>> So you think it's still food that's causing these peripheral inflammation? Oh
>> dear, my diet is already so restrictive as it is.

I know, it is difficult at the start but gradually you will build up a list of foods that you KNOW are always safe for you. It needn't be so restrictive.

If you are keen to find out what foods are safe then the first thing you need to do is get out of pain using diet changes. When you spend more and more time pain free, then it will become obvious when you react to a food.

>> I'm willing to eat only fish and some fruit for the rest of my life if I know it's
>> what's going to heal me

I only need to be so restrictive for short periods of about 3 days. By the second or third day, if you are like me, then you will start to feel a reduction in pain.

Hello Kristine,

Maybe you still have some starch sneaking into your diet or need to eliminate dairy as well if consuming.

May help to post all the food you are eating. Early on I was eating a few items I thought were safe.

Take care,

Tim

Zark,
I have RA, but I have found the NSD to be SOOO helpful. I think with RA, certain foods bother me more than someone with AS. I haven't eaten eggplant, but I cannot eat tomatoes,it really causes me a ton of inflammation. I get a big swollen knee, the kind that won't even bend or straighten. I also get swelling in my wrist too. I don't have a postive RF factor but have had inflammation on my labs, I am also hlab27 neg, but I have pain in my si joints, it seems to be getting better though.

I like watching House too, I never heard of the absorption thing. I just heard that beef is on the inflammation food list. I would eat it if it didn't bother my joints so much.Kind of a bummer House is over and now all we have are reruns

Thanks Tim,

Here's what I'm eating:
lots of wild-caught fish
leafy greens
cucumber (peeled,deseeded)
some pork
some chicken
some eggs
cow liver at least twice a week
occasionally, liver from poultry
sometimes squid and shellfish
coconut meat and water once a week
mangoes (proven safe)

I also use garlic and onion for cooking and they're also safe for me. To season, I use either salt or wheat-free tamari. Cooking oil: Palm olein (very heat-stable)

Eggs and shellfish can provoke immune reactions in people who are sensitive to them. I don't know what leafy greens you eat, but my food test actually showed I'm sensitive to the cabbage family (including kale). I understand from your previous comments that the food test is not well tuned for your local diet, so you might need to take the elimination diet approach instead.

Start with a day or two water fast if you can, and you will likely feel at least a bit improved even in that short time. Then start introducing one or two new foods at a time, eating them every day for a few days so you can tell whether they are making you worse or not... unless you notice a problem sooner, in which case stop eating whatever is bothering you). That may seem obvious, but if it's a food you really want to continue eating, it's tempting to give it a few more days "maybe it's a coincidence I'm feeling worse..."

Technically it _could_ be a coincidence, but you can always try that food again after giving your body a rest by eating only safe foods for many months

Homemade chicken soup without spices or vegetables should be a pretty safe thing to start with after the fast. The things in your list that would cause me problems are eggs (the whites), garlic, onions, and cabbage (if that's included in "leafy greens") so you might want to reintroduce those late -- it's annoying to have "unsafe" foods come up early and have to do another 1-day fast so soon after the initial one (to get yourself back into shape for more testing).

Thanks SJLC!

I have one more question. I notice that I can get away with one or two small bananas a day without any noticeable pain, but when I eat more I flare. Does this mean it's safe to eat bananas in small amounts or better to steer clear completely, as anything that causes a reaction in whatever amount is bad?

About the cabbage, I eat only napa cabbage because the savoy variety tests positive for starch.

Because of my swollen knee, which is severely limiting motion, I have resorted to taking NSAIDs and Prednisone again. I will stop as soon as I am better. But I keep reading that NSAIDs are VERY damaging to the gut and I worry that whatever improvement I've managed to achieve in the past months will be negated by this. Ugh.

While you're still struggling like this, it's best to stay clear completely of things you know have starch. Bananas are prone to having starch, even ripe ones. I've read that a medium banana goes from 12g starch down to 4g starch after it ripens. A small one would have less of course, maybe 3g?

One more warning, if you do want to kick off the elimination diet testing with a day or two of fasting, you'll need to skip the NSAID for those couple days. Ideally, you won't need to go back on them if the fast brings down inflammation enough, but you'll see how it goes.

One possibility that I think others have mentioned is that some hidden starches, possibly in your supplements or Chinese herbs from your acupuncturist (?), are contributing the ongoing inflammation. As you go on a low starch or no starch diet, it's possible that you may become more sensitive to starches.

Keep whittling away. Keep conducting experiments on what may trigger reactions. Find some iodine, and/or consider an elimination diet where you add one thing at a time so it becomes a little easier to determine the offending food.

Good luck!

SJLC: Thanks for that reminder!

FormerFoodie:
I was reviewing my food diary yesterday and I noticed that the week before my left knee started flaring, I was eating a lot of cheese. Mostly brie, cheddar (which I read is safe 'cause it's a hard cheese) and this Happy Cow brand of soft white cheese from France. That could have been the culprit, though I can't be sure.

All supplements I take are starch-free and the Chinese herbs I use just to infuse soups but I throw away the roots. I do believe I just need to fine-tune my diet but EVERY single time I have the tiniest flare, some people in my house start saying "See? That diet is bogus!!! Why are you still not pain-free???? Eat rice!!! You're so thin already!" I absolutely hate it when they do that. I could just as easily ask them why my meds stopped working for me after a few months and why the doctor keeps saying the cause of AS is unknown and why even he, who is supposedly the best rheumatologist in the country, doesn't have the answers.

Sorry I will stop ranting.