I'm quite chilled, and Tami, I don't think you are anywhere near stupid. Apologies if anything sounded otherwise. If your mother had colon cancer I'm sure your doctor is insistent that you have the test, as there does seem to be a hereditary element to that disease.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaky_gut Here is Wikipedia's entry on leaky gut.

ros, i agree. so many of us probably feel such a lack of control over chronic illnesses. anything positive we can do for ourselves that also puts us in a position of power and control over our body is an excellent choice.

i used to eat yogurt daily for happy bacteria but have stopped because i don't like the taste of most yogurts and the ones i do like are the flavored ones that have extra crap in them (i was eating dannon, which cut out aspartame, but still). i've been considering adding a probiotic pill to my daily regime.

I think there is some correlation between gut health and the inflammatory response. 70-80% of the immune system lives in the intestines. RA is an immune related disease.... , so if it's an immune system problem, and most of it lives in the gut, it's not a big leap to put the two together. There are some tests that can be done to determine if there is gut permeability. It is blood tests to look to see if some of those proteins are in your blood that shouldn't be. I don't necessarily think it is the "cause", but I do believe people that are predisposed, it can be the match that lights the wood stack. I think most people on here have experienced some food that causes a flare, or at least increased inflammation. It's the same concept. Exactly what needs to be eliminated/added to a persons diet to get it on track varies probably as much as how RA effects each of us. Probiotics are an absolute must.

but generally people with RA have an overactive immune system that's attacking parts of the body, right? if there was a correlation between gut health and RA, wouldn't it then be that our guts were *too* healthy?

70% of teh immune system starts in teh gut , if the gut is off kilter , bam ther you go immune system is down the drain ...it then leaks proteins in the blood stream the body cant recognize , then it attacks it self thinking it is fighitng against foreign invaders ....
For myself it just makes sense , the old saying "you are what you eat "
is very very true .. other countries that didnt have fast food until recent is slowly taking fast food chains back out , all teh preservatives in meats unless organix etc..all dyes , un natural flavorings etc...where do we think that goes in our bodies ..and we think we can keep that up and nothing will happen , i perosnly dont think it is the fad of the day .. but also the genetic factor is a fact as well .

new research just out talking specifically about gut and ra...

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/11/gut-bacteria-arthritis/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/06/rheumatoid-arthritis-gut-bacteria-prevotella-copri_n_4221048.html

http://www.healthline.com/health-news/arthritis-gut-bacteria-may-trigger-ra-110813

Very good info ..wowwww ..thank you for taking eh time to post it ..very very interesting ..

Steph, the problem is not that the gut is too healthy, the problem is the gut lining becomes permeable which could be due to several things such as gut flora being off balance, inflammation from NSAID use, food sensitivities like milk, gluten etc. When the lining becomes permeable, food particles and proteins escape through it into the blood stream. Immune system seems them as invaders since they're not supposed to be there and attacks. Since it is a constant problem, the immune system goes into over drive and starts mistaking others things that should be there as invaders and starts attacking them.