Does anyone have experience with this in auto-immune conditions? I am trying to find non-drug help, but the information on nutrition -- I think I need a chemistry degree . Any comments (or recipe sources) would be welcome.
Shari

For me the basic diet to reduce inflammation is the Zone program.
http://www.drsears.com/welcome.page

This controls inflammatory cytokines (called PGE2s) pretty well. It allows
lower glycemic carbs, controls insulin levels, as well.

High insulin levels (called insulin resistance) inhibit the formation of
PGE1's which promote healing.

Some of the inflammatory cytokines are necessary in gut (to protect it from
injury from substances in food), and to heal injuries. So one cannot totally
remove inflammatory cytokines safely.

Vitamin B6, and magnesium are very important too. As well as zinc.
One should strive to remove high amounts of Omega-6 fats, and balance them with Omega-3.
Here is an example on the net I just found:
http://umanitoba.fitdv.com/new/artic...html?artid=500

Dr. Barry Sears has written 3 books on this, now. All do have some chemistry, but once you get used to it, it is not that difficult.
Enter the Zone.

I began that over 10 yrs ago, applied it to my son with ADHD, and was able to get him off Ritalin and Clonidine. I was able to control my asthma without drugs/inhalers (except for exposures to certain chemicals/smoke) and get rid of a severe case of GERD.

One can control cancer, even. A poster on OBT, used the Flax oil/cottage cheese intervention to avoid chemo for a metastasis..if OBT comes back, you can read that in the Breast Cancer forum there.

So it is not really hard to subsitute new foods...you go slowly each week and make a change. The food industry now has removed the unhealthy trans fats from most foods now (mandated by the FDA by 2006), so your choices are easier by far than when we did this intervention years ago.

Controling carbs is important too, since high sugar in the blood stimulates insulin which interferes with the beneficial use of Omega-3 in the diet.

There are great food choices now, all to help increase Omega-3 status.
Smart Balance peanut butter
Smart Balance cheeses
Smart Balance butter substitutes
Omega-3 eggs
Smart Balance Mayo
Zone Perfect snack bars

None of these foods were available to us 10 yrs ago.
You can even substitute salmon for tuna now easily, with new products.

Hi
my son is on an anti-inflammatory diet for Crohn's Disease

the supplements he is taking seem to REALLY be helping ...of these I would recommend
BOSWELLIN/CURCUMIN (curcumin=turmeric)
Ginger
Garlic
and as Mrs D has pointed out...OMEGA-3
(my son cant take it in fishoil capsules as, altho he can eat fish fine, he seems to get more Tourette tics on fishoil, and so he gets organic flaxseed oil)

there are also other natural anti inflammatories like cayenne, white willow bark etc

HTH

anti inflamitory dietary/lifestyle changes are awesome for teenager...and adults with acne.

Shari
there are great auto-immune friendly recipes in the book "The Maker's Diet" by Jordan Rubin

I just started a thread about autoimmune diets in the autoimmune forum, but I think this was the thread I was thinking about.

Does anyone know of a matrix comparing and contrasting all the different diets used to treat autoimmune disease? I think I have seen one, but I cannot remember where. It might have been in a book, I suppose.

Just call me lost~

Cara

I changed my eating habits and added moderate exercise, mostly in an effort to lose weight (accomplished) and it did many wonderful things for my health:
1) ideal cholesteral levels now
2) significantly lowered blood pressure and medication needs
3) improved love life (sorry if this is embarassing to folks)
4) totally got rid of depression

I like these books:
The Owner's Manual
The Real Age Makeover

Dr. Michael Roizen, stresses eating "all natural."
He mentioned the following foods as "ideal" on Oprah Winfrey the other day:
1) Olive Oil
2) Tomatoes and tomato sauce
3) Pomegranate juice
4) Spinach
5) Almonds
6) Salmon

I buy the Omega Three Eggs. Somehow I think they taste slightly better.

I also think the omega 3 eggs have better flavor, and eggs are cheap enough that paying double for a better thing doesn't seem that bad.

Cara

I use digestive enzymes (on an empty stomach) for their anti-inflammotry properties. I can notice more puffiness around my upper eyes when I skip a dose. I can also have a problem with a hemorroid too if I miss a dose.

Most people are familiar with bromelain but other protease enzymes can help with inflammation too.

I believe that my pancreas is probably enlarged because of my severe nutritional deficiencies. Unfortunately mainstream medicine doesn't seem to think the pancreas can become unhealthy or enlarged. But I have read that the last thing to show problems is the insulin production. Type II diabetes is really the main pancreas problem that is recognized by mainstream medicine. But the pancreas is the main organ (source), though not the only one, for digestive enzymes.

There are very few things that happen in your body without some enzyme being involved. After a certain age, most people probably need enzymes to digest their food if they have been eating a diet high in cooked foods. But, taking digestive enzymes on an empty stomach allows them to get into your bloodstream so they can function throughout your body.

Usually auto-immune problems can start with problems or permeability issues of the GI tract. It is usually a matter of UNdigested food particles getting into the bloodstream. So, taking enzymes with food may help prevent those UNdigested foods from causing this immune response by getting digested or broken down completely.

Some people are using a CR (calorie restriction) diet to reduce inflammation. You might try searching on CRON (calorie restriction with optimal nutrition). It does it via reducing insulin and glucose.

I'm trying something similar but I think a little easier called Intermittent Fasting. Basically it is skipping 2 meals every other day. Here's an article that first piqued my interest. http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/a...ay_to_bet.html

I have an autoimmune arthritis so this is a topic that is very interesting to me. I've been doing the IF for about a week now, it'll probably take at least one more week to see if it works, maybe 2 more.

Also, members at the kickas.org forum use a low starch diet. Others use a low carb diet to control inflammation, paleo style of diet being one that should avoid foods that cause inflammation (grains, legumes, some exclude nightshades like eggplant, tomatoes, potatos).

I'm looking forward to getting my next set of blood tests.