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Vegan foods and/or herbs for joint pain?

Tyler Ludens

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posted 9 years ago

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I have a lot of joint and connective tissue pain, including a condition of annoying benign tumors which form in connective tissue and hurt. I'm an artist by trade and I have a lot of hand pain. Can you recommend some foods and/or herbs to try to treat these painful problems? Sometimes my whole body hurts so much it is difficult to get out of bed.

I think this might be a wheat sensitivity, but I'm worried I might just be jumping on the "wheat is evil" bandwagon.

Thank you for any suggestions!

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John Weiland

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posted 9 years ago

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Although it's only a single data-point and not much more than that, my sister went from dairy + wheat standard diet to vegan, with high reduction of wheat, although still occasionally takes in gluten via "seitan". All milk consumption is non-dairy. Since the transition was made at the same time for both items, she can't say for sure what was the main factor, but her back and joint problems are far reduced (age ~50) from the previous 30 years.

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Jude lewis

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posted 9 years ago

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Check out recipes for tumeric smoothies, tea, or paste ( golden milk)...also, arnica...ginger...

Tyler Ludens

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Thank you for that input. I think I should change only one variable at a time - to start I am going to try reducing wheat drastically and see if there's a change. It seems to me when I reduced wheat before, that I felt better, but, it is hard for me to be sure because I didn't take any notes or document changes in any way.

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Roberto pokachinni

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I think this might be a wheat sensitivity, but I'm worried I might just be jumping on the "wheat is evil" bandwagon.

might be worth dropping the wheat for a couple weeks to see what happens.

Devil's Club cambium tea and poultice were used traditionally for rheumatism, arthritis, among many other things. Some Permie from the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. maybe could send you some.

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John Skaggs

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posted 9 years ago

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You could certainly try eliminating wheat and see if you have any improvement.

I do seem to have a problem with wheat and find my joints noticeably more inflamed if I have significant amounts.

Other interventions I've found helpful include curcumin and high-dose MSM (up to 6g daily).

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posted 9 years ago

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I am of the mindset that like heals like... So if I were having joint pain, I'd add more joints to my diet: pigs feet broth, cartilage from chicken carcases, pickled pigs feet, etc...

Also, since the joints are lubricated, I'd add more water to my diet, and/or reduce things like caffeine and diuretics that are antagonistic to water.

Then the third thing would be an anti-inflammatory diet, in case the joints hurt because tissues are swelling and pushing the joints out of place. Wheat, and dairy seem to me to be the most common acute inflammatory foods. Soybean oil and canola oils seem to be the most common chronic inflammatory foods. In my own life, i replaced soybean and canola oil with coconut oil. And added lots of turmeric, ginger, and garlic.

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Roberto pokachinni

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Soybean oil and canola oils seem to be the most common chronic inflammatory foods.

Though not nearly as common, Sesame Seeds, particularly the paste (tahini) or the oil is a very inflammatory food as well.

In my own life, i replaced soybean and canola oil with coconut oil. And added lots of turmeric, ginger, and garlic.

I highly recommend the coconut oil, as well as high quality organic virgin olive oil.

Some have problems with the nightshade family for joint problems.

Tyler Ludens

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Thank you for these suggestions.

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R Scott

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I don't think wheat is evil, but how we grow and prepare it three days may be.

I bet once you get your inflammation under control, you could eat organic sourdough. But until then, staying away from it is probably prudent.

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Nancy Bush

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posted 8 years ago

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Turmeric....I see someone else suggested it......I grow it and give it away to anyone with pains.....It is an amazing root. It is anitinflamatory, antibiotic and anti depression.....If you can get fresh root and grate into a smoothie, all your food or cut thin slices or grate it & boil it for 5 or 10 min. It makes a tasty tea.....
I have many plates & screws in my body that cause pain at night so I drink the tea for that. A friend was depressed for some time & didn't want to take pharmacy drugs so I gave him turmeric & he made tea every few days (it keeps for a few days or you can keep some in the fridge) and when I saw him a few weeks later he Was smiling again! Powdered turmeric is great as well....with the powdered it will be 2000 X's more effective if taken with black pepper.
Look at this site. turmericforhealth.com

Tyler Ludens

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posted 8 years ago

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Thank you!

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David Livingston

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posted 8 years ago

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Have you thought about chewing willow bark . Its natural asprin

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Tyler Ludens

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posted 8 years ago

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I've thought about it, but have no willows.

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David Livingston

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They are among the easyest thing to grow ever I promise . You stick a live twig in the ground 2/3s its length . Anywhere dampish any time
er Thats it

Steal ...... er ..find some

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Tyler Ludens

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posted 8 years ago

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We rarely have areas that are dampish except in wet years!

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Jennifer Fox

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I've been trying to treat morning lower back pain with supplements instead of popping ibuprofen and this combination along with daily yoga has really helped: turmeric with black pepper extract, ceylon cinnamon, evening primrose oil, glucosamine + chondroitin, and reishi mushroom. I also gave up wheat and drink a shot of homemade kombucha everyday that is fermented with fresh ginger.

Joshua Parke

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posted 8 years ago

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In my experience, if you want to get rid of bodily pain, then one needs to remove the acidic cellular waste from the body that is causing said pain.

If you're already vegan, "an assumption because this post in the vegan forum", then you may find it quite easy to adopt a detoxifying diet for a couple of months which will remove those acids.

Dr. Morse would be my suggestion for someone to study to learn about detoxifying the body. He's helped hundreds of thousands of people achieve health via detoxification.

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Angelika Maier

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posted 8 years ago

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Gotu Kola is the herb against athritis, I don't know if it grows in your climate but I am sure that it takes 5 under zero (in Celsius).
Otherwise the bone broths are really good for you - vegans often feel very good after starting being vegan but develop severe deficiencies later.
You might have to have some blood tests done to find out what's wrong.

Medicinal herbs, kitchen herbs, perennial edibles and berries: https://mountainherbs.net/ grown in the Blue Mountains, Australia

Daniel Biedenbender

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posted 7 years ago

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Alfalfa is a excellent herb for joint pains, commonly given to aging animals. High quality anti inflammatory with the added benefit of being a heavy metal binder, heavy metals accumulate in the cartilage. I like consuming herbs in my tea mixtures personally, it is one of the ingredients in my Imortali-Tea mix. But also available in powdered supplements.

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Cynthia Thompson

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posted 7 years ago

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Throughout my life I have suffered from joint pain caused by inflammation. From years of experimenting on my self I have found that wheat DID NOT contribute to my pain. I gave it up for over seven years and still would have periods of painful inflammation. For me, after much trial and error, I have found that I am sensitive to plants in the nightshade family. Far worse though is refined white sugar. If I eat one too many (gf) cookies, cake, etc. I will be in pain the next day. When this happens I have found turmeric to be extremely helpful. I either make it into a drink with almond milk and ginger or I take the powder mixed with some ground black pepper in a capsule (I make my own to save money). I would recommend turmeric to try for sure. I also would suggest gradually eliminating foods you think might be contributing and then reintroducing them. A total elimination diet would probably be super helpful but it isn’t always doable nor practical for many people. Good luck to you! From someone who has been there, I sympathize.

Ken W Wilson

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posted 7 years ago

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I know you only asked about foods and herbs, but I’ve had chronic back, hip, and neck pain all my adult life and yoga has helped me tremendously. It takes quite a bit of time, and I have trouble staying with it. When my back was at its worst, an hour or a little more made all the pain going away. Even a few minutes helps though. In college, I couldn’t afford the chiropractor, and I worked in the library, so I did some research. I discovered “ Back Care Basics” by Mary Pullig Shatz. Not sure how to spell her name. She’s an MD and a certified yoga instructor. That book has saved me 1000’s in Chiropractor fees. This was about 1992. Hopefully it’s still available. The same exercises are in other yoga books, but hers explains how determine which ones you should do.

terima kasi

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posted 2 years ago

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I am vegan and due to several factors I have chondropathy , that is the harm of the cartilage on the joint bone. some say its not possible to regenerate. antiinflamatories have a lot of fame, but
what can be taken to help the production of cartilage in a vegan diet?

i read that for example apples, that contain quercetin, an element that boosts the synthesis of collagen.
also sulfuric foods like onion, garlic and leeks
I have read that some brands of suplemmets use something made from acid soaked mushrooms.
but I know not much more
any idea?

terima kasi

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posted 2 years ago

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also Spinach and parsley contains glutamine an aminoacid that with glucose produces glucosamine, the substance found in synovial fluid, important for giving cushion to the joints.

glad to read about yoga book suggestions. yoga helped me very much too, to detoxify and strengthen the muscles, so the joints are less punished

Lys Miller

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posted 2 years ago

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Most herbs that are being suggested above are addressing symptoms at best and not aiding the root cause of the joint pain which is likely degradation of collagen structures in the body; tissues, cartilage etc.

If looking at herbs for treatment, it’s important to consider the tissue state, is the joint pain hot and searing or cold and damp/aching. If it’s cold and damp incorporate a warming herb like rosemary, turmeric or fresh ginger root. If hot, consider a cooling herb like willow bark.

If you need something to treat a bad flare up, teasel and ghost pipe combined is the best combo out there I think.

Whole food vitamin c (not extracted ascorbic acid) is going to really help support rebuilding collagen structures.

Eliminate seed oils which are the most inflammatory substance in our diets today and are almost unrecognizable to our guts microbiome; they’re hidden in everything. Soybean/canola/rapeseed/vegetable oils.
Use organic coconut or olive instead or perhaps animal fats.

Really though, I would be remiss if I didn’t say that getting collagen into your diet would be priority number one to treat the root. That’s gelatinous foods like really dense bone broth made from chicken feet/necks/backs etc. As a recovering vegan myself I see bone broth as a food that uses animal parts that otherwise go to waste and truly honors the gift of that animals life.

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As within, so without.

Best wishes on your healing journey.

Mercy Pergande

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posted 2 years ago

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I realize this is an old thread and I hope the OP has found some good solutions for pain relief. I thought I would post a reply since I know chronic pain is an issue for many people and I haven't seen anyone mention this particular approach.

Autophagy is the body's cellular recycling system. Triggered by certain lengths of fasting, it removes cellular junk, recycles usable cell junk, and destroys pathogenic material. Here is a good rundown of how it works and what it is: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/24058-autophagy

This was very helpful to me for a couple of years in managing a condition (I have had a set back due to something outside my control but it was helpful!) and was used by my sister during cancer treatment as well. She had a remarkably different experience with treatment while fasting with significantly less pain and discomfort. It can be accomplished via fasting (intermittent fasting for certain lengths of time), caloric restriction (fasting mimicking diet), or high fat/low carb diet.

One thing that prompted me to mention it to this particular poster was the mention of tumors - autophagy has been shown to reduce the growth of tumors in some people.

Of course, people tolerate fasting and dietary changes very differently, so go slowly and do plenty of research if you decide to try this approach. I like to think of it as my body rebooting and doing a cache purge when I do it and it makes a lot of sense to me from that perspective. It's an interesting system in the body that seems to have a lot of potential value for pain and cancer issues, both of which are all too prevalent.

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Ted Abbey

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posted 2 years ago

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Many good suggestions in this thread.. especially the bone broth. For pain relief, try a poultice of jimsonweed leaves (datura). Just make sure that you don’t ingest any, or have open wounds where you apply it.

Kimberly Agnese

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posted 1 year ago

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Aloe, pineapple, fasting, all help me… epsom salt baths…. and for me… going raw… felt so bad physically last October that I went on a water fast, then went raw vegan.. don’t know if it will help you but it did me..
red light therapy… sauna…

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