Lessons about serious illness from causes of death in the UK

It may seem a long way from a lifetime condition such as arthritis but there are, to me, good lessons to learn from those about death that can have a big impact on our most painful disease.

This video exposes the stranglehold the meat and pharmaceutical industry has on our everyday thinking about the causes of death.  It might be easy to thus label employees of meat and pharmaceutical industries as the "baddies."  However, watch the video carefully and you'll see that society at large is just as guilty.

Society's challenge is compared with how long it has taken to out the tobacco industry, and that taken many decades.  Taken to heart by society, hospitals might empty themselves simply by people eating much better diets.

Hummus, a favourite food

I could eat this forever and today I'm trying a modification by adding my turmeric paste making it even more irresistible.  What's not to like about this great food?

My recipe today is:

• chick peas
• olive oil
• lemon juice & zest
• turmeric paste
• garlic cloves
• cider vinegar
• sea salt
• paprika
• tahini

Having soaked the chick peas overnight and then cooked them for an hour, essentially everything is then blended.

I just love topping it off with the lemon zest, paprika and some olive oil which gives off a beautiful red and yellow colouring.

Some Milestones

I'm not a person that likes targets.  Perhaps a life of failing has made me resistant to them.  However I have noticed improvements and wanted to let you know the changes.

When I started this diet I felt glorious.  Whilst just drinking water and fresh vegetable juices I had no pain, and that was a complete miracle to my mind.  If life without food was possible I was almost prepared to sign up to it there and then.  I did not mind people eating great foods, indeed I enjoyed the smells very much.  And all the time I sat there and felt wonderful.

Annoyingly after a few days I started to eat my basic foods and pain came back.  I so wanted to return to just juicing where I might be free of pain again.  But I then realised I was starting a journey, a journey to happiness, a journey with my chronic arthritis at least under control and possibly defeated.  And so looking forward I wondered what would happen next.

Anemia

Not that I knew it, but a big feature of recent months has been fatigue brought on by a lack of iron.   Iron is used body to help generate red blood cells.  A good supply of these gives you energy whereas an insufficient supply leads to fatigue - and additional draining pain!  Apparently around  60% of people with arthritis are anemic.

My particular type of anemia is called Normocytic anemia.  Not that that means much (to me), it is more a label indicating anemia with an associated low red blood cell count.  Apparently this can be common with people with diseases like arthritis.

My symptoms that feel can be attributed at least in part to anemia include:

• Pain in my lower legs: My right leg in particular has been painful below the knee.  Lifting it say to get in and out of bed was not nice.
• Weakness in my hands: I have not been able to open jars, use a can opener or turn taps on and off easily.

People with arthritis need a steady supply of good foods.  Because of arthritis, your body uses up nutrients much more quickly than for healthy people.  So you need to alter your diet to give it the nutrition it needs and deserves.  By this I definitely do not mean you must eat more!  Nor do I necessarily mean buying organic food.  What I do mean is choosing the foods you eat and the foods you avoid.

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead

I have to bring this video to your attention.  "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead" was a key video in inspiring me to think that doctors prescribing pills was not the answer.  It inspired me to think that I could clear up many of my health issues by getting my food back to basics.  So here it is.

I cannot commend highly enough for anyone with serious health issues, an especially arthritis, to sit down and watch it.

The film features a man who had/has extremely bad hives, another auto-immune disease.

Insomnia for two nights

Being unable to sleep is not fun.  That said my first night was relatively painless and comfortable, and languishing thus is a rather pleasant experience.  Then hardly sleeping through the day, followed by yet another similar night brought me to the point of saying, "enough is enough."

I have been playing round with my meds.  When I say playing I guess that make me sound carefree, whereas the opposite is true.  My methotrexate, as I think I have said before seems to do little for me.  I seem to be banned from other powerful NSAIDs and so am limited to codeine, paracetemol and 10% diclofenac gel.  Each of these I can take "as needed."  So what does as needed actually mean?

Travelling with Arthritis

When I realised my diet affected my arthritis I decided that if I went anywhere I would need to pack specific food and cooking items to suit my diet and thus help avoid flares and pain and pain and flares.  This was based on experience of several months of going away some weekends and finding each weekend had extra flares that took several days to recover from.  One choice would be never to go away again: that wasn't my choice.

So I decided I needed to prepare.  Top on my list is my juicer with both a cucumber and (organic) celery, with these I know I can calm my system down should any flares happen.  This won't get rid of any inflammation but by some miracle my bodies pain will begin to ease.

My first GF beer

I feel that going out to restaurants is like taking your life in hands: rarely can one have confidence in the menus to deal with a challenging diet like mine.  I may go into that later.  What I want to say right now is that I had a Daura Damm beer and had no side-effects apart from a good sleep afterwards.

I largely became an alcohol-free zone about six months ago, say October 2015.  My first alcohol was a couple of small glasses of some rather expensive Sauterne which I had early in the New Year.  From this I am confidence I had no side effects.

Cuke n Cel, my daily juice

Since my arthritis flared up I have consumed more cucumber and celery than in the rest of my life!  Here is today's juice in a Hobgoblin pint glass.  I generally juice up half of each plant per day, yielding just over the half pint of sweet bliss.

I have seen recommended that at least the celery should be organic whenever possible since celery is one of top 10 plants for absorbing pesticides!  I find a good organic celery is just slightly sweeter - although depending on where I get one from they tend to need a good wash and brush.

My favourite source for organic produce is my local organic veg shop, the Market Garden, Eynsham.  Started a couple of years ago, Jonathan and Lucy provide a fabulous service to the local community, with them growing a lot of the produce themselves.

Jargon

Trying to become some kind of expert in my medical condition is not made easy by the quantity of jargon. So here is my attempt to pull some notes together.

• Anemia: A low red-blood cell count, which may mean less oxygen circulating the body and thus, amongst other things, tiredness.  Often this is treated with iron supplements but there are chronic forms that need different solutions.
• Anti-inflammatory: A food or drug that discourages inflammation of the joints.
• Antioxidants: Simply put antioxidants reduce oxidisation.  Which means we stay younger longer!  Berries are a very good source of antioxidents, as are teas such as green and hibiscus-based teas.
• Arthritis: one big pain!
• Auto-immune disease: Normally the body's immune system helps keep it healthy.  However sometimes the body's defence mechanism reacts incorrectly.  In arthritis this reaction causes the inflammation in the joints.

Disclaimer

I am not a doctor, just someone suffers very very bad arthiritis.  If you are interested in any ideas on this website then check them out with your doctor first.  I do not advocate giving up prescribed drugs, just change your diet and as you begin to feel better talk about reducing your medication.

Sleeping tips

Getting and staying asleep with arthritis is not an easy thing to achieve.  On a bad night I can toss and turn hour after hour after hour.  At some point I might find a comfortable position and think to myself, if I can stay like this I will be in something close to heaven.  Then the ache begins and I know I will have to move, something.  Except even moving hurts.

I have a bag filled with wheatgrass that goes in the microwave for a couple of minutes before bedtime.  The bag then lies under the edge of my top pillow and I find the warmth in my shoulders a real comfort.

As I lie one thing I try to avoid is trapping any joints, especially wrists, fingers, knees etc.  Yes, in fact any joint.  I will, if I can, place one hand gently on the other, but a couple of inches down across the wrist.  I find when I am on my side this means both hands can be very comfortable for some time.

Similarly I find mostly I lie one foot on top of the other, and similarly with the knees.  As with the hands some nights these techniques work, on other nights nothing works.

Favourite shops & restaurants

Survival with arthritis is made infinitely easier with shops and restaurants where you can get reliable food stuffs.  I am beginning to try some gluten-free muesli as an alternative for breakfast.  Like all foods if I find something that works then I will move heaven and earth to find that item again, and again.  So here are a list of shops, cafes etc that I consider arthritis friendly.

• Cornucopia (Dublin): a fabulous cafe where you can get reliable good arthritic-friendly food and the staff will help to adapt items to your needs and tastes.
• BioCoop (France): a chain of supermarkets serving organic food.  One feature is a good range of fresh gluten-free breads.  We lived very happily from their food for a week.
• Eden Cafe (Witney): a lovely cafe serving vegan and vegetarian food with a good range of gluten-free choices.
• Market Garden (Eynsham): My local organic green-grocer.  Fabulous.

All pain is not the same

For anyone who does not have arthritis the whole pain thing is something of a mystery.  They can empathise with it, but they can't understand it.  They cannot understand the draining nature for one thing.  One moment you are feeling clear and then "oh, it will go away" you think to yourself.  A little later you notice how that initial annoyance is still there,  Later still it is getting larger and more pervasive.  Then it becomes annoying.  You think to yourself, it will go away: but it doesn't, it simply doesn't go away.

My lunch

When at home my lunch is a slice of Rice & Sunflower Bread with a layer of my own sauerkraut and topped with sheep or goat's cheese (neither of which cause any inflammation, unlike cow's cheeses).

The sauerkraut helps improve my digestive system, which means I am increasingly unlikely to suffer from flares.  Both rice and sunflower give my stomach some work to do, which is important since because I am not eating much I can feel cold.

In my opinion, this s a very well rounded meal.