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In December 2020, I received a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) after enduring years of chronic pain and fatigue. The escalating severity and limited mobility, prompted me to seek medical attention. My primary care physician referred me to a rheumatologist, who faced challenges in diagnosing me due to low inflammation markers on my lab work. After an extensive assessment, I was eventually diagnosed with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis.
Most people with RA have seropositive RA. This means that they have a substance known as anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies, or rheumatoid factor, in their blood. When a person has RA without also having these antibodies, the condition is instead known as seronegative RA.
The symptoms of seronegative RA are similar to those of seropositive RA.
They include:
- Tenderness, swelling, and redness in the joints on both sides of the body
- Stiffness, especially in the hands, knees, ankles, hips, and elbows
- Stiffness in the morning that lasts for longer than 30 minutes
- Persistent inflammation
- Fatigue
In the early stages of the condition, these symptoms tend to affect the hands and feet. In time, however, they can start to affect other joints. Progression can often lead to a diagnosis of a different condition, such as osteoarthritis or psoriatic arthritis.
So what could I do to slow the progression and reduce the pain? My rheumatologist suggested that before we try traditional RA medication that we explore lifestyle changes. She suggested that I adopt a gluten-free plant-based diet. Fantastic!… However, I was already on a gluten-free plant-based diet and still felt lousy every day. At that point, I felt defeated and wondered if I was doomed by my genetics. I have been vegan since 2010, whole food, plant-based since 2012, and gluten-free since 2018. For years, I ate a varied plant-based diet, exercised 6 days a week, got 7-8 hours of sleep most nights, and — still — I was riddled with daily joint pain and chronic fatigue. Every morning when I woke up, I felt like I had been hit by a bus!
My doctor stated that my gluten-free, plant-based diet was a fantastic start and was the reason that my inflammatory markers on my lab work were so low. She advised me that even healthy plant-based foods (in addition to lack of sleep, stress, and hormones) could be triggers for RA. She suggested that we take a deeper dive into what I was eating and advised me to keep a 10-day food/beverage journal. For 10 days, I tracked everything I consumed and noted my pain and fatigue level.
The revelations from this journal were striking. To my surprise, I was quickly able to see patterns of certain foods that triggered joint pain and fatigue. My biggest triggers: oats and grain flour. Oats in any form — rolled, steel-cut, flour — caused instant bloat followed by joint pain a few hours later. I noticed that I could eat brown rice with no issues; however, brown rice flour in gluten-free bread sent my pain through the roof. I felt fine after eating corn on the cob, but corn flour noodles left me unable to use my hands. My other food/beverage triggers included nightshade vegetables (white potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers) and black tea (even decaf black tea). I also noticed I felt better when I intermittently fasted (at least 16 hours) and ate a 50% raw diet.
By omitting oats, grain flour, nightshades, caffeine, and integrating intermittent fasting and increased raw food intake, my condition substantially improved. At present, my diet exclusively serves as my “medication” to manage RA. With conviction, I believe that the enduring effects of my customized whole food, plant-based diet hold potential to mitigate RA disease activity and delay its progression. My intent in sharing this journey is to inspire others to forge their own nutritional success stories. While a diverse whole food, plant-based diet is a cornerstone of overall health, fine-tuning this approach could be pivotal in achieving individualized optimal well-being.
