PMR Diet: Foods to eat and avoid

Posted by alan bruce @alanbruce, May 6, 2020

What foods to avoid and what food to focus on when on PMR

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) Support Group.

@janiceem

Good for you! I'm a registered dietitian and also eat organically and have done so for many years. Weight loss is easiest if you eat small meals/snacks 6 times a day and focus on eating more whole foods with the natural fiber (this also feeds your gut microbes where 70% of your immunity takes place). I had an extremely mild case of PMR and never had high blood markers. I've been off of Prednisone for over a year now. Wishing you well.

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Good morning I dealt with PMR for 2 1/2 years started on 20 mg of prednisone and was finally able to get off of it after weaning back-and-forth once I was off the prednisone. I developed stomach issues. They thought I was gluten intolerant. I went on FOD map still having issues but getting better with taking probiotics When I read this article from the dietitian, I realized how your gut is tied into everything. Thank you for the insight. Wishing everyone good health.

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@mygecko

Good morning I dealt with PMR for 2 1/2 years started on 20 mg of prednisone and was finally able to get off of it after weaning back-and-forth once I was off the prednisone. I developed stomach issues. They thought I was gluten intolerant. I went on FOD map still having issues but getting better with taking probiotics When I read this article from the dietitian, I realized how your gut is tied into everything. Thank you for the insight. Wishing everyone good health.

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Yes, some call our gut our "second brain."

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@centralflorida

I have really been working to stay on a healthy diet with almost no sugar intake while taking prednisone for PMR. Since I do still have a sweet tooth, I have come up with some pretty good "desserts" using natural fruits with no sugar, that might be appealing to others.

The first one is using fresh pineapple. I peel and slice a fresh pineapple, removing the core and all the little black and brown spots. Spread the pineapple slices or chunks out on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with Pam, sprinkle them with cinnamon, and place under a broiler for a few minutes. Broilers can differ, so you just have to watch it carefully to know when it is ready. With mine, it takes about 9 minutes at a distance of about 6 inches from the broiler heat. It heats up the pineapple, sort of melting the cinnamon. But I recommend removing it before it starts to brown. My husband likes this as much as I do.

The second recipe is similar, and I just started it last night. Take a small 1 quart baking dish and spray with Pam. Core an apple and cut into slices. Spread the slices out in the baking dish, then top with a couple of spoonfuls of raisins. Sprinkle cinnamon over everything. Add about 3 Tablespoons of water. Cover the baking dish and place in a preheated oven (350) for about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool 10 minutes, then serve. This was a nice 2-serving amount. Both of us loved it! I always use Fuji apples because of their natural sweetness. I don't peel the apples, but you can if you want to.

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I totally get the "Sweet Tooth" topic, and have found myself with a spoon in the strawberry jelly at night-then feeling like I have sinned. Without offense I am confused that you say "no sugars", when Pineapple, raisins and apples are pure sugar-simply labeled as natural or fruit sugars.
If you were to consume sorts of Proteins in conjunction with the fruits, this would help your carb intake situation. You could add some simple Chia or Heart Hemp Seeds as a topping on your nummy fruit dishes, add a stick of Mozzarella Low Fat String Cheese or better yet some Almonds or Walnuts. Hence; "No Naked Carbs". Even though I am not diabetic, I refer to the Diabetic & Mediterranean Diets along with checking the Glycemic Index for foods in attempt of feeling better with this crappy PMR gift. A sweet tooth is our worst enemy. Sugar is the main cause of heart failure, not to forget all the other diseases and side effects. After my initial diagnosis of PMR, possible progression to GCA was assigned a consultation with a Dietician and learned a lot, even thinking we were eating super healthy already, very few red meats, mostly vegetables etc. After prepping and eating the suggested Low Carb-High Protein diet for three days we both could not believe how much better we felt overall. Eat right=living life right.

However, it’s worth noting that, of the carbs in a thin slice of pineapple, 5.5 g are naturally occurring sugar.
A 3-ounce slice contains 8.3 g of sugar, and a cup of pineapple chunks contains 16.3 g. The body digests sugar more quickly than other types of starch, and it’s more likely to trigger a glucose spike.
A 6-ounce cup of canned pineapple chunks, drained of juice, will contain almost 28 g Trusted Source of carbohydrates.

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@janiceem

I am a registered dietitian and I highly recommend eliminating processed food from you diet, especially white flour and sugar, and focusing on whole foods, which include those anti-inflammatory foods. You sound like you like your dairy, but it can be pro-inflammatory because it has far fewer nutrients per calorie than fruits and vegetables. A whole foods diet with give you far more fiber, which will greatly curb your appetite and also feed your gut microbiome, which is the key to good health. A healthy gut = a healthy human.

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Thank you, as a dietitian for taking the time to state facts regarding the importance of paying attention to your "gut", plus the dairy as an inflammatory. While my PMR dietitian recommended some low fat cheeses as a protein along with any carb intake; I feel a negative difference if I overdo the cheese snacks by next morning. I limit my low fat cottage cheese, along with 1 tblsp of added Chia and Heart Hemp Seeds to 3 tblsps per snack. I practice the "No Naked Carbs" diet, making sure to ingest plenty of proteins with any carbs.
For the labeled "Organic" topic; I spoke at length with a scientist/engineer that was evolved in soil prep for that specific purpose and was surprised and no longer buy foods labeled that way in the stores. For "Organic" foods, we grow our own vegetables, year around, and raise our own chickens. My fertilizers and pest controls are all my home made concoctions from plants, oils and natural soaps, no manures and work very well. My soils are over 20 years old without any synthetic or chemical added ingredients, use of pre well water for irrigation.
Thank you for your input.

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@oldbtstlshrp2

I totally get the "Sweet Tooth" topic, and have found myself with a spoon in the strawberry jelly at night-then feeling like I have sinned. Without offense I am confused that you say "no sugars", when Pineapple, raisins and apples are pure sugar-simply labeled as natural or fruit sugars.
If you were to consume sorts of Proteins in conjunction with the fruits, this would help your carb intake situation. You could add some simple Chia or Heart Hemp Seeds as a topping on your nummy fruit dishes, add a stick of Mozzarella Low Fat String Cheese or better yet some Almonds or Walnuts. Hence; "No Naked Carbs". Even though I am not diabetic, I refer to the Diabetic & Mediterranean Diets along with checking the Glycemic Index for foods in attempt of feeling better with this crappy PMR gift. A sweet tooth is our worst enemy. Sugar is the main cause of heart failure, not to forget all the other diseases and side effects. After my initial diagnosis of PMR, possible progression to GCA was assigned a consultation with a Dietician and learned a lot, even thinking we were eating super healthy already, very few red meats, mostly vegetables etc. After prepping and eating the suggested Low Carb-High Protein diet for three days we both could not believe how much better we felt overall. Eat right=living life right.

However, it’s worth noting that, of the carbs in a thin slice of pineapple, 5.5 g are naturally occurring sugar.
A 3-ounce slice contains 8.3 g of sugar, and a cup of pineapple chunks contains 16.3 g. The body digests sugar more quickly than other types of starch, and it’s more likely to trigger a glucose spike.
A 6-ounce cup of canned pineapple chunks, drained of juice, will contain almost 28 g Trusted Source of carbohydrates.

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I am aware that fruits do contain natural sugar. Maybe I should have stated that these recipes are good because they have no ADDED sugar. The following quote is from Healthline.com:

"Many people now believe that because added sugars can potentially have negative effects, the same must apply to fruits, which also contain fructose.

However, this is a misconception. Fructose is harmful only in large amounts, and it’s difficult to get excessive amounts of fructose from fruit. For most people, the amount of sugar in fruit is safe to eat."

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@centralflorida

I am aware that fruits do contain natural sugar. Maybe I should have stated that these recipes are good because they have no ADDED sugar. The following quote is from Healthline.com:

"Many people now believe that because added sugars can potentially have negative effects, the same must apply to fruits, which also contain fructose.

However, this is a misconception. Fructose is harmful only in large amounts, and it’s difficult to get excessive amounts of fructose from fruit. For most people, the amount of sugar in fruit is safe to eat."

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That article is partly right, but fruits and the sugars in them used to be eaten only seasonally when they ripened locally, that's the natural way to eat fruit. It's only in recent decades with the rise of commercial fruit industries that fruits are transported long distances and sold and eaten all year, and that has contributed to our increasingly high fructose sugar consumption. Even table sugar is 50% fructose. Sugar is sugar.

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@oldbtstlshrp2

I totally get the "Sweet Tooth" topic, and have found myself with a spoon in the strawberry jelly at night-then feeling like I have sinned. Without offense I am confused that you say "no sugars", when Pineapple, raisins and apples are pure sugar-simply labeled as natural or fruit sugars.
If you were to consume sorts of Proteins in conjunction with the fruits, this would help your carb intake situation. You could add some simple Chia or Heart Hemp Seeds as a topping on your nummy fruit dishes, add a stick of Mozzarella Low Fat String Cheese or better yet some Almonds or Walnuts. Hence; "No Naked Carbs". Even though I am not diabetic, I refer to the Diabetic & Mediterranean Diets along with checking the Glycemic Index for foods in attempt of feeling better with this crappy PMR gift. A sweet tooth is our worst enemy. Sugar is the main cause of heart failure, not to forget all the other diseases and side effects. After my initial diagnosis of PMR, possible progression to GCA was assigned a consultation with a Dietician and learned a lot, even thinking we were eating super healthy already, very few red meats, mostly vegetables etc. After prepping and eating the suggested Low Carb-High Protein diet for three days we both could not believe how much better we felt overall. Eat right=living life right.

However, it’s worth noting that, of the carbs in a thin slice of pineapple, 5.5 g are naturally occurring sugar.
A 3-ounce slice contains 8.3 g of sugar, and a cup of pineapple chunks contains 16.3 g. The body digests sugar more quickly than other types of starch, and it’s more likely to trigger a glucose spike.
A 6-ounce cup of canned pineapple chunks, drained of juice, will contain almost 28 g Trusted Source of carbohydrates.

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I'm not familiar with the "no naked carbs" diet, but it makes sense to me to eat the sweeter foods after a meal to delay absorption and glycemic spikes. That said, I don't think that protein is necessarily the best companion for sweeter foods, unless it's something like nuts that contain both protein and a healthy fat. Keep in mind that when you eat a whole fruit, you are also consuming fiber, which slows absorption and can have the same effect as eating protein or fat. The fiber also feeds your gut microbes, which is where 70% of your immunity takes place. A healthy gut = a healthy human being.

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@centralflorida

I have really been working to stay on a healthy diet with almost no sugar intake while taking prednisone for PMR. Since I do still have a sweet tooth, I have come up with some pretty good "desserts" using natural fruits with no sugar, that might be appealing to others.

The first one is using fresh pineapple. I peel and slice a fresh pineapple, removing the core and all the little black and brown spots. Spread the pineapple slices or chunks out on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with Pam, sprinkle them with cinnamon, and place under a broiler for a few minutes. Broilers can differ, so you just have to watch it carefully to know when it is ready. With mine, it takes about 9 minutes at a distance of about 6 inches from the broiler heat. It heats up the pineapple, sort of melting the cinnamon. But I recommend removing it before it starts to brown. My husband likes this as much as I do.

The second recipe is similar, and I just started it last night. Take a small 1 quart baking dish and spray with Pam. Core an apple and cut into slices. Spread the slices out in the baking dish, then top with a couple of spoonfuls of raisins. Sprinkle cinnamon over everything. Add about 3 Tablespoons of water. Cover the baking dish and place in a preheated oven (350) for about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool 10 minutes, then serve. This was a nice 2-serving amount. Both of us loved it! I always use Fuji apples because of their natural sweetness. I don't peel the apples, but you can if you want to.

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Ty for posting these recipes. I’ve always had a sweet tooth and I’m now trying to eliminate as much sugar as possible. Whereabouts in Central Florida are you? I’m I’m Clermont.

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@mariadavila

Ty for posting these recipes. I’ve always had a sweet tooth and I’m now trying to eliminate as much sugar as possible. Whereabouts in Central Florida are you? I’m I’m Clermont.

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Hi, Maria, I'm in Ocala.

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@sashakay

I make Turmeric lattes in the morning and so far I find they are really making a difference both with pain and lowering my CRP. there a lots of recipes online but make sure you add a little bit of black pepper to facilitate the turmeric working I use oat milk and also chocolate oat milk which is delicious

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Curious how you make your Tumeric latte & what ingredients you use.
Thanks,

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