individual new food items can be introduced one at a time for a period of two days each time, whilst monitoring symptoms. If you react badly to a particular food item, remove it again for a period of two days and then try a different food item. A highly nutritious and enjoyable diet can then be developed based on whole foods, diet which no longer triggers or aggravates RA symptoms.
I’m currently creating a number of recipes with photographs and videos which I will post here on this page to help fellow RA sufferers who want to trial my method of treating rheumatoid arthritis :-) in the meantime, I’ve provided quite a lot of information and tips in some of my more recent posts including explanations of why I think this approach offers the best chance of recovery.
My original (old) anti-rheumatoid arthritis diet can be found below, this is from 2009 but I prefer my new approach which I’ve described above (2018).
I Managed to Build a Safe Anti-Rheumatoid Arthritis Diet (2009)
As I explained in my ‘About Me‘ page; some time ago with some deduction and reasoning but mostly luck, I finally discovered some foods which were safe for me (at the time) :-)
So, here is the result of my initial twenty-eight years of study, research and experimentation. This worked for me, not just a bit, not just sometimes; it worked 100% as long as I stuck to the diet. However, it wasn’t easy and required stupid amounts of willpower. So if you are going to try this, then follow these instructions literally. If you’ve known the pain of arthritis, then you should be able to find the willpower to give it a go. You’ve nothing to lose (except maybe a few pounds in weight) and everything to gain :-) Also, keep an eye on my latest posts for more recent insights into RA and for my latest dietary changes.
Obviously, if you’re already on a very strict diet prescribed by your doctor, or if you suffer from another illness which a change in diet may adversely affect, then seek medical advice before making any changes. Then use common sense.
In my own experience, I would suggest trying this for one month if you can manage. If it’s going to work for you, you’ll know within this time. In fact, you should notice a difference within a day or so, but persevere anyway.
Foods and Other Substances Bad for Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Cigarettes.
- Alcohol.
- Illegal substances (I have to mention this, because many people use them and they will have an effect on the success of this solution).
- Junk food: burgers, fish and chips, curries, pizzas, fizzy drinks etc.
- Processed foods, ready meals, mixed foods, TV dinners, microwavable stuff etc.
- All fried food, all baked food, all grilled food. No cooked fat or oil whatsoever.
Stick to this diet and this diet only, nothing else literally, no tap water, no fruit drinks, no nibbles, no one off chocolates, no sips of your friend’s coffee, don’t even use toothpaste or gargle with mouthwash! You have to put only the following foods into your body and nothing else (apart from any essential prescribed drugs of course), ideally for a month.
If you’re taking pain killers or NSAIDS by your own choice, i.e. you decide when to take them to suit your pain levels, then try to reduce the quantity or frequency or remove them altogether after the first day, and see if you can manage without them.
Here Is the Diet That Removed the Symptoms of My Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Filtered water (use one of the many carbon filtering systems available).
- Organic tea (bags).
- Natural unrefined cane sugar.
- Soy milk (I initially used Sainsbury’s own brand, but subsequently switched to organic soy milk with D3).
- LoSalt, the actual brand name one, not an equivalent (later I switched to Himalayan Pink Salt).
- Black pepper – buy the peppercorns and grind your own, don’t use normal pepper powder.
- Extra Virgin, cold-pressed olive oil. Don’t use any other oil or fat, at all.
- Potatoes.
- Carrots.
- Parsnips.
- Swedes.
- Brussels sprouts.
- Cabbage.
- Broccoli.
- Bananas.
- Tinned tuna fish in spring water (only spring water!).
- Tomato puree (the bottled stuff made from tomatoes and more tomatoes!)
OK, that’s it. Make your tea with the filtered water, soy milk and unrefined sugar. Clean (but don’t peel) the vegetables and steam them using the method described below. Mix the tuna fish with olive oil, tomato puree, a little LoSalt and some black pepper, then blend it together. Put the steamed veg on a plate, put a little LoSalt, pepper and olive oil on them, and then empty the fish paste onto the veg and enjoy! Eat bananas as a snack, maybe two or three each day if you like.
It was actually quite nice, but I must admit after 2400 servings or so, it began to lose its appeal :-)
Steaming the Veg
Use a typical steaming arrangement (one of the many tiered pan sets that are available) or just use my method. I used a medium sized pan with a few centimetres of filtered water in the bottom, then I placed a colander type pan over this which contained the veg. I put the lid on the top, set the flame to a fairly low setting and let the boiling water do its job. Usually it took about twenty minutes or so. Watch that it doesn’t boil dry ;-) I did this many times!
Making the Fish Paste
Use a small hand blender if you have one, there’s less washing up to do later. Open a medium tin of tuna fish (in spring water!) and drain off the water as much as you can, you just want the fish. Empty the fish into the blender cup. Add about an egg cup full of olive oil (or less if you prefer). Pour some tomato puree in straight from the bottle, about two or three egg cups full. Add a little LoSalt and black pepper.
Screw the twizzy thing onto the blender cup and shake it up (it helps with the blending process). Then blend it until it becomes a smooth paste.
Final points
I just want to stress that the above list of foods is all that should pass your lips! Nothing else at all if possible. This is a perfectly healthy diet by any standards and you must try to manage on it if you want to give this a proper chance.
I have since found other food items which are OK for me and I am continuing to experiment. I will post the results here on my blog and I would appreciate it if you could do likewise for the benefit of other readers (myself included). You are welcome to comment at the foot of this page or on any relevant post.
Good luck, try your best and I sincerely hope it works for you too :-)
Geraldine Radovanovich says
Brian, after reading more of your information I am Sorry to hear you still have RA. I noticed in your diet you drink Soy milk. From my experience soy milk is devastating to the gut. I thought I had bowel cancer and stopped drinking it. My gut symptoms disappeared with in a few days. Soy milk stops the absorption of nutrients from the gut by coating the lining of the gut. It is very dangerous. I was also drinking Almond milk until I got similar symptoms but not as dramatic. I read up on all the gums that are added to processed nut milks and have since stopped drinking them and make my own almond milk with added flax seed and hemp hulls. The difference is huge.
Brian Darby says
Hi Geraldine, thanks very much for taking the time to warn me about your experience with soymilk, I really appreciate it. I think a lot of the problems are due to manufacturers using GM soy and adding gums to the formula as you say. Here in the UK I’m able to buy an organic soy milk made from non-GM organic soybeans and filtered water with no other ingredients, and I don’t experience any problems with this. However, I will work towards making my own nut and seed milks in the future as you suggest, particularly hemp.
Diana Brown says
I was diagnosed with RA thirty four years ago. I am now 64. I’ve been eating a vegetarian diet for many years but just recently went to a vegan diet. However, I am taking Enbrel, which has a whole list of side effects but which has kept the symptoms and destruction of RA at bay. I try to take it as little as possible, usually about every three weeks (the 50 mg shot version.)
After taking he shot, my RA symptoms subside but other symptoms which I think are an underlying infection start, including sinus problems, a dull pain in the lower left side, stuffy ears. When I tell the doctor, he state that perhaps I should stop the medication but, quite frankly, I am afraid to do that. I remember the times when I had to crawl up stairs, couldn’t sleep etc. So I am now ready to explore other options but the fear persists. I have not excluded glutens so that would be the easiest dietary change to make. I have limited my oils to EVOO and canola but was just reading about the positive effects of avocados and avocado oils on osteoarthritis. The article stated that, in France, avocados and the it’s oils are being prescribed for osteoarthritis. Any thoughts on the benefits or harm of avocados on those with RA.
Brian Darby says
Hi Diana, thanks for your comment.
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been suffering for so long, I’m glad you’re research led you to a vegan diet, it’s definitely the best way to go particularly if it is whole food plant-based with minimal added oil and fat. Yes I find the side-effects of Enbrel and other biologics to be quite alarming, hopefully you will be able to come off it one day as you begin to cure your rheumatoid arthritis :-) Yes, sinus problems are I believe caused by inflammation so this could be linked to the underlying cause of your arthritis. I understand your fear, I’ve experienced your situation and it’s very scary. The primary thing to exclude is dairy products which you’ve already done, gluten would be a good step to try next. Yes, reducing added oils and fats is extremely beneficial, but whole food sources of oil and fat tend to be okay in terms of RA, including avocados (amazing source of fibre), nuts and seeds. Avocados are extremely healthy in my opinion as long as you don’t have a reaction to latex. If you have problems with bananas or kiwifruit for example then you may also have a problem with avocados.
cristin says
Hi there,
I was recently Diagnosed with RA…its kind of scary and i am still struggling to put symptoms into remission.
Im wondering if anyone has anything to say on using lots of Himalayan pink salt, lemons, limes, curry powder, cayenne, coconut oil and butter for seasoning?
thanks a bunch,
Cristin
Brian Darby says
Hi Cristin, thanks for your comment. I’m sorry to hear that you were recently diagnosed with RA.
I would suggest not using too much salt, try to keep it to 2.5 g per day total. Saturated fat and trans fats tend to be inflammatory so I would keep coconut oil and butter to a minimum or ideally remove them altogether. Better to use nuts, seeds and avocado as a source of fats. Curry powder contains turmeric which is anti-inflammatory but some people with rheumatoid arthritis have a problem with citrus fruits such as lemons and limes, so you may want to look into this for yourself.
Marisa De More says
Hello Brian,
Many thanks for making your story freely available. :-) My husband has RA so I’ve done a fair bit of research over the years too.
I’m just wondering whether you’ve come across research suggesting that RA (or some forms of RA) are caused by protozoa which are treatable with a certain type of low dose antibiotic over a period of 2 years or so? I’ve also read that the vegan diet does wonders for RA, which ties in with the theory that it’s caused by protozoa … this is because (I’ve read else where) that protozoa need arginine (a protein) to survive, and arginine is found in meat. Hence, if you cut out meat you cut out their food supply! Your diet looks very low in arginine so I’m wondering if that’s why it works?
I understand also that the herpes virus (which I think is in the protozoa family of bacteria, not sure) need arginine to survive, so when people reduce arginine intake (which is in nuts and chicken and spinach) and increase their L-Lysine intake (which locks herpes in its cell preventing its escape) the herpes virus can be kept under control. As such I wondered whether L-lysine could be useful for treating RA?
Another interesting route to investigate is the notion that RA can be cured with Charcoal, I came across one piece of research conducted on mice. They improved, but the researchers didn’t know why. Another guy (who’s credibility I CAN’T vouch for) claims he cures RA with charcoal but his belief is that it’s caused by the accumulation of tin in the bones, and the charcoal extracts the tin leaving the patient healed. Maybe he’s right, or maybe the charcoal kills the protozoa or maybe something else is happening, I don’t know. But these things might be worth researching further. Let me know if you want me to forward the links to those 2 sites on Charcoal and I’ll be happy to do so.
In the service of Jesus the Saviour.
Marisa
Brian Darby says
Hi Marisa, thanks very much for your very interesting comment.
Sorry to hear that your husband has RA, I hope he’s recovering. Yes I’ve studied protozoa and other larger organisms which have the potential to be parasites, and I believe they could be a cause or a trigger for rheumatoid arthritis, possibly by damaging the gut directly or by producing toxins which upset the microbiome. I haven’t heard of treating them with antibiotics though. However, I have read a great deal about the long-term treatment of Mycoplasma with antibiotics, specifically Minocin.
What you say about arginine is very interesting, I didn’t know that it was a requirement for protozoa, however I’m aware of the relationship between arginine and lysine in terms of herpes and RA. I wrote a post about it recently: Could Herpes Cause Rheumatoid Arthritis? – How to Prevent Cold Sores!
By cutting out animal products, a vegan diet would certainly help rheumatoid arthritis sufferers, even more so if it was a whole food plant-based diet. Most animal products are inflammatory and whole plant foods are generally anti-inflammatory, and a reduction in arginine could also be beneficial.
Your point about charcoal is very interesting, it certainly has some benefits but I’m not sure how many of the claims are true. Activated charcoal is a very good water purifier and is claimed to help remove toxins from the body in a similar way when ingested; including heavy metals and possibly certain bacteria and parasites, so again may be helpful with rheumatoid arthritis.
Yes, thanks Marisa I would be interested in the links that you mentioned.
Marisa De More says
Hello Brian,
Sorry for my late reply. Since my last post my husband had a heart attack and is in hospital waiting for by-pass surgery. It’s a long story but I suspect his RA medicine, methotrexate, played a role.
First of all may I apologise for possibly (probably) giving a false lead regarding arginine. Since making the above post I looked for information that protozoa thrive on arginine but can’t find the info. I suspect I misread an article which said that herpes lives on arginine and can be controlled with L-lysine. I think I misread the article and thought that herpes was a protozoan single-celled organism, but apparently it’s not, it’s a virus. So sorry for that. But if RA is caused by herpes (maybe in some people at least) that might put a different picture on it. I’ll read the link you posted on herpes and RA. Thanks.
I think I’m wrong on a second point too :-( I thought protozoa was the same as mycoplasma, but after checking my facts its seems I’m wrong there too. When I read about the role of mycoplasma in RA, I read it as though it was ‘protozoa’. Drat. We’ve probably read the same research on that one.
However, I watched a video yesterday where Dr Tom O’Bryan spoke about the role of leaky gut in rheumatoid arthritis and the possible role of proteus (which is a protozoan) for causing RA. Proteus, he claims, travels through the gut wall, into the blood stream and comes under attack by our immune system. Since its protein structure is similar to the protein structure in our bones, the bones also come under attack in a process called molecular mimicry – hence the inflammation and pain. Here’s a link to that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGpFlRPwtFU
You’ll be familiar with the cause and cure of leaky gut syndrome? If not, you might like to research low-lectin diets for curing leaky gut and therefore for curing autoimmune diseases. Basically cut out all grains, dairy, soy, legumes, beans, corn, peanuts, eggs and nightshade vegetables for 6 weeks to 6 months to give the gut chance to heal (that leaves you free to eat all meat, fish, vegetables (except the nightshades) good oils and low sugar fruits (research ‘Dr John Symes and lectins’ aka Dogtor J, a veterinarian, who’s a wealth of information on this subject). When reintroducing grains and beans make sure they’re fermented first to break down the harmful lectins (which cause leaky gut) and if reintroducing dairy, use goat’s or sheep’s milk as they have a protein which is easier to digest than cow’s milk; or consume raw A2 cow’s milk, which again has a different protein structure to A1 milk and the unpasteurized product contains an immunoglobulin which helps digest the protein.
Finally, here’s a link to some information where the Imperial College Innovations Ltd claim to have success in using charcoal to heal RA in mice:
https://www.google.com/patents/EP1915164A1?cl=en
And this links to a guy who claims to cure RA using Charcoal. I can’t say I agree with everything he says, but it’s worth checking out:
https://www.muscletesting.com/an-analysis-of-rheumatoid-arthritis-the-disease-and-the-cure
Sorry for the length. Best wishes,
Marisa
Marisa De More says
I should have said that the point of healing leaky gut in RA patients is to prevent protozoans (in the gut) and/or undigested food proteins escaping through the damaged gut wall, into the blood stream and wreaking inflammatory damage.
Marisa De More says
Googling ‘Ebringer and Rashid Proteus UTI’ brings up interesting information about their scientific research and the evidence of proteus mirabilis as a causative factor in rheumatoid arthritis. They state that proteus infects the person via a sub-clinical urinary tract infection. I haven’t read the paper fully, but they also mention some kind of molecular mimicry going on so that the immune system attacks the synovial tissue which has a similar structure to the proteus, which sounds as though the immune system attacks its own tissue under the mistaken belief that it’s getting rid of the proteus invader (knowing me I could have read it wrong, but it’s something I plan to re-read again.) Best wishes. Marisa
Brian Darby says
Hi Marisa, you are quite right, there is a belief that a UTI can lead to rheumatoid arthritis via Proteus infection and also by other potential infectious agents. I’ll do some more research regarding Proteus in the future, thanks for bringing it up.
Brian Darby says
Hi Marisa, yes there’s no doubt in my mind that undigested food proteins can cause rheumatoid arthritis.
Brian Darby says
Hi Marisa thanks for your comment.
I’m very sorry to hear about your husband I hope he’s recovering okay XX
I understand :-) yes herpes is a virus and there is a balance between arginine and lysine. Herpes may be a cause or contributor to rheumatoid arthritis but protozoa can cause problems too as you mentioned i.e Proteus.
Yes, I believe mycoplasma are a type of bacteria without a cell wall which makes them difficult to treat with antibiotics.
Leaky gut is a very common issue for rheumatoid arthritis sufferers and it appears to be a common cause of RA and it is always a contributor. I watched the video and it was very interesting, I’m familiar with O’Bryan and Paddison.
I appreciate the information regarding lectins but the foods highest in lectins are generally cooked and the cooking process destroys most of them. I wouldn’t recommend eating meat, dairy or eggs as these foods are highly inflammatory and are a major contributor to (and cause of) the development of all chronic diseases. Added oils and fats in the diet are a major contributor to heart disease causing arterial damage and damage to other blood vessels, this in turn affects nutrient supply to joints and the removal of waste products, so again I would recommend against any form of added oil or fat in the diet (these days). I used to believe that olive oil was beneficial but after three years studying the science it’s clear that it’s one of the most detrimental processed food products.
The charcoal patent is really interesting but it appears to be for a product where charcoal is combined with a DMARD to produce the anti-inflammatory effect. But charcoal is definitely beneficial for removing heavy metals and other toxins from the body as mentioned in the muscle testing article.
Best wishes to you too Marisa and best wishes to your husband for a speedy recovery and good health XX
Windy says
I have been reading also about mycoplasma. The military evidently weaponized it. It is involved in RA, Lyme, Parkinson’s, etc,etc. Garth Nicolson has articles on this. If this is true then there is a cure by getting rid of the mycoplasma. I am going to see if I can find natural remedies first. Also the persons husband that had a heart attack I just read a book about chelation therapy that sounded very promising for cleaning out the arteries. Thanks for the info.
Brian Darby says
Hi Windy, thanks for your comment.
Yes, Mycoplasma is believed to be one of the possible causes of rheumatoid arthritis. There is a treatment called ‘The Antibiotic Protocol’ which uses long-term low dose doxycycline antibiotic which seems to have some success. I hope you manage to find some natural treatments, good luck with your search.
Debi Pawloski says
Has anyone looked into dental infections as a source of swollen knees? It has been documented as true since a root canal or any dental infection will be encapsulated by your body so you won’t know it’s there. I am having problems with swollen knees and I’m going to have it checked by a dentist as my doctor found no infection in my blood analysis.
Brian Darby says
Hi Debi, thanks for your comment.
Yes I believe that dental infections are linked to inflammation particularly in the heart and joints. You may find this article interesting: Dental/Rheumatoid Arthritis Connection
If you have a dental infection you should definitely get it treated and this may improve your symptoms.