Home Forums General Discussion Dr. McDougail diet

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  • #305075
    butterfly77
    Participant

    Has anyone here heard about or tried the Dr. Mcdougalls diet. Some people claim to be rid of their RA.

    #353901
    bonnielou
    Keymaster

    There are definitely people who have chosen that path. I am not one of them. I think diet is very personal and very confounding. I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, and then read Joel Furhman’s book Eat To LIve — which really insists a diet of primarily vegetables and fruit, with legumes and almost no animal products is the way to cure disease. Then I bought Amy Myers book the Autoimmune Solution which encourages more of a paleo approach. They can’t both be right. Or can they? It’s worth experimenting and seeing how you feel and how your body reacts.

    I am still seeking the right answer for me. Since my husband is a vegetarian, a paleo diet would be very difficult for me. But the Furhman diet is more realistic. We just bought a juicer. We shall see.

    Bonnie Lou
    RA 02/07,AP 10/07
    Minocycline 200mg MWF; Plaquenil 100mg 3 days/week
    Fish Oil, Ubiquinol, Turmeric, Vit C (2 grams) , MultiVit, Magnesium, Astaxanthin, D3 (5000), probiotics and a daily dose of yoga!

    #353902
    m.
    Participant

    @butterfly77 wrote:

    Has anyone here heard about or tried the Dr. Mcdougalls diet. Some people claim to be rid of their RA.

    No, I have not tried it.

    My hunch is the McDougall diet works for many because of what it eliminates (processed foods, veg oil?, alcohol?, sugar, flour?) and what it adds (lots & lots of starchy foods like potatoes & beans which provide food for the bacteria in the colon to ferment which in turn the fermentation produces abundant short chain fatty acids).

    Just a guess!

    #353903
    kaz
    Participant

    Hi! I havent tried Dr. McDougalls diet but from my personal experience you are on the right track seeking nutritonal advice. I believe that changing my diet in a drastic way (when I was first diagnosed with RA and was in extreme pain) enabled me to avoid stronger RA drugs that the Rheumy suggested. The pain was too much without the change of diet and if the pain hadn’t decreased so much after my diet changes, I know I would have needed something stronger than ibuprofen.
    I started with the Pattison program as a guideline and worked my way into new foods a little at a time, watching for flares and paying attention to what caused them. Sugar caused the biggest problems and pain. It was not easy to change my diet so drastically, I have read that sugar is as addictive as cocaine…but the efforts to change are well worth it and you can do it, for sure. Also, I am able to be much more flexible now with diet, so the restrictions weren’t forever and may not need to be forever for you either. But nutrition is so vital for health and healing, in my opinion.
    As well, I am experiencing such great results from Antibiotic therapy and feel that my diet has been essential and supportive to my recovery. Best of luck. Let us know what ended up working for you. ๐Ÿ™‚

    #353904
    Jeanies Girl
    Participant

    I’m very new to the forum, but I do have a bit of advice. At certain times I have been greatly affected by nightshade plants (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant). I would be mindful of how you react if your diet includes any of those. The things that have helped my husband and me the most is avoidance of any preservatives, HFCS, and especially MSG. It is difficult to change your whole diet when you don’t have the energy to think about it, but you can, if need be, do it gradually. Things that have helped me are juicing, especially with beets and lemon, make sure you temper it with apples and carrots if you want it palatable ๐Ÿ˜† . If you choose to juice I suggest you do enough for the whole day and stick it in the fridge for later. That way you are conserving that precious energy as much as possible. Good luck.

    DX: Bacterial (mycoplasm) infection
    AP: Began June 2015
    Clindomycin IV 900 mg-every 3 months for 5 days
    Minocycline 100 mg MWF am and pm
    Flagyl 500 mg 2 x day for 3 days in a row every month
    Symptoms: Since approximately 1997-Extreme fatigue, (Intermittent: muscle weakness, stiffness, brain fog, lack of stamina)
    Supplements: Vit. C 3000 mg, Vitamin D 5000 IU every other day and 10,000 on remaining days, Vitamin B complex, Fish Oil 1000 mg 2 x day

    #353905
    lynnie_sydney
    Participant

    I agree with Bonnielou – different things impact us, there is no one-size-fits-all in terms of sensitivities. The biggest difference for me dietary-wise was the removing of gluten, that is my absolute major trigger and I know it is for many people with rheumatic illness. Other dietary sensitivities are in my signature.

    Sulphites are the one thing that my AP doc and naturopath say are bad for everyone – and terrible for those with chronic disease. Given that pretty well all processed and packaged food contains sulphites, that lends itself to a fresh, clean diet. Watch out for dried fruit, which is immensely high in sulphite preservative, unless you buy from a health-food outlet where you can generally buy air-dried.

    Be well! Lynnie

    Palindromic RA 30 yrs (Chronic Lyme?)
    Mino 2003-2008 100mg MWF - can no longer tolerate any tetracyclines
    rotating abx protocol now. From Sep 2018 MWF - a.m. Augmentin Duo 440mg + 150mg Biaxsig (roxithromycin). p.m. Cefaclor (375mg) + Klacid 125mg + LDN 3mg + Annual Clindy IV's
    Diet: no gluten, dairy, sulphites, low salicylates
    Supps: 600mg N-AC BID, 1000mg Vit C, P5P 40mg, zinc picolinate 60mg, Lithium orotate 20mg, Magnesium Oil, Bio-identical hormones (DHEA + Prog + Estrog)

    #353906
    Cathlo
    Participant

    Hi
    Likewise diet has an enormous impact on my symptoms & being able to keep them at bay, but even I sometimes struggle to work out what it is. I’ve read up on Paleo/Amy Myers/Paddison/McDougal etc. I’ve found that building a safe diet – starting with a few basics such as greens & sweet potato (not dissimilar to Paddison’s way), and building it up over time, to have enough variety & nutrients, has worked for me. When I break it – as I did this weekend big style ๐Ÿ˜‰ – I feel the effects immediately, and have gone back to basics today ๐Ÿ™ However, my reactions to bad foods have got less over time – so hoping that in time my body is becoming less reactive.

    2013 Poor gut & low white blood cells. Jan 2014 RA symptoms. Diet - no gluten/dairy/nightshades/sugar. Started AP in Oct 2014. On Mino MTWTF. RA improved but still there. Many supplements.

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