Has anyone tried the gut rehab regimen described in PPLP? The idea is to heal the intestinal tract, and they recommend it for people with "true intestinal malfunction" and those at risk for autoimmune disorders prior to beginning their nutritional plan.

The regimen (described on p. 146-149) consists of consuming 4-5 servings per day of a concoction of whey protein powder and L-glutamine powder mixed in water, plus daily magnesium-potassium tablets and cod liver oil. This goes on for "a few days." No other foods or liquids are allowed except clear calorie-free fluids such as water or herbal tea.

Thanks. I'm thinking of trying this but would like a little more info.

I have not tried this myself but in looking at the mixture here it would seem to me it would accomplish the goal. Don't answer this if this is too personal but do you feel or have you been told that you have an intestinal malfunction? It appears you have made good progress thus far.

Joe

I have intestinal pain pretty much every time I eat. Not debilitating but annoying. It was debilitating when I was eating gluten, which I now steer clear of. I'm taking an NSAID daily for rheumatoid arthritis and I know that contributes and maybe is the sole cause, and I'm taking another drug to counteract the pain caused by the NSAID. This helps but has not eliminated the problem. I don't know if the gut rehab program would make the ill-effects of the NSAID better or possibly worse. Fasting eliminates the NSAID pain.

I'm assuming I have a leaky gut problem, which has caused or contributed to the RA. I thought the gut rehab regimen might get that under control. None of the doctors I've talked to has any advice for me on any of this. They seem to consider leaky gut to be an interesting theory not supported by clinical evidence, so they dismiss it. I'm willing to try just about anything at this point, however!

Thanks for your response.

I have RA and as far as I know - there isnt any for sure cause - most people carry the genes for it - but scientists cant figure out what turns them on - or off for that matter. Was surprised that you arent on something more than a NSAID though...Dixie

I'm also on low-dose prednisone, and have been for nearly 4 years. I've tried many of the DMARDs but none work or side effects are too horrendous.

I keep hearing of people with RA who have gone into complete remission after changing their diets. That's what I'm hoping for.

PaleoCH, if you have intestinal pain 'nearly every time you eat,' I have to ask...have you had a colonoscopy, or at the very least a GI series CT scan with and without contrast media (usually Barium?)

Intestinal pain can have actual *physical* causes, and they really do need to be ruled out if you've experienced this pain on moderated diet for an extended period of time. Not to be an alarmist, but Crohns, irritable bowel disease, and colorectal cancer all have similar symptoms and are often marked by things like pain after eating, which seems to be relieved by avoiding some types of food. RA and other auto-immune diseases can go hand-in-hand with Crohns, IBS and CRC...and mask symptoms of one with the other.

If you also experience gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation or other irregularity along with the abdominal pain, you really do need to rule out the other potential physical causes of that kind of pain. And if you're under the typical recommended age for things like a baseline colonoscopy, chances are your docs won't look in that direction unless you have some pretty clear-cut symptoms like actual bleeding. But that doesn't mean that you don't need the test...only that they're not looking at that because you don't otherwise fit the profile.

Gaelen, thanks for your post! I have had a colonoscopy recently, and all was fine. I don't have any of the other symptoms you mention, although I did when I was eating gluten. I'm pretty sure the pain is caused by my NSAID. I've stopped and restarted it in recent months and each time the pain ceases then returns. The Carafate I'm taking helps.

I'm a little concerned that bearable pain isn't a good enough standard to shoot for--that the NSAID could be causing damage even though the pain is now minimal. I have a Dr. appt. in a couple of weeks and I'll see what he suggests. Most NSAIDs haven't worked well for me (although Vioxx was great...) so my choices are limited.

The gut rehab idea makes me hesitate because even though I experience no pain when fasting for 24 hours, I wonder if that would hold true for 3-4 days of no solid food while continuing to take an NSAID that already causes trouble for me. But I think I'm going to try it, maybe after I get my NSAID questions answered.

Although no solid food, the PPLP gut rehab does contain whey protein powder, so it would not be like taking NSAIDs on an empty stomach. I have not tried the gut rehab, but your post made me re-read that chapter since my mother has severe RA and I have problems with gluten. I noticed that the Eades said some had good results from just adding glutamine while eating their LC solid food; you might want to try that first. Also, have you looked into other food intolerances? In addition to gluten, I need to avoid sugar, soy, casein, citrus & tomatoes for freedom from joint pain & asthma attacks.

I added L-glutamine a few days ago. I tried 5g per day for a couple days and became constipated (a result also reported by someone on a different thread), so have cut back to 3g to see how that works.

I've been off soy, sugar, and all dairy for about 9 weeks now, and tomatoes for about 3 weeks. Today I started avoiding fruit, which is going to be pretty hard. Are you able to eat non-citrus fruits?

I just finished a book called Traditional Foods are Your Best Medicine, by Ronald F. Schmid. He advocates no fruit for those with RA, and points to tropical fruits and juices as a particular problem for anyone with health issues. The book focuses on the work of Weston Price and is quite interesting, if a little old (published 1987).

My RA is a lot worse since starting the Paleo Diet. My theory is that either the diet has strengthened my immune system, giving it even more power to attack my joints, or I'm reacting to my increased consumption of fruit. So here we go with the fruit experiment!