Diets for Ankylosing Spondylitis/Arthritis: Anti-Inflammatory Eating?

Diets for AS is a topic of much debate - some people swear by it, others say it makes no difference. I believe the truth is somewhere in the middle.
In this video, I review 3 main diets suggested for AS, other forms of inflammatory arthritis and autoimmune conditions in general. While there is some scientific evidence behind them, it remains limited - but maybe that's because no one is studying them properly or people don't stick to them strictly?
I have already tried a form of AIP, next challenge is Low Starch - join me on this journey and let me know what your experience has been!
Here's my AS story:
• My Ankylosing Spondyli...
Here are some resources for the 3 diets I discuss:
Low Starch: www.kickas.org/
AIP: autoimmunewellness.com/
Anti-inflammatory eating: spondylitis.org/spondylitis-p...
If you like the video, please subscribe and give me a thumbs up :)
Dash

[@stephenlyssy2127]

I've been battling AS for nearly 30 years. It went undiagnosed for almost 20 of those years. I did the AIP diet, and it taught me a lot. Most importantly, it taught me that there is absolutely no way I could stick with that life style. That being said, when I started bringing normal foods back in, I found that gluten was a huge trigger for me. I was so excited to eat pasta. I had a huge slice of lasagna, and the next morning I could not get out of bed. Since then, I have stayed away from gluten, and focused on eating a balanced diet. I try to eat organic, unprocessed food, and limit eating out. I still have flare ups from time to time, but for the most part I feel ok. I am now 44 years old, and although I still live with pain, I can honestly say I feel better now than I did when I was in my twenties. With that being said, I think the AIP diet is a good place to start because it can be a good way for you to identify your trigger foods. Other than that, just try to eat healthy, whole foods, and stay active. Stretching is critical; which is unfortunate because for me, stretching is almost as miserable as the AIP diet.

[@dashofthought6959]

Thank you for sharing and so glad to hear you feel better now than your did in your 20s! Very inspiring and well done for staying healthy :)

[@CindyPiper1979]

@@dashofthought6959 I also feel better than I did in my twenties.

[@majafleur9646]

I agree with you 1000%

[@davilfs]

Maybe immunossenessence is playing a role (not sure how to spell it in english)

[@davidstaines6484]

Good morning to you Dash. After forty years of trying to find the best and most enjoyable foods I now keep my diet simple. Lots of fruit and vegetables. Washed grapes etc in the fridge for snacks. And a wee bit of chocolate everyday. Knowing I'm eating well appeases my conscience, and therefore my peace of mind. All the best to you

[@85360843]

Thank you so much for your videos :) they are helping me so much right now....Its really strange too as I was about to eat something I shouldn't have , and then this popped on my youtube page , Devine intervention is what my dad would call it ...please continue to make these videos, I am learning so much about AS from you , and I hope you make a video soon going deeper into what your actually feeling, like symptoms and stuff ... like a day in the life of dash or something x

[@katharinadavis9474]

Hi Dasha! I was diagnosed with AS last week after 5 years of progressively worse pain. I am 48 and in my early 20s developed severe atopic dermatitis (I only now learned this is also an autoimmune condition. It affected large parts of my body. I couldn’t touch anything that had chemicals in it - beauty and household products, newspaper, new or dry cleaned clothing etc. I went all natural which helped me manage the condition but it was hard to avoid all chemicals. In my mid-30s, a doctor put me on a very strict diet, maybe it was AIP, and I have been symptom free of the atopic dermatitis - still using natural products (but no flare ups when I occasionally touch conventional soap or cleaning products). The thing is you have to STRICTLY adhere to the diet to cleanse your body for 3 months. YES ITS HARD. But I felt sooo much better! I still adhere to it by eating clean, no grains but brown rice and quinoa, no dairy, rarely alcohol. If I do have these things once in a blue moon, I don’t feel well. I was addicted to sugary carbs (croissants, muffins etc) and I no longer crave them. I realized it was the carbs that made me so hungry - no longer have these swings, brain fog etc. I will now go on a strict cleanse again to see if it helps with AS and my migraines. I healed myself already once - I am a big believer in food.

[@HungryWop]

Just got my blood work back and I am hla-b27 positive. My journey begins now to figure out what helps me. Thank you for sharing.

[@Abydos33RA]

Eliminate gluten. Start Calisthenics, a use body not weight sport, or swimming. Drink a lot of water. Check out my playlists

[@scottermer384]

Hi Dasha, very useful info. I was diagnosed at 13 and my spine has been locked since 27 and I’m now 55. I’m just making some adjustments to my diet and came across your video. Keep up the good work it’s very inspiring but it looks like you might be neglecting your guitar, I notice that the bridge is not happy😬

[@rjdowning]

I have ankylosing spondylitis. Appreciate you proving these videos!

[@charbus26able]

Hi Dasha, thanks for these videos. I was diagnosed 5 years ago and about 2 years ago I started a plant based diet which has helped a lot with the fatigue. I look forward to more videos.

[@dashofthought6959]

Thank you! Great to hear that plant based diet helped you feel better, I'm definitely considering it. How much of a difference were you able to notice and how quickly?

[@charbus26able]

@@dashofthought6959 I think the change in fatigue was immediate and just feeling light after a meal is just great.

[@satyamhari9952]

Thank you madam for your valuable information

[@michaelp8727]

The solution is in the diet. I had painful AS for 17 years (mainly in the hip, upper back and then 14 moths in the eye (that's when i was diagnosed)). I fixed 98% of my issues by cutting alcohol, sugar, processed food, dairy and red meat. It feels so much better for so many reasons. I hope this helps someone. I drink lots of coffee, lots of oat milk (delicious), eggs, black rice, potatoes, gluten free pasta, full grain bread, no need to be hungry or not enjoy eating/drinking when cutting unhealthy stuff from your meal:) It takes 3 months to cleanse out the body... one month won't do it, and make it your lifestyle. For me it worked

[@trailrunningphil]

This is an interesting response. So to clarify, you don’t drink alcohol at all but you do drink coffee?

[@michaelp8727]

@Phil Begnett Correct, alcohol is really the worst (i was quite a drinker and party guy for 20 years....)when it comes to inflammation. Coffee in fact is anti inflammatory. I drink lots of it. But with no sugar or cow milk added (both inflammatory). Oat milk though is a great anti inflammatory additive and super tasty. And I put cinnamon in top of the coffee, which is also anti inflammatory.

[@trailrunningphil]

@@michaelp8727 Thanks Michael, I appreciate you getting back to me with that extra info. I'm also a big fan of OAT milk :) The most pain I get is through my ankle joints but I do a lot of trail and road running (around 3 times a week) I'm hoping that cutting out sugar and alcohol will help alleviate that and not get told to stop running! Running apparently is great for AS.

[@michaelp8727]

@Phil Begnett important is your excesize is done in a way in strengthens the muscle and doesnt cause a lot of Information. What helps me a lot is 800 mg of ibuprofen when it flares up (at this point maybe twice a year from weekly). Gove sugar, alcohol and processed food a 3 months total break and see how you feel. You can always go back to it. But I tell you, your body doesn't really want that stuff anymore after a while. And cutting it decreases also risks for cancer, alzheimer, diabetes, heart issues etc. Once you cut down on shit enough, you actually start feeling when something is bad for you very quickly. But most people junk up their body on a daily basis, and it's then impossible to understand what is bad. And the doctors and pharmaceutical companies and food companies love that self destructive behavior. Really all the best with your AS!

[@BettinaBlanco]

I was strict AIP for about 3-4 weeks late last year because of a bad flare-up. I found it made a huge difference in inflammation, but it was very hard to follow despite mostly staying at home. Now that I am going out more and spending weekends away from the city, I think it would be next to impossible to do it strictly. The alcohol and coffee are just too hard to completely eliminate while still socializing.

[@Abydos33RA]

Replace those with lemon/oranges juice with ginger or tea. Also take huge amounts of magnesium in your body.

[@LowStarchLife]

This is a great video Dasha. I started on the AIP diet for 3 months initially to give my gut time to heal and then gradually re-introduced low starch foods. One year on I am enjoying learning and sharing new recipes to make it an enjoyable lifestyle, including cake and coffee!

[@foodtripnijep]

More videos like this please, I have stiff necked for years

[@Abydos33RA]

Hi from Romania. I left wheat - gluten, processed food and sugar and inflamation reduced 90%. Yes it can be cured and remissioned. Every person must test diet and develop it's own.

[@raghbirsekhon6883]

Hi Justin what flour or grain you were eating, I am waiting for ur response.

[@Abydos33RA]

@@raghbirsekhon6883 Everything but wheat flour. I have added kefir, iogurt, a lot of bananas, and the first thing as many seeds i can. The seeds were trimmed in a coffee trimmer or how is named the device. Potatos are like 10% of inflammation. It takes like 4-7 days of eating everyday to start have pains. I have some other playlists to check that out.

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

I cut all carbs period. Even white rice is dangerous. Sweating is also important, I believe. Not eating and food additives is also critical.

[@butucalbert9604]

Salut ai reusit sa stopezi boala cu ajutorul alimentatiei ? Eu am dureri grele pe piept in jona cea mai de jos a coloanei

[@Abydos33RA]

@@butucalbert9604 Da, este oprita. De cate ori mananc ceva ce contine gluten sau anumite mancaruri procesate, conserve, salamuri, fast food incep durerile iar. Vezi printre playlisturi , am si exercitii.

[@jonathancorral5250]

I just got diagnosed with AS & started humira. Thank you for this video.

[@genericx2347]

It's gluten

[@Natecoxy]

Edit: sorry just realized this is a 3yo comment. Stop humira quick! It's poison and unnecessary. When I realized it was making me sick and went off it I had the absolute worst flares ever!. Stop now and hopefully you can avoid that. Forget these stupid diets mentioned. Cut out ALL grains, "vegetable" oils and processed crap, anything with artificial additives. Eat lots of grass fed ruminant meat. don't be scared of fat like this lady(think about fat and what it's purpose is, ever heard of fat soluble vitamins?) You can also eat a little fruit and veg(preferably organic) you need to be STRICT, for example I hadn't had a flare for years, was out for the day(I usually just fast when out) but I decided to buy a falafel...... next day had a nasty flare, never again. You basically have 2 choices, strict diet or humira, I suggest you do extremely thorough research on humira before you choose that option, it only took about 2 years for it to meet me up. Also don't touch nsaids or pain killers they mess up your gut and make it worse.

[@davidsivak121]

Hi I live in London UK and I have been diagnosed whit AC 2 months ago and I started going to old Chinese acupuncture and the Chinese doctor has told me to start gluten free and dairy-free diet my symptoms has reduced and she changed my life, her name is Dr Rhonda Lee she is based in Berminham Uk and she work whit Prince Charles before you could find her on Google she is great. And my rheumatologist in London suggest I should start biology treatment. My question is did anyone start biology treatment and how did it go for them I'm not really sure if I should do it or please help. Thank you for your help

[@BenjiSamosir]

Hey dasha, how are you, hope you are doing well, for autoimmune try the gerson protocol (mostly plant baseddiet + juicing, and for detox also coffee enema) if you are unsure you can research first :) stay safe dasha!

[@jenniewoehl9254]

Great post! I've had AS diagnosed for at least two years, but symptomatic for over eight. I've had the most success going gluten free, and am an odd situation in that I don't have a great amount of pain, but have through the roof inflammation. Low starch is so danged hard to follow. I've had some success with autoimmune spinach drinks (Dr Brooke Gloldner) but those are tough to stick with too, and I fear I may have to eventually give up dairy but have not worked up the courage to do that. Anyway, I enjoyed your vid, thank you!

[@bssandhu-jd7gg]

I have ankylosing spondylitis

[@ikeanthony994]

You can reverse your Ankylosing Spondylitis by changing your diet which involve stop eating gluten foods like wheat, rye, barley, stop eating grains like rice, corn, oath, stop eating night shades like pepper, white, red or yellow potatoe (you can eat sweet potatoe), stop eating vegetable oils, peanut, stop eating fried foods. stop eating processed foods, stop eating white sugar, stop eating pasta, bread, dairy (milk), eggs, chicken. You can make smoothies like blending green vegetables like kale, spinach, cucumber, you can also cook vegetables, eat a lot of vegetables, eat coconut, avocado, eat home prepared/made whole foods like sweet potatoes, yams and beans. You can also do exercise like walking, cycling.

[@dashofthought6959]

Thanks Anthony. Have you got solid evidence that excluding all of these foods consistently works for people? Sounds like a very restrictive diet. I've tried diets like that and it's made no difference to me personally, other than feeling permanently hungry

[@angelinajolie8164]

😭😭😭😭😭😭 I'm suffering from severe inflammation and ecAemay

[@georginaK21]

Keto and even carnivore work wonders too. This is because ketones are more anti-inflammatory than even prednisolone!

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

Cut all carbs and sugar! Fruits are very high in sugar. Paleo, zero starch/sugar sure worked for me. I noticed a big difference within a week. But I also cut most saturated fats too.

[@Rocksteady365mac]

No carbs and no sat fat..? You must be wasting away? How can you keep your body strong like that?

[@caminoabienestar7131]

@@Rocksteady365macexactly

[@davilfs]

I pratically withdrawn starch, cutted sugar, dairy, gluten. Do fasting (Best thing, either intermitent and prolonged). But just noticed excessive fruit consuption is trriggering my food cravings and boosting inflammation. Not sure how to deal with that

[@Novatit]

Thanks for the video, it could be nice to have also recent information. Diet is a confusing topic for AS.

[@davilfs]

Very confusing haha not easy to deal with The microbiome. And it also cant be standardized

[@LoSkiBum]

No, it is very simple. Stay lean, stay lean, stay lean, stay lean. Dont forget to stay lean. And eat healthy. Did I say to stay lean? I dont remember... anyway: stay lean. If you want to try bizzarre diets go for them, but before, please, be sure you are lean. AS from 22 yo, now 48, ski instructor, mountain biker, I squat 250 pound and bench 200 pounds. I tried every diet... now I eat everything.

[@davilfs]

@@LoSkiBum seems like youre in remission. Not sure why. Im very lean, I surf quite intensely 4x/week and do some other things for my body, but still deal with cyclical inflammation

[@LoSkiBum]

I am quite stable with a lot of stiffness in the lower back. I do etarnecept since 2007 but now I would like to change treatment.

[@davilfs]

@@LoSkiBum im quite stable also, AS since 21, 34yo now. I bodyboard quite intensely, but this cyclical stiffness makes life very hard. Already tried many things. Paleo diet. Very good. Fasting and Intermitent fasting turned my life upside down on a good way... Cameback swimming and surfing almost almost 10 years. But desease continued... Cant rely on fasting eternaly, although its a great curing tool. Now im researching a lot about carnivore diet. And im moving on the way of a plant based diet promoting by Dr Paul Saladino. Its making a lot of sense to me... I know from a lot of time that my gut is on the center of AS. All The Best for you!!

[@trailrunningphil]

So….now we are out of lock down and your back to normal life, have you managed to stick to any of these diets?

[@Natecoxy]

You have to be STRICT for diet to help! Also dont be scared of fatty meat...... i eat about 1kg fatty beef a day. No more humira for me.

[@ryanlebear]

Your right, there's no treats etc, you have have to commit 100%. I've been doing carnivore at I see significant improvements. Each time I fall off the carnivore wagon everything starts flaring up. Even if I accidentally eat meat cooked in oil, seed oil terrible I flare up pretty sharpish.

[@phyllisalbertson7887]

I was diagnosed this month with AS, I have suffered for years but no diagnosis. I am looking for a way to help through food and exercise.

[@BettinaBlanco]

For me the most difference was eliminating gluten and cow dairy, and I basically only have corn or rice maybe 3-6 times a year on special occasions. The cow dairy I eliminated bc of stomach issues but it helped inflammation too. Good luck, buy yourself a hot pad for your back and a cold pack you can use on ankles and knees if you have enthesitis.

[@StultifiedGraphics]

Hi how are you, Have you tried the Carnivore diet?

[@majafleur9646]

Only one that works.

[@StultifiedGraphics]

Seem to help for sure@@majafleur9646

[@CindyPiper1979]

Gluten free dairy free and very low carb

[@nicolesmitran6077]

I'm on the no starch diet and am absolutely starving, every single day. Feeling agitated, light headed and annoyed lol

[@caminoabienestar7131]

Gotta do keto .eat fat

[@bencote2219]

In my experience with AS, diet is not that influential on symptoms. Flares come and go as they please. I think people overstate the importance of diet to try to regain a sense of control of their body largely because this disease has a mind of its own. It’s demoralizing when you follow strict diets then a flare up puts you on your knees. Not to say just let yourself go and have a bad diet, but you cannot rid yourself of flares by going gluten free, sugar free, etc. Have a good balanced diet but don’t go crazy with restrictions. Have a beer or a cookie once in a while and don’t blame it for your symptoms because it just isn’t true. It isn’t worth starving yourself and going hard-line on diets and then also being in pain - you’re just double-punishing yourself! Exercise and medications (biologics) are the only real ways to manage this hell.

[@Soh-Crates]

You left out Animal Fats, and Fats in general when talking about the Low Starch/No Starch/London Diet. You will feel hungry if you don't eat your Fats: Fatty Meat, Fish, Poultry; Tallow, Lard; Fat trimmings from Beef, Pork, Suet, Skin, Egg Yolks, Brain, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Palm Kernal Oil, Ghee etc... All of which are also AIP legal. You need Calories. Fats are the greatest source per gram.

[@davilfs]

Fat is not even close to be a problem to me. Except when I over eat and it slows digestion

[@NeoNine10]

I'm currently on the GenoType Diet for my symptoms. I had a huge amount of leg pain lasting days affecting mobility, and intermittent throbbing back pain that would occur a few times a year. Reviews seem to indicate it's good for autoimmune diseases. Previously i was on the author's earlier work with the Blood Type Diet, that helped solve the biggest pain symptoms mainly in my legs first upon exercise. I found out that seemed to be related to potatoes and possibly wheat Lectins as it would be the worst after consuming them in a similar time frame. That was 2021, the tremendous leg pain still hasn't returned. Stamina up. Since moving to the GenoType Diet, haven't had any further back pain since the end of summer last year. These two videos by Louisa do a good job of summarizing both if you find them helpful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6uQg4yubqmsY9E (BTD) kzbin.info/www/bejne/l4bHmqmcp5d7l5Y (GTD) Regarding the Swami and Opus23 software mentioned in the GTD video, you can speak to the guys at the Center for Generative Medicine for what approach to take for you based on your unique needs. Some require further tweaking specifically tailored for your genetics or if the previous earlier work approaches doesn't quite do the trick. I've spoken to them a few times. Good people. This video provides further information regarding what they do and for how to get in touch: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYi5p4iHqM2Ajbs

[@marijam.3623]

'Lean fish, lots of fish, fish is great' Could you just clarify, should I or should I not be eating fish? 😘

[@dashofthought6959]

One thing is for sure, one can never have too much fish :D

[@alexdillon7572]

You are beautiful

[@janpijanica3980]

You are beautiful.