Since March 2019, when I as heading towards an arthritis diagnosis, I have payed a lot more attention to my diet as I know this can play a big part in autoimmune conditions. For the most part, I avoid dairy, gluten and refined sugar. In July my symptoms had begun to ease slightly, however this annoyingly only lasted about a week. I am back to feeling pretty miserable, and along with everything else my right knee also seems to now be affected. I have been taking the sulfasalazine for almost 4 months now, but only been on the full dose for a month – so the Rheumatology Team still want me to try this for a little longer.
Feeling fed up and helpless, it is time for me to try adding something new into my “holistic” approach of managing my condition. This next step for me is to cut out nightshades and corn. We eat a lot of tomatoes, red peppers and sweetcorn – so if nightshades are affecting me I hope this will quickly become evident. Evidence shows that whilst nightshades are rich in many nutrients, they may also contain harmful substances that may contribute to inflammation.
Examples of anti-inflammatory foods:
Avocado
Leafy greens
Ginger
Turmeric
Broccoli
Cherries
Let’s Eat Smart has a recipe for a delicious Golden Milk tea containing turmeric that can be found here.
Examples of nightshades:
Tomatoes and anything tomato based
Cayenne pepper
Chilli pepper / powder
Curry powder
Aubergines
Paprika
Peppers
White potatoes
So this is the next step on my arthritis-journey. I’ll keep you posted. Do you eat nightshades? Would love to know what you think in the comments!
Mama Bear 