RA Is Likely an Inflammation Caused by Allergic Reaction to Some Foods

By CommunityMember3140

2 min read

25 years ago I was nearly paralyzed by joint pains in every limb.

RA & food allergies

A book written by a practicing doctor convinced me that RA is always related to some foods that are allergic to a person but these foods are different for different people.

He claimed he cured every single patient by determining which foods are allergic to him by a trial and error process typically taking about 6 to 8 weeks.

I could see the inefficiency of the detection process. If a person is allergic to 6 items and you remove 4 or 5 items from the diet there would be no improvement in joint health and you cannot determine if any of those foods are good or bad.

Testing my elimination diet

So I used a more efficient protocol. I started with eating a simple, single item that likely is safe and nonallergic. I chose a mixed green salad with a simple dressing.

I avoided adding any other items like crotons or crackers as wheat was a known allergen for me. My RA pain went from 100% to 0% in 3 days.

To see what other foods I can tolerate, I added one item for the next 3 days. (It was rice with lentil curry). It turned out to be safe.

Next I added milk to my diet and it turned out to be safe.

Next was milk with cornflakes cereal. Not good. Discontinued cereal and was back to normal.

Next was toast. Very bad. In two days the pain was almost 100%.

Recovered in about 3 to 4 days after discontinuing wheat. A few other bad ones were peanuts, soy, oats, Fritos corn chips, and black pepper. With all these items blacklisted, there was no more RA unless I wanted it (to retest the allergens).

What were the results of food elimination on my RA

It is now 25 years that I am RA-free without drugs, painkillers, and exercise other than what I get from normal moving around and household chores.

It is too bad only a few persons (about 2 thousand by my estimate) are aware of this RA avoidance method. The rest are wandering in the abyss of toxic drugs being told "RA is an autoimmune disease for which there is no cure and some potentially deadly drugs can relieve some pain which will come back stronger when you discontinue them."

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RHall Community Admin
<inline-mention username="CommunityMember3140" user-id="5528970"/> I'm really happy that in your experience changing your diet led to better changes for your RA symptoms. I will say that it's always great to see a decrease in symptoms because there is not an official cure for RA. Also everyone reacts to RA differently so changes in diet can sometimes lead to a decrease in symptoms but for others there is no impact. But in your specific experience -- always great that you were flexible in trying new methods with the help of your doctor. - Reggie, team member
CommunityMember3140 Member
This is not just my case. A few doctors have claimed, they have cured every single patient with diet change. So this is not specific to me. I have checked for truthfulness of the claims. I am just one example of the success. These are 50 year old techniques but lost due to allopathic onslaught. As you said everyone reacts to RA differently. So the next logical question is WHY SO? . This is what I explained. Everyone reacts to food differently and everyone needs to find which foods are adversely reactive him or her. Just buying a diet recipe will not work for most people. That diet may contain adverse items for some and not others. But, I would say this: If diet works for 10% of the people, it is a good gamble compared to drugs which have never worked for the long term. Hardly any one is happy after 6 months to 2 years. In fact the National institute for health recommends not using Methotrexate for RA. They only recommend it for cancers which have no cures. After several years of saying diet has nothing to do with RA, more and more well known clinics are acknowledging a definite connection between diet and RA but they lack the proper recommendation for elimination. So they are hit or miss propositions. In the protocol I described a simplified process to find person specific adverse foods. This accomplishes the same objectives as the doctors who practiced diet elimination with complete success. For skeptical people, I say this: What do you have to lose by eating some simple food like a mixed green salad for 3 days? Believe me, fresh green salads or vegetables are very healthy. Even if this does not fix the RA it will do some good and no harm and you don't need to pay any expert. And if it works like I expect, it can dramatically change your life for ever. I mean zero pain and not just a reduction. Now, this may not do much good for osteoarthritis. Ligaments do not regenerate. It may help prevent Osteoarthritis is my guess. So for humanity's' sake please let a few people try it. Hell, I will pay for their salads if it does not work. There are some clinics which have good reviews for curing RA with diet elimination. I have not used them. One uses blood tests to find adverse foods. Based on a few credible user reviews, it looks legit. They will probably charge a lot of money and prolong the process unnecessarily. So my philosophy is our bodies tell us what is good and what is bad food for us if we pay attention to what it is telling us and approach it logically. 
1. CommunityMember3140 Member
 <inline-mention username="CommunityMember3140" user-id="5528970"/> One other benefit of the protocol even if it does work as I believe, is that it will tell him or her whether food is an issue or not because all possible adverse foods are eliminated except the salad which is rarely adverse. It will cause a more severe flare up if it is adverse so a person can switch to something else like baked sweet potato for a second try. It also has a reputation for being rarely allergic.
danny777 Member
I have thought there were associations w different foods - been through that. Methotrexate- works a treat. I walked into my first RA doc’s office, using a cane, as I had done for several years, while living in China, and she said, “You need (to take) methotrexate.” Within a few weeks I left the cane at home. 
1. Erin Rush Community Admin
 <inline-mention username="CommunityMember3140" user-id="5528970"/>, I bet <inline-mention username="danny777" user-id="3157557"/> and many of our community members are very aware of the risks of many pharmaceutical RA treatments. We always share that information pretty openly here, too -- <a href='https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/treatment/methotrexate' target='_blank'>https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/treatment/methotrexate</a>. If this is what works for him, that's his prerogative. And I am sincerely glad changing your diet has brought you lasting relief. We want each member to find the treatment options that are best for them. Please feel free to keep sharing what works for you and I know other community members will share what works for them. Best, Erin, <a href='https://rheumatoidarthritis.net' target='_blank'>RheumatoidArthritis.net</a> Team Member. 
2. danny777 Member
 <inline-mention username="Erin Rush" user-id="3164667"/> Thank you.
CommunityMember3140 Member
Okay. Then there is no problem. Everybody seems happy with MTX.
Lynn Marie Witt, MSOT Moderator & Contributor
<inline-mention username="CommunityMember3140" user-id="5528970"/> thanks so much for reaching out and sharing about your journey with diet and RA. I have attached an article I wrote that might be of interest with you, on my journey with the elimination diet. <a href='https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/aip-diet-plan' target='_blank'>https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/aip-diet-plan</a> In full transparency, I do take a biologic medication also. I use a combination of approaches in my treatment plan including diet, medication, therapies, and alternative medicine approaches. I applaud you for your healthy eating. I too try my best everyday. Wishing you continued success of disease control. Just Keep Swimming...Lynn Marie, "RheumatoidArrhritis.net Team Member"
CommunityMember3140 Member
Pleased to see you had some success with diet elimination. Bu taking biologics at the same time means it is difficult to tell what worked. It could be the biologics contributed to reduced the pain. The AIP diet plan has one shortcoming. There is no guarantee that all RA triggers are eliminated, just the most common ones so it may work for some people very well and not at all or partially for others. A practicing doctor insisted that all patients can achieve complete remission if all adverse food, every single one is eliminated from the diet and the foods differ from one person to another. So one method is fasting for a few days so there is no possibility of ingesting any adverse foods. The Germans have practiced a modified method for 50 years and cured some estimated 40,000 people of RA as well as other ailments. Very few people can tolerate fasting for a week so they practice intermittent fasting allowing fruits or juice to avoid starvation. For the protocol to be effective for all they require detox laxative using Glauber's salt at the start and sometimes during the fasting period. Unfortunately this requires medical supervision to avoid patient errors and monitor them for any adverse reaction thus raising the cost. I devised a different protocol. Start with one simple food to check for adverse reaction. Most people should be free of pain in 3 to 5 days except those who are taking drugs or were extensively treated with drugs or the disease is something other than RA. It is also possible the first food is adverse. I chose a green salad because there is no history of adversity with salads (though dressing may be). After success with the first food trial it is just a matter of introducing one food at a time to see which are adverse.