This "diet" has been a trend floating around my social network for some time now. I have several friends who have been eating "paleo" for months and they have had outstanding results physically, but more importantly, they all claim to feel better internally. While this could be a result from weight loss, there is significant amount of research I’ve read about the benefits to joint/arthritis pain. Many of you know that I have had several knee surgeries. A little over a month ago, I re-dislocated my knee and an X-Ray and MRI showed a severe amount of arthritis and meniscus tearing. My doctor said the “permanent” solution to my pain is a complete knee replacement. I’m only 28yrs old and seem to have the knee of a 70yr old. Along with my knee, I was diagnosed back in October with moderate-severe scoliosis. I have a double curve in my back with two separate problems forming from that. After over a year of bi-weekly chiropractor appointments, countless doctors’ appointments for back/shoulder pain, finally someone thought to X-Ray my back and discovered this. Apparently my years of sports built up muscles in my back/shoulders that provided support to my spine all this time. While this was in fact a good thing for me, it has created years of masked pain and potentially put off having the back surgery I most likely need to have also.
Here’s a good shot of my spine… The left picture is what a spine is supposed to look like, the right is mine… AWESOME!!
Now, all this being said, yes I am a HOT MESS!!! But, I’ve been doing quite a bit of research on natural ways to help both my back and knee. It’s no surprise to anyone, that losing weight helps joints, specifically knees. I definitely have quite a bit of weight to lose. Anyways, my research from several books, websites, doctors and even friends/family’s advice has come to the conclusion that cutting out gluten and dairy from my diet might actually help my joint pain/arthritis. During this research I have found several websites about the paleo diet. It is both gluten and dairy free, however the main “hunter-gatherer” idea seems logical to my analytical self. I’m still learning a lot about paleo, and I’m trying to grasp all the “do’s and don’ts” of it. I am making a commitment to try paleo for 30 days because of Steve’s blog. I am hoping that 30 days from now I can give some advice to others that have been research, or even thinking about trying it. Wish me luck ALL!!!
