i've been on a no-starch diet for one month and am now getting mouth ulcers. does anyone know why this is happening?

What are you eating? Can you tell us in as much detail as possible please.

I get ulcers whenever my mouth gets scratched. It didn't get worse with the NSD though.. I'm pretty sure it was exactly the same beforehand.

Recently I was out at a chinese restaurant with friends, and over a period of about an hour of drinking regular cups of jasmine tea I found my two mouth ulcers both felt a lot better. I was supping at the tea regularly from those little chinese tea cups. Probably had about 8 tiny cup fulls in all. Something to try perhaps?

Oh, also try finding a probiotic with a large number of strains in it. I use "Swanson's" and "Primal Defence" brands. They have about 12 to 15 strains of microbes. Might not help, but makes logical sense as something to try since ulcers are a symptom of nasty flora (or sometimes viral apparently?!?).

now that i'm much better between flares, now i realize mouth ulcers are part of the beginning of me flaring (along with the irritated (but not inflamed) eyes (dry at the least)).

at first i swore it must be something i was eating.

but in between flares, i can eat the same things and not have mouth ulcers.

for me, mouth ulcers (and inflamed tongue papillae) are simply a sign of flaring.

when i have them, acidic food makes them hurt worse, so at that time, i just try to avoid the acidic food (citrus, tomato sauce, etc)

Hi

I haven't figured out what causes my mouth ulcers and inflammed tonque. It flares and then settles down. I can't say it is related to the A/S. I feel flared most of the time.


Janet

It could be you're eating more of something that can cause them. I think eating about half a pineapple did it to me once.

Believe it or not, Listerine makes my mouth ulcers feel better. It is an antiseptic so maybe that is why it feels beeter after swishing. I did not notice the no starch diet affecting my mouth ulcers.

I think the no starch diet decreases ones immune system, which would bring about more mouth sores.

I use Orajel mouth sore rinse and it seems to help.

Shari

No starch diet is not supposed to decrease your immune system, and does not for most of us. Dieting is just supposed to lower the triggers for inflammation, as opposed to biologics and other medicines which are intended to dampen specific parts of the immune response.

If you are experiencing lowered immunity, it could be worth looking into getting tested for nutritional deficiencies.

>> I think the no starch diet decreases ones immune system

The immune system is a complex beast. When in flare mode my body will produce more immune cells, yes that is true. However the immune cells are of the wrong type, and targeting the wrong parts of my body, hence it is an ineffective army that is ignoring the real threats such as colds/flus/throat infections/etc.

When my body is out of flare, after a few weeks the immune systems settles down in to a better regulated and calm mode where it can react swiftly to real threats properly. That means: less flu, less ulcers, etc. But I'm finding that this really does take a bit longer.. it might take 2 or 3 weeks for the immune system to be fully functional again after a flare.

I just remembered that mouth sores can be a sign of food intolerances, because my beloved other half used to have flare-ups which have pretty much stopped after eliminating the problem foods like gluten, cow milk, and egg whites. Yet another way in which taking a food sensitivity test can be helpful.

Though I have no scientific proof, I believe that following a lifestyle/diet that promotes a strong immune system is possible. I have not gotten sick in the 3+ years that I've been on the diet. Even during cold and flu season, I have managed to keep illnesses at bay. After years of suffering, I find it interesting that I don't experience any more sinus infections and congestion too...

If sugar is capable of suppressing the immune system, that's one argument to really dial down any intake of sugar. Foods like garlic and supplements like vitamin C and Omega 3's are also suspected to strengthen your immune system. I take at least 4 grams of Vitamin C every day and feel that plays a pretty big role in my ongoing disease management protocol.

I don't think I provided you with a silver bullet solution to the mouth ulcers, but maybe you can experiment with some other things and hopefully you find a way to lose the mouth ulcers for good.

Good luck!

Mouth ulcers! So glad to hear this topic raised. My rheumatologist's fellow looked at me funny when I said I was getting crops of mouth sores every 2-3 weeks when first diagnosed (previously barely had 1 canker sore in my entire life), and I checked with my dentist, who was entirely unhelpful. Since going on Enbrel they almost totally went away, but I do still notice one or two from time to time. Just starting NSD this week and interested to see how that goes.

Thanks again all, nice to know I'm not crazy (and what does the rheum fellow know, anyways?? Seriously, it' a coincidence??!)

I used to get mouth sores all the time. Very painful to eat or talk. Haven't had one since starting my new diet 9 or so months ago.

An old friend of mine used to call this FRUIT poisoning. That is - an acid event. Let's face it. A change of diet can cause a huge gut change and a big mouth cavity floral change. This is why a reasoned plan for your body is a good idea - i believe much better than a bit of this and a bit of that...
i had phenomenal success with AS and RA but only as a plan for MY body which i experimented with enough to get to know possible events - and of course lots of pointers from John

I just changed my diet far too suddenly and ate lots of oranges (they were in season and so yummy). Too acidic for me and I now have 4 ulcers in my mouth. That should teach me to change my diet too suddenly. I hadn't been eating that much fruit lately, and certainly not much citrus or pineapple.

If I started with a half a mandarin and increased it slowly I'm sure I would've been able to eat these with minimal trouble..

I saw the post on the main forum and lots of people said they get ulcers when AS gets worse, and that it was one of their "signs" of the condition worsening. Yes, if I eat starch I will get more ulcers and weird skin problems too like ulcers and strange small wounds pop up out of nowhere too.

I think its common for those of us with damaged guts to not tolerate oranges.

I can never never ever eat oranges. They don't work for me at all. Neither do tomatoes. I also developed an intolerance to strawberries, and I have read quite a bit about others who cannot tolerate tomatoes/oranges/strawberries. They all have something in common.

I can eat just about any other fruit though with no problems; mangoes, peaches, plums, grapes, apples, pears, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, figs, pineapple, cherries, lemons, limes, dates....

-Andrea

Interesting. Raw oranges used to give me a "dirty" headache. Dirty sounds weird, but it fits the mood / feeling I used get. Anyway.. no more headaches this time, just a mouth full of fr#$ing ulcers. Think it is making me aggro too (that means cranky/angry).

Personally I never seem to have issues with tomato or strawberry. Each to their own...although I have had this weird issue when beef mince was cooked with tomato (bolognese), still it only made a bit stiff for about 3 hours and I don't mind that too much really.