Diet Changes That Helped My AS

Living with condition like AS is not as simple as taking medicine and getting on with it. In my experience, medication can only do so much.

I'm very grateful for how well my injections have been going, but sometimes it is not enough.

I think it is very important to look after our bodies in other ways too. I want to share some of the changes I have made that have really helped my condition.

I was in pain while waiting to start a biologic..

After finally getting my AS diagnosis, I was told that it would be a few months before I could get my hands on Eternacept (or Enbrel for my American friends) as the hospital needed to apply for funding. In the meantime, I would have to make do with painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication.

This was not ideal. My joints were so swollen that I was unable to get around without crutches or a wheelchair, I was constantly in pain, and the medication I was taking while I waited for my biologics was not helping my situation at all.

I decided to take matters into my own hands and do some research into ways to make myself feel better. I knew that anything I tried was not going to "cure" me, but I figured that if I could reduce the pain and swelling, I would hopefully be in a lot less pain while I waited.

Since the main problem I was experiencing was inflammation in my joints. I decided to try and tackle this in 2 ways:

• Start eating more foods with anti-inflammatory properties
• Avoid anything that could potentially cause inflammation

Cutting out dairy and gluten

After many hours of intense googling, I saw that in some cases, gluten and dairy (milk products) can cause inflammation. So I decided to see if cutting these out would have any effect on my condition.

As a lacto-ovo vegetarian, the prospect of life without cheese and bread sounded very daunting at first, but I was so determined to get myself better that I reluctantly rose to this challenge.

This decision was probably not very popular with my friends and family. It had been hard enough to go out for meals with me before (due to my vegetarian ways) and this took it to a whole new level of awkwardness.

I also tried to steer away from processed foods. The majority of my meals consisted of omelettes and various types of salads. I looked up different ways of seasoning and preparing these meals to keep them interesting.

Did this help me at all?

I started to feel an enormous difference. My gigantic swollen joints were reduced to almost a regular human size.

This decreased the pain I was in and allowed me to be a lot more mobile.

I also saw a difference in my energy levels, which in turn enabled me to be a lot more active and exercise more, which further benefitted my condition.

What were my diet additions and replacements?

I also made additions to my diet.

1. Supplements and anti-inflammatory foods

I experimented with a few supplements and anti-inflammatory foods. The ones that worked best for me were ginger and turmeric. I liked the taste, they're easy to implement in meals, and I think they helped my inflammation the most.

2. Switching to snacks that made me feel better

I also made a few trade-offs to make the transition a little easier. Instead of a bag of potato chips, I would opt for walnuts, and I replaced fizzy drinks with a glass of natural ginger beer or ale.

Drinking alcohol

Unfortunately for me, alcohol can be a big cause of inflammation, too. I did refrain from drinking for most of this time. This was arguably the toughest lifestyle change I implemented.

However, on the few occasions I let my hair down a bit, I drank gluten free "adult" ginger beer. I convinced myself that the ginger in the beer would cancel out the effects of the alcohol. But if I am being honest, this theory was probably fueled by delusion.

Keeping steady with diet changes after a flare-up

Of course, it is not always easy or particularly enjoyable to always follow strict diets like this. Sometimes we need to live a little - which for me means eating and drinking things that aren't exactly AS-friendly.

Now I am out of a flare up, I’m not quite as strict with my diet, but I still keep an eye on what I am putting in my body. I'm more aware of how different food and drink can affect my condition. One of my saddest discoveries was that when I eat pizza, my pain levels increase after about an hour.

As a Londoner, social situations involving alcohol are inevitable. I realized that after a night's drinking, there’s an intense brain fog alongside a hangover. This brain fog usually makes it harder for me to look after myself properly which leads to my condition deteriorating. For this reason, I try to limit the amount of alcohol I consume and only partake if my body is feeling up to it.

My diet isn't perfect, but it's all about balance

Everyone's body is different, and I am under no illusion that this is the magic cure for all. But I do truly believe our diet has a direct impact on how our body behaves and in turn how we feel.

Of course, how strict you should be depends on what condition your body is in. I follow these eating and drinking habits religiously whenever I am in a flare-up.

But when I am feeling more pain and stiffness free, I allow myself to indulge in a few treats. AS adds enough stress to our lives; we should be able to enjoy ourselves with a beer or a bit of cheese sometimes.

If these changes don’t work for you, don't despair. There are so many alternatives to try that may benefit you more. Keep experimenting until you find what works best for your body.