Nutrition

Thanks for allowing me to join this group. I was just diagnosed with Amyopathic DM in May. I've had some good success with a wheat/sugar/dairy-free diet that cleared up the rash on all my joints, except for my hands. I'm on Prednisone and Plaquenil and hope to get my hands cleared up and then continue to fight this with nutrition. My goal is to keep it out of my muscles. Have any of you had success with diet?

Hi Red Knuckles!

While I have learned [the hard way] that sugar and booze greatly effect how I feel (I also have fibro), I have not yet jumped into a new diet approach fully...

I started doing a little research on AIP (AutoImmune Protocol or Paleo) earlier this year.

The AIP Diet is said to be extremely helpful in helping cells heal themselves. This was first researched by a woman named Dr. Terry Wahl. She actually put her own MS in remission with her diet.

The Wahl's Protocol: http://terrywahls.com/about-the-wahls-protocol/

There is another blogger who has taken this in a slightly different direction. She's awesome since she shares all the info that you need on her site.

The Paleo Mom, AIP: http://www.thepaleomom.com/autoimmunity/the-autoimmune-protocol Her book is the one that I am starting with. I watched a couple of her YouTube videos about the book and felt good about her approach.

I decided to start with her book, which is incredible (like a textbook) - although then decided to hold off until the fall to really dive in and consider such a major diet change. The Paleo Mom has a cookbook coming out soon too, which I thought might be more helpful to me.

I don't eat a lot of meat, so this will be a major undertaking in more ways than one for me.

While super encouraging to think that diet could help me feel better - it is such a major change, that I feel like I need to make sure that I'm 100% ready (including having the time to devote to it fully) before I dive in.

I have started drinking more Almond milk in place of regular milk though, and I feel like that may be contributing to my having more energy (again, I don't eat a lot of meat or get a lot of protein) but I don't think that almond milk is even "allowed" on AIP...so that sucks.

Here is a list of some more auto-immune food bloggers: http://paleomagonline.com/introducing-the-paleo-autoimmune-bloggers/

Also, here is a list of pros and cons that I felt were all very credible from TIME magazine. Always good to hear both sides... http://healthland.time.com/2014/01/07/the-paleo-diet-craze-whats-right-and-wrong-about-eating-like-a-caveman/ This article mentions a new book by a guy who makes Paleo more realistic for normal people (this however is not speaking about people who use the diet as a way to keep autoimmune diseases at bay): http://www.amazon.com/Your-Personal-Paleo-Code-Reverse/dp/031632289X/ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I hope that this info is a start, to help you in this first year of working to heal with taking care of your body.
Best!

Maren