Well, I really can't complain, I did it to myself, but for those with osteoarthritis here's a heads up Went way off script eating wise the past 2 days and I was eating things I never eat. Had breakfast 2 days in a row, of Frosted mini-wheats (basically sugar coated). Had Ice cream on Sunday (more sugar). Even had some potato chips (salt). Monday breakfast, mini-wheats (convinced myself the wheat bit was good for me, sugar be damned). Got to work, a co-worker just got back from India; chocolate from Dubai and some sort of treat from India. I had some of the Chocolate from Dubai (sugar), then I went for the Indian thing (pretty much a rectangle of condensed sugar.) Then I started to think, I was way off my diet and needed to bring it back in. So...a cup of green tea, which was great....however finishing it off with Pretzels (salt to the power of 10) was not so good. Now I started noticing hip discomfort after the Dubai Chocolate, but that did not deter me from the Indian Sugar cubes. Noticed a little more issue about an hour after that.....so I had tea. Still feeling hip discomfort, what the heck, dive into the pretzels....and that is when the real pain began, within minutes of the pretzels Now, things those with inflammatory joint issues should know, 2 big things that one should avoid, if one has arthritis, is sugar and salt, both are very good at causing inflammation. Well, apparently my brain took a couple of days off and I went nuts because I sure did not seem to remember that. Result, by the time I got home from work last night, the hip pain was so bad that it took me 5 minutes to get from my car to my house (about 30 feet). Got in the house, brain was back by then, and I made salads for my youngest and myself for dinner. After I went and sat down and it did not hurt when sitting. Sat and relaxed for 30 minutes, got up, and literally could not walk due to pain, not even with a cane. Took me 5 minutes of standing there just to painfully move my left leg, but the right leg would have none of this moving silliness. To walk for 15 minutes I was pretty much dragging my right leg, while using the cane. Finally thing began to loosen up and so I could walk almost normally, with a bit of pain, with a cane. Had to sit down to check something on the computer, decided I would only sit for a minute and get right back up to avoid the foot dragging. Nope, all it took was a minute and I was right back to standing, trying to move, moving painfully while dragging my foot. That was my evening...until my wife got home Well when Mrs Xue got home, after asking me what happened, she spent a good amount of time (about 30 minutes) telling me how stupid I was for doing this to myself. I however having absolutely no leg to stand on (figuratively and literally) to defend myself, sat and listened. After my scolding, she did acupuncture on me and I went to sleep. Got up this morning, left hip not bad, right hip still not happy, but I could walk, almost immediately, with a cane without the dragging foot. I'm being much MUCH more careful with the diet today and around about 12:00PM EST I was able to walk without the cane. Things are getting better, slowly. Moral, do not eat things you are not suppose to when you have something like arthritis, it will come back to hurt you....literally If there is an upside to this, I took today off from work to recuperate. Well I've been sitting here way to long typing this, now it is time to see if I can still welk Later...
Look after yourself Xue, you shouldn't mess with foods that give you nasty reactions. All sorts of long term issues as well as the short. Hope you're on the mend soon.
Thanks for sharing that. So, I have been trying to cut down on sugar to lose weight to help my recently diagnosed arthritis. But you are saying it has inflammatory qualities that should make you avoid it on top of it if you have arthritis? Huh, I have a lot to learn.....
I can get away with it sometimes. If I had only the ice cream I would have been fine. If I had only the Dubai Chocolate I likely would have been fine too. The brown Indian block of condensed sugar might have done me in all by itself. But I have to watch it. I also suspect mine might be a bit more advanced than yours. Like my doctor said.... I'm not a candidate for knee or hip replacement....yet. However, there are those, that if caught early enough, that follow the guidelines and (sadly) restrictions, that go a long time, if not the res of their life with little or no issues. I was diagnosed in my 30s, but I did not pay attention, or follow any medical advice, until my 50s and due to loss of flexibility in my right hip. There are a lot of sites out there telling you what you should and should not eat, most have the correct ones, but many throw in foods that for no reason. There is no study behind thier claims to back them up. I tend to use the guidelines found on the Arthritis Foundations website and the CDC has some good things to read as well. Also take a look at NIH
Yeah sugar can increase inflammation a lot, so can things like basic wheat flour, and it'll cause extra pain with any sort of condition including trauma. When I go into recovery mode from training I try to avoid a list of things, sugar and processed junk foods and especially things like pretzels, ice cream, baked goods and other sweets. Worst offenders in my opinion are refined carbs, alcohol, and anything with corn syrup especially soda.
