i have a very dear friend who has awful cholesterol, and her doctor is threatening to start her on lipitor... she really wants to start low carbing, but suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis.

all the studies i am familiar with from school linked animal fats with RA-
but we all know the prejudice of the medical establishment against this WOE.

does anyone have any clue where i could find more information on this issue?
does anyone here have any personal testimonies reflecting one way or another on this issue?

hi,
I have severe MCTD (mixed connective tissue disease) which means I have lupus,ra and fibromyalgia. I am starting to get joint deformation in my hands and will probably start a low dose chemotherapy sometime in the future. At this time I take an anti malarial medication.
When I first started Atkins the doc was desperate for me to lose weight, I said Atkins and he said he did not care as long as I lost weight. I have and my cholesterol is WAY down to normal levels. I have done atkins where I mainly eat chicken breast, lamb, fish and a huge amount of veggies. I rarely if ever eat red meats, bacon, or sandwich meats and also very little oil. Nothing with sugar of course and no "fake " food. Although my disease has not gotten better, because of my weight loss I now able to excercise, I did not have to start on lipitor and in general I feel better.



This is from http://http://www.podiatrychannel.c...lmedicine.shtml
Tweaking Atkins to adjust to my individual needs has really helped me!
I wish your friend lots of luck.

cheers,
judi

I agree that any weight loss plan would probably be a good idea at this point. Even a healthy person has less stress on joints when they lose weight, and if hers are already aching...

Atkins would be a healthier alternative then having her try to force down slimfast shakes, and she may prefer it to WW.

If she is concerned about animal fats and doesn't really want to risk it even after reading about safety, she can still do Atkins without consuming many. Olive oil and other oils are excelent sources of fat. As are avacados, nuts and nut butters, cheeses and so on.

She should probably consult her doctor on what exercises she can do. I know many with arthritis love to walk or swim because it loosens things up. Other's just can't because of the pain. Water arobics classes also have the advantage of they don't place stress on the joints like dry exercising would (water exercises also burn a higher percentage of body fat then dry according to the YMCA)

My mother has fibromyalgia and r.arthritis. She has lost 50 pounds since May and is feeling great with both processes. Her cholesterol and trigycerides are also nearing normal levels. Check out all the things listed in the quote above-we've already given up hydrogenated fats, sugar and other refined carbs. I doubt animal fats are going to give your friend a problem if it's the only thing on the list she's eating. Sounds like they lumped a bunch of guesses together-they listed the typical western diet!

I have RA, and take methotrexate for it. When I told my rheumatologist I was eating Atkins-style, he encouraged it. When I follow it to the letter, I notice less swelling and inflammation.
What could be healthier than cutting out sugar and refined foods? Everybody has food intolerances to some degree, and eating pork causes pain and swelling for me. (Doesn't mean I don't indulge sometimes.) So do the nightshade vegetables--tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplant. Just tweek the plan to suit your needs.

awesome, guys- thank you so much for the encouragement and personal testimonies- often these mean more to what we do than any research on lab rats really does!