I think this is a highly personal question - by that I mean it might just be different for different people !

I avoid gluten very strictly because it makes me sick - I also avoid dairy, soy and fatty food. I eat light meals, snack - being too full gets my GI tract messed up. Chocolate seems to bother me these days too. :-(

I do drink lots of water, love my coffee - following my own rules seems to decrease my reflux and help my digestion...MOST of the time.

Oh - being somewhat physically active helps gut function too.

It's trial & error - one can't really copy someone else exactly because we are all different.

Artificial sweeteners!
Mary Ann

I had heard to avoid sugar but not artificial sweeterner. What does the artificial sweetener do? And if you avoid both - what do you use?

For me, in place of artificial sweeteners, I use agave nectar, coconut nectar, honey, coconut sugar, or sugar that is less processed. And I never drink soda/pop. Even a few swallows of diet soda causes me a lot of joint pain. Also, I avoid gluten, and (often) corn. The only chocolate that I eat is an occasional piece of dark chocolate.

Sugar doesnt bother me in moderation. The artificial sweeteners cause migraines, nausea, and fatigue!
Mary Ann

Sugar, starchy foods like bread and potatoes, gluten. I use Agave or coconut sugar for sweetener. I stay away from Soy and other GMO products, MSG is in most processed foods, so it is best to cook your own food when you can. I try to eat smaller meals, about 6 a day, instead of the three square meals.
One form of protien that has the added benefit of omega 3,6 oils is a product made from hemp seeds, it is called "hemp hearts", 3 tbs give you 10 grams of protein, they can be added to salad, yogurt, or just eaten alone, the flavor is a cross between sunflower seeds and sesame seeds.
Thae challenges of a vegetarian on a low carb diet!

Nanny,

I'm a corn lover and hadn't heard to avoid this yet. Is it because of the sugar in it? I thought natural sugars were "okay" for us?
Sorry, still learning all of this ----EEK:)
Billie

Non GMO corn should be fine, I like to have a couple of corn tortillas... Just balance the carbs with some protein...

Thanks to all for the suggestions and feedback! :)

Corn sometimes raises my inflammation levels and fatigues me (like gluten). I'm still working on figuring out which forms of corn affect me, and which ones don't.

It is a personal question, because everyone is different, but in my case it helps me a lot to keep myself as fit as possible, very slim (to avoid muscle pain) and I certainly go for as many walks as I possibly can manage...
Adding to this I avoid under all circumstances "ready made" food or tins, only eat fresh vegetarian food every day, which I cook every single day... I also bake my own bread and avoid drinking any milk under all circumstances because of the artificial hormones they give cows in order to produce more milk ... hormones are a very bad ingredients for Lupus/MCTD in order to avoid as many flare-ups as we possibly can... but the biggest "put-off-cows milk" is the great amount of hormones found in milk... I also filter my tab-water etc. and because of my drug-intolerance and allergies I have to avoid certain vegetables i.e. garlic, onions and I am also allergic to artificial sweeteners and many medications etc.
All this may sound a little complicated but I have noticed that these precautions assist me a lot to avoid some of the flare-ups and that is good enough for me and helps a lot...
One of the problems I an still wondering about, are to find ways to avoid this dead-tiredness and complete exhaustion and I try ever so hard to find a way out of that...
Good luck from Kristina.
P.S. What you could be allergic to, you have to find out yourself because it is completely different with almost every SLE-MCTD-patient...

You are so right I just suddenly went off diary milk, I JUST had no apitite for it, not knowing it was not compatible with MCTD. I have hardly any flare ups. If i fancy a cup of tea i use a small amount of nestle's milk to colour my tea. I mostly have herbal teas. No coffee. For my MCTD i now only take one of those Hydroxychloroquine. I can never pronounce it, so i Call it hydro thingy.

Hello catbillie,
food and drinks can become very complicated, because everyone is different and there are no real "rules"...
But I have found out, that a strict vegetarian diet is very helpful and I also make an effort to cook all my food myself to avoid chemicals etc. It seems to help me to buy fresh fruit and vegetables at the market and it helps me to drink water, chamomile and peppermint tea with as little sugar as possible...
I also have noticed that I am allergic to garlic and onions...
I do wish you good luck to find out soon, what helps you best...
Best wishes from Kristina.