Lupus Support Group

Hey mzkimmy - I am sure there are a whole bunch of stringent and maybe difficult diets out there. Personally, I am not one to stick to a rigid regime, however, we have always tried to buy organic and we are also lucky enough to have space to grow our own chemical free fruit and vegetables. Ingesting even small amounts of pesticides and chemicals can't be good for anyone, let alone anyone with a chronic disease. Sure organically grown goods can be a little more expensive and sometimes don't look as "perfect" as their non-organically raised counterparts but I think the benefits are definitely worth it. Organic stuff just tastes better....it's really noticeable with tomatoes and apples especially. As my tastebuds are pretty shot most of the time, I need all the flavour I can get, just so I eat properly! Also, try to eat fruits and vegies when they are in season, this means you will be getting optimum freshness.....anyway, thats all from me....love, light and peace

I try to buy organic everthing that I can. I eat as healthy as I can it helps me. I love to cook so we eat healthy not store bought dinners etc. I eat alot of veggies. Makes a big difference for me

Organic is awesome and can be a little more expensive, but well worth it. I have found several resources online that will tell you which foods are more highly saturated with pesticides if you cannot go completely organic, it would be beneficial to google it. If I could remember the link, I would post it. I do know that apples are very highly pesticide laden, so if you like apples I would definately go organic. I have many food sensitivities and have to be on a very strict diet. If I sway, I get sick. I have a lot of other conditions but cannot tolerate wheat, dairy, sugar, etc. It's no fun, but my health is much more important.

i wld lke to publsh cookbk. i do organic as mch as pssble cuz of what earthwalker said. i can tel diff in my pain levels by what i eat. good foods for lowering inflammation are: celery, onions, wld salmon, swt potato, ginger, walnuts, blueberries, pineapple, spinach, garlic, grn tea. try this for 12 dys then have a cheese burger and a beer, see if you don't notice a diff :).

Organic is a good diet for everyone not just if you have lupus. I prioritize getting hormone free and antibiotic free chicken, and grass fed beef. Once in a while I'll get wild salmon. For the fruits, I get organic berries and locally grown apples at the farmer's market so it's cheaper.
I can't really buy organic vegetables all the time but I have a good organic vegetable and fruit wash that I use.

What also worked wonders for my lupus is avoiding nitrates,transfat & msg as well in processed food. Just eating as much home cooked meals, raw foods instead of packaged foods as you can will give you more nutrients in your body.

I found this link and thought it would be helpful.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullp...

I try to eat us much organic as I can and healthy but something for me that seems to be a trigger is red meat. I didn't realize how much it hurt since I had stopped eating it(not easy since I LOVE steak) It had been a few months since we had red meat in the house and my parents came into town for thanksgiving weekend and in great mother fashion my mother refused to let me cook and made good old mom's cooking. Which included the whole week of eating some sort of red meat. By the third day I was hardly able to get out of bed I was exhausted and my joints hurt so bad. My mom and dad are gone we are getting back on our normal diet and I'm finally getting the inflammation somewhat under control. I'm sure I have more triggers but that is apparently one of mine. I know to stay away from for quit a while. What I would do is keep a diet book. You should start noticing patterns. How some foods might make you feel the next day and slowly you will figure out what works for yo and what doesn't. I can eat dairy just fine but I've read on some sites where dairy is a trigger for some etc... So it varies widely from person to person. Talk to a nutricionist to get you on the right track with portions and what not and then start your journal and go from there. Wish you luck in your diet adventure. Jess

I have done a ton of research on lupus and diets. What I have found is that a low-fat vegan diet, or a low-fat vegetarian non-dairy diet, that is high in omega3's and omega6's, has been found to be the best diet to slow down an overactive immune system and has been found specifically to help reduce lupus flares. I have been on this diet for about 6 months now. It recommends eating fish for the omega 3's and 6's but i don't like fish so i take fish oil supplements with both omegas and i also eat flax seeds which are high in omegas. I have noticed a difference in energy levels and somewhat in inflammation levels. I have noticed a significant decrease in stomach and intestinal problems, and I have also lost weight already. But if you do this diet make sure you take necessary supplements and also get enough protein and iron and other nutrients. I first read about it in the lupus foundation of northern California's magazine called "the new you" its a guide to living your best with lupus and it sites the study which found this diet to work well in lupus. I'll see if i can find an online copy and I'll post it to this discussion in the next few days. I'll also add some some other links with info about this diet at the same time. hope this helps. i'll be back on with more info sat or sunday.

Oh, and i wanted to add, organics is really good for lupus as well to prevent ingestion of pesticides. a vegan diet, or veg non-dairy diet also helps reduce consumption of pesticides and hormones significantly because dairy and meat have high levels of both due to the feed that they receive.

Hey,

I'm on a non-dairy diet (soya), and it seems to not make my joint pain worse, but i still have chocolate and things like that, not milk, or cheese, or yoghurt or ice-cream....(so no pizza :( )....

i think you should try what works best for you, try stopping certain things for a while and see if u improve...but personally when i have dairy, my joints start hurting later on, more than usual...

take carex