Diet For Life

littleglob

Hi all,

I've been recomended a book called Diet for Life by Mary Laver & margaret Smith, it's an old one & it's for arthritis sufferers. I was wondering if anyone has tried the diet?
I bought the book & there's lots of things we can't eat including dairy, fruit, red meat, egg yolks, vinegar or any acids, pepper!!, chocolate!!, alcohol or soft drinks.
I am going to ask my Dr before i start, it doesn't cure Arthritis but it's supposed to stop pain & stiffness.
P.S soya milk doesn't taste too bad!

Numptydumpty

Hi littleglob, I tried it for 4months a couple of years ago, it didn't do anything for me.
I do however still have soya milk, I actually prefer it.
All the best,
Numpty

elnafinn

It is an old book - it was published around 30 years ago. I could only find one review about it and that was positive. Do you think it was a friend of theirs?

I wish you well if you follow the diet and hope it helps. We are all different and what may work for some, will not for others. If you are keen to try then there is only one way to find out, go for it.

Elna x

lindalegs

I tried a very similar diet many years ago. At first I was convinced it was doing me the power of good but after four months we went on holiday and I ate a normal diet and didn't realise how ill I'd felt on the anti-arthritis diet. :roll: I had also shed weight and stopped weighing myself when I dropped below 7 stone :shock: (I'm 5' 6" so not a good weight.)

Personally, I think a normal balanced diet is the best thing but some people do feel benefit on cutting out certain foods and you're doing the right thing to check with your doc first.

Good luck and I hope it works for you.

Luv,

dreamdaisy

Some people find that paying attention to their diet helps, others don't. If it really worked then I suppose this forum would not exist, but it does because it is not a universal panacea. Neither are the meds. We have to try things for ourselves, see what the effect is and then decide whether to stick with it of ditch it. It all takes time but it can be time well spent if it helps. I wish you well. DD

Saphire

Hi, out of desperation I started following a diet from a book called 'Say no to Arthritis', by Patrick Holford. I only started a couple of weeks ago so I don't really know if it is positive or not. It is very restrictive as no meat, dairy or wheat. All I can say is that I am probably eating much healthier than I have for a long time, lots of fruit, vegetables, fruit, fish, nuts and seeds. Prior to starting I had not had a very good appetite and had gone off tea, coffee and milk, I now drink herbal teas. I seem to have lost my craving for chocolate which is probably a good thing as I am sure that I ate too much!

I guess as others say, different things work for different people, would be good to know how you get on. Saph

pinkbritishstars

I have recently seen a book called Eat to beat Arthritis. It was interesting but as others have said I would check with your Dr first.

xx

dachshund

Littleglob
i tried that book eat to beat arthritis i didnot find it any help
and some didnot taste nice.
i eat healthy any way i like goats milk.
good luck
joan xx

tjt6768

if you are on meds, I do hope that you're not replacing them with the diet?
I wish you well but for me it's just a matter of sensible eating, I'm not sure if I believe it helps arthur or not but sensible eating can't be bad for ya lol.

jillyb1

I agree , Tony , eat sensibly ; having said that , my diet is restricted and I avoid dairy , red meat , citrus , nightshade veg ie potatoes , aubergine , peppers and tomatoes . I'm also teetotal and caffeine free . It helps with my symptoms and flare ups , but that's just me ; it might not make a difference to others . Jillyb

earthspirit

dreamdaisy wrote:

Some people find that paying attention to their diet helps, others don't. If it really worked then I suppose this forum would not exist, but it does because it is not a universal panacea. Neither are the meds. We have to try things for ourselves, see what the effect is and then decide whether to stick with it of ditch it. It all takes time but it can be time well spent if it helps. I wish you well. DD

i have worked on diets and elimination with lots of people in the past.
what i believe is that each of us has our own specific requirements in nutrition and by paying attention to how and what you eat & when you can actually work out the best way for yourself to eat and feel well.

looking at the colours of food that you eat often gives a clue - if you dont eat certain colours then those may be foods which aggravate you or alternatively the colours you need to include in your diet.

my own particular thing is fats and if i cut them too much from my diet i start to get an "out of sorts" kind of sensation and reach for something like a couple of slices of cold, slightly fatty meat.

people who crave sugary things often just need to have a slice of something like cheese & toast instead to give them that carb boost from the bread.

the media are always trying to educate us what constitues a healthy diet but many people gorge out on biscuits or even have excess pasta or rice etc thinking those are healthy alternatives, but all you do is bulk out your diet and miss out vital nutrients from protein and veg etc

you certainly cant cure arthur with diet but your body may be screaming out for proper nutrition and a bit of attention to what you eat could make you feel a whole lot better.

i believe that my own RA went into this deep dark flare because my own diet had become awful and added stress made the time right for it to rear its ugly head.

Colin1

I'm with our kid Tony on this one i tried all sorts of diet but really it's just a matter of sensible eating,
Colin

littleglob

Thank you all

I'm still trying to contact my Dr at the hospital, but I have cut down on some foods although I did eat some chocolate today
I am eating more healthy foods & cut down on fats & I never really liked red meat so I've stopped eating it swapped crisps for nuts & seeds (my hubby nearly fed my seeds to the birds!) I'm just doing it gradually & trying some things i've never tried before like Quorn not too sure about that though,
also I think having a possitive outlook on things help, I know it sounds airy fairy but I meditate & got myself gradually off anti-depressants! also I've learnt to do Reiki which i do on myself & others & I do feel it helps, I'm still on my medication as well, as you've all said everbody is different & chatting on here helps too, talking to people who know what you're going through is great, I don't like talking to my friends or family about it because i hate to think I'm all about Arthur!
Hope you have a pain free week xx

Colin1

I had to to hospital last week to see an Endocrinologist. Seems i can not reduce my meds or change them as my life now depends on them I take lots of heart stuff and meds for other things. Anyway to the point. I spoke to him about the need to reduce Prednisolone. He told me that whilkst on Pred Dieting would be a up hill battle and that perhaps i should waite a while but i feel so overweight 3 stone over weight.
Done a couple of months ago but since the heart attack the weight has really piled on due to me being inactive and eating to much.
Colin

fowls48

Crud colin


Thanks for that info i wondered why i was finding if difficult to shift any weight as i am also on preds .I will still keep trying to lose as best as i can , only 5.3 and cannot afford to put on anymore

salamander

I have the same problem with pred. You get soooo hungry.

I did try some alternative diets when I first was diagnosed but either found they didn't help or were too hard to stick to. I started to get very stressed about it all and decided that was doing me more harm!

I would like to add that one needs to be careful about replacing meds with diet as someone else said. Dieting may help your symptoms but not the underlying disease and you can get joint damage - just so you are aware. Best of luck with your efforts, would be interested to hear how you get on.