Thanks to all who post here and help maintain the site - the world needs to know about the no-starch-diet for AS!

I have used the no-starch diet for AS for twelve years and it allows me to live life like an able-bodied person rather than the semi-disabled person I was before. (I had crippling pain in my hips and lower back, neck, shoulders, ankles and knees, and occasionally woke up completely unable to move. After being on the diet,I have been able to work as a volunteer lifeguard and run three half-marathons.) The benefit of the diet, for me personally, is priceless: Although I have every respect for those who find quality and meaning in a life affected by disability, my physical capability is key to my quality of life.

I had clear AS symptoms since age 22 and these were misdiagnosed at age 26 (x-rays misinterpreted as osteitis condensans - literally a "Textbook" error as I later discovered). It was only by chance, when I got repetitive strain injuries from computer use (which have since shown no association with the AS) that my AS was formally diagnosed via x-rays and blood tests.

I have noticed recently that various health professionals' websites still claim no link between diet and AS - the ignorance is astonishing, given the length of time that some of us have kept ourselves able-bodied with the diet (and, incidentally, saved governments which provide healthcare huge sums of money in the process).

So I'm particularly struck now by how important it is that we keep our findings on the no-starch diet available for those affected by AS.

At least one research study is starting in the UK on diet and AS, but it appears to be based on recording what people "happen to eat" and what their symptoms are like, so might well simply back up the claim of no-link-between-diet-and-AS because the NSD is too difficult, expensive, time-consuming and socially awkward for anyone to follow "by chance". I hope my pessimistic view on this new study is wrong, but there is so much discussion of drug-based approaches to AS and so little on removing the root cause via diet that it seems unlikely that enough patients on the NSD could be included in such a study.

Anyway, thanks again to all who share experiences on AS, and good luck & patience to anyone trying the diet for themselves!