Changing to a plant based diet to avoid health problems associated with meat and dairy

Taking my wife's lead I have cut out meat while she has also stopped eating all dairy products.

She has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for a number of years now, for those who are unaware this is an
auto immune disease that causes inflammation in the joints.
Treatment focuses on medication to target symptoms rather than any preventative measures and these
drugs can have their own unpleasant side effects with varying degrees of actual relief.

With RA making activity painful and , after years of bringing up 3 children and now caring for my elderly dad who lives here at home with us, my wife is overweight and has been feeling run down.
After some hope when she started attending a clinic at our local hospital and found a doctor who seemed to really understand her, there then followed cancelled appointments and a change of quack who just tried to give her anti - depressants ( on top of the heavy duty methatrixate already prescribed).

After doing her own research she began to read about how a plant based diet may help alleviate the acute inflammation of RA to the point where people have been able to get off medication.
The main problem with animal products seems to be the high saturated fat content with meat and high protein level of dairy which are triggers for joint pain.
A plant based diet is beneficial also as a means of reducing the chance of heart disease, often a complication of RA, and cancers such as bowel ( which both my mother and her brother died from) stomach, breast and pancreatic said to be associated with meat and dairy products, especially those which are processed .


It's not been a hardship to make a change. We're making an extra effort to eat well with loads of fresh fruit,veg, pulses,peas,beans etc ( some straight from my garden ) and educating ourselves at the same time to make sure we're getting a balanced diet and supplementing naturally as necessary to get enough B12, vit D, calcium and zinc.

I'm interested in hearing opinions on both the science of this subject and people's experiences of making a
similar dietary change and how it affected them - especially those in my age group ( over 50 ).

 

Slightly OT, but has she tried CBD?

Cannabinoids and Rheumatoid Arthritis: What Research Says - ECHO Connection

 

I actually got hold of some CBD oil for her a couple of months ago but she didn't use it long enough ( the bottle got lost ) to
give it a chance and assess it's potential - I was told it takes a while for the body to start feeling benefits.
I have spoken to other people who are convinced of it's effectiveness as an anti - inflammatory. Although much of the evidence is anecdotal
the science backed meds are often hit or miss in effectiveness anyway with side effects to boot.

 

Vegan and Vegeterian Diets | Anti Inflammatory Diet | Arthritis Diet

This seems relevent.

 

Thanks, yes I've read this - some good stuff there.
Finding impartial scientific based information online can be a challenge,
but there seems to be a fairly strong body of evidence to support anecdotal reports of the benefits of a plant based diet in reducing inflammation.
The importance of gut health is a growing
Concern yet diet seems a very low priority in the treatment of RA sufferers.

The pessimistic ( or paranoid ) conclusion is that health service and pharma business is more interested in selling products to treat symptoms than prevent the cause.
Also lifestyle choice undeniably plays a major part in these sort of life ending diseases so people aren't blameless either.

Whether lifestyle trumps genetic disposition as I have read may be moot
but I fancy increasing my odds where I can.

 

Patients are terrible at taking nuonced dietary advice So in terms of bang for your buck / ten minutes alloted time, the advice that most people can take is the best advice to give, overall.

Re anti depressents, many people don't exercise and over eat due to low mood, giving a mood booster does work to get people started in some cases.

Theirs lots of issues with veganism and bone density etc but I imagine you will know about that already.

 

I agree most of the time health professionals are banging their head against a brick wall in terms of trying to get people to adopt healthier
lifestyles - no excuse for that patronising animated public information ad with those plasticine people though !

The anti depressants just didnt agree with her, made her feel out of it and detached. Two days was enough to convince her to stop taking them.
Seemed pretty casual the way they were prescribed, especially since it was the first time the new doctor had met her.

My feeling is that to do veganism properly requires a certain amount of imbibing of the kool aid. It certainly requires self education,
planning and commitment.
For some the lifestyle choice is down to ethical choices, for my wife it is a more straight forward need to try and make a positive
change (in the absence of alternatives ) and to have an impact on the rheumatoid arthritis and the way it will continue to disable her.

 

I've got nothing to add on veganism/vegetable based diets but I'm a recent convert to having a diet/exercise tracker on my phone and it's been a revelation.
I'd thoroughly recommend getting one.
Actually being honest about what I eat and how active I am.
Knowing that having that packet of crisps or handful of biscuits at the end of the day will tip me over my calorie allowance.

 

I did something very similar for reasons of Arthritis and is did seem to help, also lost a lot of weight and I was kicked out of my cardiologist's office because he said, and I quote, I was "too darn healthy to be there". If you have not already, You might want to check out books by Dr Joel Fuhrman

 

Good luck! Hope it works!!

 

Thanks for the responses all.

Although my wife's condition was the instigating factor in this I'm hoping use the opportunity to shed a few pounds,
and avoid all the crappy processed food I'm prone to eat outside the house, at work usually - doughnuts, biscuits etc.

Something I've noticed already is that I get fuller much quicker, eating smaller portions and less frequently.
My mood seems generally lighter, more relaxed but that could just be psychosomatic.

Also enjoying my food more perhaps because we're spending more time planning and preparing meals
- last night I made a killer chickpea/butterbean curry though I say so myself !

 

If you eat healthy food that is real food, not processed, for awhile, and you get a craving for your old type of food, like I did. And then give in and go buy and eat it (in my case it was a McDonalds Big Mac with Cheese) you will feel sick. Your body will then tell you how bad that stuff actually is for you.

 

Interesting fact, oreaos are vegan, just because something is vegan, it doesn't mean its not bad for you.


If you can, I would consult a registered dietician, and go from there.

 

Agree that one should consult a registered dietician. Also agree Oreos are bad for you, however they are not Vegan, they will pass muster for a vegetarian, but not a vegan due to the use of dairy.

Oreo FAQ

 

Yeah, the healthier my diet is, the more disgusting I find unhealthy processed food.

Plenty of rubbish for vegans to eat though: Top 20 Accidentally Vegan Foods

 

My motive is to support my wife and it's easier if we all eat the same meals.

Undoubtedly eating whole foods, fresh fruit and veg while cutting out processed crap is a wise move whether your vegan or not.

I'm not ruling out eating meat again but if I do my main priority is that it's lived well ( preferably in my locality),
and not been pumped full of antibiotics, hormones, pesticides or other chemicals.

We're off on holiday soon and I'll be eating any fish I catch, likewise if my shooting friend turns up with a rabbit I'll happily skin it and casserole it.
The way food is produced makes for some disturbing reading and I find myself looking at ingredients and putting stuff back on the shelf.

The irony is despite many improvements in standards of living, people ate much healthier diets fifty years ago and were generally far more active
than today even without a gym on every high street.

 

Wait, Are Oreos Vegan? - Delish.com


Thats a very Good point, the ingredients in oreos are vegan, but the factory they are produced in also handles milk for other products, so they're not promoted as vegan, even though "practically" they are....... They did do " vegan ones" a few years ago in a seperate factory that were twice the cost, for exactly the same product.

 

Whaaaaa?! Well I guess I'll stop eating spoon fulls of pure cane sugar for a snack. Dangit. I'm not giving up Crisco, which is also vegan.

The correct amount of nutrients for decent energy levels where veganism is involved is important too. My girlfriend is vegan 90% of the time, vegetarian when our chickens are laying eggs or she really wants pizza. She's tired a lot because she's not getting enough nutrients, and I have to deal with the grumpiness. She eats a lot of easily prepared stuff, and always the same stuff (not all of it healthy). If you're going to be really active or exercising it's going to be a huge benefit to study what kinds of meals to prepare to get the proper nutrition for your levels of activities.

I kinda' wish people didn't harp on vegans about "concern for your health because you're not getting enough nutrition!" It's kind of a cliche, and comes from people who have no idea what they're talking about. Every time I try to point out she needs to get more diversity in her food she thinks I'm being the cliche meat eater stereotype trying to harp on her for her life choices -__-

Like I always say. A spoonful of Crisco a day keeps the doctor away!

 

The dogmatic types who fret about the authenticity of their Oreos are the reason why I used the term plant based diet rather than vegan.
Such people define themselves by their belief/lifestyle/ethics in a self indulgent and ultimately pointless way and usually bore everyone else rigid in the process.

 

Frankly vegan or not... I don't eat Oreos......sugar, unbleached enriched flour, high fructose corn syrup is enough to keep me away