I do not need to go dariy free to get pain free for example. This guy was adamant that you should be - I think he is wrong about that.
Some people don't even need to go starch free, just reducing the amount they eat gets them pain free.
I would also like to add that Dr Ebringers diet recommends increasing your milk products!
He also advocates low-starch unless your AS is "active" in which case no-starch is advisable.
I follow Dr Ebringer's advice since he was the one who diagnosed me with AS and he was the one who got me into remission (within the 3 months) for the last 10 years.
Hi Tink,
It is true that it is often mentioned here about cutting out dairy along with starch. Certainly with my husband Jon his progress on the diet really leapt ahead when he cut out dairy and he flares from it even today if he has too much of it. This seems to be something experienced by many other members also. Jon can get away with a bit of chocolate and small amounts of hard cheese but that's it.
Also, if Jon followed Ebringer's advice to simply reduce starch and to increase dairy he would be in a wheelchair today. We all seem to have different starch tolerance levels and Jon's tolerance is very low. A "Low" starch diet would have no effect on him...it has to be "No". Ebringer also promoted low starch along with a DMARD like sulphasalazine. So if you're not going to take meds of any kind then a stricter diet is usually necessary.
You are so lucky that a 3 month stint on the diet put you into a 10 year remission...that is certainly the exception, not the rule!
When Jon goes super strict on the diet his pain gets down pretty much to nil. So you would think then he could relax for a while to Low starch...but no. The moment he relaxes just a little it all comes back. We are still waiting for the elusive day when his as wont be "active" and he can revert to a low starch diet.
All the best
