Our poster child, 91-year-old Mike Fremont, wrote a blog for us a few weeks ago. When Mike mentioned that he had suffered from arthritis prior to his switch away from animal products (precipitated by his cancer) and that, after adopting a plant-based diet, his arthritis disappeared, I became intrigued. He told me that for about a year (he was 69 at the time) he had pain when turning his neck and that he began to have pain in moving his fingers, both symptoms of the initial stages of arthritis, a condition that affects about 50% of Americans over age 65. He had been a runner for over 30 years; had good stress management skills; and was fit. But still he had pain on moving his neck and fingers.
When his cancer struck him the next year, he changed his diet, avoiding meat and dairy products. Besides beating the cancer, he noticed that the arthritis disappeared. So I wondered if his dietary change was merely anecdotal or if others had similar results.
In doing research on the connection between diet and arthritis, I found a fascinating blog by John McDougall, a physician-researcher, who presented many cases and studies demonstrating that a diet free of meat and dairy helped to eliminate arthritis, even the dreaded rheumatoid arthritis. If you know of anyone suffering from arthritis, please direct them to Dr. McDougall’s blog:
http://drmcdougall.com/med_hot_arthritis_diet.html
The first paragraph is startling: A dentist writes, "In April of 1994 I met you briefly at the Michigan Dental Association Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids. During this seminar, I asked you about my 4-year-old son having juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Bryan was on 35 mg of prednisone (a powerful steroid) and 1200 mg of Advil daily. He was in so much pain he screamed and cried day and night. In one year he lost weight and did not grow one inch. … The suggestions you gave me that day lead me to remove all animal products from his diet, as well as refined carbohydrates. Within six months, we had Bryan off all his medication. He was free of pain, gaining weight and growing again. His last blood work was superb with a sed rate of 1 - can you believe it!"
Dr. McDougall’s blog is lengthy but well worth reading. He explains how and why dairy and meat can aggravate and worsen arthritis. He offers a dietary plan for arthritis sufferers and presents another interesting case at the end of the blog: a journalist who was forced to retire because of spinal stenosis and degenerative arthritis. By now you can guess what happened.
A 2009 New York Times article reported a study of 800 arthritic patients showed that patients on a plant-based diet (limiting red meat) had more improvement than patients eating a typical American diet. Interesting that the study did not include a diet completely free of meat and dairy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/health/25real.html?ref=health&_r=0
WebMD, a popular medical site, verifies that there are no studies to show dietary benefits to arthritis sufferers who use a variety of foods. Most supplements are also unsupported. But in a double-blind study, glucosamine sulphate was as effective in relieving symptoms in patients with knee OA as ibuprofen and had fewer side effects. The site presents numerous diets and supplements but recommends a well-balanced diet and maintaining a healthy body weight so that the joints don’t have to support excess weight.
http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/features/arthritis-diets-supplements?page=2
Personally I found the McDougall plan more interesting than others I researched. Everyone is different; varied genetic and immunological responses;
some handle stress better than others. LifeNuts are masters of stress management
and realize that chronic distress affects their bodies. They maintain a BMI in
the low 20s. They exercise wisely. And they eat mostly a plant-based
diet.
When his cancer struck him the next year, he changed his diet, avoiding meat and dairy products. Besides beating the cancer, he noticed that the arthritis disappeared. So I wondered if his dietary change was merely anecdotal or if others had similar results.
In doing research on the connection between diet and arthritis, I found a fascinating blog by John McDougall, a physician-researcher, who presented many cases and studies demonstrating that a diet free of meat and dairy helped to eliminate arthritis, even the dreaded rheumatoid arthritis. If you know of anyone suffering from arthritis, please direct them to Dr. McDougall’s blog:
http://drmcdougall.com/med_hot_arthritis_diet.html
The first paragraph is startling: A dentist writes, "In April of 1994 I met you briefly at the Michigan Dental Association Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids. During this seminar, I asked you about my 4-year-old son having juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Bryan was on 35 mg of prednisone (a powerful steroid) and 1200 mg of Advil daily. He was in so much pain he screamed and cried day and night. In one year he lost weight and did not grow one inch. … The suggestions you gave me that day lead me to remove all animal products from his diet, as well as refined carbohydrates. Within six months, we had Bryan off all his medication. He was free of pain, gaining weight and growing again. His last blood work was superb with a sed rate of 1 - can you believe it!"
Dr. McDougall’s blog is lengthy but well worth reading. He explains how and why dairy and meat can aggravate and worsen arthritis. He offers a dietary plan for arthritis sufferers and presents another interesting case at the end of the blog: a journalist who was forced to retire because of spinal stenosis and degenerative arthritis. By now you can guess what happened.
A 2009 New York Times article reported a study of 800 arthritic patients showed that patients on a plant-based diet (limiting red meat) had more improvement than patients eating a typical American diet. Interesting that the study did not include a diet completely free of meat and dairy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/health/25real.html?ref=health&_r=0
WebMD, a popular medical site, verifies that there are no studies to show dietary benefits to arthritis sufferers who use a variety of foods. Most supplements are also unsupported. But in a double-blind study, glucosamine sulphate was as effective in relieving symptoms in patients with knee OA as ibuprofen and had fewer side effects. The site presents numerous diets and supplements but recommends a well-balanced diet and maintaining a healthy body weight so that the joints don’t have to support excess weight.
http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/features/arthritis-diets-supplements?page=2
Personally I found the McDougall plan more interesting than others I researched. Everyone is different; varied genetic and immunological responses;
some handle stress better than others. LifeNuts are masters of stress management
and realize that chronic distress affects their bodies. They maintain a BMI in
the low 20s. They exercise wisely. And they eat mostly a plant-based
diet.
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