CRPS and clean eating, suggestions, recipes, advice :)
 

Hello, I am a fairly new member here and have truly appreciated the support I have received already, I feel blessed to have strangers care and help me so much during such a hard time!:D

This is of a completely different note. I am wanting to start a new discussion on foods, recipes, etc. that have helped you all with CRPS. I had severe pneumonia almost 2 years ago and it completely changed the way I eat, for the better! I could not tolerate anything but soup. I did everything in my power to heal myself. I stopped eating wheat and almost all grains entirely and it has helped me tremendously with cutting down on the inflammation associated with CRPS. I don't know if any of you have read or are familiar with the "Wahl's protocol" in which she is addressing MS, but it talks about eating a tremendous amount of veggies, etc. and I think it can be of help for many of us with CRPS. I am a vegetarian of 20 years, but I guess not anymore, as I added just wild, sockeye salmon from Alaska to my diet, that has helped me a ton with inflammation as well.

Just one meal that I find helpful having CRPS and anti-inflammatory--I eat many pounds of spinach per week now. I sautee up a ton of minced (pre-minced) garlic with extra virgin olive oil and red pepper flakes and just add the organic, pre-washed spinach to the pan until it is just wilted enough and still green. That, along with the salmon(I generally just bake it with sometimes a balsamic vinaigrette dressing (or whatever preparation you prefer) and a baked sweet potato from the microwave with some EVOO and basil is like a dinner from God for someone that has issues from CRPS with her hands--super easy and soooooo incredibly healthy for you (the only downside is wild sockeye salmon can get pricey depending on where you live). Also, the addition of fresh lemon to your salmon and spinach will liven it up and accentuate the flavor profile of both :)

I can give more suggestions as I love eating clean and of course making food that makes me feel better. Please everyone contribute your suggestions and recipes of food that makes you feel better (not comfort food, but healing food please :)).:grouphug:

Hi Again everyone, just wanting to remind everyone that if you are in a bad place emotionally or physically, as unfortunately many of us are, please reach out, as I've already noted, there are many kind individuals on here and you can always PM message people so it's not seen to the world. Again, a few of you on here have been of such great support and help, I can't even thank you enough :hug: Just trying to help other people going and suffering through this whole CRPS/RSD some help or advice in any way I can give it to help. I know how hard it is. Please, keep trying to get better in any (even little way) you can), people here do care and are here for support :grouphug:

Meg,

You are so right, evaluating all lifestyle factors is important to recovery, especially the food we eat to fuel our bodies. Ironically, I developed CRPS when I was eating clean, but because my diet included lots of healthy high oxalate foods I wrongly blamed them for the excrutiating pain I was experiencing and stopped eating them for months. Recently I started to include them in my diet with no ill effect.

I also eliminated all the foods from the nightshade family at the same time. I found this did not help me at all either. When I was violently sick last week the only foods that settled my stomach were chicken soup, bananas and mashed red potato. These were the first potatoes I ate in a year, and fortunately I discovered I can eat them again with no ill effect. I managed to live without them by subsituting cauliflower for them-delicious mashed. (I have yet to try making this with frozen cauliflower, but friends tell me they have done this successfully)

Regarding grains, it has been postulated that for many it isn't necessarily grains that has caused health problems, but the pesticides used to grow them. I eliminated all grains, too, when I had no diagnosis, but I have started to add organic oatmeal and organic sourdough bread to my menu.

Another issue we all face is that the nutritional value of the food we eat today is considerably lower than the food our parents ate, because of soil depletion. I started to drink mineral water when I was bed bound, because it seemed to me that tap water was not quenching my thirst or hydrating me. Unfortunately now that I no longer have a job I have to give up the bottled water. I don't know what to do, since our water is fluoridated and purified with chloramine.

Great thread Meg!

My first job was in a health food store juice bar. I got a lot of early exposure to eating whole, organic foods and that has stuck with me. That said I do love a well made baked good and I have not given up uncured applewood smoked bacon. :) I can't go acting all goody-goody when it's not true.

I am with Bio on the grains not being so bad. If they are organic and in moderation no problem. I tend toward brown rice, quinoa, farro and barley. I eat plenty of veggies, lentils and beans as well. Sometimes I juice but not regularly. Yogurt just about daily and cheese in moderation, preferably goat or sheep's milk cuz it's just yummy. God only knows how much olive oil I consume! We eat fish at our house at least once week and other lean proteins the rest of time. The cat and I are the only ones who like tofu :rolleyes:. Being MY cat, she has developed a love of international flavors including hummus and brie....

I cut out caffeine and alcohol early on, noticing that I seem to be very sensitive to the circulatory effects of both. Nightshades too, though like Bio I have been able to add a few back in.

Here is a favorite on those occasional days I really feel like splurging...

Tuna steak sliced thin for ease of cooking, seared with spices (I tend to just cook it through) and topped with a garnish amount of white cheddar and wilted arugula over a small bed of rice or farro. Yumm, I may have to go to buy tuna now...

:hug:

I can't really say I have any recipes to share right now. I like to eat healthy, although since January, I have not been able to cook much at all. I am a rather good cook and that is one of the things that I really miss being able to do every day. I love being able to use my creativity to make different meals without having any written recipe, just create them based on what we have in the fridge that day. It is one of those things that many of my friends say I really shine at doing and expressing my creativity.

I by no means eat a really healthy diet, but I do try to eat at least somewhat healthy. I only use olive oil when oil is needed and always have more veggies on the plate than starches, grains, or meats. Changing to a healthier diet helped my dad a lot years ago when he was misdiagnosed with MS. He was misdiagnosed with MS back in the early 90's after loosing his vision and motor control of his arms while driving to work. It turned out to be an unusual case of arthritis where the inflammation caused pressure on his ocular nerve and some other nerves at the base of his neck. Eating a healthy diet of lots of fruits and veggies, limited grains, very limited fats, and no red meat has helped him immensely. Now that we are in our new house, maybe it's time I start watching some of the things that are known to cause inflammation.

Megsmountain, your recipe that you shared sounds very yummy! I love sauted spinach with garlic, (I like to add some pine nuts sometimes as well, but that falls into the grains and nuts which many of us are trying to avoid), and fresh salmon and trout, especially wild caught. I was just curious though, is consuming that much spinach, which contains high levels of oxalic acid, actually healthy? I know that a certain level of oxalates are healthy, but is eating many pounds a week still ok?

I see a lot of people on here avoiding grains and nuts. Isn't it the gluten that causes the inflammation? Can gluten free grains still be ok to keep in our diet?

I think this a wonderful thread you started. Thank you for starting it! I will have to start paying attention to what I cook up. I would love to share some of my own creations as well, with everyone here.

Yes, there are some gluten free grains! This is all so individualized...we each have to see what feels best for our own body. Grains don't bother everyone and nuts are a great source of magnesium. Marcona or Valencia almonds and raw cashews are a very regular part of my diet. :)

You might want to checkout marksdailyapple.com, which is a paleo site with lots of good recipes. It seems to me that Hooshmand's "diet' for RSD/CRPS has many similarities to eating the Paleo way.

My computer is fried, so sorry if this response comes back strange. I need to look into the oxalate subject again. Purplefoot, I know I've researched in the past. I cook the spinach, which from memory cuts down on the oxalates? Again, may be off here, I'll do some research. I do know that eating tons of cooked greens like spinach and kale with TONS of garlic helps me tremendously. My hubby calls me Popeye sometimes :) I remember also cutting out foods high in salicytes (in almost everything including spices! I've also quit eating night shades and have not noticed a difference in inflammation when I've re introduced them to my diet. I love bell and hot peppers and all sorts of tomatoes. I'm happy to hear your father has gotten better with a different diet :D
I was doing a vegetarian paleo for quite a while with just wild Alaskan salmon. It proved to be severely limiting and so I've slowly added some grains, legumes, etc back in. I think nuts are very healing (if they are just natural, not covered in salt and oil, etc) as the magnesium levels are so high, magnesium really helps me at least with sleep and other issues. I also absolutely love black and kidney beans especially, black bean chili is the best, so added some legumes back into my diet. I have also introduced some gf pastas, etc as I just wanted to eat pasta again, but just keep out the wheat. :p
Tonight, I made a rice pasta (doesn't get soggy like most gf) with sautéed garlic, red pepper flakes and chopped walnuts in evoo, then add fresh somewhat chopped spinach, after it's wilted down you add 4 oz of feta or goat cheese and about 1/4-1/2 milk to the mix and add in the cooked spaghetti, it's fantastic, oh and add as much grated Romano cheese as you prefer to give it the extra kick :)I'm sure you can see the common theme, tons of garlic and spinach! Everyone has their specific foods that make them feel better :hug:

Another take on the gluten issue:
http://www.motherjones.com/environme...health-problem

Thank you megsmountain,

Your recipes sound so delicious. Garlic has never been an issue in our house. We easily go through 5-6 heads a week. We always joke that we should have no issues with vampires even coming near our house.

Hope your issues with your computer are not too serious where it would keep you from being able to share more with us on here. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes to your table next.:Starvin: