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Eating 'clean' and the link between sugar and inflammation

Posted , 11 users are following.

FlipDover_Aust
FlipDover_Aust

Hi everyone!

I got diagnosed in October last year (2014) at age 51 (and they say this is an 'older person's' disease!) Since then I've taken a really good look at my lifestyle and really, it's no wonder I got sick.

I've battled with my weight most of my life and I had a period where I really did drink too much (not any more). I even went to the drastic measure of getting a lap band in 2008 which, of course, only helped in the short term as I really didn't change my eating habits.

So, since the beginning of this year I've committed to change. I've been doing a LOT of reading/research into processed food and the amount of sugar that has been introduced into modern diets, which not surprisingly correlates with the extreme rise in obestity since the 1970s (think High fructose corn syrup hitting the US market in 1973). The literature indicates that there is a direct link between sugar intake and inflammation (as well as a lot of the other metabolic syndrome conditions, diabetes, heart disease, obestity, high blood pressure etc)

As a result I've cut out ALL crap - no processed food, no sugar, no 'pretend' fats and oils and managed to lose 5kg whilst on pred!

WOO HOO (currently on 10mg daily but symptoms are flaring again with the latest 2.5mg reduction)

Is anyone else eating 'clean'?

Have you noticed a difference in your health, particularly in regard to your PMR?

Flip (newbie!)

2 likes, 25 replies

25 Replies

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  • tina-uk_cwall
    tina-uk_cwall FlipDover_Aust

    Posted

    Hi flip, I was 52 when I was diagnosed with PMR in December 2013 although I'd had symptoms from the September. 

    I'm currently on a low carb, sort of 5:2 diet and I've lost 6 lbs to date. 

    However, if you are experiencing a flare you need to up your pred dose to the last dose that your symptoms were controlled with. Stay on that dose for a good 6 weeks then reduce using the slow aperture shall reduction method of Eileen's.

    all the best, christina 

  • carol16456
    carol16456 FlipDover_Aust

    Posted

    I am not as good as you with my diet but have managed to loose 4poundd in weight since the begining of February .Also my cholesterol has dropped from 7.4 to 6.4 in that time .Without medication so feel quit good about that . An osteopath friend said to eat a lot of things which are naturally red .Also lots of berries Have also started to eat sun flower seeds and porridge which are good for the cholesterol .

    There is no way I could reduce my preds by 2.5 .Half a mg a time for me I'm afraid and even then I can get quite a lot of pain so go back up again . Four months I have been reducing pred from 15 to 11 .5 mg but because of a flare after getting carried away with gardening I have now gone back up to 12 mg for several day . May be worth asking for some 1mg tabs so that you can reduce slower Good luck Carol

  • joey2
    joey2 FlipDover_Aust

    Posted

    I am eating right (low fat/no additives - cut most sugar out too) and exercising 4 times a week (Walking & Aqua Zumba). The doctor told me NO ADDITIVES!  She was right. I do believe there is something about the food dyes, etc that contribute to the PMR.  Never drink because that is what I & the doctor think started my PMR. For some time, I have felt better since eating correctly  and losing weight. One thing, I believe, is that better eating habits and the weight lose seems to stave off the GCA. Not sure about the PMR improving all that much. It all boils down to the Prednisone to give comfort. Now, I am down to 10 mg Prednisone. On the 27th, I will start the slow reduction (sen below).  So hang in there and keep taking care of yourself. You are doing the best thing for YOU! I am proud of you because it is very hard to pass up on all the food goodies.

    The following suggestion for reducing was posted by others (Eileen) & I am going to try it soon....

    1 day new dose, 6 days old dose

    1 day new dose, 5 days old dose

    1 day new dose, 4 days old dose

    1 day new dose, 3 days old dose

    1 day new dose, 2 days old dose

    1 day new dose, 1 day old dose

    1 day old dose, 2 days new dose

    1 day old dose, 3 days new dose

    1 day old dose, 4 days new dose

    1 day old dose, 5 days new dose

    1 day old dose, 6 days new dose

    They say -" By that stage if you feel OK go to new dose. I suppose, you might be OK starting and stopping at "1 day new, 4 days old" but I was terribly sensitive to steroid withdrawal pain so I err on the safe side. Once you get to the "everyday new dose" - if you feel OK you can start on the next reduction, no real need to spend a month at the new dose."

    Good Luck

    • Juno-Irl-Dub
      Juno-Irl-Dub joey2

      Posted

      Hi Joey, Can I ask re. the Pred.-reducing schedule you outlined - When you say, for example,  " 1 day new dose, 3 days old dose" does that mean that for 3 days of that week you take NO pred. ?  Sorry if this is a totally daft question. And if it IS correct, would it not be really hard to have no Pred. ???   Thanks,
    • tina-uk_cwall
      tina-uk_cwall Juno-Irl-Dub

      Posted

      Hi Juno, the pred reducing schedule that you refer to should not be visualised as weeks but as an ongoing daily schedule. Therefore interpret the schedule daily not weekly. Does that make sense? Regards, christina 
    • tina-uk_cwall
      tina-uk_cwall Juno-Irl-Dub

      Posted

      That's it! Couldn't have put it better myself! Good luck, I start my 9/8.5 reduction in a couple of weeks and I'm really nervous as that was the level I reached in December of last year and not following the plan I had a flare. I've been working my way down slowly since with no problems so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the next stage of my PMR recovery journey. Christina 
    • joey2
      joey2 Juno-Irl-Dub

      Posted

      Say you are at the 10mg & want to drop to 9mg.  At 10 mg you should go very slow....1mg at a time due to sensitivity of Prednisone reduction.  Any way, at 10mg the first day you are trying to reduce to 9mg, you take the new 9mg Prednisone dose then follow the next 6 days at your regular 10 mg of Prednisone. You are gradually weeding out the 10 mg dosage so hopefully you have no flairs while adjusting to the 9 mg. After that week, you start again with 9 mg on day one and the next  5 consecutive days you take the old 10mg dosage.  It is confusing but print out the schedule I provided earlier and mark off as you go.  That is the way I plan to try it myself at the end of this month as suggested from this site. Then when you near 7 mg you may have to go even slower. Say half mg following the same schedule....Eileen says...

      "While you are at a higher dose of pred the body knows it doesn't need to make more. It isn't the adrenals as such that become the problem as we reduce into the territory where the pred dose is around 7.5mg. This is the amount it is felt is made by the body naturally - it may be a bit more, a bit less. In order to make it happen a whole range of hormones and other trigger substances in the body have be brought back into balance, involving the hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid and adrenals as well as a few other endocrine glands. This takes some time to settle down again once it is being changed by the lesser amount of pred being present.

      This is why we emphasise the importance of going SLOWLY below 10mg. The slower you go, resting at about 5mg again helps, the fewer problems usually arise with the return of adrenal function. In a small number of patients the adrenals don't start to produce cortisol properly again and they then need a low dose for life - as a replacement therapy just like thyroxine for hypothyroidism. Age may be a factor - and it may have happened anyway even if you hadn't been on pred."

      Again as suggested on this site, the easiest and most successful way for you to reduce from half a mg to zero would be as follows:

      One day at zero

      7 days at 0.5

      One day at zero

      6 days at 0.5

      One day at zero

      5 days at 0.5

      One day at zero

      4 days at 0.5

      One day at zero

      3 days at 0.5

      One day at zero

      2 days at 0.5

      2 days at zero

      One day at 0.5

      3 days at zero

      One day at 0.5

      4 days at zero

      One day at 0.5

      5 days at zero

      One day at 0.5

      6 days at zero

      One day at 0.5

      7 days at zero

      It might seem long but you have to give your body time to adjust to the drop in Prednisone. 

      Good Luck & let us know how you do.

    • Juno-Irl-Dub
      Juno-Irl-Dub joey2

      Posted

      Joey, thank you so much for taking the time for such a comprehensive answer. I'll be starting the big reduction from 5mg. in May. As has been said here before (by Eileen, I think) it'd not a  ' race to zero' and I want to do it really slowly. . . . I'll keep in touch with any news. Good luck with your own efforts.
  • erika59785
    erika59785 FlipDover_Aust

    Posted

    I agree with you......sugar and carbs can cause inflammation, and I think I over induldged with sugared juices etc. lately......not watching the sugar gm which is listed with everything, I started to get a very painful flair.  Now I

    have to start over again with tapering the prednisone.  Yo-yo-ing is not good.

    I still live and learn ,,,,,,mainly I need to learn to say NO to desserts and other sweet goodies.

    W00 HOO to you.  You are doing great!!!!!

  • christine_fay
    christine_fay FlipDover_Aust

    Posted

    Certainly have felt much better since cutting alcohol and any sugar that is not naturally occuring in the food. I have been using Green Superfood vegetable powder for about two weeks which has greatly aided my insomnia. I get a good 7-8 hours sleep and if I forget to take it the most I get is 2 hours. Inflamation is very bad right now but have realised that the 'Super Moons' we get ocassionally affect me horribly...so it seems does red meat. I had two days of eating beef, although in small quantities this week and have had the worst flare up ever.I will definitely be cutting that out from now on. It does seem a case of learning by experience and mistakes with this PMR. I will keep on experimenting because overall apart from the odd setbacks I am feeling reasonably hopeful that I can beat this...or at least adjust enough in oredr to live a reasonable life.
    • erika59785
      erika59785 christine_fay

      Posted

      Yes, red meat is not good .,....I experienced this myself.  I had beef last night  (corned beef because of St. Patrick's Day) with my family.  I was hurting more at night and into the morning.
    • Mrs_CJ
      Mrs_CJ christine_fay

      Posted

      Could you please tell me more about the green superfood vegetable powder?  Is that the right name so that I could google it?

      im not sure where you live but I am in Canada but I may be able to find something similar here. I don't sleep well, I'm awake many times during the night, so I would like to check into the product you are using. 

      What at time of day do you take it?

      thank you 

  • pat38625
    pat38625 FlipDover_Aust

    Posted

    Hi Flip, welcome on board.  Like yourself I am a newbie, just diagnosed in November. It does my heart good that you have taken yourself in hand and wanting to change your eating habits.  

    I am not a foodie, I do like cooking from scratch, when I am able.  I have been eating "clean" for quite a long time.  When I go off the rails and have a chocolate party, I do feel it and it effects me for about 2 days.

    Good luck with your journey and keep us all informed.  Well done.  Regards Pat

  • EileenH
    EileenH FlipDover_Aust

    Posted

    I also eat no sugar (one little pack of the sort you get in cafes on an English pancake on Pancake Day was plenty!), little fruit and loads of veg. Eggs, meat/fish and only olive oil and butter. I DO notice when I eat too much carbs of any sort and have lost 19kg in 2 years while still on pred.

    I really do think there is something in diet - but I still drink wine...

    • FlipDover_Aust
      FlipDover_Aust EileenH

      Posted

      What do you consider to be 'too many carbs' and 'little fruit'?

      mmmm, wine. love the stuff. lol

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