Food And Arthritis

Add the RIGHT foods to your diet to REDUCE arthritic pain and inflammation.
Include the WRONG foods to your diet and INCREASE arthritic pain and inflammation.
My choice? A life-journey based on a low-oil whole-food plant based diet.
Whatever your current state of health, make yourself healthier - you deserve it. Start your plant based diet journey today.

Sunday 14 August 2016

A significant step forward

Looking back, I had hoped and indeed expected to see good physical progress for this month of August, but that didn't happen.  My first two August weeks definitely did not go to plan, instead I was hamstrung with some pain and inflammation. I am not talking anything of the pain levels of the early months of this year, but just sufficient to stop me getting out and about.

That changed dramatically three days ago.  I'd booked myself into Cropredy 2016, Fairport Convention's annual folk music festival.  When I booked the ticket I had a real hesitance. I asked myself many questions
  • could I actually get there?
  • no chance of camping, 
  • would I need a mobility scooter?
  • what if it rains badly which could be very bad news for walking, 
  • how on earth would I get up if I slipped?
  • would a slip have consequential health issues, like a broken joint?
  • what would I be able to eat?
  • how would I get plenty of water?
  • how would I get in/out of camping chairs?
I knew none of the answers to these questions.  However very reassuringly, my mate Dave (NB. Some people use the word "mate" for almost any friend whereas I save it for a very few special people) said he would come and drive me daily and make sure I would be okay.  So with at least the potential for a decent sleep in my own bed sorted I hesitantly booked the ticket.  (P.S. My much better half is in Ecuador for all of August on a month's World Challenge school trip and so she would not be my rock in this instance.)

Also providing major help on-site were Matt & Linzi and Shirl.  They regularly helped me out of a camping chair to get me vertical!  Linzi also ensured I was kept toastie warm as the evening cooled.  So, so many thanks to these people without whom I could not have dared to go to Cropredy.

Now bearing in mind I have been "normally" walking just a mile a day or thereabouts while going to the shops etc, Cropredy was different.  Some months ago I had installed WalkLogger app on my phone.  As yet I have no idea of the accuracy of this app, but absolute accuracy isn't something that worries me.  What is important is increasing amounts of good quality blood pumping around my body and into my joints.  And as Cropredy drew near I gained more confidence I was nearing the end of that "two-steps back" phase.

Starting with my detox after Easter, over the last months my body has been cleansed of many impurities as harmful foods have largely been abolished from my diet and replaced by good foods.  Thanks to my diet my microbiome, that is the gut flora inside my intestines are in a much much better state.  That means good quality blood.

Even just a week ago, with car loaded I was on the point of aborting a trip to visit friends on the South Coast.  Right up to the day before Cropredy I was not perfect: but I did feel the signs of improvement.  If only I could keep my diet clean I would continue to improve.  And so it proved

In many ways Cropredy is a perfect festival for me.  Everything is in one field with a lovely gently slope towards its one and only main stage.  This means I can wander around the food and clothing stalls with lots of sunshine at an easy pace so no pressure.  If I didn't want to walk I could sit in a camping chair, again no pressure.

So with plenty of sunshine and warmth I wandered up and down listening to great music.  Just walking to/from the car park and also around the field I clocked up 2.92 miles on Thursday.  On Friday I braved a walk into the village and sat on a wall, tired but happy, by Cropredy bridge over the canal and in total I clocked up 4.35 miles.  Yesterday I did two walks, one along the towpath and reached 8.08 miles.

No pain, no inflammation.  Just steady walking in great sunshine.  Pure enjoyment.  For me this result is mammoth.  With a following wind I should now be able to walk with more confidence on more days in coming months.

I would like to also say particular thank you to various food vendors who reached that golden standard for anyone fighting arthritis: gluten-free, dairy-free and nightshade-free in one dish.
  • Leon's Vegetarian Festival Cuisine who provided me with a gluten & dairy free nutroast with three delightfully fresh sides.
  • La Creperie who provided a buckwheat pancake filled with mushrooms and spinach.
  • Goodness Gracious Mobile Veggie Foods who provided a separately cooked Mexican burger in a gluten free roll with a generous helping of carrot salad, and finally the best of all
  • Rissotto To Go who provided me with quite a few very tasty and healthy rissottos with a choice of mushrooms and butternut squash.
Finally I want to say thank you also to Anne and all at Kokopelli Massage who worked tirelessly through each day providing massages to so many people.  I asked Anne to concentrate on my right shoulder which is (or is that was) as stiff as anything and whilst she has not totally solved the problem at least I am now able to lift my right arm without pain.

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