overdid it on the sweets since thanksgiving now my glands are so clogged in eyes

[valene2009]

ok so i guess sugar and bad fats do affect our eyes huh? i was on a sugar high for about a month and my meibomian glands are so clogged-i can see with the magnifying mirror the white caps-toothpaste like gunk.   i go friday to the doc & he will express them and i am on a pharmecautical fish oil.. i am just so frustated...

can anyone recommend a good book for a certain diet to help me?

[irish]

I am sorry that you are having such a hard time with your eyes. I have to admit that I have never seen any correlation between my symptoms and what I ate. Usually it is what I have done that does me in. HOpefully you can find some help. Irish

[Dolly Dimples]

Valene , please keep us informed as to what happens on Friday.
  I am having lots of bother too with my eyes lately , pouring drops in all day!  Like you I have indulged in sweet goodies over these Chistmas hols..
Soooo hard to give them up when one feels so down!
                             good luck, Dolly

[valene2009]

I just get so confused... some docs say sugar is so bad for you-inflammation-dryness, etc.. it's all over the net-and then the docs i go to act like i can eat what i want... now i am beginniing to wonder if i cut all the sugar out (still eat fruits and veggies) but no more honey, processed stuff like candy, etc if i would have less flares and if my meibomian glands would be more open and not toothpaste like.... i am going to give this diet a try--from what i have heard you have to give it about 4 months.... i am just sick and tired of being sick and tired.lol

[Carebear]

Hi Val,

I know that I will have many here disagree with this, but here goes.  I recently attended an educational program for inflammatory arthritis, and the dietitian we met with who specializes in autoimmune disease, explained that no foods have been scientifically found to cause inflammation.  And that taking Omega 3s can help reduce inflammation.

Having said that, she did emphasize the importance of eating a healthy diet to manage all disease.  Like Irish, I haven't noticed any correlation myself between my rate of inflammation and my diet. 

[irish]

carebear, THat was interesting information that you heard. I guess that in all the nutrition classes and continuing education classes plus all the research and medical magazines I have read I have not run into anyone who has definitivly said that "such and such causes inflammation".

Our bodies are all so different that it would be very hard to pigeon hole anything to an absolute. With that being said, I know that there are foods that will influence some people. Many years ago I went on a very low fat diet to try and lose weight and get my cholesterol of 298 down. Well, I lost 40 pounds and the cholesterol went down to 238 but my other numbers were not so great. I ended up on Zocor.

However, I did not eat red meat except for the McLean at MacDonalds. When we went to Macs I would eat one french fry off hubby's plate. One whole fry. Wish I had that will power now.lol Anyway, I found that skipping the red meat seemed to "probably" make a difference in how I felt---overall. I did not have any notion of how ill I was at that time even though I had issues.

I ate a lot of chicken, turkey, pastas raw vegies and cheese and lots and lots of salsa. I put salsa on everything and that may have been what made me feel better. Salsa is very good for a person in many ways.

I think that down the road they will be able to hone in on many things in relation to diet. Right now I think the things that probably affect us the most are all the preservatives and chemicals used in the meat/fowl industry. It makes me sick to see how the meat source is now compared to years ago. Sometimes I can hardly eat meat and the smell of it cooking really turns me off. May be a food aversion, but I know that it is also somewhat from the chemicals that are in the meat now.
Just my opinion.

Also, there is another aspect to this food thing. It may seem at times like something may be affecting our health, but it could also be that on that day at that time your body was primed for a flare or strange reaction. This happens a lot with autoimmune disease. So many times a person will blame there health issues on a certain food and then quit eating the food only to find out that down the road the same reaction occurs again.

This is why research is extremely hard to do. Nothing is ever 100 percent. It is sort of like which came first the chicken or the egg. Did we have the reaction because of such and such or did such and such happen because we have the autoimmune disease. This is a bone of contention is many areas of medicine. Not worth having a war over as we all have our own experiences and beliefs. We just do the best we can with what we have. Irish

[soycoffee]

If you are one who browses the used book tables/stores, there are two books (that I know) that offer an anti-inflammatory diet. The first is not billed that way: it's called Cholesterol Down!, by a nutritionist who has scoured the medical literature for the ten best approaches to reducing one's cholesterol, either without statins, or with a much reduced dependence on them. I swear by it, since I am allergic to statins and other drugs that have a negative effect on muscle tissue.
(And, yes, sometimes I don't stick that closely to it, but I have an upcoming 6 month checkup with the cardiologist, so I'm back on it.

The other has already been mentioned on this forum. I don't recall the specific name, but I found a group on Amazon under the keywords "diet anti inflammat?"
or one could search here.

Need sleep,
Soycoffee

P.S. Irish, two things. First, I was impressed by the depth of research to collect the foods for the "Cholesterol Down!" diet, and the overall plan to reduce cholesterol. Also, there's absolutely no tsk tsk-ing about what you've been eating, just encouragement to eat according to her plan for four weeks, and see what happens.

The term anti-inflammatory is not very specific, but from a few references, it seems to be a very similar diet. Doesn't claim that some foods are inflammatory, only that following an anti inflammatory diet produces results. If you don't want the results that's ok, too.

Also, of all the BIG diet books, the Zone diet is simple and healthy, whatever variation you have or look for. Barry Sears has a Zone diet that's anti inflammatory -- just sayin'.

Soycoffee  g'night