Starch Free = Symptom Free???

Before I get started with another thought on AS... I am humbled and overwhelmed by the response I have gotten from creating this blog. I feel truly blessed to have so many people, from so many places, and from so many different times in my life reading this, supporting me, and letting me know that have at least some interest in the battle and the disease. Honestly, the blog is a selfish thing :) I can control how I deliver information to those around me, and rather than hide from it, I have decided to accept it and take it head on. Apparently, I am not alone in this war. So, Thank You.

Okay... so starch free. I am NOT on a "diet." Well... in the traditional sense of what the word is thought to mean. How about this... I am not eating less, or clean, or carb-free, or juice cleansing, or whatever the hell people do to lose weight. I have found that this is one of the ways that I started opening up to many of those around me about the disease... I had to explain my lack of starch. I don't blame them really... If I saw me, eating a salad... with fresh cut up veggies (and maybe a side of fruit), for a few days at lunch, I would think "Damn, that looks unhappily healthy... she must be on a diet." I am not sure why, but people almost seem to respond to you defensively when they think you are on a "diet." For example, "What is that? Rabbit food?... Are you on a diet or something?" Hey Mr. Hostility, are you upset that I am eating healthy and taking care of my body? Maybe those people may feel guilty about indulging in the delicious, greasy goodness of food, rather than eating my "rabbit food"... Or maybe they are thinking "Yo, skinny girl... don't try to lose weight, okay? You'll freak us all out if you look boney..." I like this option because I think it is a round about way of complimenting me, and well, I'd like to think people are good natured at their core. :)

The point is... No, I am not trying to lose weight. I am trying some natural methods to decrease my inflammation so that my body doesn't create a "bamboo spine." Fused spine or giving up starch? As sad as the latter may be, it doesn't compare to how sad the first option could be... and how much more I would lose. SO, I am trying to go starch free. Do you have ANY idea HOW MUCH STARCH is in the foods we eat on a daily basis? Its used as preservatives, as thickeners, as grains, and as whatever other weird thinks they do to food when they process it (that I don't understand)... It is in SO MUCH. Starch is an epidemic... how will your body tell you about this epidemic later in life? Something to think about...

Anyways, there is some (little) research to indicate that this diet can be helpful to reducing inflammation…

THE LONDON "AS" DIET

Low starch/high protein diet for ankylosing spondylitis patients. It is thought that in some cases a diet low in starches found in flour products and potatoes, and high in proteins and vegetables is of benefit for AS patients. Ankylosing spondylitis is considered to be a form of "reactive arthritis" following an infection of the terminal ileum and ascending colon by the bowel microbe Klebsiella. Specific anti- Klebsiella antibodies in AS patients have now been reported from 17 different countries: England, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Belgium, Slovakia, Japan, China, Australia, Canada, USA, Mexico, Argentina, and Turkey. Over 95% of AS patients possess the HLA-B27 antigen whilst it is present only in 8% of the general population. The Klebsiella microbe has molecules which resemble HLA-B27 and this is the reason why AS patients generally belong to the HLA-B27 group. In addition, the pullulanase molecule of the Klebsiella microbe crossreacts with type I collagen found in tendons and bone and also with type IV collagen found in basement membranes of retina and uvea, thereby explaining the pathological sites of AS.

When one eats large amounts of starchy foods (bread, potatoes, cakes and pasta), the Klebsiella bacteria feed on it, multiply and then the immune system of the patient makes antibodies against the microbe and some of those antibodies will also have activity against HLA-B27 and against collagens in the spine and uvea, thereby acting as tissue damaging autoantibodies - hence the need to ABSTAIN from these foods. Since the mesentery of the bowel is attached to the front of the lumbar spine, it is inevitable that BACKACHE in the lumbar area will be a feature of AS. One simple way of reducing this inflammation is to reduce the daily intake of STARCHY FOODS. However, consult your doctor before going on the diet. The higher the intake of starchy foods, the higher the inflammatory activity. You can eat SMALL amounts of starchy foods but if the AS is very active, it is best to eat a lot more protein and vegetables. However, if the AS is inactive, the diet can be less rigidly followed.

Essentially, it means REDUCE BREAD, POTATOES, CAKES and PASTA and INCREASE the intake of MEAT, FISH, FRUITS and VEGETABLES.

Source (and more information): http://www.kickas.org/londondiet.shtml

So, that is the journey I am on now. I am challenging myself to be aware of, and eliminate, all starch. I have found starch in salsas, soups, canned vegetables, lunch meats, and a few other things I thought were "starch free." Its a learning curve, but it has made me aware of the amount of starch we take in on a daily basis... especially with those hidden starches, a few of which I just mentioned... 

There are even starchy fruits and vegetables that are better to avoid, and most beans and legumes fall into this category as well. There are even starchy nuts... peanuts = no, no... and I thought peanut butter would be a live saver... well, on to Almond Butter! Just think about eating like a cave-man and you have come pretty close to my new diet ;) Thursday will be 2 weeks of starch free (with a few hiccups- such as salsa, lunch meat...), and I am dedicated to staying on the diet for 4-6 more weeks before reintroducing starch and noting the differences in my symptoms. Avocados, chocolate, and wine are my favorite foods these days :) I have  had a cauliflower crust pizza (better than expected) and steak with gorgonzola butter in the last 2 weeks... it could be worse ;)

For more information on what foods to eat and avoid: http://www.kickas.org/asfood.shtml

I am planning to meet with a nutritionist for an even better understanding of starch and the role it may be playing my disease. My Rheumatologist told me that he has heard of the diet and that he has had some of his patients try starch free, gluten free, etc. He told me that some got benefit from these diets, but many didn't and that there was no accepted or fully researched diet proven to reduce symptoms in Spondyloarthropathy or AS. He told me that there was no harm in trying and I should, but if he was me... he wouldn't want to stop eating gluten and starch for no reason. Agreed, Doc. Agreed. So, this is the trial period... I will let you know. Many people swear by starch free diets on the kickas.org website (this is a forum for people with the disease to start discussions and share information). Maybe its just that the disease is so unknown and under researched that they dont have enough information or funding to find out if the diet is something that works for most AS patients... As for me... I am scared of drugs that may increase my risk for cancer and becoming dependent on them to change my life. I want control over this disease and I want to dictate what may or may not help my symptoms. I understand that many days this may not happen, but if I can just find a couple things that work in reducing my symptoms... my pain, that will be the start of my fight in controlling this thing. I have AS, but it does not have me. 

Until next time kiddos...

Amanda