Have you tried the low starch diet?
If so, what was its effect?
And how flexible were/are you with the foods you eat?
a low carb and sugar diet has greatly helped the ibs symptoms I have and with my inflammation levels. Best thing I’ve done for my AS. Thank you for sharing! I found that being too rigid on the diet was not good for me, but I have made adjustments and a low/zero sugar diet indeed makes a difference in my inflammation. 
I'm glad you found that these adjustments have made a difference for you.
Thanks so much for sharing and adding to the conversation.
Be well, Doreen (Team Member)
Hey, I am a new member here from Germany and thought I would share my low/no-starch experiences. I came across Prof. Ebringer's research and thought of it as a hoax at first. I am currently doing my PhD in chemistry and thus tend to question things for their legitimacy. However, since I have university access to most medical journals and the basic biological knowledge to read those articles, I began venturing into the research myself and was surprised to find very strong evidence in many peer-reviewed journals regarding the effect of low starch intake on inflammation - not just from Prof. Ebringer.
I was diagnosed last year and put onto Etoricoxib 90mg, but I had terrible side effects so I felt like an alternative is needed. I stopped the NSAIDs and suffered terrible pain. However within 3 days of starting the no-starch diet, my pain decreased by 80 - 90 %. I could not believe it. I manage to maintain my pain at low to very low levels now and my ESR went down from 32 to 20 mm/h within the first month. I notice differences depending on what I eat. Small amounts of rice can be fine occasionally but eating starch daily is not working for me. Especially sauces thickened with starch or processed foods made from flour are a no-go for me.
I wish medical research was more widely available to the general public and I can only speculate on why these relatively new findings have not made their way into most rheumatologists' offices... maybe pharma companies realise that you cannot earn money with a diet? Who knows!
There is a great, recent peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Microbial Pathogenesis (Li Zhang, et al., Microbial Pathogenesis 117 (2018 ) 49–54) which I highly recommend reading if you have access. It summarises nicely the advances of the current research and states that a low-starch diet should be recommended to all people diagnosed with AS as additional measure to keep inflammation under control. I hope such groundbreaking research can be more widely distributed to help more people suffering from AS and not just remain buried in some journals which are only read by a few select researchers.I have MS. I took biologics for that for 13 years, then had to stop because of skin cancers. I was afraid to not have something else as a buffer between me and the MS, so I chose diet. By that time Dr Wahl's came out with her diet for MS. Her books were not enlightening for me, so I did more research and started following the Autoimmune Protocol. both books were based on paleo eating. Both recommended no processed foods and no gluten. It took 3 months before I realized I felt better without gluten!
Since being officially diagnosed with AS last June, I do watch my starchy intake. One thing my rheumatologist told me was 'if you can't do anything else, remove nightshade vegetables'. Funny thing was, the night before I had my appointment, I made a huge pot of chili with all the spices. I was so very sore, I maxed out on pain anywhere he poked and prodded.
Welcome to Axialspondyloarthritis.net. Thanks for sharing your insight here in the spondy community. It's understandable to feel frustrated about the lack of widespread availability of medical research and its potential impact on healthcare practices. In the case of spondyloarthritis and many other health conditions, it's essential for both patients and healthcare professionals to have access to the most up-to-date and relevant research findings. While medical research might not always be readily available or widely disseminated, it's encouraging to see an increasing interest in integrative and holistic approaches to healthcare. Many patients and healthcare professionals are recognizing the importance of considering lifestyle factors, including diet, in managing chronic conditions. Hoping you get the chance to view the plethora of info we have in articles and forums and jump in to share your thoughts. We greet you and wish you well. Warmly ~ Rebecca (community moderator)
So many in this community have benefited from dietary changes.
I do hope some will chime in here on the effect of a low starch diet and what a difference it made for them.
~Doreen (Team Member)Thanks . I thought all this while that anyone with AS would be avoiding starch given it’s correlation to the inflammation. And it seems that it isn’t necessarily this way. Good to know!
