WELCOME, Daniela:
I recently posted a response to Karen, regarding AP, but I think that there are many more natural things that we can do, in addition to the Cayce 3-Day Apple Diet.
Almost any monodiet works well in reducing inflammation, and I especially like cherries in season. The apples are easy (the 'redder' the better), but the diet itself is difficult. Blueberries, cranberries, pineapples, mangosteen and lychee fruit (both usually available in Asian markets) all have good properties.
The thing is, if you have active inflammation, it is very important to get rid of this as soon as possible, and if diet alone is not doing this for you, beyond shifting your diet and troubleshooting it here, the next step is drugs and my preference is antibiotics because they, like diet, treat the cause.
I have experimented with anti-inflammatory "foods" and supplements, and perhaps this is now appropriate to review.
The best thing for me was fresh wheatgrass juice. I drank about 6oz at a time on an empty stomach, three days in a row usually got me out of a flare. This, especially in conjunction with vitD from sunlight, but perhaps a natural light source or actual supplement would be adequate.
Next are the EFAs and the best thing to take is borage seed oil at up to 2g nightly--immediately before retiring. During the day, flaxseed oil, EVOliveOil, and cod liver oils are all very good to take--even over 11g total.
On top of this, good amounts of vitC are important. Wallach recommends 'to bowel tolerance,' which means well over 10g until we need to race to the bathroom. In addition to the anti-inflammatory property of this, EFAs, and vitD, they have special intestinal healing properties.
I am almost certain that the raw sea cucumber I tried (a Japanese "delicacy") lowered inflammation...but the gag factor was quite severe. It is now available in dessicated capsule form.
Ginger tea, made strong and with the root removed, has some good properties both for nausea and inflammation.
Next time I get into the 'creeping flare' I get when eating dairy, I might try to down a can of that cranberry sauce that looks so unappealing...
I have taken 2-5g daily Indian frankincense (guggol--or there is another name more common) with moderate improvements. Some people have had good results with MSM, but perhaps I did not take enough. Cabbage juice, sauerkraut, fresh celery juice, and whole beet juices each have some anti-inflammatory action.
Another concept is that we get comfortable with certain foods, and eating too much of these foods create a 'dross' condition where we are unable to properly eliminate certain components or metabolic by-products. This factor alone is pro-arthritic, and we need to break out of our dietary entrenchments and eat still starch-free (non-indicating) natural foods that we don't normally eat, and learn to like new things, or experiment with different ways to prepare things. Raw foods, especially, are important for their enzymes--I sometimes eat alfalfa sprouts in a soup with the cold contrasting the soup with cooked-to-death veggies; we need enzymes and friendly bacteria (probiotics). Other times I eat bitter melon (Asian stores again), and will go out of my way to eat tabouli--and mix fresh cilantro along with the parsley and try to eliminate most of the bulger (which is usually in such small amounts that it does not create a problem). Normally, I am not much of a fungivore, but I force myself to eat mushrooms at times, and even drink green tea.
It is better to keep experimenting with diet, and keep a journal--if your symptoms change at all. We can usually tell pretty rapidly--within a day or two--whether or not we are having any impact on the AS.
I am sorry that you have 'stalled-out' but glad you were able to get more comfortable thanks to the NSD, and I hope that something mentioned here will be of help to You,
John
