PMR Diet: Foods to eat and avoid

Glad for your success!
I am in a big dilemma with diet. I have all along been having no fat yogurt and a slice of low fat, low sodium cheese for lunch. Lately a half sandwich with the cheese, oatnut bread, lettuce and herbs. Yogurt and the cheese are for my calcium intake. I have oatmilk at breakfast. So is this dairy inflammatory or anti-inflammatory? I have eliminated almonds and almond milk because of a probable kidney stone episode earlier this year. Eating walnuts instead. I have borderline osteoporosis, my dad had kidney stones three times so I need calcium from diet. I take vitamin D3 at breakfast and dinner.
And what's with tomatoes? Anti-inflammatory? Nightshades? It seems a toss up. I'm eating cherry tomatoes because we're growing them.
suzanne

cpd54, thanks for your comment. I am curious about the food sensitivity testing and the foods you avoid.
I, for a long time, have been sensitive to band aids and certain tapes. Was never sure if it was the 'band aid' or the adhesive. I bought a couple pair of leggings only to find at the end of the day I had two red stripes down the sides of my legs from the seams. There was spandex content but I didn't think spandex had latex in it. So the avocado cross reactivity with latex could maybe affect me. I wore a zio patch for a few days and got blisters.
Food sensitivities for sure can be a problem.
suzanne

I was diagnosed with PMR and started on Prednisolone 12 weeks ago. I now avoid high oxalate and high lectin foods (spinach, corn, all night shades, seeds, nuts, all wholegrains, sweet potato, turmeric and other spices, etc) and believe my PMR was likely brought on by high consumption of "superfoods" while I was on a weight loss diet. Most so-called superfoods contain high oxalates, known to cause kidney problems and joint pain in some people.

Specifically, I strongly suspect the hydrolysed marine collagen supplement I bought as a treat may have triggered the PMR. It contains type2 collagen (used to induce chronic arthritis in lab rats and pigs in kidney and arthritis experiments) and it's full of hydroxyprolines that convert to oxalates in the body. My PMR suddenly started after 5 days on the marine collagen, but I didn't suspect it at first and kept taking it because all the sellers insisted it was wonderful for joints.

I've managed to avoid weight gain and have even lost 11 pound in the last 12 weeks by continuing my low carbohydrate diet and avoiding snacks. Whenever the Prednisolone raises my blood sugars which sends hunger signals, I check how long it was since my last nutritious meal and instead of eating, I have a glass of water and do some gardening for 10 minutes. That fixes it every time and the garden is looking better, win/win.

I've also avoided fluid retention by drinking plenty of extra water and keeping moving, gently but frequently, during the day.

Hmmm. Doesn't seem to be the case with me. I'm a registered dietitian and my diet is full of "superfoods" and daily turmeric and I only had a very mild case of PMR with no blood markers. I try to eat a Pegan diet, but I do include oats and a tiny bit of processed food each day. I just recently weaned off of a 2 mg. dose of Prednisone after about 6 months. I had kidney stones about 20 years ago, but since then my diet has improved and I drink more water. Water and a little wine is all I drink. My diet is full of carbohydrates, but very little processed carbs. When I eat sweet potatoes or potatoes, I always eat the skin to keep my blood glucose from spiking. Fiber is an essential nutrient--probably the most important. It feeds your gut microbiome and that this where 70% of your immunity takes place.

We all have our own individual reactions to certain chemicals or foods which may or may not contribute to our PMR. If you've ever had kidney stones, there's a good chance you need to be careful with oxalates which combine with calcium to make calcium oxalate crystals, the main cause of kidney stones. I drink plenty of water to flush the kidneys to protect them too.

I just looked up high oxalate foods and I each most of them on the list every day!

I was too. My kidneys were fine because I drink so much water but I do wonder about the calcium oxalates that appear to be in my joints and around them. I check every so-called "superfood" now because so many of them are high oxalate or high lectin. Both of those affect some of us in a bad way.

PS Most of your plate should consist of colorful, anti-inflammatory vegetables and a little fruit. It looks like you are concentrating on the wrong foods to eat.

My functional medicine doctor ordered the test.
My worst offenders are dairy( of course) apricots, egg whites, avocado, cabbage, chili peppers, garlic, mustard seed, green tea, whey. My test gave results in 4 columns. I try to eat in the first 2 columns since those are the foods I’m less sensitive to.
I know some people believe food sensitivity test to be “quackery”. But I do know when I don’t eat the foods that I am sensitive to, I feel much better.
My granddaughters GP had her do a FS a test since she was vomiting a lot after eating. Because a mainstream doctor prescribed it, insurance paid for it. I had to pay for mine out of pocket.