RA know-how by Spoonie (2016 version)

I am presenting here my personal know-how about RA including a disease description, goals and method. Read carefully, use on your own risk.

Keep in mind that you should talk to your own doctors before making any lifestyle changes.

I have created this memory sheet for me (Spoonie) and maybe it may be useful to other RA spoonies as well. Greetings and good luck to all.

My personal know-how about RA is based on many (at least 1000) scientific papers about RA and on many stories by RA spoonies (thanks for sharing experiences) and can contain great ideas and dangerous ideas simultaneously (difficult to distinguish). Please, keep it in mind.

Goals and methods how to reach them are described below. They are simple (and probably all included is well known). But they are not easy to perform. Nevertheless, it is possible to follow them and get the possible benefit they could provide.

Content

A. Disease description
B. Goals
C. Method
D. Comments
E. Summary

A. Disease description

Unhealthy intestinal tract or urinary tract (or both) can (probably during some inflammation) leak Evil Bugs (probably a bacterium Proteus mirabilis) into the bloodstream. These Evil Bugs are identified by white blood cells as an enemy and white blood cells learn how to kill them. Unfortunately, Evil Bug is similar to joint membrane cells. Whence, white blood cells attack not only Evil Bugs, but also the joints membranes (all over the body). White blood cells create bacteriophages on the joints membranes. These bacteriophages produce Evil Cytokines (small molecules that start an inflammation nearby).

Some Evil Cytokines cause joints inflammation. Joints inflammation can result in terrible pains, joints damages (including bones erosion) and disability.

The other Evil Cytokines attack the nearby bloodstream making local inflammations. These cause the stiffness of the joints areas. Local inflammations can result in disability areas and terrible heart / bloodstream problems.

The body battle with the Evil Cytokines causes terrible fatigue. Fatigue can result in disability. The disease can cause psychicatric problems resulting in a suicide.

Moreover, the disease creates (randomly in the body) small base camps called nodules.

Up to now, drugs used against the disease are mainly

• reducing the pain (Ibuprofen, …)
• reducing Evil Cytokines production (Methotrexate, Adalimumab, …)
• supporting the inner anti-inflammatory body engine (Prednisone, Hydrocortisone, …)

In fact the drugs deal with symptoms of RA only and the disease progression continues (at a moderated speed). Moreover, these drugs can stop working or cause unpleasant side effects in some cases. Moreover, during some infections the medication of these drugs is interrupted (and the real power of the RA disease is visible without a “drug fog”).

Taking drugs can be observed as a “time-out” during which one could heal the body before the drugs (even taken in combination) will stop working.

B. Goals

To really stop the disease Spoonie can try

• Minimize the Evil Bugs inside the body (support healthy microflora inside)
• Stop the leakage (heal the walls of intestinal tract and/or urinary tract)
• Wait until the white blood cells will forget about the Evil Bugs (several years or forever)
• Add anti-inflammatory agents (supplements, food, …)
• Create inner anti-inflammatory agents (exercise, walk, ...)
• Do not eat pro-inflammatory items (meat, milk, gluten, fat, sugar, alcohol, coffee, ...)
• Fight inner pro-inflammatory engine of the deep fat (healthy weight)
• Save inner anti-inflammatory power (reduce stress, enjoy relax, meditate, …)
• Protect heart and bloodstream (be active, eat healthy food, …)
• Be informed about the disease
• Be prepared for everything
• Be patient
• Be open-minded
• Inform people around

C. Method

Daily healing items for Spoonie (a day by day routine)

1. Morning: Water + soaked grains + taste + green leaves + supplements
2. Midday: Water + veggie smoothie + taste + green leaves
3. Afternoon: Water + fruit smoothie + taste + green leaves + power walk
4. Evening: Breathing with dumbbells + aerobics + cold shower + anti-inflammatories
5. Night: In case of a sleep-break exercise lightly to release stiffness areas

Additional care for Spoonie

• Use heat pads, hot wax, massage, … to reduce the stiffness as needed.
• Use cold to reduce inflammation of the joints.
• Reach and keep healthy weight.
• Reduce stress, enjoy relax, meditate, …
• Be active (plan activities w.r.t. the disease).
• Be informed, prepared and patient
• Be open-minded
• Inform people around that you have limited power due to a non-visible disease (using the Spoon theory if needed).

D. Comments

Comments for “Daily healing items for Spoonie”:

• Before starting a food change it could be useful to start with 2-12 days water (veggie smoothie) cleaning fast, followed by 30-60 days of item-by-item introduction of new types of food, eliminating foods that worsen the disease symptoms (as in Clint Paddison’s program).
• Water
  Use a filtered tap-water, morning 1 l, midday ½ l, afternoon ½ l
• Soaked grains
  Use preferably RAW, processed if needed.
  Use approx. 120 grams of a dry stuff of:
  Basmati rice (24? hours in water, 48? hours in a wet condition until 1 mm sprouts)
  Buckwheat (6? hours in water, 6? hours in a wet condition until 1 mm sprouts)
  Red lentils (24 hours in water, 24 hours in a wet condition until 1 mm sprouts)

  Buy grains which are able to sprout (if possible).

• Taste:
  Use any kind of tasty stuff to support/suppress the main food taste.
  Experiment with tastes to make the food tasty (and not boring by repeating forever).
  Use approx. 1 tablespoon of:
  Mixed spice (Curry Madras, Chilli con Carne, …)
  Cocoa powder
  Shredded coconut
  Nuts, seeds, almonds,
  Herbs
  Honey, sugar, jam,
  Fruit (berries, orange, banana, …)
  Seaweed
  Vinegar
  Fermented veggie (cabbage, … )
  Miso paste
  Chilli sauce
  Onion
  Garlic
  Ginger
  Vanilla
  Use salt moderately
  Use occasionally a glass of non-alcoholic beer.
• Green leaves:
  Use any kind of leafy veggie to equalize the basic/acidic reaction of the food. Moreover, leafy veggie feeds the healthy microflora inside.
• Supplements:
  Use supplements (according the information included in a package):
  Probiotics
  B12
• Smoothie :
  Smoothie form of a food protects the intestinal walls and saves the digestive enzymes. The smoothie is a smooth mixture of approx. 500 grams of veggie/fruit + 200 grams of water, resulting in a thick stuff, to be eaten (being dusted/covered/mixed by a tasty stuff) by a spoon in a dish.
• Veggie smoothie
  Use preferably RAW veggie, processed if needed.
  Any kind of vegetables, approx. 500 grams of:
  Cabbage, carrot, cucumber
• Fruit smoothie
  Use preferably RAW fruit, processed if needed,
  Any kind of a fruit, approx. 500 grams of:Orange, banana, apple
• Power walk
  Enjoy some time (approx. 1 hour) of power walking (reasonable quick motion needed). This will burn the sugar digested from the fruit smoothie.
• Breathing with dumbbells
  Breathing with dumbbells makes the bloodstream stronger and oxygen (anti-inflammatory agent) rich - important to perform at the evening. Deep full breath in (with a partial breath out) repeat 30 times, then breath out completely and stop breathing as long as possible, and finally breath in, then repeat all twice (as in Wim Hof’s method). The dumbbells (or whatever) in hands (1 Kg in each) help the process, move hands in all directions while standing (or sitting) and breathing.
• Aerobics
  Use any kind of exercise (e.g. Pilates) for at least 30 minutes; try to reach the aerobic moment. Enjoy some music / movie during the exercise.
• Cold shower
  Be careful with the shower to prevent damages to your bloodstream and heart. Use locally at the beginning. Cold shower intensifies the blood circulation and prevents stiffness.
• Anti-inflammatories
  All anti-inflammatory agents are needed mainly during the night (when the body anti- inflammatory cycle is sleeping).
  Use any kind (preferable all) of:
  Curcumin (turmeric)
  Omega-3 (fish oil, flaxseed)
  Garlic (one clove, cut into 1 mm pieces)
  Ginger (the same amount as garlic, cut into 1 mm pieces)
  Vitamin D (or enjoy sun exposition in the summer)
  and drink a glass of water.

Comments for “Additional care for Spoonie”:

• Reach and keep healthy weight
  To be performed under a doctor’s supervision if needed. Reach the lower margin of healthy BMI range (use regularly 60 grams instead of 120 grams for morning grains soaking to reduce the weight). Notice that healthy weight (generally very difficult to reach) is a small portion of the whole healing program. RA spoonies are focused and can reach it knowing the power of RA.
• Reduce stress
  Stress burns anti-inflammatory power.
• Enjoy relax
  Relax time saves anti-inflammatory power; moreover, new one is being created. Keep in mind that every approx. 3 hours a small break is needed.
• Meditate
  Another useful form of a relax time.
• Be active (plan activities w.r.t. the disease)
  Reduce activities to save some anti-inflammatory power for the night. The night battle with the disease will need a large amount of anti-inflammatories. If they are missing then RA wins the night (more stiffness, inflammation, ...).
• Be informed, prepared and patient
  Every spoonie is unique (body, disease progression, medication). Be informed, disease (and drugs as well) attack the whole body system. Be prepared and keep yourself as healthy as possible (avoid meeting infections). Be patient with the healing progress. In fact no progress means that the disease has been stopped.
• Be open-minded
  RA is not new. A large (and growing) amount of information is known. Read about RA. Read about rheumatologists. Read about drugs. Read about spoonies. Read about spoonies using drugs as well about drug-free spoonies. Be responsible and make decision working for you.
• Inform people around ...
  Spoonie theory is clever. Instead of real spoonies one can use a virtual small bottle with a power juice. In the morning the bottle contains given (not known in advance) amount of a power juice and one needs portions of it while performing activities. Friends can save your power juice using their own power juice while helping. Ask (and thank) for it if needed.

Additional comments

Foods for regular use (SMALL portion of any food combined with leafy veggie is possible)

• Dangerous (meat, milk, cheese, eggs, fat, oil, sugar, gluten, alcohol, coffee)
• Risky (bread, oats, wheat, rye, corn, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, avocado, nuts, seeds, ...)
• Neutral (fish)
• Appropriate (fruit, carrot, cauliflower, broccoli, pumpkin, Basmati rice, lentils, beans, peas, buckwheat, ...)
• Beneficial (orange, onion, garlic, ginger, cabbage, leafy salad, cucumber, seaweeds, turmeric, fish oil, cocoa, flaxseed, green tea)

Sugar case

• Sugar goes into the bloodstream easily, if not used/burnt for a physical activity the sugar supports inflammations.
• Use sweet stuff (sugar, honey, bananas, dates, …) moderately, not before sleep time.
• Carbs are digested slowly and will not create spikes of sugar in blood and will not support an inflammation.

Snack foods

• Seaweed sheet (Sushi Nori, ...)
• Carrot
• Fruit (orange, apple, banana, …)
• Dried fruits
• Green tea

Failures

• Big portion of dangerous or risky food large inflammations and stiffness
• Big portion of dangerous or risky food unhealthy intestinal tract or urinary tract
• Unhealthy intestinal tract or urinary tract new joints under RA attack
• Long sitting not moving largeinflammations and stiffness
• Drug failure or break large inflammations and stiffness
• Anti-inflammatories missing large inflammations and stiffness
• Large inflammations and stiffness new medication needed
• Many new joints under RA attack new medication needed
• Any problem contact your doctors

E. Summary

The key message is contained in “Daily healing items for Spoonie (a day by day routine)” and “Additional care for Spoonie” introduced above. These contain a collection of rules for Spoonie to perform while having RA.

Benefits expected by Spoonie after applying both “Daily healing items” and “Additional care” for some extended period of time :

• No new leakage of Evil Bugs into the bloodstream.
• No new spoiled white blood cells
• No new joints in inflammation
• Anti-inflammatory fight on many levels.
• Less pain, stiffness, inflammation and fatigue.
• Pushing RA into real remission.
• Becoming (or staying) drug free.