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Raw with Rheumatoid Arthritis

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  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    Marichiesa and others~ Did you get anything useful out of the article since it actually points to a specific nutritional deficiency? Please email me your thoughts…

  • modhinamodhina Raw Newbie

    blue dolphin, could you break it down for me in reference to the link. I am very interested in this topic, as this is something my Grandmother suffers from greatly. I am afraid it is hereditary to some degree as I have always had some aching in my bones. Not constantly, but at times. I have been pretty much all raw lately and it really has decreased significantly. I thought to email you directly but did not get through the first part. What is the deficiencey? Is it calcium, sulphur? Something with the endocrine system? I don’t know where I got that last one. I see that it has something to do with a definciency. Thank you for any information you may have with understanding that.
    Maybe I need to take glucosamine longer to find out.

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    Hi modhina~ Feel free to contact me. It is easier to communicate with you directly.

    The article is very dense in scientific references and was written for the scientific community. Check out this video for a more user friendly explanation of the function of this area of nutrition.

    From another article, when testing (IgG test), what shows up is a missing carbohydrate (a fourth class of nutrients, not a fat, protein, or vitamin or mineral) called Galactose. Why it is missing is a complex issue which includes that we don’t get enough in our food supply anymore to meet the body’s needs. Why some get relief by taking Glucosamine (again I mention that not all Glucosamine supplements are created equal in quality) might be that the body either converts it to Galactose or the Glucosamine goes to a different deficiency and frees up some body resources to deal with the Galactose issue. Everything is interdependent. Even looking at the endocrine system that you astutely mentioned is a good idea. Since the body has limited resources to repair, maintain, and protect itself, the body will steal/reallocate resources from one system to support a higher priority system if there aren

  • MarichiesaMarichiesa Raw Newbie

    Hi Bluedofin,

    That was a great synopsis. I am going to take this info. with me next week when I see my wholistic doc.
    Thanks.

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    Marichiesa~ That is great that you are taking the info to your wholistic doc! Email me for additional information to take to your doctor (there is one article specifically for doctors) such as the article that was previously quoted. This article also explains how blood is typed by glyconutrients and other interesting info. The article is less sciencey and easier to understand than the article I first posted a link to… and it has pictures. :)

    I understand that the IgG test can actually predict what we call “RA” five years in advance of any recongizable symptoms due to identifying the missing glyconutrient… hmmmm, interesting?

  • Autoimmune disease (RA, MS and Lupis) runs VERY strongly in my mother’s family (Norwegians), but only the women and only since they’ve been in America (1880s). I’ve been terrified of it my whole life. Tried to make sure to expose myself to normal pathogens and not live an antiseptic lifestyle. However, all those women (and I do mean all of them) also have several other things in common that I just recently noticed, including abnormally low blood pressure, oily/waxy skin (zits still at 70), anemia, gallbladder issues and very early (20-25) grey hair.

    I’ve come to the late and probably ill-informed conclusion that the auto-immune problems are due to a lack of Vitamin D. My mother, for instance, was o.k. until she stopped tanning in the early 80s when we both started to burn. Her cousins in Arizona were all much older than the ones in Minnesota when they got it, but they all eventually got it. Honestly, I think it’s a lack of fish. Back in the “old country” they would have eaten dried cod, reindeer and berries for most of the year.

    Well, it’s a thought, and at 34 I remain free of auto-immune problems (knock on wood). I was mostly vegetarian since 19, but always craved and ate fish. Don’t know if it was coincidence or not, but I consider myself indebted to those fishies.

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    sillydog~ I have never met anyone that has only one health challenge. The body’s processes are way to interdependent for that. Because of this interdependence, I believe any proccess that is challenged causes a cascading ripple throughout the body (the stealing from Peter to pay Paul “syndrome”). One usually only recognizes something is off when a health issue impacts quality of life. I don’t believe we ever know exactly what is the initial point of the ripple. Western medicine usually addresses the most significant quality of life issue in isolation. If one takes care of the body’s fundamental needs, including nutrition, the body will have the resourses to address the “big” health challenges. How awesome is that?

    Ok… it peaked my interest about the usage of Glucosamime.

    From “Glyconutritionals: Implications in Rheumatoid Arthritis”

    Another saccharide, N-acetylglucosamine, also inhibits radical production by neutrophils.

    From Phagocytes-Neutrophils by Dr. Ken Miyasak

    The neutrophil has been referred to as a first line of defense, meaning that it is the first defensive cell type to be recruited to a site of inflammation; however, there are other inflammatory cells already present (such as the mast cell). The neutrophil possesses an awesome mix of antibacterial weaponry, both within its granules and by virtue of its ability to reduce dioxygen to hydrogen peroxide (described below). Its primary mission is to find bacteria or fungi and neutralize them by phagocytosis.

    So from this information it seems that the body seems to be thinking it is under attack and is actually attacking itself (the classic definition of autoimmune disease). Interesting…

  • Check out this recent article:

    http://www.naturalnews.com/022663.html

    It is on Tamanu oil… I had a friend who used it in the past for her Rheumatoid Arthritis and had amazing results. Everyone is different, but it is definitely worth a shot. My thoughts are with you,
    Keep smiling that great smile!

  • modhinamodhina Raw Newbie

    Blue Dolphin, thank you again for all of that infrmatn-very very helpful, I’m starting to get a ‘feeling’ for the sugars he is talking about-almost like I had something once or twice in my life that I can’t fully remember, and couldn’t get anymore, I know that sounds strange, but I can’t remember what I had that I feel like I am missing, some sort of vitamin- it was a liquid, and it was kind of fruity, something in it I crave. Also I did get reminded of it when I was taking a liquid form of glucosamine with chondroitin a few years back, I think I need to start up again.

    Very interesting tho. Sillydog thanks for your perspective also, I do crave fish a lot!!!!!!!!!I from a scandinavian family, and berries- oh god I love them. I have very low blood pressure- usually stays quite low, I have a hard time getting going in the a.m., yeah anemia, waxy skin-I guess, hmmmthis all really interests me. I do feel good in the sun but am scared to death of skin melanoma and those spots that are raised. I’ll have to check out the link Lycheelulvr. sorry to ramble but really hit a nerve, I get joint pain and my arms and legs have always ached in the evening and before a storm, so I’d like to figure this out now if possible.

    Any ideas about very loud cracking joints?

  • Wow, I just checked in after a few days, so much feedback. I’m at the end of my online time, so I can’t get in too deep.
    sillydog~some of thet fits me, some doesn’t. I have always loved and eaten fish, not the breaded deep fried cod, but salmon, trout and lots of sardines, and had been using cod liver oil for several years prior. Oh, and I grew up sunburned, I love to garden, and eat grens, so D is not it for me. The tons of tests, my research and The Rheumy, TCM, my holistic Dr. all confer, it’s toxicity at every level, bowel, blood, emotion. I grew up constipated from a fried meat and potatoes, white bread diet, my childhood was very toxic and I was hysterical, extended family relationships were toxic. I have been given to my own toxic thoughts and emotion. I am only now learning how I can be free of it. You are doing well to look at all the factors for RA in your family.
    My approach has been to treat it at the cellular level, which is how they treat it with drugs. Blood cell anaysis is important,cellular energy and renewal look at the Krebs cycle, and every thing to do with building healthy cells. Great discussion.

  • I used to be all freaked out about the melanoma until I looked at what was in suntan lotion—then threw them all out. I’ve been using unrefined shea butter instead for the last year or so and have found that if I limit exposure to a few hours, I’m usually fine. For the weak sun we usually get in the PNW, I’ve read that 15 min at a time, even for the most melanin-challenged people, usually is not only fine, but also about as much as your body can process in the next few hours, anyhow, depending upon how much skin is exposed.

    My upbringing in Minneosta was highly toxic, though not nearly as bad as it could have been, since I was a very weird kid who didn’t like sugar until other kids convinced me that I did around 10. So, while my youth was only marked by a lack of fresh food (everything in a can) and a pound of ground beef in every meal, we knew the butcher and cheerios were among the most processed items in the house until the late 1980s when my teenage self demanded cheeze whiz and bisquick.

    I got of that mindset and went veggie (though healthy is still in progress) at 19, but my cousins all became fast-food addicts and have physiques/health problems to prove it. About once a year they call me up and ask me if I know some magic tea they can drink or whether organic veggies are “good.”

    I think I’m still trying to get all that Diet Mountain Dew out of my system from high school. Sadly, I was still drinking nuclear powder until just a few years ago—horiffic stuff: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2810030… Between the MSG and Aspartame (brought to you by Don Rumsfeld) there’s plenty of glutamine to go around.

    On a related note, one of my concerns about going all raw is that I’m afraid I could become alergic to the world. I’ll bet there’s a thread somewhere about that.—the idea that the funk in cooking that is bad in large doses might serve a purpose in small doses. Does AI respond well or somehow differently than other conditions to homeopathy or homeopathic dosees of toxins?

    And yes, I’m sure the state of mind plays a big part. I suppose that’s why exercise is so effective at treating despression—far better than pills, or so I’ve heard. My mom has been taking the yoga for a few months now and has reported a huge increase in mobility and pain-free days, even with the “yoga 4 seniors” that she’s doing.

  • sarawsaraw Raw Newbie

    I’m very new to posting here, in fact, this will be my second post!
    Auto immune disorders really fascinate me. When I went to a rheumatologist, he suggested that I did an elimination diet. He strongly believed that most auto immune disorders we caused by food allergies, systematic Candida issues, and poor diet in general.
    I recently started reading a book by Gabriel Cousens, and I am really interested in his theories.
    I hope you are able to find a great solution for your RA. That is some scary stuff!

  • Marichiesa – I’ve been watching your post since you started and I’ve been wanting to reply. But honestly, your post scares me. See I HAD RA and Fibro for several years and nothing helped me. Nothing. I was on Methotrexate (BAD, BAD, BAD STUFF!!!) steroids (worse), pain killers and some other drug that was actually for malaria. I was spending $500/month on drugs that didn’t help me. Which is how I got HERE to being raw. I spent most of February and March of 2007 IN BED because I was so bad with pain. And then one day I got out of bed and spent a week on the computer researching natural cures. I found the Gerson Theory for curing cancer with raw vegetable juice and that’s where I started. Juice feasting is what cured me, and raw food keeps me cured. I do juice feast now and then when I don’t feel good (I’m starting one tomorrow).
    I’m not sure what I’m trying to say…. just that I consider myself cured of 2 incurable diseases but I have to be absolutely perfect with my food, 100%, and I have to juice feast TONS of veggies. It’s not easy but it’s soooo worth it to feel normal again and I’d rather spend $500 on produce than chemicals that “doctors” prescribe that don’t work.

  • MarichiesaMarichiesa Raw Newbie

    Hello All

    Well I did a simple 5 day juice fast just to get things a bit back on track and I feel pretty good. Saraw my doc too suggested an elimination diet. But as we looked at all the things I already don’t eat there was only one major culprit left. Citrus. I’ve been drinking lemon water out the ying yang for all its purported benefits. So. No citrus for the past 48 hours. And guess what? The AM PAIN IS GETTING BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!This of course is fabulous. It does however lead me back to Sillydogs question about becoming allergic to the world. Ahem. There is no question that since starting a raw diet a year ago that my body has become increasingly less tolerant of all sorts of foods. Does anyone know if this phenomenon reverses itself at any point?

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    Marichiesa, someone we know just told us that they tried Bragg’s apple cider vinegar (1 Tbsp per 16 oz water during the day and 2 tsp with 8 oz water before going to bed)... for a week, and their joints were better. They were more flexible. Someone else tried this and it worked for them too. He says you can tell in a week if apple cider vinegar will help arthritis.

    Anyway, I thought of you… and remember your success with avoiding citrus (lemons). And, I thought… wow, I wonder if the apple cider vinegar neutralizes the citrus… or something!

    Then another person told us about successfully using alfalfa and avoiding citrus for getting rid of arthritis.

    Neat. Hope you’re still doing well.

  • alpdesignsalpdesigns Raw Newbie

    Have your thyroid checked. I have MS, also autoimmune, and there have been many connections to autoimmunity and low thyroid. I have/had all of the hypothyroid symptoms. When your body is low on thyroid activity, you don’t make necessary hormones, particularly triiodothyronine (T3). That begins a cascade of symptoms, RA being one of them. Iodine has helped, but it’s possible to get too much. I’m being tested on the 31st. Selenium and zinc also help. Brazil nuts contain selenium and pumpkin seeds contain zinc. You only need a few Brazil nuts to meet the RDA of selenium. Certain foods inhibit the reception of iodine, they’re known as goitrogens. Spinach and kale are high on the list.

  • Hello Marichiesa, I have had RA for about 25 years now. I take Boswellin, which is an indian herbal remedy. It stops the production of Leukatrines which are responsible for inflammation. After taking it for 4 weeks, I started to get more flexible. I have been taking it for 6 weeks now and my flare ups still come but don’t last as long. I will report any changes as I progress. I take 3 capsules a day. I also take Cetylpure, which is a mixture of 10 fatty acids. It also is very good. Go for the green drinks. Loads of them.

    YOU MUST WALK. Even if you don’t feel like it. When you are exhausted and the pain is bad, just walk for a short time. but two or three times a day. On your good days, walk longer. I can now walk for three miles on my good days. If I don’t walk, I get stiffer and more painful. The natural endorphines kick in when you excercise. The swelling in your knees will disappear. Now, when it is raining, get a mini stepper and use it on the lower setting. You will soon feel the benefit. Also, I find walking and excercising boots the depression out. Just go how far your body tells you to, but you MUST do it. It also helps to maintain the strength of the muscles and tendons.

    NOW FOR THE BONES. As you most probably know, RA sufferers have a predisposition to brittle bones. Something causes the bones to become thin. So if you are going raw, you must ensure that you get adequate calcium but more importantly, magnesium. I don’t remember where I heard, but when people with RA took magnesium at 750 mgs. a day, their bone density increased by 77% after a year. Unless you eat huge amounts of greens and other foods containing calcium every day, you will not get enough calcium. The amount you get may be alright for people who are healthy, but not for us. I take calcium citrate powder and magnesium citrate powder each day. I bought the boswellin from www.iherb.com They sell it for $11.18. If you live in America, you get postage free. MSM and Glucosamine are excellent. Take omega three aplenty as well.

    NEXT. Stress causes flareups like no other. When you get worried about things and expecially, when you cannot sleep for worry Try this…..........

    READY EVERYONE!! Close your eyes, then think of something, like a tree or something. Then find the position where your eyes relax. The tree will disappear. When you are really stretched, the tree will come back again very quickly, but just relax your eyes again and it will disappear. Get the idea? When thoughts won’t go away, close your eyes and look into the dark. The thoughts will disappear. Believe me, this has been the one thing which has helped me to reduce stress. The other thing is, I learnt not to keep things bottled up just to keep the peace. Now I say what I mean without hurting anyone, and then the problem doesn’t jump on you when you are least expecting it.

    Try yoga and Tai chi. I can only do the warmup excercises in tai chi but now, I can stand on one leg. If you want to talk, just put it on this site and I look every day here, so if I can help, I will.

    Don’t be too proud to let people do things for you. Don’t look back at the times when you could do more things and then dwell on them. That’s no good. That’s all gone, even if you were healthy, that’s all gone. OK, so there will be a lot of things you will never be able to do again while you live on earth, but you will still be able to do lots of things. Just don’t do them for an extended lenghth of time. You will just have a lot of new hobbies. I have osteo arthritis in my spine and other parts of my body and what I have told you above really helps. The worse pain comes now when I have overdone something. or when I have to look after my husband when he has the flu or something.

    So a list: Boswellin Magnesium and calccium MSM and Glucosamine walk and gentle excercise de stress. when you fel tired, sleep for no more than 10 minutes. Longer and you will feel groggy.

    Plus, walking with God has helped enormously with the feeling of mortality. Now I am not afraid. DON’T JOG OR DO ANYTHING WHICH WILL JAR YOUR NECK. THE LIGAMENTS AND TENDONS IN YOUR NECK BREAK DOWN AND SO THE NECK BECOMES FRAGILE.

    I REALLY BELIEVE THAT IF I HAD KNOWN ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF RAW EATING WHEN I FIRST GOT THIS, I WOULDN’T HAVE GOT SO BAD.

    Take good care of yourself and God bless you.

  • i had to log in at work just to join this post!

    i have had fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and IBS for 15 years now. i too went on this diet initially to try to stop my dependency on pain medication, sedatives and stomach meds. though i have come off a couple of my meds, which is lovely, i have found myself becoming more and more sensitive to things. i also maintain a gluten free lifestyle, which restricts the number of foods i can eat in general. i eat cooked food about 2-3 times per week, and i have to be super careful what i eat. i find sometimes fruit and veggies will cause completely unexpected flare ups or bowel distress.

    just like you had mentioned, i am very concerned that i will back myself into a corner where all i can eat is spinach and apples, because i’m worried that as the layers get stripped away more issues will come up.

    i still feel much better than i used to, but i have very little flexibility to treat myself to something i wouldn’t normally eat.

    in terms of pain management, hot yoga practice has helped me immensely. the heat seems to flush the calcium deposits and loosen muscles and ligaments.

  • I forgot to mention one item that is very important to me and my RA/Fibro….. I can’t, I mean I just can’t eat tomatoes! One every now and then as a kind of bonus or something. But more than one small tomato and I’m in pain within hours. But I can eat everything else. Don’t know if this helps but I just remembered… mainly because I fixed myself a raw lasagna the other day and by bedtime I couldn’t touch my elbows to the bed, couldn’t let my knees touch and ended up taking 4 Tylonal PM just to knock myself out of the pain. It took over 2 days before I could comfortably type without pain again. It’s a rude awakening after being nearly pain free for close to a year.

  • greeniegreenie Raw Newbie

    I’m so sorry to hear of that diagnosis.

    When I first went raw in 1971 (yes, that long ago), I went to a naturopath, Dr. Warmbrandt. He’s no longer alive but he wrote a book, Encyclopedia of Natural Health. In it he talks of reversing RA.

    His regime was different from most raw. He had me stay away from salt of all kinds. He didn’t go for sweeteners. Dried fruits and nuts were very limited (not at all for me, because I needed to lose weight). And for arthritics, he’s have them stay away from the nightshades – tomatoes, eggplants.

    He did think it was ok to have a small amount of lightly steamed veggies, baked potatoes, plain boiled lentils or beans. He said not to combine starch and protein, though.

    In my experience the simpler diet he prescribed was better. Salt in particular is a real poison. I’d definitely cut that out and see how it goes after a few weeks without it. That means no olives, too.

    Oh, he also said to have a hot bath with 2-3 glassfulls of Epsom Salts in it every night, hot as you could stand it, for about 20 minutes. Pulls out the toxins.

    I hope this helps.

  • MarichiesaMarichiesa Raw Newbie

    Thank You all! That info does help. Tomatoes ( nightshades) are a problem. I feel better if I avoid them. Salt is something I should cut way back on too. Thats a toughie though. I do love salt. And olives. And did I mention salt?? Deep sigh…...;o) Oh and I love epsom salt baths. My Dad was a big fan when I was growing up. Any complaint or malady and he’d say ” Get the Epsom Salts!!” hahahahahahaha

  • MarichiesaMarichiesa Raw Newbie

    Thank You all! That info does help. Tomatoes ( nightshades) are a problem. I feel better if I avoid them. Salt is something I should cut way back on too. Thats a toughie though. I do love salt. And olives. And did I mention salt?? Deep sigh…...;o) Oh and I love epsom salt baths. My Dad was a big fan when I was growing up. Any complaint or malady and he’d say ” Get the Epsom Salts!!” hahahahahahaha

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