I'd also be interested in hearing how it has worked for anyone.

I would also like to give it a shot. How are you planning to do it? Do you have a diet plan in mind?

Actually I do... I was reading online about the McDougal diet...
http://www.drmcdougall.com/
The above is a link to the website... I read a book a few years back when I dated a man that had Celiac Sprue... I did his gluten free diet and felt pretty good... so I plan on trying it again along with any vitamin / mineral recommendations from the Rheumy. I want to get my body back in balance and see if that helps.. the stories on the McDougal website are encouraging and I would rather spend my money on good food than drugs.

The book i read is called Dangerous Grains...
http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Grains-Gluten-Cereal-Hazardous/dp/1583331298
definitely worth a read if you want to know what some Dr's think... it has peaked my interest enough to try dieting..

RenneG,

you might also be interested in this book: http://www.amazon.com/Inflammation-Free-Diet-Plan-Monica-Reinagel/dp/0071464719

I'm not on conventional drugs but previously was on prednisone and methotrexate for one year. I also tried Sulfasalazine for a short period of time.

I'm now controlling my inflammation better with supplements, even though so many people are against it. It would be nice to have a friend on the same stuff! ;)

Please keep us all posted on how things work for you. The above book that I recommend makes things very simple in terms of having food categorized with a point system. Positive points are anti-inflammatory and negative points are inflammatory. She suggests to try and keep things on the positive side of course. But it makes it easier to keep better track of how bad or how good you're doing.

I have eliminted cow's milk from my diet and I do feel better. I drink Almond Milk in the container, which you refrigerate after opening. Or you could use soy milk. There is also soy cheeses. I defintiely feel a dairy and gluten free diet will help. Our bodies are bombarded with all foods that we may have sensitivities to and some auto immune diseases may erupt because the body is on overload trying to assimulate all the foods we eat daily. I have not eliminated gluten as yet, but I am planing on switching to gluten free bread from Trader Joes.

Good luck and let us know how you are doing after two or theee weeks on the diet.

I find being gluten and dairy free helps my symptoms. Took a couple of weeks to notice difference. I can get very good 'bread type' products, pitas, bagels, biscuits etc which are gluten free because my town (Tauranga, NZ) has a gluten free shop! She also has products which are dairy or corn (another problem grain for some) free products. I use a good quality rice milk or rice milk powder as I am worried about genetic engineering with soy products. I travel a lot and when I get caught out and have to eat gluten my most problem joints immediately flare. However, although it is claimed one in ten or more people are gluten sensitive - I dont know the evidence. Just anything worth a try to reduce pain? I tried diet alone without drugs and still need them too. Tried raw food but couldnt keep it up although fantastic RA relief...avoiding red meat (which seems to upset the osteo bits..) has led to iron deficiency so have to take tablets and brave the odd bit of that. Products much more expensive so buy just for me. Chinese shops have cheap rice pasta type products. Indian shops alternative flours - plus health food shops and here most supermarkets have some things too.. (UK was pretty hopeless this year and bread like cardboard but doesnt have to be. ) Lots of recipes on the net and I feel sure the USA would be better than UK and have good g/f sources too. We generally can buy g/f and soy in our cafes often in quite small places!

I've done stints with gluten-free, anti-inflammatory and night-shade-free diets, and I haven't seen any difference. Not long enough? Perhaps.

I have found that bits and pieces of these diets help me, however. I don't completely cut out dairy, but I generally restrict it. I also have cut out most processed grains, but allowing whole grains as a substitute. I eat a lot of ginger and use turmeric, alone or in curry, a lot in my cooking. In general, I'm finding that a low-glycemic diet is doing good things for me. I haven't had very much inflammation going on for a while, so I can't really say much about that, but my diet has allowed me to dramatically cut my blood sugar and cholesterol.

I followed Drweils antiinflammatory Diet at Drweil.com and lost 15# and my Crp went from 7.9 down to 0.81. I am going back on it after the holidays.
bigi