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.

Friday 14 April 2017

Thank You Ruth

This is a very big thank you to Ruth, who I met but once.

In my opinion, when you are afflicted with Rheumatoid Arthritis you would do well to look at every avenue open to you to reduce the crippling pain and inflammation that is your life, while you sleep and while you are awake.  I go on and on about the superb diet I was very fortunate to find.  I similarly go on and on about the superb exercise regime I am fortunate to have found.

Yesterday I heard about the sad, very sad death of Ruth, taken by cancer.

When I was at my worst a very dear friend told me about his cousin, Ruth and said, "why don't you send her a lock of your hair."  Ruth, you see is, or was, a dowser.  My friend argued that she professed to be able to tell me what foods would be good for me, and which ones were bad for me - all from a simple lock of my hair.

After a couple of months I gave in.

Come on I thought this is very much in the land of hogwash.  How could someone come up with a solution to my health problems from a lock of my hair.  But living in RA hell, I eventually acceded to my friends request, took a snip of my hair, sealed it in an envelope and posted it to Ruth.

Three days was all it took.

Three days later, by email, I received a recommendation of foods to eat and foods to avoid.  How on earth Ruth had come up with a list of foods that turned out to be the same diet that I eventually found through testing worked in my body I may never truly know.  Whatever she gave me hope.  Let me repeat that in case you didn't hear me.  Ruth gave me hope that I was embarking upon the right path for me and my body.

A coincidence of timing?

I started my Paddison Program elimination diet at almost the same moment as I took that cutting of my hair.  Despite recommendations from a whole universe of people that "diet has no effect on arthritis" I had started my journey.  Despite the medical fraternity, the government, our beloved NHS official recommendations, despite NICE guidelines I began the serious process of testing what foods had a beneficial effect on my body, and which ones hurt my body.

My own, my very own experiment falters.

It is not an easy thing going against all medical advice.  But when imperceptibly you find each day is just ever so slightly less painful, less full of inflammation.  That gives you the confidence to go on.  Ruth gave me that confidence.  But despite improvements my recovery faltered.

Who said it was going to be easy?

Looking back in my mind I knew that what triggered RA was to a large extent emotional issues.  And so at about three months after starting my journey of recovery I remembered that generous email from Ruth.  In it she offered a follow-up consultation.  She said if I came to visit her she could dowse me for emotional issues, or something like that.

And so I met Ruth just once.

On a nice sunny day one afternoon I met Ruth at her home.  She very kindly dowsed me over a three hour period.  At the end of this period she reckoned that many of my emotional issues were sorted, or on the road to recovery.  What, more hogwash?

Anyone who doubts that diet will affect arthritis will surely reject the idea my emotional issues were sorted.

Nevertheless as I walked away I felt a better person.  I am not going into the details of my session with Ruth.  That is very personal.  But afterwards I felt lighter emotionally, as she argued I would.

And so thank you to Ruth.

I can honestly say that without meeting Ruth I would not be as healthy as I am today.  She was, is, and will be someone who made a difference to my life.  She both gave me the confidence to fight my fight and then helped me troubleshoot some of the issues inside my brain.

Next week I will walk the Dorset Coast Path.

It is almost exactly a year ago today that I sent that clip of my hair in the post.  At that time I was in a wheelchair and simply unable walk any distance.  Even walking just three feet was done in excruciating pain.  A year ago, with friends and my much better half, Ruth's cousin walked the Dorset Coast Path without me.  This year will be very different.  With Ruth's cousin I will stride out and walk one of the tougher stretches of the UK coastline, without even a walking stick, with head held high and with my life, a happy healthful life ahead of me.

I dedicate this forthcoming walk to Ruth, who I met but once but will be in my thoughts forever.

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