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Login Here Signup Here Signup using FacebookI suffer from some serious pain – some days worse than others. (I have a herniated disk in my lumbar spine, sciatica, and arthritic-type pain in hands/feet/joints due to Lyme Disease.) I know that diet can affect the intensity of pain. High sugar intake can make it worse, and I have read that grains can do the same. I am wondering if any of you have read about or have experience with the lessening of pain due to a raw food diet. Does it make any impact at all? I have been trying to be very high raw, but I do go back and forth with cooked foods. I would appreciate anyone’s thoughts. Thanks a bunch!
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I went through a serious detox program last year with a 100% RAW diet, my arthritic pains got worse at first as my body was detoxing but after few months it completely disappeared, today I went back to training, running and biking. I read once that arthritic pains occour on an intoxicated body, it is a way our body attempts to eliminate toxins.
From what I understand, high sugar diets make high amounts of insulin, and high amounts of insulin cause/contribute to inflammation, which is the cause of a lot of arthritis (& other) pain. Ginger is a great food for reducing inflammation, and it helps to cut sugar cravings, too. Other anti-inflammatory foods are cayenne & flax.
Yes, I have had a noticeable lessening of body aches and joint aches, not necessarily since going raw but since going gluten-free. I went gluten-free in March and within 2 weeks I noticed my knee and shoulder pain was almost gone. Then I also went raw in April and the pains are still gone or at a minimum. So maybe in my case it was a gluten sensitivity. I also cheat once in a while and I notice that if I cheat for more than a couple of days straight, the pains start creeping back but I don’t know if it’s due to cooked food or gluten or both.
Pain is the reason I got into raw foods. Three years ago a drunk driver hit my Miata. He was traveling over 90 miles per hour. I was spun off the road, rolled, and landed upside down in ditch. I walked away from the wreck, a miracle, but had two shattered disks in my lower back.
Since then, I have had 24/7 chronic pain. Some days have been debilitating, so severe that I can barely breath. I tried everything. Massage. Physical Therapy. Medication. Herbs. Acupuncture. Swimming. Everything. Nothing worked.
I started raw foods 5 months ago, and you know what? It has made a huge difference. I actually have days with virtually no pain – and this was unheard of prior to raw. Some days are still bad, but overall it is a huge improvement.
What a terrible accident littlebirdie! Good to hear about the new achievements in pain-free days through eating raw. Great encouragement!
I have endometriosis, my pain in the past was debilitating, i improved alot with surgery but a raw diet eliminated what pain was left. Prior to raw even though i had surgery i was still getting pain during my period, now i get a little discomfort on day 1 and thats it.
My understanding is that it eventually reduces (and sometimes eliminates altogether) pain caused by inflammation. I know my periods are not painful at all if I am 100% raw for more than a month.
But I know a few folks with pain from nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy) who have tried the diet, and experienced no change in pain level, even after several months.
Hi ejowett – I was diagnosed in May with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I could not get into see a specialist until July. So I did all kind of research on my own. My pain was so bad I could not close my hands into a fist and could barely walk down stairs or step off a curb. I’m only 30 years old. My sister-in-law told me about the Master Cleanse which I did for 10 days. While doing the MC I researched Raw Food and decided to go 100% raw when I was finished with the cleanse. Between the cleanse and the raw lifestyle my pain is almost completely gone. The inflammation I had is almost completely gone. And I started exercising again – something I had not been able to do for almost 8 months. Raw food has changed my life. I’m grateful for the healing and the joy I’m experiencing in my life now more than ever. Processed sugars, wheat, and caffeine are big pain triggers – eliminating those from your diet may help. I hope you find healing!
Thank you artistmaj – my Mom has RA and I’m sure she’d be interested in knowing this.
MSM is supposed to be good for these kinda things.
Thanks everyone for your responses. I appreciate any and all advice. I TRY to be as close to 100% raw as I can – I will try to make more of an effort after reading all this! I will def. stay away from processed sugar and wheat—and TRY to avoid caffeine (but ughh I LOVE coffee!!).
QUESTION: After going raw, I eat WAYYYYYYYYYY more fruit than ever before—do you think the sugar from all that fruit would contribute to pain?
Amygdala – is gluten-free the same thing as wheat-free? My naturopath told me to stay away from all wheat (because of digestive issues).
littlebirdie – how horrible!! I am so sorry to hear about your accident. However, I am so happy to hear that you can now enjoy some days nearly pain-free. Some days my back and legs hurt so bad (due to my disk issue) that I just lay in bed and cry. I, too, have tried everything – some stuff HELPS, but I feel like nutrition all plays a HUGE role. Thanks for your imput.
artistmaj – are you 100% raw? What is your sugar consumption like (through fruits/dried fruits/etc). My mom suffers from pain like this (much worse than me) and I would love to tell her about your experience.
spider7075 – what is MSM?
ejowett, i also was interested in raw foods for pain reduction. i have had chronic back pain for 3 years (came on out of the blue) and have looked into every type of treatment for relief. I am finally feeling better after being on raw but it is not a 100% miracle (wrote more about that on my blog).
anyhow, I have also just started MSM and have found relief from that. my husband also has back pain and it is pretty much gone with yoga and MSM.
I would say in addition to raw helping with pain it gives you the tools to help yourself, again read my blog for more elaboration.
Gluten and wheat free are not exactly the same, anything with wheat or wheat derivatives has gluten in it. But things without wheat can also have gluten, like spelt flour, and oats (oats is a hot debate with claims it doesnt have gluten, for people with celiacs this is an issue).
Hey ejowett,
There is a great thread on Pain here on GoneRaw at http://www.goneraw.com/forums/7/topics/6398 , Check it out for some good info.
Lovebows, Chris
I have been on a raw vegan diet for one week and have already noticed reduced stiffness in my joints. Prior to this week, I have been a vegan for 15 months eating fruits and veggies, but I also included a lot of processed foods, alcohol, and caffeine in my diet. I would do yoga regularly with very little benefit and I would literally spends hours daily trying to free my body up to no avail.
Now with the raw foods only, it's like the tension in my body is slowly diminishing even without much stretching. A rash by my ankle is now healing after being there for a couple of months while the anti-fungal cream was ineffective. I'm really excited imagining where I will be in a month from now. I love to go jogging but my joint discomfort had made it a miserable experience. Now I feel Ill be motoring along again at a good pace without extreme stiffness or any stiffness at all I imagine.
I've been eating a lot of fruit everyday including bananas, mangos, papaya, dates, strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, peaches, and kiwi - high sugar content! I've also been eating two large salads each day with a sprinkling of raw sunflower seeds and a homemade raw vegan salad dressing. I snack on raw almonds and raw peanuts (although I've heard some say peanuts are a no-no) which me feel satiated.
So needless to say go for it!!! I realize we're all different and results may vary, however from my perspective it's working marvelously. Good luck to you.
Hi Calum. You results sound pretty good so far.
Welcome to the community!
Erin, how are you doing these days?
I use guided meditation for pain. It's not a long term solution, but it helps for a little while.